Navigating the path from startup speed to enterprise scale | Braintrust by Cortex

(00:20) The founding journey: from zero to one hundred customers
(01:13) Day one: Building the first version of the service catalog
(04:25) Why speed is a startup's only superpower
(09:54) The mindset shift to enterprise-grade reliability and scale
(13:06) How quality becomes a competitive advantage
(14:46) High-leverage early decisions: writing tests and supporting on-prem
(17:38) Balancing speed and quality in the age of AI
(21:21) How AI will shift, not replace, engineering roles
(26:53) Advice for engineering leaders working with founders

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In the first episode of the Cortex podcast, co-founders Anish Dhar and Ganesh Datta pull back the curtain on the journey of building an internal developer portal from the ground up. They share the story of the early days, when the unproven market required moving at maximum velocity to find product-market fit and win critical first deals.

The conversation explores the key moments that forced a fundamental mindset shift from prioritizing speed to engineering for enterprise-grade reliability and scale. Anish and Ganesh discuss the cultural and architectural decisions that defined this transition and offer a playbook for engineering leaders navigating today's AI-driven landscape, where the pressure to move fast is greater than ever.