Meeting Title: Uttam - Brylle - Week Reflection Date: 2026-03-20 Meeting participants: Brylle Girang, Uttam Kumaran
WEBVTT
1 00:06:29.110 ⇒ 00:06:30.250 Uttam Kumaran: Hello!
2 00:06:33.440 ⇒ 00:06:35.030 Brylle Girang: Hello!
3 00:06:35.030 ⇒ 00:06:35.850 Uttam Kumaran: Hi, how are ya?
4 00:06:35.850 ⇒ 00:06:40.739 Brylle Girang: I just want to get this out of the way. The ABC Roadmap
5 00:06:41.210 ⇒ 00:06:45.729 Brylle Girang: is not yet finalized, right? We were waiting for Pranav to finalize that.
6 00:06:46.500 ⇒ 00:06:50.829 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I mean, he’s supposed to, use the new format.
7 00:06:51.000 ⇒ 00:06:56.180 Brylle Girang: Exactly, okay, so we’re on the same page. I was being gaslighted here, so…
8 00:06:56.370 ⇒ 00:06:57.409 Uttam Kumaran: By who?
9 00:06:57.680 ⇒ 00:06:59.780 Brylle Girang: By, by Pranav! So, I…
10 00:06:59.780 ⇒ 00:07:00.590 Uttam Kumaran: Why?
11 00:07:00.590 ⇒ 00:07:10.139 Brylle Girang: I sent him a nodge, like, at 3.29 AM. I was waiting for the updated project plan, and then he just responded 30 minutes ago that
12 00:07:11.530 ⇒ 00:07:14.089 Brylle Girang: He doesn’t know what needs to be updated.
13 00:07:16.030 ⇒ 00:07:19.759 Uttam Kumaran: I thought he mentioned this morning that he was gonna update using the new.
14 00:07:22.040 ⇒ 00:07:22.600 Brylle Girang: Exactly.
15 00:07:22.600 ⇒ 00:07:27.619 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, you can just say, oh, I thought this morning you mentioned that you were gonna update it to the new.
16 00:07:28.110 ⇒ 00:07:30.589 Brylle Girang: The new version, the new template.
17 00:07:31.860 ⇒ 00:07:36.329 Brylle Girang: Okay, so I just wanted to make sure that I am not hallucinating here.
18 00:07:38.160 ⇒ 00:07:44.819 Brylle Girang: Yeah, nice that we have this time. I don’t, I scheduled this because I don’t think we’ll have
19 00:07:45.200 ⇒ 00:07:47.170 Brylle Girang: Any more time on Monday?
20 00:07:47.560 ⇒ 00:07:49.939 Brylle Girang: To reflect on what happened this week.
21 00:07:51.840 ⇒ 00:07:53.060 Brylle Girang: How are you doing?
22 00:07:55.070 ⇒ 00:07:56.140 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, man.
23 00:07:59.060 ⇒ 00:08:07.710 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, let me get, like, some of my thoughts together. I’m just gonna go also try to sit outside. I’ve been sitting in that room for a sec. Let me… let me see if I can think of something, like…
24 00:08:08.490 ⇒ 00:08:11.320 Uttam Kumaran: to wrap up… Kind of how I’m feeling.
25 00:08:11.630 ⇒ 00:08:12.370 Brylle Girang: Okay.
26 00:08:30.410 ⇒ 00:08:37.440 Uttam Kumaran: Well, on one hand, I feel like this month.
27 00:08:37.650 ⇒ 00:08:41.379 Uttam Kumaran: And it’s particularly this week and next week.
28 00:08:41.570 ⇒ 00:08:43.970 Uttam Kumaran: Are going to be two of the…
29 00:08:44.290 ⇒ 00:08:49.010 Uttam Kumaran: Most pivotal, like, weeks in our, like, kind of company history so far.
30 00:08:49.240 ⇒ 00:08:53.740 Uttam Kumaran: Like, I feel like… I didn’t even show you, but I guess I’ll…
31 00:08:53.900 ⇒ 00:08:57.279 Uttam Kumaran: Like, we have the open work, I got it, like, running.
32 00:08:57.880 ⇒ 00:09:02.810 Uttam Kumaran: I got it running yesterday.
33 00:09:03.370 ⇒ 00:09:06.599 Uttam Kumaran: And you can see it,
34 00:09:07.690 ⇒ 00:09:15.380 Uttam Kumaran: here, and I’ll be working on it more this weekend, but, we got this… we got the OpenWork clone to run.
35 00:09:15.790 ⇒ 00:09:24.100 Uttam Kumaran: I… I learned… I’ve, like, pushed so much stuff into the platform, like, we’re in a solid space. Looks like we’re about to close.
36 00:09:24.240 ⇒ 00:09:30.489 Uttam Kumaran: we just closed the Eden AI deal, which was, you know, about, like.
37 00:09:30.670 ⇒ 00:09:36.309 Uttam Kumaran: Another 30,000 deal. Element…
38 00:09:36.720 ⇒ 00:09:42.760 Uttam Kumaran: it looks like… I mean, it’s still, like, I literally texted her today, I’m like, we have to, like, move on.
39 00:09:43.020 ⇒ 00:09:46.419 Uttam Kumaran: if it’s not gonna work, and she’s like, no, no, no, I’m, like, still trying, like.
40 00:09:47.610 ⇒ 00:09:52.010 Uttam Kumaran: She’s like, it’s gonna happen, I just don’t know, like… So…
41 00:09:52.870 ⇒ 00:09:56.210 Uttam Kumaran: That’s still going on. That’s $90,000 a month.
42 00:09:56.360 ⇒ 00:10:02.919 Uttam Kumaran: We… you, I think, are, like, are… are doing really well, and I think… I think you are also…
43 00:10:03.040 ⇒ 00:10:16.250 Uttam Kumaran: like, very introspective, and I think… I know you may feel like the last week or two is, like, tough, and I know we didn’t get to spend time, but overall, like, I have a lot of belief in you and the role you have. I think Kayla is also doing, like.
44 00:10:16.400 ⇒ 00:10:18.070 Uttam Kumaran: Wonders, you know?
45 00:10:18.240 ⇒ 00:10:21.590 Uttam Kumaran: I… I also feel like Ricoh is doing well.
46 00:10:22.050 ⇒ 00:10:25.119 Uttam Kumaran: I think we are making some… we are…
47 00:10:25.420 ⇒ 00:10:29.480 Uttam Kumaran: Planning some really necessary changes on both the
48 00:10:29.630 ⇒ 00:10:33.450 Uttam Kumaran: People side across our two teams, which is, like, sales and delivery.
49 00:10:33.580 ⇒ 00:10:34.929 Uttam Kumaran: And I think…
50 00:10:35.070 ⇒ 00:10:48.420 Uttam Kumaran: like, I… I’m start… we’re starting to talk to, like, a lot of very large U.S. businesses about deploying our AI solution, you know, and I think you would agree with me that, like, I’ve never worked at a company where
51 00:10:48.950 ⇒ 00:10:54.319 Uttam Kumaran: access to this type of AI and, like, this type of platform exists, I mean, dude, we’re, like.
52 00:10:54.570 ⇒ 00:10:58.160 Uttam Kumaran: We’re doing, like, hours of work in, like, 10 seconds.
53 00:10:58.420 ⇒ 00:10:59.590 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah.
54 00:10:59.590 ⇒ 00:11:05.039 Uttam Kumaran: And for all those reasons, I feel like I’m, like, really thrilled.
55 00:11:05.220 ⇒ 00:11:20.649 Uttam Kumaran: You know, at the same time, while I say that, I’m also, like, we could be way, way better. Like, I think a lot of things could run better, I could do a better job, I could set people up for success more, other people can meet me, like, at that level of pressure.
56 00:11:21.090 ⇒ 00:11:22.200 Uttam Kumaran: And so…
57 00:11:22.340 ⇒ 00:11:27.650 Uttam Kumaran: both of those things are kind of how I feel, you know? Like, the job’s not finished, but like…
58 00:11:28.970 ⇒ 00:11:35.550 Uttam Kumaran: This is, like… it’s getting… like, we’re really getting a shot, like, dude, we’re like nobody, you know?
59 00:11:38.290 ⇒ 00:11:43.520 Uttam Kumaran: So that’s, like… I don’t know, that’s kind of, like, how I feel. What do you think?
60 00:11:44.110 ⇒ 00:11:47.030 Brylle Girang: Yeah, I’m really, really excited. I know that.
61 00:11:47.640 ⇒ 00:11:59.839 Brylle Girang: you mentioned the next weeks, the next months are going to be really pivotal, and I really feel that, and I’m really thankful that I’m in the room where these things are being discussed, especially earlier.
62 00:11:59.940 ⇒ 00:12:04.380 Brylle Girang: I just have one major concern, Otam, and…
63 00:12:04.810 ⇒ 00:12:08.879 Brylle Girang: I think this is, like, revolving on how…
64 00:12:09.110 ⇒ 00:12:13.229 Brylle Girang: You try to, like, solve things by yourself.
65 00:12:13.330 ⇒ 00:12:15.299 Brylle Girang: When other people fail.
66 00:12:15.600 ⇒ 00:12:25.049 Brylle Girang: I just think that that’s really dangerous, because there are two problems there. One, we don’t teach them to, like, be accountable.
67 00:12:25.400 ⇒ 00:12:28.550 Brylle Girang: And then two, this is not scalable.
68 00:12:28.800 ⇒ 00:12:36.209 Brylle Girang: We might be pulling this off when we have, like, two big clients, Element and CTA, but when we grow.
69 00:12:36.670 ⇒ 00:12:42.390 Brylle Girang: more and more, you won’t be able to do that. And then the company and the business is…
70 00:12:42.750 ⇒ 00:12:51.180 Brylle Girang: going to be in the mindset that if I fail, I’m going to be there. So, I really just want you and us to
71 00:12:51.410 ⇒ 00:12:54.710 Brylle Girang: Pivot away from that, and really push our people.
72 00:12:56.210 ⇒ 00:12:57.050 Brylle Girang: To really open.
73 00:12:57.590 ⇒ 00:13:02.069 Brylle Girang: You know, own the problems, own the solution, and then just ask for help if needed.
74 00:13:03.170 ⇒ 00:13:03.790 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
75 00:13:04.460 ⇒ 00:13:14.260 Uttam Kumaran: I hear you. I’m willing to do it. I think you know I’m willing to do it. I don’t… it’s not my intention to mic… I’m not, like… I have no interest in micromanaging, dude, like, I just wanna, like…
76 00:13:14.360 ⇒ 00:13:28.050 Uttam Kumaran: relax and do AI stuff, and sell, and make sure everybody’s happy, and pay people more, like… and I know you’re not saying that I’m, like… I’m sure you’ve met people that are more micromanaging than I have, I’ve also known that, but…
77 00:13:28.810 ⇒ 00:13:35.879 Uttam Kumaran: I don’t know, it’s sometimes tough, dude, like, these are, like, this is, like, our livelihood on the line, on some of these accounts, and…
78 00:13:36.450 ⇒ 00:13:40.530 Uttam Kumaran: at the last minute, they’re, like, messing it up, and I don’t know what to do, you know?
79 00:13:40.880 ⇒ 00:13:41.820 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah. So…
80 00:13:42.830 ⇒ 00:13:52.699 Brylle Girang: Yeah, totally understand. It’s because, you know, if you don’t jump in, then we have a bigger risk than them not learning, right? So…
81 00:13:53.750 ⇒ 00:13:59.089 Brylle Girang: I do agree it’s going to be more of a behavioral and a cultural shift.
82 00:13:59.240 ⇒ 00:14:04.799 Brylle Girang: upon our people, And that’s something that we need to push them.
83 00:14:05.790 ⇒ 00:14:13.620 Brylle Girang: Because, yeah, they don’t ask for help, and then at the last minute, and I’m also guilty of this, right? But asking for help at the last minute.
84 00:14:13.810 ⇒ 00:14:18.130 Brylle Girang: That forces us to jump in, and that’s something that we needed to fix.
85 00:14:19.340 ⇒ 00:14:31.050 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, so I guess play… play this out with me. Let’s say Monday, I’m a brand new, fresh person. I say, okay, I’m not gonna help until I get asked. And I stayed on a Monday meeting.
86 00:14:31.890 ⇒ 00:14:34.070 Uttam Kumaran: Play it out for me, like, how should, like…
87 00:14:34.360 ⇒ 00:14:39.910 Uttam Kumaran: Tell me how it goes, or like, yeah. Like, tell me what I… is that… or is that your recommendation, you know?
88 00:14:40.800 ⇒ 00:14:42.759 Brylle Girang: I’m not saying that we should, like.
89 00:14:42.870 ⇒ 00:14:50.900 Brylle Girang: pivot immediately by Monday, but if I’m thinking about it, you know, I would like us to position ourselves into more of a…
90 00:14:52.440 ⇒ 00:14:54.419 Brylle Girang: how do you call this?
91 00:14:55.690 ⇒ 00:14:59.740 Brylle Girang: I want us to position ourselves into more…
92 00:15:01.220 ⇒ 00:15:07.240 Brylle Girang: in the RASAI chart, I’m looking at it, we should be… the ones… dot R.
93 00:15:08.780 ⇒ 00:15:13.909 Brylle Girang: An I, yes, exactly, because I think that’s something that we are also missing.
94 00:15:14.240 ⇒ 00:15:22.470 Brylle Girang: And then they should be more of the A and the R at the same time, right? I think what we’re missing right now is…
95 00:15:22.700 ⇒ 00:15:25.760 Brylle Girang: Commitments are commitments, rather.
96 00:15:26.030 ⇒ 00:15:32.270 Brylle Girang: We tell stuff, we commit to it, and then we don’t get back to it. For example, the weekly goals.
97 00:15:32.480 ⇒ 00:15:35.159 Brylle Girang: That we have set for this week.
98 00:15:35.860 ⇒ 00:15:37.059 Brylle Girang: We didn’t discuss that.
99 00:15:39.740 ⇒ 00:15:42.789 Brylle Girang: And we might discuss it on Monday, but that’s already too late.
100 00:15:42.960 ⇒ 00:15:43.780 Brylle Girang: Right?
101 00:15:43.780 ⇒ 00:15:44.750 Uttam Kumaran: I agree, yeah.
102 00:15:45.540 ⇒ 00:15:53.870 Brylle Girang: We shouldn’t be the ones bringing it up every day, too. They should be proactive enough to bring those up.
103 00:15:54.530 ⇒ 00:15:55.500 Brylle Girang: So…
104 00:15:57.500 ⇒ 00:15:58.460 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, I’m with you.
105 00:15:58.460 ⇒ 00:15:59.370 Brylle Girang: Those are my thoughts, yeah.
106 00:15:59.370 ⇒ 00:16:06.179 Uttam Kumaran: I, I think… my one thing is that I just feel like until…
107 00:16:06.430 ⇒ 00:16:09.140 Uttam Kumaran: Kayla came, I had no choice.
108 00:16:09.300 ⇒ 00:16:16.510 Uttam Kumaran: Because ultimately, and this is, like, just the situation, we can’t make people changes if we don’t have other people.
109 00:16:16.650 ⇒ 00:16:17.460 Uttam Kumaran: Right?
110 00:16:17.780 ⇒ 00:16:24.480 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah. And so one thing I have to ask you is, like, what’s better? Is it better for me to take over? Is it… so what I think…
111 00:16:24.920 ⇒ 00:16:31.419 Uttam Kumaran: One thing I think we should decide is, like, how many interventions I mean, ultimately.
112 00:16:31.660 ⇒ 00:16:35.829 Uttam Kumaran: Clarence told me the KPI that maybe we should consider is interventions.
113 00:16:35.970 ⇒ 00:16:37.100 Brylle Girang: Yeah,
114 00:16:37.480 ⇒ 00:16:44.550 Uttam Kumaran: And in the beginning, I said, I don’t know, like, that doesn’t seem right, and, like, I’ve been talking to you, maybe that’s it, and we say, hey.
115 00:16:44.680 ⇒ 00:16:46.219 Uttam Kumaran: You’re the CSO.
116 00:16:46.350 ⇒ 00:16:49.280 Uttam Kumaran: On default, this is your second intervention.
117 00:16:50.050 ⇒ 00:16:53.009 Uttam Kumaran: You make a third intervention, and you’re off of the client.
118 00:16:55.910 ⇒ 00:17:04.250 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense to me, because if you need to, like, jump in every week, every month for a client.
119 00:17:04.250 ⇒ 00:17:05.690 Uttam Kumaran: I might as well run it.
120 00:17:05.690 ⇒ 00:17:09.230 Brylle Girang: Yes, exactly. What is the CSO even doing, right?
121 00:17:10.190 ⇒ 00:17:11.829 Uttam Kumaran: So they moved to Workstream Owner.
122 00:17:13.430 ⇒ 00:17:14.109 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
123 00:17:18.240 ⇒ 00:17:18.970 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
124 00:17:19.750 ⇒ 00:17:21.250 Uttam Kumaran: I mean, I’m with you, dude.
125 00:17:21.619 ⇒ 00:17:25.060 Uttam Kumaran: I just, like… I just have, like…
126 00:17:25.369 ⇒ 00:17:27.849 Uttam Kumaran: I really don’t like us to fail.
127 00:17:28.109 ⇒ 00:17:30.920 Uttam Kumaran: And I would rather cover than fail.
128 00:17:31.030 ⇒ 00:17:38.369 Uttam Kumaran: Because failing is not… I don’t give… I don’t really care about our people admitting. I care about clients winning.
129 00:17:38.570 ⇒ 00:17:38.900 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
130 00:17:38.900 ⇒ 00:17:51.210 Uttam Kumaran: That’s all I care about. So it’s not… I don’t care about proving a point to somebody, or letting them fail just because I’m, like… we need to have, like, this person needs a… needs to learn, or have a learning moment. Dude.
131 00:17:51.470 ⇒ 00:17:53.449 Uttam Kumaran: Learn on your own time, like…
132 00:17:53.450 ⇒ 00:17:53.920 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
133 00:17:53.920 ⇒ 00:17:55.639 Uttam Kumaran: Or, like, I don’t know, or like…
134 00:17:56.190 ⇒ 00:18:06.409 Uttam Kumaran: you’re actively… like, what, you’re gonna drop it, and then what? Like, the company? Like, what happens to the company? What happens to all these people working? Like, it doesn’t work like that, you know?
135 00:18:06.600 ⇒ 00:18:07.660 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah.
136 00:18:08.410 ⇒ 00:18:15.999 Brylle Girang: Yeah, that’s… that’s the dilemma that we’re facing. Like, we want people to learn, but we can’t risk… we can trace the fear.
137 00:18:16.000 ⇒ 00:18:21.689 Uttam Kumaran: Some people are learning. Like, I think Amber learns, I think Jasmine learns, I think…
138 00:18:21.910 ⇒ 00:18:25.489 Uttam Kumaran: Like, Mustafa learns. I think Demi learns.
139 00:18:25.780 ⇒ 00:18:33.680 Uttam Kumaran: And Zoran learns, like… There’s some people who I don’t call… have to call every… Day, you know?
140 00:18:34.340 ⇒ 00:18:35.950 Uttam Kumaran: And so…
141 00:18:37.090 ⇒ 00:18:42.450 Uttam Kumaran: I don’t know, I’m sort of just thinking, I’m like, okay, is there a pattern? Am I missing something? Like…
142 00:18:43.020 ⇒ 00:18:45.359 Uttam Kumaran: You know, kind of like, what is it, you know?
143 00:18:48.620 ⇒ 00:18:52.149 Uttam Kumaran: I’m not… I’m not sure what it is.
144 00:18:52.350 ⇒ 00:18:55.040 Uttam Kumaran: But I hear you, and I agree with you.
145 00:18:55.190 ⇒ 00:18:57.959 Uttam Kumaran: And I know this, you know that I already know that, like…
146 00:18:58.400 ⇒ 00:18:59.090 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
147 00:18:59.090 ⇒ 00:19:02.810 Uttam Kumaran: I’m, like, coming in, it’s not what I intend to do, but dude, there’s, like.
148 00:19:03.200 ⇒ 00:19:11.970 Uttam Kumaran: are… we are not, like, we are not through the finish line. This whole movie can end right now, like, in a few days.
149 00:19:12.440 ⇒ 00:19:19.019 Uttam Kumaran: the whole movie can turn off, and I don’t think other people realize that, but I’ve been running the business
150 00:19:19.660 ⇒ 00:19:22.129 Uttam Kumaran: That’s how fast things can change.
151 00:19:22.130 ⇒ 00:19:22.540 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
152 00:19:22.540 ⇒ 00:19:27.850 Uttam Kumaran: So… Ultimately, it’s sort of why I tried to propose this new role.
153 00:19:28.320 ⇒ 00:19:35.450 Uttam Kumaran: Because this is also what my… my feeling is, and this is… it’s no fault of yours, but I think because…
154 00:19:35.770 ⇒ 00:19:44.000 Uttam Kumaran: and again, it’s partly, like, an emotional thing, partly, I don’t know, but I think because you’re new to the data and AI world.
155 00:19:44.270 ⇒ 00:19:48.289 Uttam Kumaran: And I think because… You’re also not, like.
156 00:19:48.640 ⇒ 00:19:59.730 Uttam Kumaran: like, and neither am I by many means, but, like, I think because you’re early in your career, I think there are people here who just don’t listen.
157 00:19:59.920 ⇒ 00:20:00.390 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
158 00:20:00.390 ⇒ 00:20:08.820 Uttam Kumaran: And I am worried that no matter what you try, no matter how well-intentioned you are, it’s not going to work.
159 00:20:08.960 ⇒ 00:20:25.650 Uttam Kumaran: And so that’s why I’m like… Okay, okay. And I don’t mean… I really, like, you could tell I’m… I’m trying to be very precise with my words, because it is nothing in your control, like, I think you are growing extremely fast, but you are also new to this world a little bit, you know?
160 00:20:25.770 ⇒ 00:20:30.439 Uttam Kumaran: And so… I’m also in… by, like…
161 00:20:30.660 ⇒ 00:20:39.219 Uttam Kumaran: in being aware of that, I’m like, okay, am I setting you up for success, you know? Am I asking too much for you to do, whereas…
162 00:20:39.490 ⇒ 00:20:44.399 Uttam Kumaran: do we need that, like, third role? And that’s sort of, like, what my proposal kind of was, you know?
163 00:20:44.780 ⇒ 00:20:50.030 Uttam Kumaran: And… I’m wondering what you think about that, what you think about what I just said, like, yeah.
164 00:20:50.870 ⇒ 00:20:59.969 Brylle Girang: No, yeah, I totally agree with that, and I already felt that with them, like… and that’s also one of the main reasons why I’m really trying to upskill, because…
165 00:21:00.250 ⇒ 00:21:14.740 Uttam Kumaran: Yes, yes. And I also, I told people that, like, you are gonna fill in those gaps. Like, I’m so confident you’re gonna learn SQL, and you’re gonna be able to speak the language, it’s just not right immediately now, which is just the situation, you know?
166 00:21:15.550 ⇒ 00:21:25.069 Brylle Girang: Yeah, it makes sense, you know? It’s really hard to, like, trust and follow people who you know doesn’t know the things that you’re doing, and I think that’s what some people are.
167 00:21:25.070 ⇒ 00:21:26.290 Uttam Kumaran: We’re super engineers.
168 00:21:26.450 ⇒ 00:21:27.930 Brylle Girang: Exactly, exactly.
169 00:21:27.930 ⇒ 00:21:28.430 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
170 00:21:28.430 ⇒ 00:21:39.080 Brylle Girang: It’s going to be hard, you know? It’s going to be hard to follow someone that, you know, doesn’t even know what you’re actually doing, and respect is not that easily earned.
171 00:21:39.200 ⇒ 00:21:41.990 Brylle Girang: So, I’m totally aware of that, and I.
172 00:21:41.990 ⇒ 00:21:42.620 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
173 00:21:42.940 ⇒ 00:21:45.150 Brylle Girang: you know, I don’t take it against me, and I actually.
174 00:21:45.150 ⇒ 00:21:45.960 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, okay.
175 00:21:46.830 ⇒ 00:21:47.390 Brylle Girang: Okay.
176 00:21:47.390 ⇒ 00:21:48.730 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, good, good, good.
177 00:21:49.550 ⇒ 00:21:56.480 Uttam Kumaran: I mean, I wouldn’t… I… I’m different, like, I don’t like that, but as you can tell, that’s why I went and learned
178 00:21:56.610 ⇒ 00:22:01.650 Uttam Kumaran: Like, I don’t… I didn’t like how business people looked at me as an engineer.
179 00:22:02.290 ⇒ 00:22:02.830 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
180 00:22:02.830 ⇒ 00:22:06.879 Uttam Kumaran: And so I went and learned business. Like, I just started my own business. Now…
181 00:22:07.280 ⇒ 00:22:09.039 Uttam Kumaran: I’m a business person, I guess.
182 00:22:09.160 ⇒ 00:22:14.020 Uttam Kumaran: You know? Like, and now I can do both. And so those people…
183 00:22:14.320 ⇒ 00:22:21.250 Uttam Kumaran: can suck it, like, I can’t do it, like, whatever. You know, I’m a lot more, like, emotional, it’s just who I am.
184 00:22:21.420 ⇒ 00:22:24.950 Uttam Kumaran: But I appreciate that about you, like, you’re very aware.
185 00:22:25.130 ⇒ 00:22:31.589 Uttam Kumaran: And so that’s why I’m like, okay, maybe we do need this, like… and I want you to talk to him as well, but maybe we do need this, like.
186 00:22:31.910 ⇒ 00:22:35.600 Uttam Kumaran: other role… Someone who’s an enforcer.
187 00:22:35.830 ⇒ 00:22:41.669 Uttam Kumaran: Comes from, like, a more senior consulting background, and is part of, like, our team with me and you.
188 00:22:41.830 ⇒ 00:22:45.839 Uttam Kumaran: I also know that you’re sort of getting a sense for the business, so, like.
189 00:22:46.020 ⇒ 00:22:53.490 Uttam Kumaran: You also tell me, like, you still, like… and this is where I think I want to have one part of our conversation talk about the platform, but…
190 00:22:53.780 ⇒ 00:22:58.560 Uttam Kumaran: I also think you’re seeing that, like, you can play a part at this company in many different ways, you know?
191 00:23:00.040 ⇒ 00:23:04.589 Brylle Girang: Yeah, definitely, and that’s also one of the main reasons why I really don’t care, like, if people don’t.
192 00:23:04.590 ⇒ 00:23:05.670 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, yeah.
193 00:23:06.090 ⇒ 00:23:13.200 Brylle Girang: there are lots of stuff to do, there are lots of stuff that I can contribute to, and there are lots of opportunities.
194 00:23:14.420 ⇒ 00:23:15.190 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah. Yeah.
195 00:23:16.040 ⇒ 00:23:19.549 Uttam Kumaran: And I don’t think they don’t respect you, dude, I think they just don’t, like…
196 00:23:19.840 ⇒ 00:23:26.290 Uttam Kumaran: they don’t respect what you’re saying, you know? It’s like, it’s not like… people here aren’t mean at all.
197 00:23:26.740 ⇒ 00:23:31.840 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I mean, I wouldn’t say that it’s fear, but, you know, there’s, like, no.
198 00:23:31.840 ⇒ 00:23:32.759 Uttam Kumaran: There’s no fear.
199 00:23:32.760 ⇒ 00:23:36.539 Brylle Girang: Yeah, there’s no fear of the consequence if they don’t follow what I’m saying.
200 00:23:36.850 ⇒ 00:23:38.120 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
201 00:23:38.120 ⇒ 00:23:38.640 Brylle Girang: That’s…
202 00:23:41.630 ⇒ 00:23:42.230 Uttam Kumaran: Fair.
203 00:23:42.760 ⇒ 00:23:48.279 Brylle Girang: Yeah, and I think one thing that I… that was playing on my mind is that if…
204 00:23:48.880 ⇒ 00:23:56.579 Brylle Girang: If we ever have more customers that revolves around the customer service field, I would love to, like, get the shot.
205 00:23:56.580 ⇒ 00:23:57.130 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
206 00:23:57.310 ⇒ 00:23:58.110 Brylle Girang: To, to, to match.
207 00:23:58.110 ⇒ 00:23:59.240 Uttam Kumaran: 100%.
208 00:23:59.240 ⇒ 00:24:00.880 Brylle Girang: An account like that.
209 00:24:00.880 ⇒ 00:24:13.189 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, this is where, like, I think what you’re gonna find is that it’s what I said today, dude, unless you’re producing, or sourcing, or preventing churn, or growing accounts.
210 00:24:13.190 ⇒ 00:24:13.830 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
211 00:24:14.130 ⇒ 00:24:16.339 Uttam Kumaran: Our business is gonna revolve that, like…
212 00:24:16.800 ⇒ 00:24:22.410 Uttam Kumaran: they’re… Rico may be the only person in operations, but technically he’s presenting people churn, right?
213 00:24:22.620 ⇒ 00:24:23.110 Brylle Girang: Here.
214 00:24:23.110 ⇒ 00:24:28.359 Uttam Kumaran: Like, there’s all these ways to frame it, but there’s a lot of people in this business that all they do is…
215 00:24:28.540 ⇒ 00:24:32.710 Uttam Kumaran: They just deliver on revenue, and that’s not enough.
216 00:24:33.000 ⇒ 00:24:43.729 Uttam Kumaran: And so, I also want to give you a shot, like, I… if we already didn’t have plans for ABC, you would have had that, you know? So, it’s okay, like, we’re gonna get other opportunities, I promise you.
217 00:24:44.140 ⇒ 00:24:50.129 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, and that also gives me, you know, the opportunity to, like, prove myself, and then maybe…
218 00:24:50.130 ⇒ 00:24:50.770 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
219 00:24:51.260 ⇒ 00:24:53.579 Brylle Girang: Shh, show the others, right?
220 00:24:54.080 ⇒ 00:24:55.430 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, AI, yes, yes.
221 00:24:59.330 ⇒ 00:25:00.210 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
222 00:25:00.430 ⇒ 00:25:02.849 Uttam Kumaran: So tell me what you think about this other role.
223 00:25:06.970 ⇒ 00:25:15.280 Brylle Girang: When we were, like, talking about that specific role, my previous mentor was actually the first person that comes to mind.
224 00:25:15.390 ⇒ 00:25:18.819 Brylle Girang: Like, it’s… I… if I’ve… if I’m going to…
225 00:25:19.810 ⇒ 00:25:29.979 Brylle Girang: like, put an adject… put an adjective on that role, that’s going to just be accountability, right? You and Robert are the ones, like.
226 00:25:30.180 ⇒ 00:25:36.850 Brylle Girang: Trying to grow the business, and then this other role will be the one who’s going to push accountability.
227 00:25:36.990 ⇒ 00:25:40.340 Brylle Girang: Across… across the board. That’s how I’m seeing it.
228 00:25:40.490 ⇒ 00:25:43.829 Brylle Girang: And it’s going to be really important.
229 00:25:44.860 ⇒ 00:25:57.990 Brylle Girang: as you can see, that’s something that we’re really having a hard time doing. You can chase around people, you can chase people around, you can… you can follow up on them every hour, every day.
230 00:25:57.990 ⇒ 00:26:06.600 Brylle Girang: So we need someone to fill that gap. Well, not going to be every hour, because that’s going to be dangerous, but someone on, like, that
231 00:26:07.020 ⇒ 00:26:09.249 Brylle Girang: That sense of responsibility.
232 00:26:09.730 ⇒ 00:26:11.030 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, someone that’s, like.
233 00:26:11.460 ⇒ 00:26:20.690 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, there’s a chase, and there’s, like, oh my gosh, I don’t go to this meeting and have something, I’m gonna get, like… basically gonna get fired, or, like, something else is gonna happen, you know?
234 00:26:20.690 ⇒ 00:26:21.140 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
235 00:26:21.140 ⇒ 00:26:21.540 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
236 00:26:21.540 ⇒ 00:26:22.080 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
237 00:26:22.230 ⇒ 00:26:25.950 Brylle Girang: At least there’s one person actually looking at that side.
238 00:26:26.070 ⇒ 00:26:26.700 Brylle Girang: Of the business.
239 00:26:26.700 ⇒ 00:26:27.280 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
240 00:26:27.490 ⇒ 00:26:27.940 Brylle Girang: So…
241 00:26:27.940 ⇒ 00:26:29.560 Uttam Kumaran: I mean, what’s your mentor doing?
242 00:26:30.650 ⇒ 00:26:35.359 Brylle Girang: I was actually going to message him.
243 00:26:35.530 ⇒ 00:26:36.900 Uttam Kumaran: No, why don’t you message him.
244 00:26:37.110 ⇒ 00:26:42.950 Brylle Girang: I think he’s pretty loyal, so I don’t think he will… he will try, but I’m.
245 00:26:42.950 ⇒ 00:26:43.460 Uttam Kumaran: Ask him.
246 00:26:44.040 ⇒ 00:26:45.920 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, we’ll definitely… And if not today.
247 00:26:45.920 ⇒ 00:26:47.279 Uttam Kumaran: Then maybe next year.
248 00:26:47.610 ⇒ 00:26:51.319 Brylle Girang: Yeah, he… the Director of Growth,
249 00:26:51.320 ⇒ 00:26:51.910 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
250 00:26:52.120 ⇒ 00:26:58.179 Brylle Girang: His main superpower is really… Growing companies from 100 people to 1,000.
251 00:26:58.390 ⇒ 00:26:59.360 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
252 00:26:59.980 ⇒ 00:27:07.499 Brylle Girang: And his main, how do you call this? He was the most critical person that I ever.
253 00:27:07.990 ⇒ 00:27:13.749 Uttam Kumaran: Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But then what made you, like, get over how critical he was?
254 00:27:15.080 ⇒ 00:27:21.890 Brylle Girang: He’s… he’s really good at setting the direction, like…
255 00:27:22.110 ⇒ 00:27:24.950 Brylle Girang: He’s really good at setting the why, and he was.
256 00:27:24.950 ⇒ 00:27:25.490 Uttam Kumaran: Gotcha.
257 00:27:25.490 ⇒ 00:27:30.349 Brylle Girang: the person who introduced me to, like, starting with Y every time.
258 00:27:30.350 ⇒ 00:27:32.069 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
259 00:27:32.250 ⇒ 00:27:34.479 Brylle Girang: And that made the feedback
260 00:27:34.980 ⇒ 00:27:46.969 Brylle Girang: the critical feedback really easy to absorb, because you know where it’s coming from, you know why it’s being given to you, and I think that that contributes to, like, my level of grit when it comes to feedback.
261 00:27:46.970 ⇒ 00:27:47.640 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
262 00:27:47.640 ⇒ 00:27:48.240 Brylle Girang: to me.
263 00:27:49.380 ⇒ 00:27:53.470 Brylle Girang: But he… I’m going to message him, see if it’s interested, and…
264 00:27:53.470 ⇒ 00:27:56.420 Uttam Kumaran: It’s okay, don’t even put any pressure, dude, it’s more of, like…
265 00:27:56.600 ⇒ 00:28:01.990 Uttam Kumaran: say, hey, I’m loving this… you could just say whatever you feel like. It doesn’t… for me, anytime there’s, like…
266 00:28:02.330 ⇒ 00:28:07.360 Uttam Kumaran: anytime you’re… there’s someone in your life that you would say, wow, I think they could be good for the company.
267 00:28:08.110 ⇒ 00:28:10.330 Uttam Kumaran: Worth putting them in touch with me.
268 00:28:10.680 ⇒ 00:28:11.110 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
269 00:28:11.720 ⇒ 00:28:23.779 Uttam Kumaran: A lot of people I talk to for 2 years before they come work for us, and… because they see me, they meet me one day, and I say, hey, I’m doing this, they’re like, okay, that’s cute, and then they see us 2 years later, and they’re like, wow.
270 00:28:24.100 ⇒ 00:28:25.850 Uttam Kumaran: I’m at the same job, and…
271 00:28:26.540 ⇒ 00:28:30.859 Uttam Kumaran: Now you have a team of, like, 25 people, and then I’m like, yeah, you still… you can still join.
272 00:28:31.000 ⇒ 00:28:34.100 Uttam Kumaran: And, you know… They do.
273 00:28:35.570 ⇒ 00:28:36.940 Brylle Girang: I think.
274 00:28:36.940 ⇒ 00:28:37.420 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
275 00:28:37.630 ⇒ 00:28:47.949 Brylle Girang: all of the people that I have talked to with Brainforge, their origin stories are mostly the same. Uta messaged me, Uta messaged my manager, and here I am.
276 00:28:50.180 ⇒ 00:28:53.960 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, or fortunately, it’s getting more formal now, but…
277 00:28:53.960 ⇒ 00:28:54.630 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
278 00:28:54.630 ⇒ 00:29:00.240 Uttam Kumaran: You know, we’re still… I’m… we are a group of people that are the exception, you know, and that’s what we try to be.
279 00:29:02.430 ⇒ 00:29:03.200 Brylle Girang: Exactly.
280 00:29:05.670 ⇒ 00:29:14.020 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, so, I mean, yeah, give me… tell me… tell me where you want the conversation to go, and I want to talk about the platform at some point, so you tell me, what do you need from me?
281 00:29:14.650 ⇒ 00:29:27.969 Brylle Girang: Yeah, I just want us to, like, ponder, and I think I’m going also to ponder on this during the weekend, but what would be our goals for next week, since I would like us to focus on the standards?
282 00:29:28.130 ⇒ 00:29:38.210 Brylle Girang: First, before we build and before we ship anything. I think that’s one thing that I miss. I tried building, and I tried shipping a lot of stuff, and then…
283 00:29:38.210 ⇒ 00:29:38.650 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
284 00:29:38.650 ⇒ 00:29:40.330 Brylle Girang: There’s no standards set for it.
285 00:29:40.590 ⇒ 00:29:44.919 Brylle Girang: And so, it was not… it was not how I wanted it to be, right?
286 00:29:45.150 ⇒ 00:29:45.990 Brylle Girang: Yes. So…
287 00:29:46.180 ⇒ 00:29:57.289 Brylle Girang: I think all… the main goal that I want us to finish at really next week is just to set the standard, at least for one section of the business, the CSO or the SLs.
288 00:29:57.390 ⇒ 00:29:59.830 Brylle Girang: et cetera, and that should be the CSOs.
289 00:30:00.100 ⇒ 00:30:06.469 Brylle Girang: But yeah, I think I’m going to ponder more on it over the weekend, and then let’s see how it goes.
290 00:30:07.030 ⇒ 00:30:07.690 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
291 00:30:08.290 ⇒ 00:30:19.739 Uttam Kumaran: I think that’s a good plan, don’t partner too much. Just text me if you have any ideas. I am, I don’t usually work on Saturday, but I will be working this weekend to try to get everything done, but…
292 00:30:20.330 ⇒ 00:30:23.720 Uttam Kumaran: And Clarence is gonna come visit me, we’re having a picnic.
293 00:30:24.260 ⇒ 00:30:25.020 Brylle Girang: Oh, wow.
294 00:30:25.020 ⇒ 00:30:29.779 Uttam Kumaran: So, he’s just… he’s about an hour and a half away, so I invited him to come.
295 00:30:30.070 ⇒ 00:30:33.670 Uttam Kumaran: Try not to talk about too much work, but we will talk probably a lot about work.
296 00:30:35.460 ⇒ 00:30:36.400 Uttam Kumaran: But…
297 00:30:36.820 ⇒ 00:30:44.100 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, I think that’s a good idea, and what I want… what I want you to try to do also is, like, your feedback, even today, is…
298 00:30:44.270 ⇒ 00:30:47.810 Uttam Kumaran: really, really helpful, you know, and I’m interested in more of that.
299 00:30:47.880 ⇒ 00:31:04.989 Uttam Kumaran: Like, I don’t… I want you to, like… not a lot of people in the company give me feedback, which is a shame, because, like, the only the people… like, Amber gives me a lot of feedback. It’s helpful. Ask her, I’ve never been like, you’re wrong. I’m always like, okay, I hear you, like, you’re right, or like…
300 00:31:05.060 ⇒ 00:31:09.649 Uttam Kumaran: there’s a way we could have done this better or communicated, so… I need you to give more of that.
301 00:31:09.970 ⇒ 00:31:10.500 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
302 00:31:10.500 ⇒ 00:31:27.060 Uttam Kumaran: I also need to hear you more, like, I think you have a lot to say, dude, and I think the people in that leadership meeting also have a lot to say, and you need to interrupt, and you need to say what you feel. Otherwise, you are not going to get your way. The company will go to the people in that group that speak.
303 00:31:27.110 ⇒ 00:31:30.630 Uttam Kumaran: And drive and deliver, as you can see.
304 00:31:30.720 ⇒ 00:31:49.160 Uttam Kumaran: You know, so I want you to really, like, don’t just… because I can do, like, yes, I can do a lot, but I can’t be the only one vouching for you and your success. Same with Clarence. You have to look around that room and say, how can I convince all these people to be, like.
305 00:31:49.410 ⇒ 00:31:57.189 Uttam Kumaran: okay, like, I’ve delivered. And you may not even work with all of them, but you have to find a way. And I’m telling you, it’s like you’re… it’s just in your…
306 00:31:57.380 ⇒ 00:32:12.779 Uttam Kumaran: If you have it, like, so you just have to show them, but you… one easy way is in those meetings, you find a way to insert yourself and share how you feel. Don’t… you don’t need to… you don’t need to agree, and as you can tell, that’s not a meeting where everybody agrees.
307 00:32:12.780 ⇒ 00:32:13.920 Brylle Girang: Yeah, but…
308 00:32:13.930 ⇒ 00:32:25.309 Uttam Kumaran: I want to find a day where I do the least amount of talking. Maybe one day, but I want to find that day, and I want you to contribute to that. Like, I have a very similar feedback from Ferrico.
309 00:32:25.360 ⇒ 00:32:43.079 Uttam Kumaran: And I think it’s something that, unfortunately, or fortunately, everybody I work from the Philippines is, like, shy like this, and I think it’s a cultural thing, and I think people from Asian cultures broadly feel like this, and I want you to push against that. Even if you don’t agree with me, I want you to…
310 00:32:43.260 ⇒ 00:32:49.389 Uttam Kumaran: I want you to, like, feel… I want you to internalize that and consistently fight the urge to stay silent.
311 00:32:49.550 ⇒ 00:32:54.859 Uttam Kumaran: You know? If you stay silent, this will not… you will… this company will run over you.
312 00:32:55.060 ⇒ 00:33:05.479 Uttam Kumaran: You know? Yeah, I know. And I think you know that, and you’re… I brought… like, I told the team that I feel like you have what it takes to do
313 00:33:05.560 ⇒ 00:33:07.969 Uttam Kumaran: Like, be in that room and do things.
314 00:33:08.030 ⇒ 00:33:17.520 Uttam Kumaran: even if I don’t… like, for me, I’m like, one way or another, you will figure it out, or you will not figure it out. So I’m like, okay, I think you… I would like you to be there and figure it out.
315 00:33:17.560 ⇒ 00:33:35.259 Uttam Kumaran: So, you need to swim. In those meetings, you need to come and be like, okay, I have some… I have a perspective, I have something to say. As you can tell today, like, it was… I just wanted to talk about what’s on my mind. We talked about a lot of topics. You have so much to say, you have to say it, you know? That’s your influence, you know?
316 00:33:35.610 ⇒ 00:33:36.190 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
317 00:33:36.580 ⇒ 00:33:37.740 Brylle Girang: Yeah, that’s how.
318 00:33:37.740 ⇒ 00:33:38.460 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, it’s…
319 00:33:38.580 ⇒ 00:33:47.000 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, you’re never gonna get dinged for that. In fact, people around you don’t speak enough, and it’s gonna change pretty fast for them. Like…
320 00:33:47.200 ⇒ 00:33:52.980 Uttam Kumaran: You’re not gonna be in the room with leadership if you’re not gonna speak and try to, like.
321 00:33:53.230 ⇒ 00:33:57.779 Uttam Kumaran: Have something to say, and get something done, and defend the client, defend our team, like…
322 00:33:57.890 ⇒ 00:34:00.200 Uttam Kumaran: That’s what it’s… that’s what it takes, you know?
323 00:34:00.420 ⇒ 00:34:00.930 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
324 00:34:01.400 ⇒ 00:34:02.620 Uttam Kumaran: Yes, yes.
325 00:34:03.490 ⇒ 00:34:04.580 Brylle Girang: Thank you, thank you.
326 00:34:04.580 ⇒ 00:34:05.599 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
327 00:34:08.650 ⇒ 00:34:14.680 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, cool. I think the one thing I wanted to share is I’m also working on goals for the platform.
328 00:34:15.040 ⇒ 00:34:20.459 Uttam Kumaran: I think one decision we kind of have to make is, like, yeah, like, how do we think about this next quarter? Like…
329 00:34:21.730 ⇒ 00:34:23.820 Uttam Kumaran: I’m… I’m, like…
330 00:34:24.690 ⇒ 00:34:31.880 Uttam Kumaran: do we have, like, I’m working on, like, a formal roadmap. I think I’m gonna take the remaining time of Casey and Sam.
331 00:34:32.020 ⇒ 00:34:34.569 Uttam Kumaran: And have them help me build some things.
332 00:34:35.280 ⇒ 00:34:41.419 Uttam Kumaran: I’m also, like… We need someone to come, like, drive adoption and training.
333 00:34:41.429 ⇒ 00:34:42.059 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
334 00:34:42.420 ⇒ 00:34:47.800 Uttam Kumaran: You know, and I’m like, okay, I’m kind of thinking through what is this whole process anyways.
335 00:34:47.940 ⇒ 00:34:52.960 Uttam Kumaran: But, like… So, kind of, couple things is, yeah, I’m working on, sort of, what is our, like.
336 00:34:53.250 ⇒ 00:34:57.780 Uttam Kumaran: What is the platforms team perspective, and when can people use the platform team?
337 00:34:58.010 ⇒ 00:35:07.730 Uttam Kumaran: I want people to use the platform, but also request features. So, I don’t know, I’m, like, I’m interested in, like, your perspective, I’m interested in, like.
338 00:35:08.670 ⇒ 00:35:15.370 Uttam Kumaran: where you think you can fit in. I think the goal is going to be focused. And so, in the areas where I’m really broad, I think
339 00:35:15.920 ⇒ 00:35:20.980 Uttam Kumaran: Maybe, like, you should just be focused on, like, one team, or, like.
340 00:35:21.420 ⇒ 00:35:26.239 Uttam Kumaran: I don’t know, I’m sort of just, like, riffing and trying to think about what’s best. You know, we have a lot of…
341 00:35:26.680 ⇒ 00:35:35.279 Uttam Kumaran: I created several projects for the platform team, they’re all in linear, you can go check them out, and we’re gonna execute on all of that, and…
342 00:35:35.690 ⇒ 00:35:40.199 Uttam Kumaran: I’m gonna sort of lead and try to push those things through. I’m also gonna do a lot of it myself.
343 00:35:40.410 ⇒ 00:35:45.160 Uttam Kumaran: I think it’s gonna be the first sort of, like, semi-autonomous team at Brainforge.
344 00:35:45.490 ⇒ 00:35:50.470 Uttam Kumaran: I think, like, half… of the stuff that that team puts out is gonna be fully AI.
345 00:35:50.630 ⇒ 00:35:53.759 Uttam Kumaran: Meaning, like, it will be built.
346 00:35:54.550 ⇒ 00:36:01.119 Uttam Kumaran: by AI, and then at some point, it’ll be… the idea will also be AI. And I think we’re gonna prove that this quarter.
347 00:36:01.940 ⇒ 00:36:08.609 Uttam Kumaran: But for everything that that may sound really, really cool, it’s also, like, not the main project.
348 00:36:09.260 ⇒ 00:36:13.760 Uttam Kumaran: the main project is the delivery and the happiness of clients, you know? And so…
349 00:36:13.760 ⇒ 00:36:14.350 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
350 00:36:14.350 ⇒ 00:36:16.140 Uttam Kumaran: It is a bet on my part.
351 00:36:16.790 ⇒ 00:36:23.710 Uttam Kumaran: But it is something that, like, I’m gonna try to do and focus on more deeply than we did this quarter.
352 00:36:24.590 ⇒ 00:36:29.160 Uttam Kumaran: So that’s sort of the plan for the platform team. I’m just, like, curious, like, what you think.
353 00:36:29.590 ⇒ 00:36:32.009 Uttam Kumaran: How you feel about it, like, kind of seeing…
354 00:36:32.240 ⇒ 00:36:36.610 Uttam Kumaran: I haven’t put a formal sort of roadmap in front of you, but, like, that’s sort of, like, what I’m thinking about.
355 00:36:37.380 ⇒ 00:36:51.990 Brylle Girang: Yeah, I would take on adoption and training, really. I think those are the main things that excites me the most, because one, I get to connect with people, I get to teach them, and at the same time, I get to explore what’s missing. Yeah.
356 00:36:52.150 ⇒ 00:36:57.230 Brylle Girang: so, and I’m pretty sure the adoption and training are…
357 00:36:57.460 ⇒ 00:37:04.600 Brylle Girang: the least priorities for you there? I mean, I mean, not the least priorities, but…
358 00:37:05.190 ⇒ 00:37:08.240 Brylle Girang: the ones where you have the least time to do, so…
359 00:37:08.240 ⇒ 00:37:08.840 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
360 00:37:08.840 ⇒ 00:37:10.610 Brylle Girang: That’s… that’s what I’m gonna own.
361 00:37:11.900 ⇒ 00:37:13.160 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, fair.
362 00:37:13.290 ⇒ 00:37:23.240 Uttam Kumaran: then I think, like, something that I’m maybe more interested in is, like, maybe there’s a way for you to own, like, some part of learning and development, like.
363 00:37:23.410 ⇒ 00:37:37.219 Uttam Kumaran: You know, I think as part of onboarding, you can see that Kayla and these guys are thinking about, like, how to onboard. Maybe your curriculum falls under that, you know? And also, like, maybe… I want you to be, like, a big customer of the platform team.
364 00:37:37.830 ⇒ 00:37:43.310 Uttam Kumaran: You kind of see what I mean? Like, I want, instead of you, like, I think you now know the fundamentals.
365 00:37:43.740 ⇒ 00:37:50.899 Uttam Kumaran: don’t worry about building stuff. Or, like, do it, but, like, do it to the point where you understand and you can teach.
366 00:37:51.070 ⇒ 00:37:58.950 Uttam Kumaran: and then just submit a ticket, or just to tell me, like, hey, I want a skill that does this, we’ll do that for you. That’s where I want you to kind of move out.
367 00:37:59.480 ⇒ 00:38:06.390 Uttam Kumaran: Right? You now know skills, you know all the pieces, and then what we will do is, every week, I’ll demonstrate to you new capabilities.
368 00:38:07.020 ⇒ 00:38:26.330 Uttam Kumaran: and new things so that you can go learn how to teach. You can go teach yourself, and then you can learn how to get people to adopt. I think it’s a great way of thinking about it. But also, again, like, you should come to the table with, hey, I think the platform should support this, and we will debate and build what we can. And I think that’s a great way
369 00:38:26.330 ⇒ 00:38:38.819 Uttam Kumaran: separation of responsibilities, I think you’re gonna see that the… that anything you want, we will build, and if… and however fast it was built yesterday, it will be faster today. So, I’m not worried about building anything you need.
370 00:38:38.880 ⇒ 00:38:47.490 Uttam Kumaran: I am worried now about people using the stuff that’s already built. Like, I think we have so much there that I think your job now is just gonna be like, okay.
371 00:38:47.690 ⇒ 00:38:57.859 Uttam Kumaran: I want to build… I basically want to build a curriculum for everybody in the company, and measure the fact that, like, everybody gets certified in the Brainforge AI curriculum, and, like.
372 00:38:58.520 ⇒ 00:39:02.229 Uttam Kumaran: they have a final project, they do something, you know? Like…
373 00:39:02.450 ⇒ 00:39:04.619 Uttam Kumaran: Be creative with it and think about it.
374 00:39:04.970 ⇒ 00:39:08.200 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s exciting. Gotcha, okay.
375 00:39:09.010 ⇒ 00:39:18.990 Uttam Kumaran: And worked with Kayla and Rico, those two are the best people in the company to do something like this on. Yeah. And I want you to have a partner that isn’t me, because I’m, like, not… I’m…
376 00:39:19.170 ⇒ 00:39:31.060 Uttam Kumaran: like, I will be there, but, like, I’m not a good person to lean on. Meaning, like, I want you to submit tickets and be on the field, but, like, Kayla and Rico are, like, really people you should get close to, you know?
377 00:39:31.950 ⇒ 00:39:33.050 Uttam Kumaran: Gone.
378 00:39:33.050 ⇒ 00:39:33.660 Brylle Girang: Okay.
379 00:39:35.000 ⇒ 00:39:47.420 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, and then one other piece that I’m thinking about is sort of, like, what to do with, like, Amber and Mustafa. Like, I’m curious, like, what your thoughts are on, like, move them out of EP. They’re both interested in sort of, like.
380 00:39:47.900 ⇒ 00:39:50.569 Uttam Kumaran: Somewhat of a role on the platform team.
381 00:39:50.760 ⇒ 00:39:53.139 Uttam Kumaran: I’m wondering, like, how you think I should handle that.
382 00:39:55.430 ⇒ 00:40:06.270 Brylle Girang: Yeah, if we’re going to go back to our previous discussion, I think I like the idea that there would… they would be sort of leading the adoption and training, but for specialized
383 00:40:07.670 ⇒ 00:40:16.339 Brylle Girang: specialized services, or specialized subservices. For example, Amber already has experience when it comes to
384 00:40:16.460 ⇒ 00:40:21.390 Brylle Girang: The analytics side of things, so she will be the most equipped to, like, enable
385 00:40:21.560 ⇒ 00:40:28.250 Brylle Girang: those people under the analytics service, right? And then Mustafa might be the best person to
386 00:40:28.820 ⇒ 00:40:33.949 Brylle Girang: to enable the people under data or AI. So that is where…
387 00:40:34.220 ⇒ 00:40:39.690 Brylle Girang: I see the most fit, based on their skills, and at the same time, our goals as a business.
388 00:40:40.500 ⇒ 00:40:41.469 Brylle Girang: Okay. What do you…
389 00:40:42.900 ⇒ 00:40:47.720 Uttam Kumaran: I agree, but I… then I… what I don’t want is, like, 3 people reporting to me.
390 00:40:48.840 ⇒ 00:40:51.250 Uttam Kumaran: Like, so, my thing is, like.
391 00:40:51.710 ⇒ 00:40:59.509 Uttam Kumaran: that’s… if you want to do that, go for it, but then those people need to report to you. Or, like, at least for this…
392 00:40:59.760 ⇒ 00:41:02.769 Uttam Kumaran: this… this task, like, I want them to, like.
393 00:41:03.060 ⇒ 00:41:05.460 Uttam Kumaran: Look, look, look at you for guidance, not me.
394 00:41:05.460 ⇒ 00:41:07.160 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
395 00:41:08.310 ⇒ 00:41:09.789 Brylle Girang: Yeah, that makes sense.
396 00:41:12.560 ⇒ 00:41:15.470 Uttam Kumaran: I mean, that… that’s… that’s probably my ask, is like.
397 00:41:16.150 ⇒ 00:41:22.249 Uttam Kumaran: And then what my ask would be is, like, you first need to create a roadmap for your team.
398 00:41:23.170 ⇒ 00:41:26.859 Uttam Kumaran: And then, for now, I will give you two people part-time.
399 00:41:27.250 ⇒ 00:41:28.430 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
400 00:41:29.210 ⇒ 00:41:30.460 Uttam Kumaran: See what I mean?
401 00:41:30.460 ⇒ 00:41:32.610 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Okay.
402 00:41:32.610 ⇒ 00:41:35.580 Uttam Kumaran: So, you will have, like, 5…
403 00:41:36.180 ⇒ 00:41:38.340 Uttam Kumaran: 5-10 hours of both of them.
404 00:41:39.440 ⇒ 00:41:43.609 Uttam Kumaran: And that’s… that is like, let’s do something this quarter, try it.
405 00:41:43.730 ⇒ 00:41:46.000 Uttam Kumaran: So make a plan with that in mind.
406 00:41:46.110 ⇒ 00:41:48.460 Uttam Kumaran: Think about, okay, I’m leading this team.
407 00:41:48.570 ⇒ 00:41:53.019 Uttam Kumaran: Like, my job is to… I mean, but also set some standards, set a mission statement.
408 00:41:54.080 ⇒ 00:42:04.830 Uttam Kumaran: And then don’t… don’t work on KPIs yet. Start with that, like, what is the mission? Where do we… where… if you were to say Q3, start of Q3, where is Brainforge?
409 00:42:05.240 ⇒ 00:42:10.950 Uttam Kumaran: start there, let’s confirm that, and then let’s go through our normal… consider it like I’m the client.
410 00:42:11.330 ⇒ 00:42:15.809 Uttam Kumaran: So let’s… okay, I have an ask for you. People in my company are not using AI enough.
411 00:42:15.970 ⇒ 00:42:16.640 Brylle Girang: Yeah.
412 00:42:16.640 ⇒ 00:42:32.040 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, so now your job is to build out what are your bets, what is the milestones, what’s the initiatives? Okay, let’s meet, confirm that. Then you can run it. Think about how many times you want to meet, like, with me to, like, to show progress.
413 00:42:32.360 ⇒ 00:42:48.700 Uttam Kumaran: I would prefer you actually show progress to the leadership group, so you can assume, like, you’ll present there, you’ll present at a company meeting, and I would say spend some time and also do some research. Learning and development is, like, a much… it’s a well-studied
414 00:42:48.820 ⇒ 00:42:59.349 Uttam Kumaran: science. And so, see if you can rely on what other people are doing for AI or technology training. I mean, I don’t have to tell you, but, like, about training people, but, like.
415 00:42:59.460 ⇒ 00:43:04.149 Uttam Kumaran: I just want you to go as far as you can while we have a moment of
416 00:43:04.280 ⇒ 00:43:07.719 Uttam Kumaran: Somewhat calmness to think really hard about this problem.
417 00:43:08.070 ⇒ 00:43:09.490 Brylle Girang: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
418 00:43:10.190 ⇒ 00:43:25.420 Uttam Kumaran: You know? And then, once you have a plan of what you want to do, then fit the people into that plan. Do not build a plan around the people. So what I said today is, like, we’re gonna build the job description for who we want, and then we will see if this person fits into that.
419 00:43:25.550 ⇒ 00:43:35.710 Uttam Kumaran: You know, not the other way around. Yeah. So, you can assume that in your plan, you have another 20 hours a week from somebody, or 2 people, right, for some… combined.
420 00:43:35.820 ⇒ 00:43:39.920 Uttam Kumaran: But, like, that’s it. Don’t worry about it’s Amber, it’s Mustafa.
421 00:43:40.230 ⇒ 00:43:42.520 Uttam Kumaran: Their job is to hit your plan.
422 00:43:42.660 ⇒ 00:43:48.379 Uttam Kumaran: And then what we will do is, on Wednesday, let’s try to aim for Wednesday. We can present it to both of them.
423 00:43:49.100 ⇒ 00:43:51.590 Uttam Kumaran: And then… See what they think.
424 00:43:51.910 ⇒ 00:43:52.700 Brylle Girang: Okay.
425 00:43:52.910 ⇒ 00:44:05.990 Uttam Kumaran: I don’t… I… to tell you the truth, I don’t have another’s… I don’t… the only thing they can do is if they want… if Mustafa can help me on AI stuff… Amber, I can’t, because she has… she’s not able to… she’s not a software developer, so…
426 00:44:06.100 ⇒ 00:44:09.270 Uttam Kumaran: Ultimately, if she can help you, that’s great, otherwise…
427 00:44:09.730 ⇒ 00:44:12.980 Uttam Kumaran: I’m gonna go ask Jasmine, like, hey, I don’t know what to do.
428 00:44:13.110 ⇒ 00:44:15.830 Uttam Kumaran: Because we don’t need engagement planning anymore.
429 00:44:16.720 ⇒ 00:44:19.240 Brylle Girang: Okay, gotcha. Okay. Okay.
430 00:44:21.540 ⇒ 00:44:22.609 Brylle Girang: That’s all it.
431 00:44:26.130 ⇒ 00:44:27.800 Uttam Kumaran: Okay. What else?
432 00:44:35.280 ⇒ 00:44:38.940 Brylle Girang: I think… I think I’m pretty covered on my end.
433 00:44:40.200 ⇒ 00:44:44.959 Uttam Kumaran: okay, even if you’re thinking about this, just send me something over the weekend, like, don’t… don’t worry, I’m like…
434 00:44:45.310 ⇒ 00:44:47.740 Uttam Kumaran: I have no boundaries right now, so you just take advantage.
435 00:44:48.930 ⇒ 00:44:50.410 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
436 00:44:50.410 ⇒ 00:44:51.300 Brylle Girang: Sure.
437 00:44:51.300 ⇒ 00:44:58.280 Uttam Kumaran: I’m, I’m always thinking about this project, this work, so… it’s what I… it’s what I love to do, so it’s not a…
438 00:44:58.600 ⇒ 00:44:59.360 Uttam Kumaran: like…
439 00:44:59.630 ⇒ 00:45:00.340 Brylle Girang: So that’s hilarious.
440 00:45:00.340 ⇒ 00:45:06.760 Uttam Kumaran: Similar to what Jasmine said, but at the same time, like, this is my, like, life’s work right now, so I’m always available to talk about it.
441 00:45:06.900 ⇒ 00:45:13.879 Uttam Kumaran: I’m gonna be calling two more people after you anyway, so… let’s see… see what they have to say.
442 00:45:14.390 ⇒ 00:45:15.619 Uttam Kumaran: Yo, got it. Yeah.
443 00:45:16.090 ⇒ 00:45:18.309 Brylle Girang: Thank you, thank you, thank you for this week.
444 00:45:18.930 ⇒ 00:45:20.990 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, of course, of course. Okay, dude.
445 00:45:20.990 ⇒ 00:45:21.930 Brylle Girang: Thank you.
446 00:45:22.310 ⇒ 00:45:23.310 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, bye.