S11 Bonus: Tanmai Gopal, PromptQL

S11 Bonus: Tanmai Gopal, PromptQL

Author: Noah Labhart - Startup Founder & CTO October 23, 2025 Duration: 27:19
Tanmai Gopal is a repeat guest on the podcast. Back in Season 7, he came on to tell the creation story of Hasura, which is a universal data access layer for next generations apps. He talked through he and his colleagues frustration with building API after API, and taking steps to ensure people wanted to not do that work anymore. As Hasura started to take off, Tanmai started to ask the question around what was the right method for developers, in particular their applications, to access data. With the advent of AI, he and his team dug into what the right problems were to solve - and they identified the main problem with this type of tech was accuracy and trust. This is the creation story of PromptQL. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Behind every successful software product is a story, often untold, about the pivotal choices and challenges that shaped its journey. Code Story: Insights from Startup Tech Leaders brings those narratives to the forefront, hosted by Noah Labhart, a startup founder and CTO who understands the terrain. This podcast moves beyond theory to focus on the real-world experiences of SaaS founders, engineers, and product leaders. You'll hear firsthand accounts of building an initial MVP, the grind of securing those crucial first customers, and the delicate process of finding true product-market fit. Conversations delve into the technical and strategic crossroads that define early growth, from foundational engineering decisions and pricing experiments to the unforeseen infrastructure bottlenecks that emerge when scaling accelerates. It’s a resource for technical founders in the trenches, offering practical insights into navigating the complexities of building, launching, and growing a software business. Each episode of this podcast serves as a candid case study, revealing the lessons learned behind the code.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Code Story: Insights from Startup Tech Leaders
Podcast Episodes
S11 E15: Derek Ting, TextNow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:07
Derek Ting grew up in Canada-land, enjoying all the things of the area but especially hockey. He mentioned he has a bit of ADD, which made it hard for him to make it through a chapter in school. Nowadays, he has 2 kids.…
S11 Bonus: Dr. Alex Kihm, POMA AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:42
Alex Kihm just turned 40, and has been into computers for 36 years. He was given his first hand me down computer at the age of 4 by his parents, and also grew up with lego bricks and building things. He is an engineer by…
What Founders Need to Know - with Dan Eyman of Meld Valuation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:31
Today, I'm talking with Dan Eyman, the Managing Director at Meld Valuation, specializing in independent, audit ready valuations for VC backed startups and VC firms. He is an expert in the valuation of complex instruments…
S11 E14: Avi Perez, Pyramid Analytics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:27
Avi Perez has been in the data and analytics space for more than 25 years. He began his career in banking and finance in Australia, but quickly grew tired of crunching numbers for the big wigs, wanting to find a better w…
S11 Bonus: Goutham (Gou) Rao, Neubird [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:48
Goutham Rao grew up in Brooklyn, a nerd all his life. Back in the day, his Dad bought him a Commodore 64, from which he started to learn to write code in BASIC. Eventually, he attended the University of Pennsylvania to g…
S11 E13: Matt Hamann, Rownd [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:20
Matt Hamann knew he was going to be in tech way back in his younger days. His Dad worked for IBM, so there were always fun things to talk about and play with. He got his first family computer when he was 4 years old, and…
S11 Bonus: Greg Shove, Section [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:29
Greg Shove was born in Canada, raised in Britain, and eventually moved to the United States. Through all of these places he lived, he learned to believe in equal access for people, never to quit, and to work hard and win…
S11 E12: Ravi Madabhushi, ScaleKit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:19
Ravi Madabhushi finds that all of the stops along his professional journey were accidental. He grew up in a tiny village in the south of India - so small, it would take you 10 minutes to sprint across it, end to end. His…
S11 Bonus: Trevor Stuart, Split & Harness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:13
Trevor Stuart was born in Florida, but raised in Seattle. He was the son of a tech CFO and an Episcopalian minister - so he learned life at many different angles. He graduated from Boston College, and went into investmen…
S11 E11: Dave Berner, Kinde [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:08
Dave Berner grew up in London, and got into coding through music. He used to be the lead singer in metal and hardcore bands. His bands couldn't afford a webmaster, so he learned how to code in order to launch his band's…