Meeting Title: Brainforge Element Project Feedback Sync Date: 2026-04-17 Meeting participants: Robert Tseng, Garrett Gibson
WEBVTT
1 00:00:18.230 ⇒ 00:00:19.560 Robert Tseng: Hey, Barrett.
2 00:00:19.560 ⇒ 00:00:20.590 Garrett Gibson: Hey, Robert.
3 00:00:21.300 ⇒ 00:00:39.139 Robert Tseng: Yeah, I’ll try to not take too much time here. Yeah, I think team is… just has some feedback on… I mean, I mean, I’ve gotten a few messages, and so I think I’d be rather… I’d rather just try to talk it out first, and then kind of see…
4 00:00:39.390 ⇒ 00:00:45.520 Robert Tseng: How, how we should probably write it, write it better. So, I think…
5 00:00:46.800 ⇒ 00:00:50.889 Robert Tseng: Obviously, with a 4-block exercise, I understand it’s your first time doing it. I think…
6 00:00:51.290 ⇒ 00:00:53.969 Robert Tseng: A little bit concerned that, like.
7 00:00:54.300 ⇒ 00:01:08.900 Robert Tseng: I think the… took a while to get aligned on that message, summarizing the week’s progress. Like, obviously, you’re not in the weeds as much as Advait and Jasmine, but I think, kind of, yeah, I think the expectation is that
8 00:01:09.100 ⇒ 00:01:25.069 Robert Tseng: like, yeah, when you… when you put that communication forward, it should be pretty… pretty close, and the CSO just needs to give the sign-off, but I don’t know, I was seeing this, like, long thread, kind of get… getting there, so I… I think that’s…
9 00:01:25.300 ⇒ 00:01:39.139 Robert Tseng: That’s one… one example. Then also, I think when the team presented on the Gantt to default, I… the client called us out that it was just wrong, so…
10 00:01:39.140 ⇒ 00:01:39.470 Garrett Gibson: Yeah.
11 00:01:39.470 ⇒ 00:01:40.020 Robert Tseng: we’re missing.
12 00:01:40.020 ⇒ 00:01:50.240 Garrett Gibson: I didn’t go over with Greg. He actually didn’t get a chance to review, I think, with me before he met with the client, so I was kind of surprised, like, he didn’t reach out to me about that.
13 00:01:51.110 ⇒ 00:01:51.950 Robert Tseng: Okay.
14 00:01:51.950 ⇒ 00:01:52.380 Garrett Gibson: Yeah.
15 00:01:52.380 ⇒ 00:01:55.789 Robert Tseng: Yeah, and then I think with the element…
16 00:01:56.110 ⇒ 00:02:02.530 Robert Tseng: yeah, I think there’s… there’s a little bit of, like, unsure if you, like, with the whole…
17 00:02:02.620 ⇒ 00:02:20.630 Robert Tseng: dashboards not being rolled out to everyone. You were… you seem to be under the impression that it was going to be released to everyone, like, you know, end of the week or end of next week, but that’s just, like, not… that’s not what… that’s not… that’s not what’s happening. So, I think there’s, like, we’re not… I mean, I mean…
18 00:02:20.840 ⇒ 00:02:27.360 Robert Tseng: there’s still time to kind of ramp up here, but I think the team’s getting a little bit anxious that, like, hey.
19 00:02:27.500 ⇒ 00:02:29.410 Robert Tseng: I don’t really, you know…
20 00:02:29.980 ⇒ 00:02:41.099 Robert Tseng: like, I’m not really sure if you’re, like, catching on to it fast enough, so, I guess, like, you know, I have some thoughts on, like, what could be…
21 00:02:41.240 ⇒ 00:02:47.209 Robert Tseng: could be blockers that we need to clear out, but I don’t know if, like, do you feel like those are fair assessments?
22 00:02:47.800 ⇒ 00:02:57.130 Garrett Gibson: I mean, kind of not really, but I mean, I feel like I’ve been kind of pulled in a lot of different directions, so I haven’t really been able to even focus, you know, just on Element, so…
23 00:02:57.940 ⇒ 00:03:01.139 Robert Tseng: Okay, so yeah, I think that’s probably one thing, just needing…
24 00:03:01.140 ⇒ 00:03:01.470 Garrett Gibson: Yeah.
25 00:03:01.470 ⇒ 00:03:06.359 Robert Tseng: you’re needing more time on just developing the element business context.
26 00:03:07.020 ⇒ 00:03:15.509 Robert Tseng: Greg is… Greg is resourceful. I think he sees that you’re here, he wants to pull you in. I mean, I think Utam already gave you this feedback as well, but, like.
27 00:03:15.540 ⇒ 00:03:26.529 Robert Tseng: you know, you kinda… you’re gonna get pulled in a bunch of different directions, but you know what your onboarding plan is, you know where you need to be, like… like, element, you have to be, like, crisp, like, right? So, like…
28 00:03:26.560 ⇒ 00:03:44.849 Robert Tseng: And default, I don’t really care. I mean, default’s gonna end up, like, winding down anyway. So, like, it’s… it’s like, Greg… Greg should just be able to handle it himself as much as he can. So, I mean, those are some decisions that, like, you know, Utamai could help you make if you don’t feel comfortable, like, kind of pushing back on it yet, but… Yeah.
29 00:03:44.850 ⇒ 00:03:52.700 Garrett Gibson: That’d be helpful, I think, yeah, because if I’m getting pulled in it, it kind of, like, reduces my focus, like, on other important things, so…
30 00:03:52.960 ⇒ 00:04:08.719 Robert Tseng: Yeah, so, I mean, like, as far as the two clients, I mean, Element, and then I’ve been asking you to kind of jump into Eden. I gave you some kind of context earlier this week, and I haven’t seen anything from you since, which is fine. It’s not urgent yet. I think probably next week I want to see something, especially.
31 00:04:08.720 ⇒ 00:04:16.539 Garrett Gibson: Yeah, I mean, Utam also created a bunch of tickets, like, in my backlog, so, I mean, I’m getting kind of, like, conflicting, you know, priorities.
32 00:04:17.000 ⇒ 00:04:18.890 Robert Tseng: What, what’s Utam creating for you?
33 00:04:19.220 ⇒ 00:04:19.990 Garrett Gibson: Here I go.
34 00:04:20.740 ⇒ 00:04:22.749 Robert Tseng: Oh, just like… what would you…
35 00:04:22.750 ⇒ 00:04:23.189 Garrett Gibson: created a bike.
36 00:04:23.190 ⇒ 00:04:23.760 Robert Tseng: What about me?
37 00:04:23.760 ⇒ 00:04:25.550 Garrett Gibson: tickets for me, that I can share?
38 00:04:25.550 ⇒ 00:04:26.310 Robert Tseng: Yeah, yeah, but like…
39 00:04:26.310 ⇒ 00:04:27.610 Garrett Gibson: Matthew, if you want to see.
40 00:04:37.750 ⇒ 00:04:39.779 Robert Tseng: I’m… I’m not seeing it yet.
41 00:04:40.790 ⇒ 00:04:42.619 Garrett Gibson: Oh, sorry, let me share my screen.
42 00:04:50.760 ⇒ 00:04:51.950 Garrett Gibson: Oh, here it is.
43 00:05:00.150 ⇒ 00:05:03.620 Garrett Gibson: I’ve been working on the Eden, decry, that’s one of them.
44 00:05:03.620 ⇒ 00:05:08.980 Robert Tseng: Yeah, I mean, I know that’s not urgent, so I’m not, like, yeah, I’m not concerned about that. So, yeah.
45 00:05:08.980 ⇒ 00:05:12.630 Garrett Gibson: Helping with the Sunstone roadmap, working on that.
46 00:05:17.890 ⇒ 00:05:19.080 Garrett Gibson: Other ones…
47 00:05:19.080 ⇒ 00:05:22.419 Robert Tseng: Okay, so would it be helpful to, like, kind of… you wanna…
48 00:05:22.840 ⇒ 00:05:28.650 Robert Tseng: us to read more, like, I mean, you’re stating these tickets, you’re not knowing how to prioritize them yet.
49 00:05:28.650 ⇒ 00:05:29.630 Garrett Gibson: Exactly, and then I’m…
50 00:05:29.630 ⇒ 00:05:30.080 Robert Tseng: say.
51 00:05:30.080 ⇒ 00:05:35.679 Garrett Gibson: And then I’m getting pulled into, like, doing the weekly decks for, like, 3 different clients, you know, and then…
52 00:05:36.000 ⇒ 00:05:36.530 Garrett Gibson: Great.
53 00:05:36.530 ⇒ 00:05:48.470 Robert Tseng: Element is obviously your top priority, so anything that’s, like, kind of compromising on Element needs to be delayed, and you can tell us it’s going to just take longer. That’s fine. The Sunstone thing is not urgent, like, I think.
54 00:05:49.940 ⇒ 00:05:54.309 Robert Tseng: I brought you in because we’re… we’re kind of getting to the… we’re getting to the…
55 00:05:54.440 ⇒ 00:06:02.369 Robert Tseng: start to, we’re getting to the starting line. We’re not… we’re not… we’re not… I don’t really feel like you need to touch this until, like,
56 00:06:03.070 ⇒ 00:06:11.970 Robert Tseng: like, later… later next week. Like, once a deal assigned, then you can actually… you can… you can do that. So, but yeah, it is… it is a backlog that…
57 00:06:13.150 ⇒ 00:06:19.070 Robert Tseng: I guess, dummy data and amplitude for sales pitches, not… not important.
58 00:06:20.390 ⇒ 00:06:24.620 Robert Tseng: Yeah, I mean, pretty much, like, anyth… The first line…
59 00:06:24.620 ⇒ 00:06:27.980 Garrett Gibson: I think I know what Rel is yet. We haven’t even gotten over that.
60 00:06:28.390 ⇒ 00:06:38.960 Robert Tseng: Yeah, I, that’s… that’s between you and Utah. I think he just wants you to help with, kind of, just to view… views over the entire client base. So, I mean, that’s…
61 00:06:38.960 ⇒ 00:06:39.580 Garrett Gibson: bro.
62 00:06:40.510 ⇒ 00:06:43.569 Robert Tseng: Yeah, I’m just looking at within your current cycle, like, I think.
63 00:06:43.570 ⇒ 00:06:44.150 Garrett Gibson: Hmm.
64 00:06:45.910 ⇒ 00:07:05.840 Robert Tseng: you know, none of those things are top priority, right? It’s like, really just nailing the element stuff is the most important. I mean, I think it’s like, if you have time, you should work on those things. I think the standardized client review decks, that seems to be the most… the highest priority out of the… out of the five that you have there. Whereas, you know, the Sunstone could be next week.
65 00:07:05.950 ⇒ 00:07:11.480 Robert Tseng: The automation’s not that important. The boilerplate…
66 00:07:11.660 ⇒ 00:07:16.970 Robert Tseng: Yeah, I think that’s all kind of infra work. I mean, if you think about it, like.
67 00:07:17.100 ⇒ 00:07:22.429 Robert Tseng: I think 20-30% of your time should just be… should go into stuff that’s, like, helping…
68 00:07:22.520 ⇒ 00:07:39.120 Robert Tseng: like, the platform, I guess, which is what all these automations and boilerplate stuff is, but 80% of your time is really just, like, on… on the clients, on the client work. So, anything that’s, like, not Element… I mean, yeah, Element just needs to be… needs to be… needs to be good. And,
69 00:07:39.430 ⇒ 00:07:40.600 Robert Tseng: Yeah, so…
70 00:07:42.290 ⇒ 00:07:55.709 Robert Tseng: I guess there… so if you… will… but will more time kind of get you there? Because I think, like, the Gantt… like, Jasmine and Shivani are finding this cadence. They’re working better on a Google Sheet. I think Jasmine’s kind of chameleon, she’s just…
71 00:07:55.840 ⇒ 00:08:10.290 Robert Tseng: you know, doing whatever Shivani wants. I think your role is not exactly that. Like, it’s more, you know, you’re trying to keep us organized, you know, building the processes internally. Like, I think the Gantt that you started is good. These are good initiatives that you’re bringing in.
72 00:08:10.320 ⇒ 00:08:22.500 Robert Tseng: But now, it’s like, they’re… because the Gantt and the sheet are not aligned, it’s starting to create, like, a fracture in terms of, like, well, which one is the source of truth? And I think I saw that in the thread as well, so…
73 00:08:22.500 ⇒ 00:08:33.959 Robert Tseng: the CSO and you kind of have to… you can disagree, but, like, just making sure that those… those things are… those things are alive, it feels like that’s… that’s another thing that could be getting in the way.
74 00:08:34.400 ⇒ 00:08:35.280 Robert Tseng: Okay.
75 00:08:35.289 ⇒ 00:08:35.829 Garrett Gibson: Yep.
76 00:08:36.539 ⇒ 00:08:48.699 Robert Tseng: Yeah, and then if you feel like we need to be more, like, kind of tight on checking in with you on the ramp-up plan, because I do think those are the right activities to do that should get.
77 00:08:48.700 ⇒ 00:08:53.750 Garrett Gibson: Yeah, I mean, we are meeting weekly, right? So I think that’s a good enough, you know, cadence.
78 00:08:55.810 ⇒ 00:08:56.440 Robert Tseng: Okay.
79 00:09:01.850 ⇒ 00:09:08.059 Garrett Gibson: But Greg just said that the chart’s still wrong, so maybe I should go talk to him and figure out what’s incorrect. I’m not really sure.
80 00:09:09.440 ⇒ 00:09:11.909 Garrett Gibson: We’re kind of going back and forth on that.
81 00:09:12.900 ⇒ 00:09:14.490 Robert Tseng: Okay,
82 00:09:14.730 ⇒ 00:09:26.500 Robert Tseng: I mean, I will just tell Greg to just figure it out, like, he doesn’t need to rely on you, I think, like, for this. You know, I can tell, I can tell him that.
83 00:09:27.050 ⇒ 00:09:28.510 Garrett Gibson: Okay, that’s fine.
84 00:09:29.220 ⇒ 00:09:29.850 Robert Tseng: Okay.
85 00:09:30.080 ⇒ 00:09:37.190 Robert Tseng: So… I guess, what… what adjustments do you feel like you… feel like you should make.
86 00:09:38.970 ⇒ 00:09:44.760 Garrett Gibson: Well, I’m just gonna focus on Element, right? I think making sure that’s, you know, we have a good relationship, right, with Shivani.
87 00:09:44.920 ⇒ 00:09:49.050 Garrett Gibson: I’m not sure what other adjustments I need to make.
88 00:09:51.070 ⇒ 00:10:06.280 Robert Tseng: Okay, I mean, do you feel like you have a good grasp of, like, how your partnership with the CSOs should look like? I know that’s not, like, a traditional thing that probably you’ve done, like, with… I mean, like, it was just maybe a Brainforge-unique thing.
89 00:10:07.520 ⇒ 00:10:13.300 Garrett Gibson: Yeah, I mean, kind of. I’m trying to get, you know, acclimated, you know, to the role.
90 00:10:14.130 ⇒ 00:10:14.780 Robert Tseng: Okay.
91 00:10:15.390 ⇒ 00:10:20.500 Robert Tseng: So, yeah, I mean, if you have any confusion, because Greg and, you know, Jasmine are, you know.
92 00:10:21.580 ⇒ 00:10:30.909 Robert Tseng: telling you conflicting things, you know, I think that’s where you would… you would lean on Utam, specifically, because he is… he is technically head of delivery.
93 00:10:30.910 ⇒ 00:10:45.030 Robert Tseng: I think I, you know, like, I… if you have any issues with the CSOs, or you don’t understand what’s going on, because they’re telling you things that don’t make sense, like, I think, you know, really try to escalate that to UTAM, like, eventually you’ll get to a place where you’ll be able to hit… you’ll be able to deal with it.
94 00:10:45.150 ⇒ 00:10:50.539 Robert Tseng: And then, like, I think Donna really nailed the element business context, so…
95 00:10:50.540 ⇒ 00:10:50.980 Garrett Gibson: Yeah.
96 00:10:51.690 ⇒ 00:10:56.459 Robert Tseng: Yeah, I think that’s really… that was the thing that alerted me, that I feel like, hmm…
97 00:10:56.570 ⇒ 00:11:03.630 Robert Tseng: kind of went back and forth for over, like, a 5-6 hour period before we got the 4-box message out. So, like, I understand.
98 00:11:03.630 ⇒ 00:11:15.329 Garrett Gibson: Yeah, I’ll be more… I’ll be more ahead of that 4 bucks, next week, and then, yeah, I mean, I think I was mostly focused on, right, getting the deck together and, like, those other tests, right, related to Element, earlier in the week, but…
99 00:11:15.420 ⇒ 00:11:23.659 Garrett Gibson: Yeah, I’ll focus on, kind of 4 bucks, like, having a crisp, you know, update for Shobani, you know, we can send over Slack, things like that.
100 00:11:24.550 ⇒ 00:11:36.080 Robert Tseng: Okay, cool. Yeah, I think that should be… yeah, I mean, I think that should be fine. That’s… that’s all I got. Any questions that, like, I can… I can answer from your side?
101 00:11:37.780 ⇒ 00:11:39.519 Garrett Gibson: Nope, not right now.
102 00:11:40.050 ⇒ 00:11:40.680 Robert Tseng: Okay.
103 00:11:40.900 ⇒ 00:11:41.590 Robert Tseng: Cool.
104 00:11:44.330 ⇒ 00:11:47.240 Robert Tseng: Alright, well then, that’s all I got. Appreciate it.
105 00:11:47.430 ⇒ 00:11:49.710 Garrett Gibson: Alright, sounds good. Thanks, Starbuck. We’ll talk to you later.
106 00:11:49.710 ⇒ 00:11:51.010 Robert Tseng: Alright, talk to you later.
107 00:11:51.010 ⇒ 00:11:52.169 Garrett Gibson: Aye. Bye.