Episode 126: Vector Search Engine, Building An Open-Source Business, and Digital Technology Through The Lens of Language with Bob Van Luijt

Show Notes(01:36) Bob shared formative experiences of his upbringing with exposure to technology.(05:08) Bob discussed his time building software for fun as a teenager.(07:08) Bob reflected on his education in music and his decision to transition to a career in software development.(10:52) Bob explained his project control(human, data, sound) while working on his consultancy agency Kubrickology.(14:25) Bob discussed how using software can enhance our creativity.(17:28) Bob talked about his fascination with merging physical and digital realms.(19:41) Bob recalled his TEDx talk that introduced three high-level ideas about why software works well based on its ability to adapt to our language.(24:57) Bob shared the founding story of Weaviate.(29:40) Bob talked about his process of choosing his co-founders.(31:29) Bob unpacked his high-level thinking around creating a business model around the open-source project.(38:06) Bob defined a vector search engine for the uninitiated.(40:49) Bob gave a brief overview of the high-level design of Weaviate.(43:15) Bob talked about Weaviate's production-ready features, such as horizontal scalability and graph-like connections between objects.(45:45) Bob reviewed the use cases for Weaviate that he is most proud of.(49:31) Bob emphasized the importance of engaging open-source contributors to generate valuable product feedback.(55:03) Bob talked about the pricing model for Weaviate Cloud Service.(57:59) Bob anticipated the evolution of the tooling landscape within the AI-first database ecosystem to support the increasing adoption of unstructured data.(01:02:31) Bob shared valuable hiring lessons to attract the right people to join Weaviate.(01:04:36) Bob explained his process of identifying people who align with the cultural values of Weaviate.(01:08:27) Bob gave fundraising advice to founders who are seeking the right investors for their startups.(01:12:17) Bob highlighted his thinking around being a remote-first company and building an open-source brand.(01:16:28) Closing segment.Bob's Contact InfoWikipediaLinkedInTwitterGitHubWTF Medium BlogYouTubeWeaviate's ResourcesWebsite | Twitter | Slack | Forum | GitHubBlog | Podcast | PlaybookMentioned ContentPeopleSam Ramji (DataStax)Paul Graham (Y Combinator)Book"Hackers and Painters" (by Paul Graham)Notes

My conversation with Bob was recorded back in late 2022. Since then, I recommend checking out these resources:

Datacast features long-form, in-depth conversations with practitioners and researchers in the data community to walk through their professional journeys and unpack the lessons learned along the way. I invite guests coming from a wide range of career paths — from scientists and analysts to founders and investors — to analyze the case for using data in the real world and extract their mental models (“the WHY and the HOW”) behind their pursuits. Hopefully, these conversations can serve as valuable tools for early-stage data professionals as they navigate their own careers in the exciting data universe.

Datacast is produced and edited by James Le. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Subscribe by searching for Datacast wherever you get podcasts, or click one of the links below:

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Datacast features long-form, in-depth conversations with practitioners and researchers in the data community to walk through their professional journeys and unpack the lessons learned along the way. I invite guests coming from a wide range of career paths — from scientists and analysts to founders and investors — to analyze the case for using data in the real world and extract their mental models (“the WHY and the HOW”) behind their pursuits. Hopefully, these conversations can serve as valuable tools for early-stage data professionals as they navigate their own careers in the exciting data universe.

Datacast is produced and edited by James Le. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Subscribe by searching for Datacast wherever you get podcasts, or click one of the links below:

If you’re new, see the podcast homepage for the most recent episodes to listen to, or browse the full guest list.