AI Startup CEO Reveals What Really Kills AI Projects
Beyond Coding1 Loka 2025

AI Startup CEO Reveals What Really Kills AI Projects

What if the biggest obstacles to AI innovation aren't what you think? Deeploy CEO Maarten Stolk shares his controversial but effective strategies for building successful AI products and ecosystems, challenging the common wisdom around bottom-up initiatives and regulation.


In this episode, we cover:


Why bottom-up initiatives fail without strong top-down vision.

The surprising benefits of the EU's AI Act for innovation.

How to build a thriving AI ecosystem from the ground up.

The single most important metric for AI observability.

This conversation is for tech leaders, founders, and engineers who want to move beyond AI experiments and build real-world, production-ready systems.


Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:45 - Why Maarten Started a Dutch AI Hub

00:02:15 - The "Flywheel" Effect Crucial for AI Success

00:04:42 - The Hard Truth: Why the Netherlands is Lagging in AI

00:07:52 - A Controversial Take: The EU AI Act is Actually Good for Everyone

00:11:26 - The Real Bottleneck to Innovation Isn't Regulation

00:14:25 - From POC to Production: Why Top-Down Vision is Non-Negotiable

00:17:13 - A Wake-Up Call for Inexperienced Leadership Teams

00:20:30 - How Winning Companies Use AI to Dominate Their Market

00:23:44 - The Right Way to Learn From Your Competitors

00:27:30 - Maarten Outsourced Core Development to an AI Company

00:31:59 - The #1 Metric You Must Track for AI Observability

00:36:03 - Open-Source vs. Closed-Source: Which AI Model Will Win?

00:40:23 - The Inevitable Crisis That Will Force Innovation

00:42:19 - The Power of Having a Long-Term Personal Vision


#AIStrategy #TechLeadership #Innovation


Jaksot(237)

Forward Deployed Engineer: The Role Up 800% (And How to Get It)

Forward Deployed Engineer: The Role Up 800% (And How to Get It)

Traditional software engineering job listings have dropped by 70%, yet Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) roles have exploded by over 800% this year. We sit down with Mo Fagir, Principal Technical Consul...

10 Joulu 202545min

AI Won't Replace Software Engineers, But This Might (CEO Perspective)

AI Won't Replace Software Engineers, But This Might (CEO Perspective)

If you think your value as a software engineer comes just from writing code, you're already at risk.In this episode, Outsystems CEO Woodson Martin reveals why AI isn't the real threat to your career. ...

3 Joulu 202536min

How We Get More Done with Fewer Engineers

How We Get More Done with Fewer Engineers

What if you could build a multi-million dollar software company where only 10% of your employees are developers? AFAS, a company with hundreds of millions in revenue, does exactly that with a lean tea...

26 Marras 202528min

How to Think About System Design (GitHub Engineer's Perspective)

How to Think About System Design (GitHub Engineer's Perspective)

System design interviews often focus on theoretical complexity, but how do Senior Engineers at GitHub actually approach scaling? In this episode, Bassem Dghaidi breaks down how to think about system d...

19 Marras 202546min

From Backend Engineer to Head of Mobile (Lessons from Uber)

From Backend Engineer to Head of Mobile (Lessons from Uber)

What does it take to build a career as a mobile engineer when AI is changing everything? Pasha Mazurin shares how he went from Java backend engineer to Head of Mobile, why he only joins mobile-first c...

12 Marras 202558min

How to Stay Relevant in Tech (25+ Years of Lessons)

How to Stay Relevant in Tech (25+ Years of Lessons)

Worried about staying relevant as AI and new tools keep changing tech? The answer isn't chasing every new framework, it's treating your career like an engineering problem you can solve.In this episode...

5 Marras 202559min

Promotions, Salary & Leadership: I Answer Your Toughest Tech Career Questions

Promotions, Salary & Leadership: I Answer Your Toughest Tech Career Questions

You asked, I answered. In this Q&A episode, I tackle the toughest career questions you submitted: from getting promoted when the process feels political, to negotiating salary, to leading projects as ...

29 Loka 202557min

What Separates Good Engineers from Great Ones

What Separates Good Engineers from Great Ones

What's the real difference between a good software engineer and a truly great one? It’s more than just coding skill. It's a specific mindset, a disciplined approach to technology, and a deep understan...

22 Loka 202538min