Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Chad talks with a returning guest from the early days of the show, Brennan Dunn, founder of RightMessage. Featuring nearly 600 episodes ago on episode 18 of Giant Robots, Brennan is back to talk about how things have changed for him since his first appearance in 2012.

Brennan reflects on working as a contractor and growing to become a company of one, why the scaling size of a business doesn’t always equate to more productivity, and how he uses AI to keep operating costs down along with the minimal set up involved.

—

You can follow Brennan on LinkedIn to keep up to date with his work, or if you’re looking to improve the messaging of your business you can try out RightMessage for free right now.

You can also take a quick step back in time and revisit Brennan’s original episode from 2012.

Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.

Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

© 2026 thoughtbot, inc.

Sami swims against the tide of AI with Emma Barnes, CEO of Consonance, as they examine the more controversial idea of being anti-AI.

Emma explains why her publishing business is anti-AI and the benefits of coding for yourself, how AI is having a negative impact on different aspects of our daily lives, why big corporations are hyping it up so much, and Sami asks what is it about AI that keeps drawing people in.

—

Our guest for this episode has been Emma Barnes, if you’d like to get in touch with Emma you can do so through LinkedIn, or by emailing her directly - [email protected]

If you’re interested in using Emma’s publishing services or wish to be a part of the team, check out her business Consonance, or check out her weekly live stream to stay up to date with the world of publishing.

Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.

Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

© 2026 thoughtbot, inc.

Sami talks with Quentin de Metz, Co-Founder and CTO of Pennylane, about the journey of building a startup into an established company.

Quentin provides his unique perspective of what it’s like to be a founder with an engineering background, the rapid growth he experienced with Pennylane and the lessons that shape how he now runs the company, and their cautious approach to incorporating AI.

—

Our guest for this episode has been Quentin de Metz, who you can connect with via LinkedIn, or check out Pennylane’s website if you’re interested in using their services. Pennylane are also hiring and have a whole host of open positions at the moment, if you'd like to apply, head to their recruitment page for more information.

Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.

Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

© 2026 thoughtbot, inc.

Our hosts provide a peek behind the scenes as they discuss their work on recent thoughtbot projects.

Chad covers the progress being made on thoughtbot’s new “Ready Set Go” app, the hurdles they’ve encountered so far in development, and the things it needs to achieve in order to compete in it’s field effectively.

Will reflects on a week long project with a non-technical founder and examines how clients’ exceptions have shifted because of AI, and Sami shares a brief update on his crypto project.

—

You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.

Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

© 2026 thoughtbot, inc.

Chad talks with Raja Rajamannar about how he reimagined marketing and strategy at Mastercard.

Raja explains how he connected the dots between credit cards and healthcare, convincing the board to take a risk on something new in the process, how Mastercard leverages AI with their clients and marketing to stay on top of their brand and competitors, as well as highlighting the mistakes big companies make when it comes to AI.

—

Stay up to date with Raja across social media on LinkedIn, X and Instagram. For more insight into Raja’s thoughts on marketing, check out his book, Quantum Marketing.

Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.

Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

© 2026 thoughtbot, inc.