EPISODE SUMMARY
Tobias talks with Matt Wolach, host of SaaS-Story in the Making podcast, about the intricacies and the importance of resilient applications. Tobias, while discussing the tactics he used to scale his company, Glasnostic, analyzed the complexities of cloud architectures and their relation to application behavior and control.
Tobias touches on the internetwork operations of applications in a complex infrastructural setting and the importance of implementing functionality that makes applications cohere. Tobias also shared tested strategies that could be adopted by startups and budding enterprises to stand out, grow, and be a force to reckon with in their niches.
PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCE
Podcast: SaaS-Story in the Making
Episode: Resilient Applications – Why They’re Critical
Host: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS sales coach, Entrepreneur, and Investor
Guest: Tobias Kunze, CEO and Co-founder of Glasnostic
TOP TIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Capacity does not guarantee stability
Tobias understands that having the capacity to run is core to success in the software world and the business world generally. Things must be programmed to work speedily. As such, there needs to be room for systems to run independently without outside interference.
Tobias thinks that relying on capacity alone to solve business problems leaves software and businesses susceptible to the unpredictability of the market as untraceable hiccups that could spell doom for software and businesses could spearhead anytime.
Tobias advocates applying real-time control especially in these times when the success of software and services depends on other software and services. Tobias recommends the establishment of a control framework where separate pieces could work together in a coupled sense. That way, the unpredictability of the service landscape is managed and a great percentage of stability is assured.
Change and growth are a Siamese
Of course, what you need as a startup is not what you would need as you continue to scale. As a startup, developers might help you “keep the lights on.” The developers take care of your service delivery.
As you grow bigger, you have hundreds of applications and systems connected in a shared infrastructure. At this point, Tobias underlines the need to decentralize and parallelize to be able to absorb the shock of unpredictability that comes with running a complex system.
Since you cannot predict what would happen in the runtime, Tobias advises that you have runtime control sorted.
Know the market
Tobias thinks that having first-hand knowledge of the market you operate in helps you develop strategies that could help you thrive. A solid understanding of market and consumer behavior sets you apart. With market knowledge, you would be able to build outside the realm or reach of established enterprises.
Market knowledge also helps you put a perfect team together. Product differentiation is also made easier. Startups would be able to find a balance between market strategies and would be able to scale without iterating what established brands have done.
Just do it
Tobias says startups need to give it a shot. At a time when there is too much software, Tobias understands the itch to tinker, to wait for the right time and the right idea.
Tobias advises founders of startups not to underestimate their ability. Tobias thinks that showing up with a product is the best way to learn a great deal about customers.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Make your system resilient
To Tobias, making applications and systems resilient involves “looking at how applications interact with each other in a complex infrastructure, making this interaction visible, and fine-tuning these interactions.” “So instead of just providing capacity and hoping that things would be stable, apply real-time control.”
“One thing that is more important than code correctness is implementing functionality that makes components work in a much-coupled sense. Having this functionality serves as a bulwark against hiccups that are very difficult to track.”
In a bit, making applications and systems resilient involve possessing a “high-level observation and applying controls to what is happening so you can make all things work out.”
Network effectively
“In the early days, luck is a large factor. You might need to stumble upon a champion who is already looking for you in some way. You might not be able to convince anybody from ground zero.” At this stage, scaling is “a game of talking to enough people to improve your chances of finding those the right customers and then learning from early conversions.”
It is important to understand that “people operate differently.” As such, you need to “understand the trends in consumer behavior to find a balance.”
The hungrier, the better for your team
“It is tough as a software startup to compete with Google but there are lots of hungry developers out there. Looking for people who are hungry to be part of a vision and people who find working for a startup appealing is the way to go.”
TOP QUOTES
Tobias:
[11:08]” Once you go beyond a single application blueprint, there would be things that become unpredictable that you cannot design upfront.”
[13:13] “Since you cannot predict what would happen in the runtime, you need to have runtime control.”
[21:21] “Do not underestimate your ability to create reality.”
[22:59] “The attempt to do something is incredibly powerful.”
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Tobias Kunze and Glasnostic, visit: https://glasnotic.com/
You can also find Tobias Kunze on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tkunze/
For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/.
As part of the founding team in his first SaaS product, Matt owned the sales & marketing processes. But he struggled to sell and gain traction for the company. It took years of learning and tweaking before Matt created The Perfect DEAL Process, an innovative yet easy to implement method for closing more software deals. To find out more, visit https://mattwolach.com/about-matt
