Johnny Ray Austin's guest appearances

Johnny Ray Austin

Geeks Who Lead Podcast (formerly CTO Connection)

SimpleLeadership Podcast

The Engineering Leadership Podcast

DevDC Podcast

Crafted

Ray Austin

Mitch Pirtle

Jared Smith

Robert Brennan

OwlTail

Johnny Ray Austin, Head of Technology, Flexible Rent @ Best Egg, joins us to discuss Best Egg’s recent acquisition of Till and some of the strategic &amp; operational shifts that happen post-acquisition. He shares reflections on integrating the team within the new company, communicating both within the leadership team and within the overall team, how product launch / development changes throughout the acquisition process, shifts in the org’s distribution model &amp; its impact on eng functions, and what it’s like relearning your role in the scope of an acquisition. Additionally, Johnny reveals some of his greatest paradigm shifts throughout this period &amp; how the acquisition is better supporting the flexible rent model.ABOUT JOHNNY RAY AUSTINJohnny (@recursivefunk) is an experienced award-winning engineering executive focused on shipping world-class products while building high-performing engineering teams. He is also an international public speaker, speaking on engineering leadership, system design, and the JavaScript programming language. Johnny is the former Chief Technology Officer for Till, a company that built financial products to help renters pay, stay and thrive in their homes. After Best Egg acquired Till in late 2022, he transitioned to Best Egg's Head of Technology for Flexible Rent, where he continues to scale the flexible rent platform to service millions of units."At the time, we were thinking about raising money and also in acquisition and we didn't really know exactly which route we were gonna go down. We shared that with the team. You know, we said, 'Hey, this is path number one. This is path two. Path three is a shutdown.' We were very open in talking about, 'This is a path. It's very unlikely, but this is a thing that could happen.' And so we chose transparency from the very beginning because one, we thought it was the right thing to do. Two, we knew the team could handle it, and three, it was really just one of those things where it was gonna make the process easier."- Johnny Ray Austin   Looking for ways to support the show?Send a link to the show to your marketing team! https://sfelc.com/podcastsIf your company is looking to gain exposure to thousands of engineering leaders and key decision-makers, we have sponsorship opportunities available.To explore sponsor opportunities, email us at hello@sfelc.comSHOW NOTES:Johnny’s pop culture reflections &amp; tips for protecting your energy (2:42)An inside look at Best Egg’s recent acquisition of Till (6:42)What it’s been like post-acquisition to integrate the team (10:12)How leadership communicated with their team throughout the acquisition (12:25)Lessons learned about communicating during early exploratory phase (15:54)Strategies for minimizing distractions resulting from uncertainty (18:08)Helpful conversations to host between leadership for effective coordination (19:18)Questions to help gain personal alignment (21:03)How product launch / development changed mid- and post-acquisition (23:11)Introducing a new methodology to the team (26:14)The new distribution model &amp; its impact on eng functions (28:46)Differences between BNPL &amp; Best Egg’s rent payment model (31:31)What it’s been like for Johnny to relearn his role as part of a broader eng org (34:56)Frameworks for navigating new dependencies (37:05)Johnny’s paradigm shift around planning for scale (39:21)Rapid fire questions (41:50)LINKS AND RESOURCESDark Money: The Hidden History Of The Billionaires Behind The Rise Of The Radical Right - Jane Mayer discusses the results of the most recent election and Donald Trump’s victory, and how, despite much discussion to the contrary, this was a huge victory for the billionaires who have been pouring money in the American political system.Snowfall - Over the course of five seasons, FX’s Snowfall has chronicled how an off-the-books CIA operation contributed to the destruction rock cocaine leveled upon the vibrant community of South Central L.A.This episode wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:Patrick Gallagher - Producer &amp; Co-HostJerry Li - Co-HostNoah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio &amp; Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan’s also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/

<p>Johnny Ray Austin, Head of Technology, Flexible Rent @ Best Egg, joins us to discuss Best Egg’s recent acquisition of Till and some of the strategic &amp; operational shifts that happen post-acquisition. He shares reflections on integrating the team within the new company, communicating both within the leadership team and within the overall team, how product launch / development changes throughout the acquisition process, shifts in the org’s distribution model &amp; its impact on eng functions, and what it’s like relearning your role in the scope of an acquisition. Additionally, Johnny reveals some of his greatest paradigm shifts throughout this period &amp; how the acquisition is better supporting the flexible rent model.</p><h2><strong>ABOUT</strong> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnyrayaustin/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>JOHNNY RAY AUSTIN</strong></a></h2><p>Johnny (<a href="https://twitter.com/recursivefunk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@recursivefunk</a>) is an experienced award-winning engineering executive focused on shipping world-class products while building high-performing engineering teams. He is also an international public speaker, speaking on engineering leadership, system design, and the JavaScript programming language. Johnny is the former Chief Technology Officer for Till, a company that built financial products to help renters pay, stay and thrive in their homes. After Best Egg acquired Till in late 2022, he transitioned to Best Egg's Head of Technology for Flexible Rent, where he continues to scale the flexible rent platform to service millions of units.</p><blockquote><p>"At the time, we were thinking about raising money and also in acquisition and we didn't really know exactly which route we were gonna go down. We shared that with the team. You know, we said, 'Hey, this is path number one. This is path two. Path three is a shutdown.' We were very open in talking about, 'This is a path. It's very unlikely, but this is a thing that could happen.' And so we chose transparency from the very beginning because one, we thought it was the right thing to do. Two, we knew the team could handle it, and three, it was really just one of those things where it was gonna make the process easier."<br/><br/>- Johnny Ray Austin   </p></blockquote><h2><strong>Looking for ways to support the show?</strong></h2><p>Send a link to the show to your marketing team! <a href="https://sfelc.com/podcasts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://sfelc.com/podcasts</a></p><p>If your company is looking to gain exposure to thousands of engineering leaders and key decision-makers, we have sponsorship opportunities available.</p><h3><strong>To explore sponsor opportunities, email us at</strong> <a href="mailto:hello@sfelc.com"><strong>hello@sfelc.com</strong></a></h3><h2><strong>SHOW NOTES:</strong></h2><ul><li>Johnny’s pop culture reflections &amp; tips for protecting your energy (2:42)</li><li>An inside look at Best Egg’s recent acquisition of Till (6:42)</li><li>What it’s been like post-acquisition to integrate the team (10:12)</li><li>How leadership communicated with their team throughout the acquisition (12:25)</li><li>Lessons learned about communicating during early exploratory phase (15:54)</li><li>Strategies for minimizing distractions resulting from uncertainty (18:08)</li><li>Helpful conversations to host between leadership for effective coordination (19:18)</li><li>Questions to help gain personal alignment (21:03)</li><li>How product launch / development changed mid- and post-acquisition (23:11)</li><li>Introducing a new methodology to the team (26:14)</li><li>The new distribution model &amp; its impact on eng functions (28:46)</li><li>Differences between BNPL &amp; Best Egg’s rent payment model (31:31)</li><li>What it’s been like for Johnny to relearn his role as part of a broader eng org (34:56)</li><li>Frameworks for navigating new dependencies (37:05)</li><li>Johnny’s paradigm shift around planning for scale (39:21)</li><li>Rapid fire questions (41:50)</li></ul><h2>LINKS AND RESOURCES</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215462/dark-money-by-jane-mayer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dark Money: The Hidden History Of The Billionaires Behind The Rise Of The Radical Right</a> - Jane Mayer discusses the results of the most recent election and Donald Trump’s victory, and how, despite much discussion to the contrary, this was a huge victory for the billionaires who have been pouring money in the American political system.</li><li><a href="https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/snowfall" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Snowfall</a> - Over the course of five seasons, FX’s Snowfall has chronicled how an off-the-books CIA operation contributed to the destruction rock cocaine leveled upon the vibrant community of South Central L.A.</li></ul><h3><strong>This episode wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:</strong></h3><p>Patrick Gallagher - Producer &amp; Co-Host</p><p>Jerry Li - Co-Host</p><p>Noah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio &amp; Video Editor <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/</a></p><p>Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan’s also an avid 3D printer - <a href="https://www.bnd3d.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.bnd3d.com/</a></p><p>Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at <a href="https://elliecoggins.com/about/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://elliecoggins.com/about/</a></p>

Navigating the Acquisition Journey: Insights on Transparent Communication, Team Integration, and Strategic / Operational Shifts w/ Johnny Ray Austin #127

When a recruiter from Till first reached out to Johnny Ray Austin, he didn’t hesitate: “The answer was no. Flat out”. But it turns out Johnny Ray couldn’t have been more wrong about the startup, and what he’d interpreted as a potentially exploitative loan scheme is actually a life-changing new platform that helps renters stay in their homes. On this episode of Crafted, Till’s Chief Technology Officer, Johnny Ray Austin talks about his initial hesitation and what motivated him to jump on board. You'll also hear how Till iterated on its lending product to give renters confidence that Till would in fact pay their rent for them after offering them a line of credit, as well as where Till is similar to and different from buy-now-pay-later services like Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay. This is Crafted from Artium: a show about great products, and the people who make them.  At Artium, we help startups and enterprises build incredible products, recruit high-performing teams, and achieve the culture of craft they need to build great software long after we’re gone. Check us out at thisisartium.com

<p>When a recruiter from Till first reached out to Johnny Ray Austin, he didn’t hesitate: “The answer was no. Flat out”. But it turns out Johnny Ray couldn’t have been more wrong about the startup, and what he’d interpreted as a potentially exploitative loan scheme is actually a life-changing new platform that helps renters stay in their homes. </p><p>On this episode of <em>Crafted, </em>Till’s Chief Technology Officer, Johnny Ray Austin talks about his initial hesitation and what motivated him to jump on board. You'll also hear how Till iterated on its lending product to give renters confidence that Till would in fact pay their rent for them after offering them a line of credit, as well as where Till is similar to and different from buy-now-pay-later services like Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay. </p><p>This is <em>Crafted </em>from Artium: a show about great products, and the people who make them.  At Artium, we help startups and enterprises build incredible products, recruit high-performing teams, and achieve the culture of craft they need to build great software long after we’re gone. Check us out at <a href="http://thisisartium.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">thisisartium.com</a></p>

In Till We Trust: Building Software for Housing Security, Featuring Johnny Ray Austin, CTO at Till

On DevDC Episode 7 we have Johnny Ray Austin the CTO of Till. Till is a DC based startup that is helping all of our communities by transforming the rental experience. Till had to scale tremendously during COVID and is hiring! Johnny launched his Software Engineer career at Lockheed Martin. He speaks to how he retooled himself to break into the startup space.  We also talk about his passion for helping others better position themselves for the future and how technology can get them there.How many people are cool enough to openly talk about bombing an interview as well as theoretical physics? I would consider working for him! Johnny has served as an Individual Contributor all the way up to CTO. He has worked at the likes of Lockheed Martin, Capital One and Mapbox. He is a Board Member of multiple organizations, including Byte Back which provides a pathway to inclusive tech training which leads to living-wage careers.

<p>On DevDC Episode 7 we have Johnny Ray Austin the CTO of Till. Till is a DC based startup that is helping all of our communities by transforming the rental experience. Till had to scale tremendously during COVID and is hiring! </p><p>Johnny launched his Software Engineer career at Lockheed Martin. He speaks to how he retooled himself to break into the startup space. </p><p> We also talk about his passion for helping others better position themselves for the future and how technology can get them there.</p><p>How many people are cool enough to openly talk about bombing an interview as well as theoretical physics? I would consider working for him! <br/><br/>Johnny has served as an Individual Contributor all the way up to CTO. He has worked at the likes of Lockheed Martin, Capital One and Mapbox. He is a Board Member of multiple organizations, including Byte Back which provides a pathway to inclusive tech training which leads to living-wage careers.</p>