Tech Teams Today

In this episode, William A. Adams, D&I innovator, technical advisor, philanthropist, and founder of WAAV Studios, discusses how easing underrepresented people into the tech industry now comes down to the company more than the pipeline, the importance of getting people into the acquisition stream through #tequity, and critical advice for tech leaders wanting to start D&I initiatives within their organizations. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thewilliamaadams/ Website: https://www.william-a-adams.com/ #diversity #inclusion #tequity #techindustry #companyculture ——— Tech Teams Today is a podcast where you will hear from founders, tech leaders and industry experts about innovations, solutions and latest trends in building and scaling outstanding tech teams as we embrace the future of work. This podcast is powered by Revelo, which offers the largest online platform for U.S. companies to hire Latin America-based remote tech talent.

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, host Lucas Mendes, CEO of Revelo, dives deep into the realities of tech leadership, AI, and startup challenges. Our guest, Heather Townsend, Co-Founder and COO of Cabana, shares hard-earned lessons from navigating the shift from legal tech to co-founding a startup, emphasizing why trusting your instincts often trumps expert advice. We explore the evolving role of AI in engineering, the best strategies for managing remote and hybrid tech teams, and why adaptability is the key trait of successful engineering leaders. If you’re a tech leader or entrepreneur looking to scale a team, leverage AI effectively, or make better hiring decisions, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, we sat down with Jordan Nemrow, Co-Founder and CTO of Woflow, to explore how a single Facebook post led to a Chrome extension, a co-founder, an investor—and eventually a scalable AI-powered data platform used across food delivery and commerce.Jordan shares how Woflow tackles the massive challenge of structuring unstructured data at scale, and why automation + human-in-the-loop remains their competitive edge. He also reflects on the hardest part of engineering leadership—delegation, and how they rebuilt team culture from the ground up in a remote-first world.Some topics covered include:From side project to startup: the automation story behind WoflowWhy HITL (human-in-the-loop) still beats full AI autonomy at scaleThe 90/90 rule for software delivery that every tech lead should knowHow Woflow fixed remote culture Lessons on hiring, trust, and transitioning from CEO to CTOWhether you're scaling a product, leading engineering teams, or building AI into operations—this episode is packed with insights that go beyond the usual playbook.Register for our Tech Teams Today Live event for engineering leaders on April 16th in San Franciscohttps://hirewith.revelo.com/event/future-engineering-leadership

Join Lucas Mendes, CEO of Revelo, as he interviews Kevin Roche, Co-Founder and CTO of Wellthy, on Tech Teams Today. In this insightful episode, Kevin discusses his transition from a career on Wall Street to founding Wellthy, a care concierge service that helps families balance work and caregiving. They delve into the challenges and rewards of building a mission-driven company, the impact of AI on tech and caregiving, and the evolving role of tech leaders. Learn about Kevin's experiences navigating startup challenges, scaling an engineering team, and the significance of maintaining hands-on coding expertise even for senior engineering leaders. Tune in for valuable advice for aspiring tech founders and insights into the future of technology and caregiving.

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, host Lucas Mendes, CEO of Revelo, sits down with Joshua Krohn, SVP of Engineering at Flash Parking. Joshua shares his unique journey from mechanical engineering to pioneering technology solutions in parking and EV charging. The discussion covers the evolution of engineering talent, managing distributed teams, and the impact of AI on the industry. Joshua also delves into maintaining high performance within engineering teams and the importance of early and consistent involvement of engineers in product development. Tune in for valuable insights on engineering leadership, technology, and the future of software development.

Join Lucas Mendes, CEO and Founder of Revelo, as he sits down with Ferdinand Hingerl, CTO of Ambyint, to discuss his transition from data scientist to CTO and the lessons learned along the way. Discover how Ambyint optimizes oil and gas production with AI technology and gain valuable insights into building and leading effective engineering teams. Don't miss Ferdinand's unique perspectives on hiring, managing remote eng teams, fostering innovation, and the evolving role of AI in software engineering.

Are you measuring the right things in your engineering team? Or are your metrics setting you up for failure?In this episode of Tech Teams Today, Revelo CEO Lucas Mendes sits down with Ryan Cooley, Director of Engineering at ProcessMaker, to break down what truly drives engineering success in 2025.Ryan shares:✅ Why traditional performance metrics DON’T tell the whole story✅ How he scaled from IC to Director WITHOUT job-hopping✅ The secret to building a high-retention engineering team✅ Why AI isn’t a silver bullet for software development✅ Remote work realities: what actually works vs. what doesn’tRyan also dives into how ProcessMaker evolved from a bootstrapped company to a $45M private equity-backed business—and what that meant for engineering strategy.📅 Don’t miss our exclusive webinar on March 13th at 2pm EST: “Engineering Team Metrics That Actually Matter in 2025.” Register Today -> https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2917406666321/WN_3NgbCZFUSkiOaY4vyD9rYw🔔 Subscribe for more insights from top engineering leaders!

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, Lucas Mendes, CEO of Revelo, sits down with Charlie Hill, the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Harbor. Charlie shares his inspiring journey from the U.S. Army, where he served as a helicopter pilot, to becoming a leader in tech and product management. They discuss the integration of product and engineering teams, the importance of engineers being product owners, and navigating the challenges of leading a technology team. Charlie also delves into his experiences starting Harbor, a company dedicated to helping parents get more sleep through innovative baby monitors. This episode offers valuable insights for anyone interested in tech leadership, product management, and career transitions.

Is Big Tech actually faster than startups? Is AI making engineering managers obsolete? Ken Kao (VP of Engineering at Rad AI, ex-Meta, Airbnb, and Palantir) joins Lucas Mendes (CEO of Revelo) to reveal the hard truths about engineering leadership, AI’s impact on teams, and why startup founders struggle to scale.Key Takeaways from This Episode:✅ Big Tech vs. Startups: Why Meta, Airbnb, and Palantir move faster than most startups.✅ AI & Engineering: How AI is eliminating bad managers and forcing leaders to be technical again.✅ Scaling Teams: Why hiring great engineers isn't enough—you need autonomy + accountability.✅ Remote & Hybrid Work: How Rad AI thrives with a fully remote team in a post-COVID world.✅ Startups Hiring Mistakes: What founders get wrong about engineering talent and scaling teams

In this episode, Bruno Leite, Senior Software Engineer at ViacomCBS, shares his fascinating career journey from Brazil to the United States, working at major entertainment giants like Disney and Paramount Plus. His experience spans industries from mining and transportation to startups and large-scale media companies, giving him unique insights into the differences between corporate tech environments and agile startups. Bruno dives into his experience with AI tools like GitHub Copilot, how he boosted his productivity by 40-50%, and the security challenges of AI adoption at ViacomCBS. He also shares his strategies for remote work, including the 'tomato technique' for focus, and how he navigated transitioning from Brazil to the U.S. tech industry. This episode covers AI in software development, remote work best practices, and career advice for aspiring developers looking to break into the global tech industry. If you're interested in how AI is shaping software engineering or considering an international career move, this episode is for you!

Join us as we dive deep into the career journey of an engineering leader who has worked at tech giants like Microsoft, Tesla, and Dropbox, and is currently making waves at Xsolla as CTO. We explore his learnings from each company, focusing on scalability, culture, and impact. Discover how he's applying these insights at Xsolla, handling vast amounts of real-time data and transactions while ensuring performance and security. Learn about his approach to building and managing globally distributed engineering teams, his hiring philosophy, and the use of AI to boost productivity. This episode is packed with valuable tips for engineering leaders and offers a unique glimpse into the evolving landscape of tech management.

Join us as we delve into the career journey of Julian Ramirez, Senior Engineering Manager at Dropbox. Julian shares his experiences from starting as a tech writer to leading engineering teams across various company sizes, including TaskRabbit, Imgur, and Granular. We explore the dynamics of small startups versus larger organizations, the transition to remote work at Dropbox during the pandemic, and the ongoing evolution of AI in engineering. Tune in for valuable insights into effective engineering team management, the value of agency and trust in teams, and the future of AI in software development.

Is Coding Dead? Navigating Tech Careers and Remote Leadership with Sakshi Garg In this episode, we dive into the evolving landscape of tech careers, discussing whether learning to code is still worth it amidst the rise of AI. Our guest, Sakshi Garg, Head of Engineering at Hydrolix, shares insights from her extensive career, spanning roles at Adobe, Splunk, and now running engineering at Hydrolix. We explore challenges and strategies for transitioning from engineering to management, the pros and cons of remote work, and tips for effectively managing a distributed team. If you're curious about the future of coding, remote work dynamics, or moving up the tech career ladder, this episode is a must-watch.

Bootstrapping to $45M: Brian Reale’s Entrepreneurial Journey Join Brian Reale, founder of ProcessMaker, as he takes us through his entrepreneurial journey from selling modems and creating Bolivia's first ISP to building a global leader in workflow automation. Discover how Brian overcame geographic challenges, embraced open-source models, and transitioned from bootstrapping for two decades to securing $45 million in funding. Learn about the transformative impact of AI on business processes, the importance of strategic planning, and insights into international expansion. This episode is packed with valuable lessons on risk-taking, diversification, and leveraging technology to scale globally.

Navigating Tech Giants: Ludo Antonov on Leading Engineering Teams from Hulu and Lyft to Pinterest and Whatnot Join us in this insightful episode featuring Ludo Antonov, Co-Founder of SuperMe and former engineering lead at notable tech companies like Whatnot, Lyft, Pinterest, Hulu, and Microsoft. Ludo takes us on his journey through these tech giants, highlighting the operational and cultural differences he's encountered. Dive into the technological advancements and strategies that have shaped these platforms, with a particular focus on Hulu's early days pioneering the future of streaming to Lyft's approach to ride-sharing, battling Uber, and the challenges faced during COVID-19. Explore the early days of streaming, the surprising impacts of ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles on urban traffic, and the emerging role of AI in enhancing engineering team efficiencies in this insightful episode.

Leading Tech Teams from Uber to Included Health: Insights with Anant In this episode, we explore Anant's career journey from scaling engineering teams at Uber to overseeing engineering and data science at Included Health. Anant shares his experiences with pre-IPO high growth tech companies like LinkedIn and Uber, discussing the impact a strong leader can create, regardless of team size. He provides insights into Uber's engineering culture, highlighting the importance of metrics, autonomy, and a proactive attitude towards problem-solving. The conversation also delves into hiring strategies for scaling up engineering teams, the value of AI in healthcare, and the future of software development. Furthermore, Anant discusses the potential benefits and challenges of integrating AI into healthcare, aiming to create a personalized and efficient user experience akin to having a 'Jarvis' for your health needs.

Expanding Your Workforce: Strategies for International Hiring Success In this episode, Raif Rahal shares his journey from Brazil to the United States and his extensive experience in building high-performing teams for startups. Discover the key challenges and strategies behind international hiring, especially in Latin America. Learn how Stride achieved remarkable success by hiring engineers abroad and overcame the hurdles of remote team integration. Raif also offers practical advice on fostering strong relationships with VPs of Engineering and maintaining effective communication throughout the hiring process. Tune in to gain valuable insights on diversifying your talent pool and building a robust, global team.

Optimizing Engineering at CollegeVine: Speed, AI, and Remote Teams Join Chris from CollegeVine as he discusses innovative strategies for enhancing engineering workflows, including breaking tasks down for faster shipping, utilizing CI/CD pipelines without manual QA, and the importance of feature flagging. Chris delves into the impact of AI on software development, the emphasis on problem-solving over specific technical knowledge, and how to effectively manage a fully remote, asynchronous team scattered across the globe. Get insights on building a fast-moving, collaborative engineering culture and navigating the complexities of remote team management.

Building Reliable Data Pipelines for Effective AI: Insights from Yongsheng Wu In this episode of Tech Teams Today, we dive into the vital importance of structuring reliable data pipelines before tackling AI and machine learning projects. Featuring Yongsheng Wu, VP of Engineering at Granica.ai, the discussion covers Wu's extensive experience in the field, including his roles at Pinterest, Twitter, and Salesforce.  We explore essential steps for training an AI software engineer, emphasizing the significance of clean and well-labeled data, effective model evaluation, and the continuous improvement cycle of AI models. Wu also shares thoughts on the future of software engineering roles and remote work dynamics in engineering teams. Tune in to gain valuable insights on building robust data foundations for AI success.

Building High-Performing Engineering Teams with Pedro Tabio, CTO and Co-Founder In this episode of Tech Teams Today, we sit down with Pedro Tabio, CTO and Co-Founder, to explore the art of building and leading successful engineering teams in today’s fast-paced tech landscape. With over a decade of experience, Pedro shares valuable insights on scaling teams, fostering innovation, and navigating the challenges of remote work. Join us as we discuss how to approach team collaboration, what it takes to lead in a remote-first world, and why nearshoring has become a critical strategy for companies looking to grow their development teams efficiently. Whether you’re an engineering leader or someone curious about the future of tech teams, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways. Tune in to learn: How to scale engineering teams without sacrificing culture The importance of remote work and nearshore talent in driving innovation Pedro’s leadership philosophy and advice for aspiring tech leaders Don’t miss this insightful conversation on modern engineering leadership!