Rohan Kodialam, cofounder and CEO of Sphinx, is building AI agents that treat data as its own language—one most models and humans still fail to understand. In this episode, he unpacks why data science has lagged behind software engineering, how AI can finally close the gap between business questions and answers, and what happens when small teams gain the analytical power of a thousand person quant desk.What You'll Learn• How AI models that actually see data can unlock insights traditional transformers miss• Why enterprises must rethink dashboards and embrace real time ad hoc analysis• Where AI truly saves the most time across the data lifecycle and why modeling is not the hardest part• How decoupling statistics from business context gives teams freedom to focus on strategy and creativity• Why success in data science now means reclaiming human creativity while automating repetitive workTimestamped Highlights[01:44] Why data is fundamentally different from text and code and why most AI models struggle with it[06:39] The cultural problem with ad hoc being a dirty word in enterprises and why that mindset is changing[11:09] Where AI tools actually fit into the data science workflow[17:09] How to measure success when using an AI data scientist[21:04] What happens when a small team gains the data firepower of a hedge fund quant operation[24:37] Why bad data science is worse than none and why quality matters more than hypeA Thought That Stuck With Us“We are cutting the time to completion by 20x, 40x, even 50x and that remaining human review is not a bottleneck. It is the feature that keeps AI accountable.”Worth FollowingConnect with Rohan Kodialam on X (@KodialamRo) or LinkedIn and learn more about Sphinx AI and how they are transforming enterprise data science.If This ResonatedShare this with someone in the data world who is tired of waiting weeks for insights that should take minutes. Follow The Tech Trek for more conversations about how people and technology create lasting impact.
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27:24
How Operator VCs Change the Game for Founders
Karl Alomar, Managing Partner at M13 and former COO of DigitalOcean, joins The Tech Trek to share how being an operator changes the way you invest. He explains why M13 was built to be a truly founder-first VC firm—one that acts early, helps proactively, and builds deep relationships rooted in empathy and experience. From spotting great founders to balancing instinct and data, this episode explores how venture capital can drive better outcomes when it focuses on people as much as product.Key Takeaways• The most effective VCs act before problems surface, shaping a founder’s path rather than reacting to it.• Founder–market fit often comes down to whether someone is a specialist with deep expertise or an athlete who can adapt fast.• Empathy built through years of operating experience creates trust that fuels honest conversations and better decisions.• Great founders lead with vision—they can inspire, recruit, and align teams behind a clear story of what’s possible.• Even the best instincts and pattern recognition can’t outplay timing, luck, and market shifts—but reflection and learning can.Timestamped Highlights(01:20) How being an operator shaped Karl’s approach to venture capital(06:48) The three kinds of investors—and why empathy gives operators an edge(09:54) Creating a safe space where founders can share problems without fear(14:13) Identifying “athletes” and “specialists” when evaluating founders(20:33) Pattern matching, instincts, and the role of luck in investing(23:50) What M13 learns from postmortems on both wins and missesA Line That Stuck“To do it the right way, you have to be a proactive investor, not a reactive one.”Pro TipsKarl suggests founders build relationships with investors who understand their world and seek out those who can help them see around corners—not just react when things break.Call to ActionIf this episode resonated, follow The Tech Trek on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and connect with Amir Bormand on LinkedIn for more conversations at the intersection of people, impact, and technology.
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27:20
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27:20
Scaling Engineering Leadership in a Fast Growing Startup
In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir sits down with Michi Kono, CTO of Garner Health, to unpack what it really takes to scale engineering leadership inside a fast growing startup. Michi shares how he balances structure and speed, why formalizing processes too early can slow innovation, and how “the Garner way” blends lessons from big tech with first principles thinking. This is a conversation about leadership maturity, cultural design, and building systems that evolve with your company’s growth.Key Takeaways• Leadership scale comes from knowing when to formalize processes, not just how.• “Six months is never”: waiting on fixes usually means they will never happen.• Feedback is a gift, and it is on leaders to create the safety for it to flow upward.• Borrowing from big tech only works when you adapt the principles, not the playbook.• Engineering leaders should measure success by business outcomes, not just delivery speed.Timestamped Highlights01:46 The first signals Michi looked for when stepping into the CTO role03:49 Turning ad hoc collaboration into structured dependency management06:36 Why delaying operational fixes is a silent killer for scaling teams08:38 Building standards only when they solve real, visible problems12:13 The art of forecasting leadership hiring and team design14:54 Lessons borrowed from Meta, Stripe, and Capital One, and when not to use them17:31 Defining “the Garner way” through first principles20:59 Judging engineering performance through business impact25:00 Creating true psychological safety for feedback across all levelsA Line That Stuck“If we can’t execute on the roadmap that lets us actually build a successful business, then I failed as a leader. There are no excuses.”Pro TipsWhen you inherit a growing engineering organization, start by mapping dependencies, not hierarchies. Clarity around how teams interact is more valuable than adding headcount too early.Call to ActionEnjoyed this episode? Follow The Tech Trek on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and connect with Amir on LinkedIn for more conversations on scaling teams, leadership, and engineering culture.
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28:56
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28:56
How AI Is Rewriting the Way Engineers Work
Vibe coding isn’t just a new buzzword—it’s a complete shift in how engineering teams build, ship, and think. Zach Wills, Director of Engineering at Luxury Presence, joins to share how his team is rewriting the rules of software delivery using AI-assisted workflows. From Greenfield experiments to Brownfield transformations, Zach breaks down the frameworks, lessons, and mindset shifts reshaping what it means to be an engineer.Key TakeawaysWhy vibe coding feels less like automation and more like a new management skill for engineersThe real differences between Greenfield and Brownfield AI-assisted projects—and how to avoid the biggest trapsHow “trusting the autonomous loop” became a core principle for speed and qualityThe cultural shift that happens when developers stop typing every line of codeWhy teams that embrace AI early will outpace their competition, not replace their peopleTimestamped Highlights02:20 — The moment vibe coding clicked and how it compressed days of work into hours06:45 — Testing AI in a five-year-old codebase with tens of thousands of commits10:45 — Engineers are becoming more like managers of autonomous agents14:40 — The hidden emotional impact of giving up “manual” coding17:30 — Inside Zach’s eight-rule framework for productive AI workflows25:25 — Why SDLC as we know it is breaking apart—and what replaces it30:00 — Why fearing AI misses the point entirelyMemorable Line“If AI can do something I was doing yesterday, I never want to do that thing again. My value comes from what only I can do.”Pro TipStart small but think organizationally. Train your engineers to lead AI, not just use it. The biggest unlock isn’t speed—it’s mindset.Call to ActionIf this conversation sparked new ideas about how your team could work smarter, follow The Tech Trek wherever you listen and connect with Amir on LinkedIn for more behind-the-scenes insights.
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34:18
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34:18
From Research to Real World AI
From a farm in Adelaide to the front lines of AI-powered personalization.Tullie Murrell, CEO and co-founder of Shaped, shares how he went from researcher to founder and built a platform helping businesses deliver the kind of intelligent recommendations once reserved for big tech.We explore the mindset shifts, technical leaps, and founder lessons that shaped his path—from Meta’s AI labs to democratizing personalization for everyone else.Key Takeaways• The best founders know when to trade technical depth for go-to-market mastery. Tullie learned that 70% of startup success lives outside the codebase.• Real personalization is no longer just for Meta, Amazon, or TikTok—new model architectures are closing the gap for everyone.• Flexibility early in your career opens unexpected doors. Choosing Meta over Google gave Tullie room to explore and evolve.• AI research isn’t just about papers—it’s about transforming how people experience products and decisions in real time.• The future of personalization sits at the intersection of generation and intent—content created and adapted for each individual moment.Timestamped Highlights00:35 — What Shaped does and how it’s redefining AI-driven recommendations03:00 — From a farm in Australia to computer science and a path to Silicon Valley07:30 — Why joining Meta offered more freedom than Google13:25 — The insight that sparked Shaped: how Meta’s personalization drove massive engagement19:00 — Leaving Big Tech, embracing discomfort, and starting over as a founder22:45 — The moment he realized go-to-market mattered more than code29:00 — How new AI breakthroughs are rewriting what’s possible in personalization33:55 — Real-time generation meets personalization: where we’re headed nextA standout moment“Most founders think success is 70% product and 30% go-to-market. I learned it’s the other way around.”Pro TipIf you’re a technical founder, study go-to-market strategy as hard as you studied your first programming language. It’s the difference between a great product and a great company.Call to ActionIf you enjoyed this episode, share it with a founder or engineer exploring their next leap. Subscribe to The Tech Trek on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and follow Amir on LinkedIn for more conversations at the edge of tech, leadership, and innovation.
The Tech Trek explores the intersection of People, Impact, and Technology — how engineering leaders build high-performing teams, deliver real outcomes, and shape the future of innovation.
Hosted by Amir Bormand, founder of Elevano, the show features CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and technical leaders sharing candid insights on leadership, scaling, and building technology organizations that last.
Each episode uncovers the decisions, lessons, and mindsets that separate good teams from great ones — and the people who make technology move forward.
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