The AI Software Report with RJ Lumba

Data-Powered Consumer Brands: Amperity’s Derek Slager

In this episode, we speak with Derek Slager, the Co-Founder and CTO of Amperity, a customer data platform that helps brands build the unified first-party customer data foundation they need to grow revenue, reduce costs, save time, and stay compliant.
Founded in 2016, Amperity’s main drive in business is to enable larger consumer brands such as Wyndham and Alaska Airlines, to develop and maintain a unified view of their customer, using patented AI and ML methods. Now with more than 400 brands on their roster, Amperity is a trusted resource for turning data into business value.
The company has raised over $180 million and is backed by HighSage Ventures, Tiger Global, Madrona, and others.
Prior to Amperity, Derek was on the founding team at Appature and held engineering leadership positions at various business and consumer-facing startups, focusing on large-scale distributed systems and security.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to subscribe. 

Business AI Maestro: Fractal’s Srikanth Velamakanni

In this episode, we speak with Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-Founder, Group Chief Executive & Executive Vice-Chairman of Fractal, a provider of artificial intelligence to companies. Fractal's businesses include:  Crux Intelligence , which provides AI driven business intelligence;  Eugenie.ai  for sustainability;  Asper.ai  for revenue growth management; and Senseforth.ai, conversational AI for sales and customer service.
Since its founding in 2000, the company has raised more than $680 million from TPG, Apax, TA Associates and other notable investors and has empowered more than 100 Fortune 500 companies with its AI, data, and analytics-driven business strategies.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

A 1000x Faster Database Solution: ClickHouse’s Aaron Katz

In this episode, we speak with Aaron Katz, Co-Founder and CEO of ClickHouse. ClickHouse is an open-source database management system which allows users to generate analytical reports using SQL queries in real-time.
Its technology works 100-1000x faster than traditional database management systems, and processes hundreds of millions to over a billion rows and tens of gigabytes of data per server per second.
Before founding ClickHouse, Aaron helped grow salesforce.com between 2002 - 2014 from a private, 200 employee startup, to a $200 billion market leader. He was also part of the team that took Elastic public and drove revenue from $5 million to $500 million.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Best in Class Revenue Platform: Clari’s Andy Byrne

In this episode, we speak with Andy Byrne, CEO and Co-founder of Clari. Clari is a platform that uses AI and machine learning to support sales teams by integrating with their existing CRM systems.
Thousands of sales, marketing, and customer success teams at leading companies, including Okta, Adobe, Workday, Zoom, and Finastra, use Clari’s execution insights to make their revenue process more connected, efficient, and predictable.
The company is backed by Blackstone, Silver Lake, Sapphire Ventures, Tenaya, Bain Capital, Sequoia and other notable investors.
Prior to Clari, Byrne was a founding executive at Clearwell, which he helped grow from pre-product and pre-revenue in 2005 to an $80 million annual revenue run rate until its acquisition by Symantec in 2011.
Andy supports Rise Against Hunger. To learn more about this organization click here.
I am your host RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

The Future of Software Sales: Tackle’s John Jahnke

In this episode, we speak with John Jahnke, the CEO of Tackle, the leading solution built to help software companies generate revenue through a data-driven Cloud go-to-market (Cloud GTM).
John is a business and technology leader with a successful track record of building great teams to drive emerging technology patterns.
Tackle works with more than 550 software companies including CrowdStrike, HashiCorp, Lacework, New Relic, VMware, and many more at every stage - from companies scaling their go-to-market to the largest software companies in the world.
They are venture backed by three of the world's top SaaS investors - a16z, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Coatue.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Game Changer In Web Development: Vercel’s Guillermo Rauch

In this episode, we speak with Guillermo Rauch, Founder and CEO of Vercel, the frontend cloud that gives developers the frameworks, workflows, and infrastructure to build a faster, more personalized web.
Founded in 2015, the company has raised over $300 million dollars and is backed by GGV Capital, Accel, Bedrock Capital, CRV, and other notable investors.
Vercel unlocks developer potential and enables users to go from idea to global application in seconds. Vercel enables customers like Under Armour, Nintendo, The Washington Post, and Zapier to build delightful user experiences on the Web.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

The Enterprise 5G Revolution: Celona’s Rajeev Shah

In this episode, we speak with Rajeev Shah, the Co-Founder and CEO of Celona, the enterprise 5G company that enables a new generation of AI-powered business critical apps in the enterprise and helps organizations accelerate their digital transformation journey.
Before founding Celona, Rajeev was the VP of product management and marketing for Federated Wireless, where he launched the industry’s first and leading Spectrum Access System. Prior to Federated, Rajeev held multiple product management leadership positions at Aruba Networks, including creating its Cloud Wi-Fi business.
Taking advantage of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum, Celona’s solution architecture is designed to simplify and automate deployment of cellular wireless technology by enterprise IT organizations and managed service providers.
The company was born with the idea that a combination of 5G radio technology, edge computing and machine learning software will fundamentally change how organizations work and do business.
Celona is backed by Digital Bridge Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Norwest, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and other notable investors.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Transforming The Hiring Process At Scale: Fountain’s CEO Sean Behr

In this episode we speak with Sean Behr, CEO of Fountain. Founded in 2014, Fountain started with a vision to transform the hiring of hourly workers. The company’s purpose-built solution is designed to help companies hire high volumes of workers, faster by combining the power of automation with a data-driven applicant tracking system.
The company is backed by B Capital Group, Softbank, DCM Ventures, and Y Combinator, among others.
Sean joined Fountain as CEO in 2020. Prior to joining the company, he served as CEO and Founder of Stratim (acquired by KAR), an intelligent mobility and fleet infrastructure platform powering the future of transportation.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Scaling Software Companies: Invoca CEO Gregg Johnson

In this episode, we speak with Gregg Johnson, the CEO of Invoca.  Gregg is a seasoned software leader who previously led Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s social marketing product line, where he integrated $1 billion of M&A investments into the Salesforce product portfolio.  He is also a successful entrepreneur.
Invoca is the cloud leader in AI-powered conversation intelligence for revenue teams that enables marketing, sales, customer experience, and eCommerce teams to understand and immediately act on the information consumers share via conversations.
The company has raised $184 million from leading venture capitalists including Upfront Ventures, Accel, Silver Lake Waterman, H.I.G. Growth Partners, and Salesforce Ventures.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.