The Tech Trek

What separates a successful founder from the rest? In this episode, Harish Abbott—CEO and co-founder of Augment—breaks down how he repeatedly spots opportunity early, builds products customers actually want, and navigates the fast-moving world of AI without falling into the trap of chasing every shiny benchmark. We explore how Harish’s team shadowed 60 logistics operators before writing a single line of code, why storytelling is a founder's most underutilized superpower, and how to know when it’s time to pivot—even if everything looks good on the surface. Whether you're scaling your first product or figuring out what not to build, this conversation is packed with real-world insights you can apply today. 🔑 Key Takeaways: Start with Pain, Not Product: Successful startups begin by deeply understanding real customer pain points, not by jumping into code or chasing tech trends. Shadowing Over Selling: Harish’s team shadowed 60 logistics operators in the early days of Augment—prioritizing observation over assumptions. Strong Opinions, Loosely Held: Founders must balance confidence in their vision with humility to pivot when data points to a better path. AI ≠ The Product: In a world obsessed with benchmarks, remember: AI is a tool. The actual value lies in making things better, cheaper, or faster for users. ⏱ Timestamped Highlights: 00:32 – What Augment does: AI teammates for the logistics industry 02:48 – “Follow one path consistently” – Harish’s approach to serial entrepreneurship 05:57 – The importance of shadowing operators before writing code 11:21 – When is it time to pivot? Why usage data is often more telling than top-line growth 19:23 – Storytelling as a founder’s core job: how to get employees, investors, and customers on board 25:02 – The challenge of AI startup building today: chasing stability over shiny new benchmarks 30:10 – Avoiding the trap of benchmark chasing in AI product development 💬 Quote: “The best founders are always seeking truth. That truth sometimes tells you to let go of the idea you love.”

In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir speaks with Patrick Leung, CTO of Faro Health, about what it takes to lead an engineering organization through a transformation to become an AI-first company. From redefining the product roadmap to managing cultural and technical shifts, Patrick shares practical insights on team structure, skill development, and delivering AI-enabled features in a regulated domain like clinical trials. This is a must-listen for tech leaders navigating similar transitions. 🧠 Key Takeaways: AI-First ≠ Just Using AI Being AI-first means deeply embedding AI into the core product architecture—not just bolting on an LLM. It requires strategy, structure, and long-term thinking. Build the Right Team Early The biggest shift for engineering orgs is in people—getting the right AI talent onboard early, rather than doing it all yourself, is critical for momentum. Upskilling Is Real—but Selective Not every engineer will pivot to AI, but there’s room for involvement across UX, product, and front-end roles. Cultural fit and willingness to contribute matter more than title. Data Engineering is the Unsung Hero Most AI work today isn’t in model building, but in crafting clean, structured datasets. Investment here pays off exponentially. ⏱️ Timestamped Highlights: 00:00 – What Does It Mean to Be AI-First? Patrick defines the term and outlines Faro Health’s mission to reduce the cost and timeline of clinical trials. 04:13 – Defining the AI Strategy How they started with clinical writing as the first application of LLMs and why it was harder than expected. 07:54 – The Role of Change Management AI introduces massive shifts; managing sponsor expectations and workflows is as important as the tech. 10:28 – Engineering Impact How the roadmap changed and what it meant for full-stack vs. data science roles. 14:24 – Hiring vs. Upskilling Why Patrick hired an expert to lead AI efforts and the balance between internal upskilling and external hiring. 16:43 – Competing for AI Talent How startups can win top AI talent despite the lure of FAANG compensation. 18:58 – Team Culture and Opportunity Creating space for engineers who want to jump into AI while maintaining alignment on startup needs. 21:07 – Realistic Upskilling Paths From Coursera to immersive bootcamps—what actually works for engineers wanting to break into AI. 23:11 – If He Could Do It Again The two things Patrick would do sooner: hire a dedicated AI team and build structured data pipelines earlier. 🔖 Featured Quote: “If you're serious about becoming an AI company, you need to find someone amazing who's launched real AI products—and build a team around them.”

In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir sits down with Sunita Verma, CTO at Character AI and former engineering leader at Google. Sunita shares how she’s transitioned from leading large-scale AI initiatives at Google to building novel experiences in a fast-paced startup environment. She dives into the mindset shift required to prioritize velocity over scale, how to lead AI-native product innovation, and what it means to be a female technical leader in today’s tech ecosystem. 🔑 Key Takeaways: Shift in Leadership Mindset: At startups, leaders must prioritize velocity and innovation over scale, focusing on getting frictionless, AI-native products to market quickly. AI Product Loop: Success comes from tightly coupling AI research with product development—shortening the feedback loop to create truly novel user experiences. Female Technical Leadership: Sunita emphasizes the need for more women in senior engineering roles and shares how calculated risk-taking and mentorship shaped her journey. Startup Clarity vs. Corporate Comfort: While startups offer focus and purpose, they also require deep ownership and rapid decision-making without the cushion of big-company resources. 💬 Quote: “Focus brings clarity of purpose... but with that comes the pressure of knowing every decision deeply impacts the company.” — Sunita Verma ⏱️ Timestamped Highlights: 00:00 – Intro: Meet Sunita Verma, CTO at Character AI and former Google engineering leader. 01:52 – Google to Startup: Comparing work at Google with her current role at Character AI. 03:39 – Leadership Shift: Sunita’s take on building AI-native products from scratch. 06:21 – From Scale to Speed: Pivoting from optimization at scale to innovating with velocity. 08:12 – Product & Tech Integration: Creating tight feedback loops between AI research and products 10:01 – Closer to Engineering: Why Sunita enjoys being hands-on and deeply involved in compute management. 12:12 – Focus as a Double-Edged Sword: The simplicity and pressure of startup leadership. 14:00 – Female Engineering Leadership: The need for more women in senior tech roles. 16:02 – Career Advice: Why calculated risk and building a support network are key to long-term success. 19:14 – Leaving Google: Her thought process in taking the leap from a big brand to an emerging category leader.

In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir sits down with Emily Long, the CEO and co-founder of Edera, a deep tech startup focused on secure infrastructure. Emily shares her unconventional journey from HR leadership into the world of high-performance computing, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Together, they explore the realities of leading a technical startup as a non-engineer, the underestimated value of soft skills in building scalable companies, and how trust, learning, and risk-taking shape leadership at every stage. 💡 Key Takeaways: Soft Skills Scale: Emily challenges the misconception that only hard skills matter in tech leadership, showing how people skills drive team performance and product success. Learning is a Superpower: Her career evolution was fueled by an unapologetic hunger to learn and willingness to step into discomfort and uncertainty. The CEO as Conductor: Emily views the CEO role as orchestrating harmony across functions—ensuring each part of the company plays in sync. Technical ≠ Only Coders: Emily has gained deep technical understanding through proximity, curiosity, and respect—without being an engineer herself. Redefining Career Paths: She encourages others, especially in HR or non-traditional roles, to question labels and stretch into new domains with courage. ⏱ Timestamped Highlights: (00:00) Intro to Emily Long and her transition from HR to tech CEO (00:42) What Edera does: security + infrastructure beneath the Linux kernel (02:07) Early career: from public accounting to people operations (03:38) Becoming a founder by learning what others didn’t want to do (06:10) Why she said “yes” to being CEO — and the orchestra analogy (09:36) Relationship with CTO and deep respect for engineering (12:51) The business acumen of HR professionals is underappreciated (14:22) Breaking the “not technical” stigma and respecting both skill sets (20:14) Should founders always scale with the company? A nuanced view (23:25) Would she have jumped into tech sooner? The safety-risk tradeoff (25:45) Where to connect with Emily: LinkedIn and edera.dev 💬 Quote to Feature: "Just because you can doesn't mean you should. You’ve got to ask yourself—am I bringing the right energy to the next stage?" – Emily Long

Arlene Watson, a product and engineering leader in the cybersecurity space with experience at CrowdStrike, ServiceNow, and Tenable, joins the show to unpack the critical challenges facing cybersecurity teams today. We dive into breach realities, the need for proactive defenses, how automation is reshaping security operations, and why AI is both a threat and an essential tool. If you’re building, managing, or securing software in today’s threat landscape, this episode is for you. 🔑 Key Takeaways: Breaches are a daily reality – Most go unreported, but every breach should raise alarm bells because attackers may be setting the stage for larger, future infiltrations. Automation is critical – Repetitive, manual tasks in cybersecurity can and should be automated to free up teams for higher-value, offensive strategies. AI expands the threat and the solution – Generative AI introduces exponential risk, but it's also becoming a core component of advanced cyber defense strategies. 💬 Quote to Highlight: "The moment someone says they know all the adversaries that will show up tomorrow, we know that’s not the fact. Our job is to chase the unknown and prepare for it." — Arlene Watson ⏱️ Timestamped Highlights: 00:00 – Intro to Arlene Watson and the state of cybersecurity today 00:33 – Why breaches are more common than we think 02:14 – Breaches must always raise alarm bells 05:26 – Understanding the hierarchy of high-value assets 08:23 – Automation trends in product engineering for cybersecurity 11:35 – Why cybersecurity budgets often lag behind priorities 15:04 – How AI is growing the cybersecurity attack surface 18:28 – Can AI help defend against adversarial AI? 21:22 – Prioritizing cybersecurity product development: foundation, automation, and integration 25:10 – Connect with Arlene via LinkedIn