Startup Hustle

"There are eight digital banks trying to build the Chime of the Philippines. No one's building the Ramp or the Brex. That's the opportunity." I talked with Zach Marks, founder and CEO of Jia, on Startup Hustle this week. Jia is building modern digital banking for small businesses in emerging markets, starting in the Philippines, powered by an AI credit engine that turns messy, handwritten paperwork into an underwriting decision in minutes instead of weeks. Here's what you'll get out of it: ⚡ Why small businesses in emerging markets are so underserved, and why banks there take zero risk while asking founders to put their house up as collateral ⚡ How Zach went from teaching English and befriending samosa vendors in India to launching fintech markets across 15+ countries ⚡ How Jia's AI credit engine cuts a three-week manual underwriting file down to minutes, with a low non-performing loan rate ⚡ The real story of doing business in the Philippines, from BIR shakedowns to why the best local talent still beats every other emerging market ⚡ Why building a strong local culture and hiring leaders who embody it matters more than anything when you hire abroad If you're building in fintech, emerging markets, or with an offshore team, this one is worth your time. Listen to the Startup Hustle podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts! ⏱️ Episode Breakdown 01:16 Introduction and Guest Background 02:20 Starting in Construction and Key Clients 03:24 The Inspiration Behind the Book 04:23 Early Life Challenges and Lessons Learned 07:03 Common Entrepreneurial Traits and Backgrounds 09:38 Key Lessons from the Book 10:27 Business Lessons for Tech Entrepreneurs 11:55 Impact of AI on Construction and Design 13:50 Acquiring Big Name Clients and Referrals 16:24 Building a Scalable Business Model 18:24 The Power of Case Studies and Content Marketing 20:05 Showcasing Work Through Content and Videos 24:00 Final Advice and Closing Remarks Links & Resources Connect with Zach Marks on LinkedIn Jia - https://jia.xyz/ Full Scale – Build your dev team quickly and affordably If you're trying to get your team out of the basement and into real product ownership, this episode is your playbook. Stop being a ticket factory. Build teams that think, create, and lead. Unlock working capital with Jia

"There's no magical growth lever. You just do a good job, every day, for 23 years, and the referrals do the rest." I talked with Matt Watts, founder of MWA Projects and author of Made With Ambition, on Startup Hustle this week. Matt designs and builds some of the most striking commercial spaces in the world, from Jimmy Choo's London HQ to Nike showrooms, Net-a-Porter, and a new lounge for Netflix. Here's what you'll get out of it: ⚡ Why there's no magic growth lever, and how one great job snowballed into Nike, Hermès, ASOS, and Stella McCartney through pure referral ⚡ How a difficult childhood and a bitter divorce shaped the risk appetite so many entrepreneurs share, playing not to lose instead of playing to win ⚡ The AI horror story where a tool invented 10 years of Harrods experience for his head of facilities "because it thought it sounded better" ⚡ Why case studies are the mistake too many founders skip, and how showing beats telling in a visual business ⚡ Why the CEO has to drive the marketing, and why "TikTok next week" is now on the agenda ⏱️ Episode Breakdown 00:48 Introduction and Guest Background 01:52 Starting in Construction and Key Clients 03:18 The Inspiration Behind the Book 03:55 Early Life Challenges and Lessons Learned 06:35 Common Entrepreneurial Traits and Backgrounds 09:09 Key Lessons from the Book 09:59 Business Lessons for Tech Entrepreneurs 11:27 Impact of AI on Construction and Design 13:22 Acquiring Big Name Clients and Referrals 15:56 Building a Scalable Business Model 17:56 The Power of Case Studies and Content Marketing 19:37 Showcasing Work Through Content and Videos 23:32 Final Advice and Closing Remarks Links & Resources Connect with Matt Watts on LinkedIn Website: MWA Projects What Smart CTOs Are Doing Differently With Offshore Teams in 2025 Subscribe to the Global Talent Sprint Full Scale – Build your dev team quickly and affordably If you're building a business the slow, durable way, this one is worth your time. Listen to the Startup Hustle podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

"Both things are true. Software jobs are projected to grow 15%, and 74% of employers say they can't fill the roles. That's the whole story of IT staffing in 2026." This week on Startup Hustle, Matt Brown, Full Scale's head of marketing, put me in the guest chair to walk through our new State of IT Staffing report, a data-heavy look at where tech hiring actually stands heading into 2026. Here's what you'll get out of it: ⚡ The 2026 paradox, why the field isn't shrinking but the entry ramp into it is breaking, with new-grad hiring down 65% at big tech ⚡ Why the job shifted from "engineering" back to "development," and why AI made product thinking the scarce skill ⚡ Why AI sped up the typing but left the judgment exactly as hard, so the value moved to senior people ⚡ Why retention is the number the industry can't fake, and why AI turned it from nice-to-have into the whole game ⚡ Why software has never been cheaper to build, and why that's a reason to build more, not cut If you're hiring engineers, leading a team, or building a career in software, this one is worth your time. ⏱️ Episode Breakdown 00:33 Introduction and overview of the episode 02:39 Full scale's employee satisfaction and recognition 05:30 The impact of AI on software development roles 10:40 The 2026 paradox: job growth vs. role filling 15:35 The importance of product thinking and customer feedback 20:36 Decoupling headcount from output with AI 25:21 Remote work, location independence, and cultural shifts 30:37 Running engineering teams in 2026 and beyond 35:35 The need for strategic focus and organizational agility 40:37 Conclusion and key takeaways from the episode Links & Resources Read the full report - [https://fullscale.io/blog/state-of-it-staffing/ Full Scale(https://fullscale.io/blog/state-of-it-staffing) – Build your dev team quickly and affordably What Smart CTOs Are Doing Differently With Offshore Teams in 2025 Subscribe to the Global Talent Sprint If you're trying to get your team out of the basement and into real product ownership, this episode is your playbook. Stop being a ticket factory. Build teams that think, create, and lead.

"AI scribes are just a feature. The record of clinical judgment is the moat." I talked with Kush Shah, founder and CEO of Noted Dent, on Startup Hustle this week. Noted Dent uses AI to handle clinical documentation for dentists, so practitioners aren't stuck writing notes at 11pm or on the weekend, and so they're covered when the auditors and health funds come knocking. Here's what you'll get out of it: ⚡ Why vibe coding gets you to an MVP and no further, and why Kush deleted 8,000 lines of AI-generated code in three months ⚡ Why the job of a software engineer has changed, and how AI has actually made it more human ⚡ Why demand, not product, is the hardest thing in any business, even eight years in ⚡ Why startups are the best place for young engineers to learn, and why job-title silos hold them back ⚡ What actually makes the leap to CEO so hard when you come from a technical background If you're a technical founder, an engineer eyeing your next move, or anyone building in a regulated space, this one is worth your time. Listen to the Startup Hustle podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts! ⏱️ Episode Breakdown 01:06 Introduction and Anthony Jackson's background 02:47 Is software development dead again? 03:48 The impact of AI on coding and human judgment 04:41 The importance of responsibility in software development 06:33 The challenge of product management and customer feedback 10:52 Transitioning from individual contributor to manager 12:00 Building effective teams and leadership culture 15:14 Anthony Jackson's leadership OS book and approach 19:00 The significance of company and team culture 21:41 The impact of good and bad managers 22:06 Anthony Jackson's newsletter and coaching 23:48 Connecting software developers with customers 25:40 Empathy for users and understanding their experience 29:06 Where to find Anthony Jackson's resources and books Links & Resources Connect with Kush Shah on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kush-shah-kush/ Noted Dent - https://noteddent.com/ What Smart CTOs Are Doing Differently With Offshore Teams in 2025 Subscribe to the Global Talent Sprint Full Scale – Build your dev team quickly and affordably If you’re trying to get your team out of the basement and into real product ownership, this episode is your playbook. Stop being a ticket factory. Build teams that think, create, and lead. Follow the show, rate it, and send this to someone who’s still trying to do “real Scrum.” They need it more than you do.

"Back in the 1900s when I was crossing the Great Plains in a covered wagon, programming in the back, the cover headline was: Software Development is Dead." I talked with Anthony Jackson, a CTO with 30 years across healthcare tech and enterprise software and author of the Architecture Protocol series, on Startup Hustle this week. Anthony is the creator of LeadershipOS, a framework for building teams that keep running when the leader isn't in the room. Here's what you'll get out of it: ⚡ Why "software development is dead" has been a headline for 30+ years, and why the human judgment layer never goes away ⚡ Why the real gap isn't more engineers, it's product people (and engineers who think like them) ⚡ What actually changes when you go from individual contributor to manager, and why almost no company trains you for it ⚡ Why every line of code still needs a name attached to it, especially in regulated industries ⚡ How "lossy compression" quietly ruins decisions as they filter up and back down through management ⏱️ Episode Breakdown 00:32 Introduction and Anthony Jackson's background 02:13 Is software development dead again? 03:14 The impact of AI on coding and human judgment 04:07 The importance of responsibility in software development 05:59 The challenge of product management and customer feedback 10:18 Transitioning from individual contributor to manager 11:36 Building effective teams and leadership culture 14:41 Anthony Jackson's leadership OS book and approach 18:26 The significance of company and team culture 21:07 The impact of good and bad managers 21:38 Anthony Jackson's newsletter and coaching 23:14 Connecting software developers with customers 25:06 Empathy for users and understanding their experience 28:18 Where to find Anthony Jackson's resources and books Links & Resources Connect with Anthony Jackson on LinkedIn Anthony Jackson's Website - https://technicaleader.coach What Smart CTOs Are Doing Differently With Offshore Teams in 2025 Subscribe to the Global Talent Sprint Full Scale – Build your dev team quickly and affordably If you’re trying to get your team out of the basement and into real product ownership, this episode is your playbook. Stop being a ticket factory. Build teams that think, create, and lead. Follow the show, rate it, and send this to someone who’s still trying to do “real Scrum.” They need it more than you do.