Essays by Ry Walker

Essays on AI, startups, and software engineering by Ry Walker, founder of Tembo and Astronomer.

allagentsaiapisarchitectureastronomerautomationbottleneckbuild-vs-buybusiness-modelcode-reviewcoding-agentscommunicationcompetitioncontextcontext-engineeringcoordinationculturecustomer-developmentcustomer-successdatadecision-makingdeveloper-experiencedeveloper-toolsdevexeconomicsengineeringenterpriseevaluationexperiencefoundersfundraisingfuturego-to-marketgovernancegrowthgtmhuman-in-the-loopincentivesinfrastructureintegrationintuitionjudgmentknowledge-managementknowledge-workkubernetesleadershiplearningmaintenancemanagementmarketmarketingmeasurementmemorymoatsnuanceobservabilityopen-sourceoperationalizationoperationsoutboundpersonalpersonal-agentspersonalizationphasespitchingplatformplatformsplaybookprocessprocurementproductprototypingqualityragreasoningrecommendationsretentionreviewsalessecurityseedshippingskillssoftware-engineeringstartupsstorytellingstrategytembotoolingtrustunit-economicsworkflow
Apr 26, 2026Three Audiences, Three Agent Strategies

Executives, founders, engineering leaders. Each one needs a different mindset shift to operationalize agents in 2026 — and each one is currently running the wrong play.

Feb 10, 2026Becoming an Open Source Champion

How to champion open source within your organization — from grassroots adoption to executive buy-in and sustainable engagement.

Feb 4, 2026The Uncomfortable Truth About Outbound

Most sales teams want a tool that fixes outbound. The next AI feature, the next intent provider, the next personalization engine. It won't. The game changed underneath them.

Feb 3, 2026What Actually Helps Developer Performance

No single number captures developer performance. The honest answer is a portfolio of imperfect signals, used to develop people rather than rank them.

Jan 30, 2026The GTM vs. R&D Measurement Gap

Sales has revenue. Engineering has hand-waving. The asymmetry in how we measure go-to-market versus R&D is a real problem, not a feature.