Everyone says AI will 10x your dev team. But what does the data actually say?In this episode of Fractional, Simon ObstbaumāStanford researcher and former CTO of Crunchyrollāwalks us through one of the most grounded conversations on developer productivity with AI youāll hear.Simonās team at Stanford built a model trained on expert code reviews to study the actual impact of AI coding tools. What they found: a 20% productivity uplift at bestāwith wide variance depending on language, codebase complexity, and context.We discuss:⢠What productivity really means in software engineering⢠Why legacy codebases often get worse with AI⢠How LLMs quietly replace pair programming for junior devs⢠What makes engineering teams more effective in realityānot theory⢠Lessons from building Crunchyrollās global tech orgThis isnāt an AI hypefest. Itās a reality check.š§Ŗ Participate in Stanfordās researchš¤ Connect with Simonš Learn how Swarm helps enterprises adopt AIš Fractional by Swarm
Everyoneās shipping copilots.
Ragde Falcis built something else: a real agentic systemāused daily by thousands of customers.
In this episode of Fractional, we break down how ChatGenie:
ā Hit 90%+ accuracy without model fine-tuning
ā Uses multi-agent orchestration with reasoning and memory
ā Built eval loops and guardrails that actually scale
ā Tracks token-level usage to make the business work
ā Retrofits into Metaās stack, CRMs, and internal HR workflows
ā Thinks beyond PHāand why that mindset shift matters
This isnāt another AI demo.
Itās the playbook for what actually works in production.
š§ Listen if you're serious about:
Shipping agent-based systems
Scaling GenAI workflows
Or building infrastructure that survives beyond the hype
Built something real? Youāll need real help to scale it.
Swarm is a collective of AI-native consultantsābuilders, operators, and strategists from MAANG, YC, and Fortune 500s.
If youāre building your AI roadmap and need fractional support that actually ships, letās talk.
š https://swarm.work/?utm_source=fractional&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ragde_episode
"Most OKRs Are Just Tracking Failure"OKRs are supposed to drive success. But hereās what actually happens instead:1. Teams track effort, not results.2. Leaders set goals based on gut feeling.3. When things go wrong, strategy isnāt questionedāthe team is."If your OKRs arenāt tied to behavior change, theyāre just noise."Jeff Gothelf and I break down:1. How OKRs expose bad leadership assumptions2. Why most OKRs donāt actually measure success3. How to use OKRs to push backāwithout career risk4. Why customer behavior, not feature launches, should define success5. How product discovery should be continuous, not a one-time study6. Why designers, PMs, and AI teams need OKRs that track learning, not just output7. How to create a culture of continuous learningāwhere teams challenge assumptions, test ideas, and adapt fastBecause if your OKRs arenāt helping you challenge bad decisions, theyāre useless.Jeff is a a leading voice and thought leader on customer centric product development. He helps organizations build better products and executives build the cultures that build better products. He is the co-author of the award-winning book Lean UX (now in itās 3rd edition) and the Harvard Business Review Press book Sense & Respond. In 2020 he published the critically aclaimed book, Forever Employable.Starting off as a software designer then product manager and finally entrepreneur, Jeff now works as a keynote speaker, trainer, coach, and board advisor helping companies put the customer in the century of every decision.Most recently Jeff co-authored Who Does What By How Much?, his 5th book and 3rd with co-author Josh Seiden. This new book is the how-to guide for implementing Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in every organization.Jeff's latest bookGet access to our network of expert AI consultancies
AI without strategy is just hypeāWardley Maps fix that.
Governments, businesses, and enterprises follow AI trends without mapping the landscape, leaving them blind to risks and opportunities.That's why I sat down with Simon Wardley, the inventor of Wardley Maps, and one of the UKās top 50 most influential people in tech, to break down why most AI strategies failāand how mapping can give you a real advantage.
In this episode of Fractional:
š Why AI without a map is like playing chess blindfolded
š How Wardley Maps expose hidden risks and opportunities in AI adoption
š” The power struggles shaping AIāand why open-source AI is critical
ā ļø Why governments must fight for open AI instead of corporate control
š ļø How AI tools, language, and reasoning are evolvingāand what that means for strategy
If you're responsible for AI adoption in your company, this conversation will change how you think about strategy.
š¹ Who is Simon Wardley?A former CEO, startup advisor (all acquired by US tech giants), and fellow of Open Europe, Simon has spent his career navigating complex systems, from AI and economics to behavioral patterns and market shifts. He pioneered Wardley Mapping, a framework used by organizations worldwide to anticipate change, outmaneuver competitors, and drive real AI strategy.
Rajiv Ayyangar is the CEO at Product Hunt. He was previously co-founder / CEO of Tandem. He also studied bioengineering at Princeton and subsequently worked at Fairchild and Yahoo.
In this episode of Fractional, we discuss the Product Hunt AI roadmap, what AI products are getting the top spot, Rajiv's journey from Tandem CEO to ProductHunt CEO, and why build velocity is very important.
"AI in healthcare isnāt just hardāitās life or death."
In this episode of Fractional by Swarm, we sit down with Evelyn C. GohāPhD candidate at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and founder/CEO of Megrezāto explore the toughest challenges in healthcare AI.
Evelyn is pioneering research on the integration of AI into healthcare solutions. Through her work at Megrez, an agency specializing in medical AI/software consultancy and development, she is transforming the way healthcare organizations approach innovation.
Evelyn is passionate about simplifying complex processes, making technology more accessible, and empowering individuals to create impactful clinical experiences.
Join us as we dive into:
ā
How to adopt AI in healthcare without losing trust
ā
Why healthcare AI is so complexāand how to navigate it
ā
The critical importance of solving real problems, not just chasing trends
Evelynās insights are candid, actionable, and rooted in experience. She breaks down what it takes to build AI models that deliver real impact while meeting the demands of trust, privacy, and compliance.
Whether youāre a healthcare executive or curious about AIās transformative potential, this episode is a must-listen.
š§ Tune in now to learn how healthcare leaders can harness AI to revolutionize patient care.
š Learn more about Swarm: https://swarm.work?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=healthcare_ai_episode
š Discover Megrez: https://megrez.asia/?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=healthcare_ai_episode
#AIinHealthcare #HealthcareLeadership #HealthcareInnovation
Tomithy plays the role of seeker and investor at ST Telemedia - a VC/PE fund that invests in telcos, data centres, growth stage tech companies in AI, Cybersecurity and Cloud IT . He actively works with target and existing portfolio companies in terms of technical diligence, business strategy and commercial evaluation via their CTO, product & engineering teams. He has a deep interest in governance and reliability of AI systems, pushing the limits of generative AI, multi-agent AI systems, evolutionary algorithms and synthetic biology. Tomithy holds a degree in Computational Biology (Hons) from NUS, Masters in AI program from SMU and is currently pursuing a part-time PhD in AI Governance at SMU. In this episode, we talk about fragmentation and consolidation in the GenAI space, using GenAI as a business strategy, anti-patterns to avoid when implementing searchable enterprise databases, investing in GenAI, and a lot more. š¹ Spending cycles in AI š¹ Lessons learned from investing in AI š¹ Using tech for commercial differentiation š¹ Pitching during the innovation versus scaling phase š¹ Opinions on GenAI maps š¹ Does AI really translate to monetization? š¹ The overpromise of enterprise databases š¹ GenAI as the evolution of the business and as a strategy š¹ Donāt build generic chatbots š¹ The shortening of the tech adoption cycle š¹ Platformatizing AI Talk to Tomithy Produced by Swarm ā Hire solution architects from Fortune 100s for your AI projects.
Anand Krishnan is the Founder and Managing Partner of thinkbridge, a digital technology and business consulting firm that specializes in helping clients build and deploy tech-forward business strategies that drive outsized value creation.
He is also the co-founder of Sensorscall, a senior care platform that helps seniors age-in-place. He was a former CTO of IBM and is one of the leading hives on Swarm.
Anand helps growth-stage companies scale and increase their enterprise value, through the meaningful use of technology. In this episode, we talk about designing a hybrid organization for CTOs and external software engineering partners, using a transparent and outcome-first business model, inconsequential versus meaningful technology, finding your impact as a veteran consultant, and a lot more: š¹ Scaling hybrid teams beyond ābig techā tactics š¹ Why Thinkbridge moved from hourly to monthly pricing š¹ Addressing the mid-market transformation gap š¹ Avoiding āvanity techāāwhat really drives impact š¹ Redefining retention with transparency and accountability š¹ Anandās roadmap to agile scaling without trade-offs š¹ Making tech teams resilient with hybrid models š¹ Discovery phases as keys to high-value outcomes š¹ Progress over perfectionāthe new rule for growth-stage orgs š¹ AIās role in leveling the playing field for emerging tech š¹ Why āboringā tech like EMRs matter š¹ Aligning tech impact with revenue for real outcomes š¹ Purpose-driven techāAnandās approach to meaningful success Anand's LinkedIn: Ā Ā /Ā anandhkrishnanĀ Ā
Dr Bernard Leong is currently the founder and CEO of Dorje AI, an enterprise AI startup focusing on building the next generation business operating system that enables companies to be productive, efficient, and adaptive.
He held regional business roles as the Head of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning in Amazon Web Services for ASEAN, Vice President of Airbus Aerial specifically on satellite and drone services in the Asia Pacific, and senior management roles in Singapore Post as the Head of Digital Services and Group Chief Information & Digital Office in Woh Hup.
Bernard is the founder and host of the Analyse Asia podcast, and is an active angel investor in web3 and AI startups. He holds a BSc in Science with Merit in National University of Singapore, and PhD in Physics from Cambridge University and has developed machine learning algorithms to search for mRNA targets in the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute from 2003-2005.
In this episode, we talk about leading the AI/ML business in AWS, AI GTM for AI consultants, creating a financial ERP startup, why change management is critical to land the biggest enterprises, and a lot more:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bleongcw/
(0:00) - Trailer
(0:30) - Bernardās Background
(2:31) - ERPless world with AI
(2:55) - Human Genome Project and mRNA targeting
(4:15) - Startup Experience
(5:00) - Singapore Post
(6:50) - Working with Apple
(8:38) - Airbus Aerial
(8:48) - AWS
(9:20) - Digitally transforming companies
(9:52) - Most enterprises use ERPs
(10:18) - Why people hate ERPs
(10:50) - Data silos in SAP
(12:20) - Building an AI first company
(13:31) - Enterprise data readiness
(15:04) - Structuring data for machine learning
(15:21) - Finding patterns
(15:37) - Everyone loves transformation no one wants to change
(16:03) - Board and C-level conversations
(16:33) - Helping the biggest SEA companies
(17:16) - McKinsey vs Bernard on data readiness
(17:58) - What enterprises are missing out on
(19:23) - Expounding on data readiness
(20:45) - Finding your AI use case
(21:11) - Augmenting productivity
(21:20) - Increasing revenue
(22:15) - Netflix and AWS machine learning
(22:38) - Layers of AI implementation
(24:30) - Productivity gains from modern AI
(24:41) - Hyper parameter finetuning
(25:20) - Dorje.AI AI powered ledger
(26:55) - Financial processes into vector embeddings
(28:00) - Not underestimating SAP and Oracle
(28:40) - Challenging the ledger with AI and modern architecture
(29:33) - Why is it hard to use SAP for businesses?
(30:09) - Bernardās ideal world with Dorje.ai
(31:29) - Orchestrating data
(31:48) - SaaS model upheaval
(33:37) - AI GTM and Product
(33:59) - Finding PMF
(35:28) - Creating hockey stick growth through AI
(36:24) - SAP reworks
(37:03) - AI OCR built by Bernard
(37:53) - Recreating the app with ChatGPT
(38:26) - Refactoring the code easily
(38:51) - AI coding
(39:46) - Cap tables with AI
(40:58) - Productivity gains with ChatGPT
(41:37) - AI first mentality
(43:05) - Automating things with LLMs
(44:32) - AI pre-empting problems of ERPs
(45:18) - One click transfer
(45:47) - What Dorje means
(47:46) - Competition and execution
(48:42) - Conflict of Visions
(49:14) - Constrained vs Unconstrained Founder Visions
(50:11) - Best founders
(51:07) - Reading the only book on SAP history
(52:12) - Building good accounting software
(52:27) - How prepared is Southeast Asia?
(54:03) - Whatās making the money in AI?
(54:20) - Sequoia, AI Billion Hole
(55:11) - Local data strategy and startup survival
(56:14) - Business owner BPO in PH
(57:45) - AI Consulting Advice
(58:38) - Buy in and productization
(59:05) - Business development in Amazon
(1:00:04) - Technical POC with 50 customers
(1:00:42) - Automating yourself away
(1:01:32) - Sales levels conversations
(1:02:09) - Creating different sales motions per AI business
(1:02:49) - Iterating the product via GTM
(1:03:49) - War stories in Amazon
Dominic Ligot is a data analyst, researcher, software developer, entrepreneur and technologist. Heās the Founder of CirroLytix, a social impact AI company, and Data Ethics PH, an online community focused on social issues such as data privacy, data security, AI-driven discrimination and more.
He represents the Philippines as Member of the Expert Advisory Panel of the International Scientific Report on Advanced AI Safety convened by the UK Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology. He led the development of the nationwide data science education program Project SPARTA. He also co-founded the Analytics and AI Association of the Philippines (AAP).
Dominic is a three-time global winner of the NASA and ESA International Space Apps Challenges.Ā
In this episode, we talk about Gen AI adoption in the Philippines, using AI in the humanitarian sector, go-to-market strategies for AI consultants, and AI safety.
Ex-MAANG, YC AI Implementation teams to get your AI journey unblocked
Indi Young is a solution strategist who uses purpose-focused qualitative data science.Ā
She created her method over a 30-year span, and teaches that method in courses, coaching, workshops, books, talks, and through working with teams on research studies.
She was one of the founders of Adaptive Path, the pioneering UX consultancy. Indi has written three books, Time to Listen, Practical Empathy and Mental Models. She is at work on another book in the series called Toward Variety ā which covers thinking styles.Ā
Indiās method is focused on people, not users.
She pioneered opportunity maps, which are mental model diagrams of peopleās approach to a purpose aligned with the support a solution providesāor doesnāt.
In this episode of Fractional, we talk about how to conduct listening sessions, how to practice rapt attention, and how to unpack interior cognition to influence business and product strategy.
Don Norman was the founding Director of The Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego; is co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group; a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and former VP of Apple.
His latest work expands the notion of being human centered to consider the impact upon the environment, upon all cultures, and upon quality of lifeāHumanity centered.
This is explained in his latest book "Design for a Better world: Meaningful, sustainable, humanity centered." His most popular introduction to design was through his book ā The Design of Everyday Things.
Don Norman is now busily engaged in his 5th retirement, busy helping run his charity, the Don Norman Design Award and Summit.In this episode we discuss what he got wrong about human-centered design, how designers should shift from being colonizers to helpers, principles from Apple for design practitioners & consultants, and how designers can change the world.
Rachel Gogel (she/her) is a Parisian creative director, speaker, mentor, and educator. She runs her own consultancy as a fractional design executive. Sheās led major brand initiatives at GQ, The New York Times, Meta, Godfrey Dadich, Airbnb, and Dropbox.
As a solopreneur, Rachel has been launching editorial publications from scratch, leading org design efforts, designing TV show pitch decks, and building brand systems for global media and entertainment companies.
Rachel teaches in the Masterās of Interaction Design program at the California College of the Arts (CCA) and runs theĀ Women in Leadership & DesignĀ (WILD) initiative as Chair and AIGA SF Board Member.Ā
Ā
She has been recognized byĀ Inc.Ā as one of 2016ās ā30 under 30 Movers and Shakersā and byĀ ForbesĀ as one of 2015ās ā30 under 30" in media.
In this episode, we talk about the moments in time you decide you go on on your own, why the term āfractionalā resonated with Rachel, why relationships are the best way to get clients, the benefits of tracking your time, how to speak at conferences, and insights on building your personal brand.
John Paul Alcala is a Fractional Solutions Architect and Chief Technology Officer who has managed over PHP 2 Billion of cloud budget in the Philippines. Recently, he was a Partner Solutions Architect for ASEAN at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Before that, he was an Associate Vice President, Head of Infrastructure and Special Projects at GCash.
A builder at heart, he is passionate about making peopleās lives simpler with technology and has been helping customers solve some of the most challenging problems for over 20 years.
When not assisting customers, JP can be found at home, either sipping a good cup of coffee, tinkering with IoT projects, or building crazy contraptions in Minecraft. Ā
In this episode, we talk about pillars that make a great software architect; solutions architecture pitfalls in startup vs corporate environments; obsessing over what the customer needs; and how to solve problems through listening.
Watch more Fractional episodes Hire Fractional CTOs and Software Architects
David Fallarme is the VP of Marketing at Owner.com. At the time of recording, he was a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer and Marketing Advisor for Series A and B startups.
He's built and led marketing teams at companies big and small, from public companies like HubSpot and Electronic Arts to venture-backed startups like On Deck, ReferralCandy, and App Annie.
David has seen versions of the "growth movie" a few times, having driven growth & acquisition for products with millions of users, leading regional marketing teams, and working with founders at growth-stage startups.
In this episode, we talk about growth marketing advice for Series A and B founders; playing games of mastery and learning; what it takes to be a fractional CMO and marketer; and how to really build community.
Need to hire a tech consultant in AI, Software Engineering, Growth, or Design?
ā (00:00)ā TrailerĀ
ā (00:19)ā Fractional Intro ā
(01:30)ā Davidās introductionĀ
ā (03:04ā ) What Fractional marketers get wrong ā
(04:59)ā Equation of Career ProgressionĀ
ā (05:27)ā Playing the game as a Fractional CMOĀ
ā (06:33)ā Working on mastery and learningĀ
ā (09:15)ā 6 games you can play in your lifeĀ
ā (11:39ā ) Introspection and choosing your pathĀ
ā (13:48ā ) Shifting to a business mindset in marketing ā
(15:44ā ) Working as VP marketing at SpotDraft ā
(16:55ā ) Common mistakes in marketing strategy ā
(18:44ā ) Learning from similar business modelsĀ
ā (19:44ā ) Navigating changes on On DeckĀ
ā (22:31ā ) Building marketing communities in APACĀ
ā (25:57ā ) Pain points as a Fractional CMOĀ
ā (27:06ā ) Davidās tech stack ā
(27:29ā ) Crafting service menus for clientsĀ
ā (31:25ā ) Final advice for fractional marketers
Andrei Gonzales, is a multi-disciplinary design mentor, human-centered design evangelist, and current Senior Manager for Service and Experience Design for Deloitte Digital Canberra.
He has 20 years of professional experience in the digital industry across design, consulting, and digital innovation.Ā
He held roles as an Experience Architect, Manager, and Designer at Salesforce, Fjord, BCG Digital Ventures, and the billion dollar start-up: InVision App.
In this episode, we talk about building trust with clients as a consultant, using workshops for workshops to uncover client dynamics, pricing your work, and treating every bid as a high risk assumption.
Joshua Arvin Lat is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of NuWorks Interactive Labs, Inc. He is also an AWS Machine Learning Hero and he has been an international speaker on machine learning, engineering, security, and management.Ā
Heās the author of three books ā āMachine Learning with Amazon SageMaker Cookbook," "Machine Learning Engineering on AWS," and "Building and Automating Penetration Testing Labs in the Cloud." Heās also an AI Hive leader on Swarm.
In this episode, we talk about how he got to write multiple books, leading as a CTO in large organizations, and how to execute digital and AI transformations with technology.
(00:00) Trailer
(00:16) Fractional Intro
(01:04) Arvs Introduction
(02:16) Books written
(03:39) Writing journey for Sagemaker
(07:40) Machine learning engineering on AWS
(11:49) AI and security
(17:42) Leading as a CTO
(19:05) Utilizing tech to solve real business requirements
(20:35) Using Sagemaker for custom AI solutions
(21:45) Adapting to the AI Landscape
(22:24) Prioritizing initiatives across problem areas
(24:02) Using AI the right way
(25:02) Listening and Understanding The Problem
(27:59) What to focus on and specialize on as a CTO
(29:53) Giving a buffer to solve challenges yourself
(32:34) Hive leader advice
Tim Santos is the Director of Product for AI Cloud Solutions at Graphcore, He leads the product strategy and vision for enabling developers, plus AI & ML software organisations to build and deploy cutting-edge AI models in production. Tim also leads the AI Hive on Swarm. With over 13 years of experience in data science, AI, and MLOps, Tim has a strong background and passion for delivering impactful and scalable AI products and services that solve real-world problems and create value for customers and stakeholders.
In this episode, we talk about understanding your business problem before building AI solutions, turning to the open source community for help, and building teams in the lens of the data science triangle.
(00:00) Trailer
(00:22) Fractional Intro
(01:38) Tim's Introduction
(02:56) Considerations for using AI as a founder and corporate innovator
(04:41) Starting with the problem
(05:31) Finding pain points
(06:15) Following the hype
(07:06) Foundational models
(7:39) Executive buy-in and experiments
(08:39) Building success stories with small wins
(09:49) Doing research when you're new
(10:27) The open source community
(11:11) Why get help from community
(12:01) Examples and use cases in healthcare
(13:07) Getting strategists and advisers
(13:48) Building teams with the data science triangle
(15:18) Hiring AI consultancy teams
(16:50) Final advice for founders and corporate innovators
Grace Walker is an independent web designer and Webflow developer building marketing sites that are visually stunning and technically sound. She has launched over 90 marketing sites in Webflow and has become a client favorite not only for her designs, but also her organization and project management. Her deep understanding of Webflow allows her to create custom solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of each of her clients, and her commitment to delivering high-quality work has earned her a reputation as a trusted and reliable designer and developer.
00:00 - Set goals and be patient
01:03 - Who is Grace?
02:14 - Grace's journey as a fractional worker
03:39 - Choosing the quality of your clients
04:50 - What she looks for in clients
06:42 - Grace's favorite client
08:10 - How to evaluate the impact of your work
11:57 - Alexis' positive feedback
13:56 - Finding the right tools
15:29 - "Every new project I do is the best"
17:34 - Personal taste + Industry appropriate
18:20 - Tips for increasing income
20:20 - PATIENCE (our fave part!)
22:14 - Working hard vs. Burning out
25:07 - Grace's hobbies :)
28:20 - Can working less be a goal?
30:18 - Webflow vs. Framer
32:26 - Designers that mentored Grace
34:34 - Grace's advice to fractional workers In this episode, we talk about what Grace looks for in clients, the thinking behind her projects, setting income goals and breaking them down to get there, Webflow vs Framer, being patient in your fractional career, and so much more.
Matthias Cordes is a Web Designer and Webflow Developer. He runs his own freelance business and creates high converting websites for fast growing technology startups. Matthias had his first freelance āgigā as a designer after highschool and while traveling around Australia and Bali. After graduating with a degree in Creative Technology at the University of Twente in theĀ Netherlands, he pursued his passion by working on his agency full-time. Now, he supports tech companies as a team of one, with a specialty in Webflow development.
In this episode, we talk about becoming a specialist in Webflow design and development, building trust and reputation as a freelancer, writing his case studies together with a copywriter, his design collaboration process with clients, ChatGPT for web development tasks, and so much more.
00:00 - LinkedIn videos
01:48 - Going freelance straight out of university
02:45 - Deciding to build a freelance career
05:17 - Client RED FLAGS
08:45 - Becoming a Webflow professional partner
11:41 - Results > Credentials
13:02 - Recent project + cool tricks
15:48 - Why his case studies are so good
18:15 - Basecamp for managing projects
22:00 - What clients did Mattias start with?
24:10 - "find a real job at a real company"
25:43 - The agency he started
28:11 - Professional video set up
29:48 - Video marketing for his freelance practice
31:41 - Web development vs. web design projects
34:54 - cheese with holes
36:14 - Switching from Sketch to Figma
38:00 - The adrenaline from collaboration
39:11 - What do you do when you get stuck?
40:17 - Using ChatGPT to build websites
42:21 - Coding as a non-coder
43:45 - Matthias' piece of advice