Mike interviews Kossi Selom Banybah, CTO of Gebeya, a Pan-African tech leadership company. Kossi shares invaluable insights on building SaaS platforms, utilising microservices effectively, and Gebeya's groundbreaking partnership with Microsoft to empower young African talent. Tune in to discover how Gebeya is revolutionising the tech landscape and gain expert advice on navigating the world of microservices and SaaS.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Gebeya's SaaS platform enables entrepreneurs and companies to have their own talent cloud for searching, upskilling, and managing talent efficiently.
• When transitioning to a SaaS model, the biggest challenge is ensuring proper multi-tenancy and data segregation between tenants.
• Start small with microservices, finding a balance between monolithic and fully microservice-based approaches to avoid overwhelming complexity.
• Choose the right technology stack that solves your problem from the beginning, as changing it later can be very difficult.
• Implement monitoring, distributed tracing, and logging tools to improve visibility and troubleshoot issues effectively in microservice architectures.
• Be technology agnostic and select solutions based on the problem at hand, rather than religious adherence to specific technologies.
• SaaS is here to stay due to its accessibility, easy management, and the ability to forecast revenue more accurately.
• Embrace collaboration, seek diverse perspectives, and maintain a balanced approach in both technology and life for long-term success.

BEST MOMENTS

"So basically our SaaS platform allows you as an entrepreneur or as a company to have your own talent cloud where you can search for people or upscale your people, right?"  [3:51] (Kossi explaining the core functionality of Gebeya's SaaS platform)

"So if I understand this correctly, I am a company and if I use Gebeya, I can build my talent cloud from a candidate's use guy source, or do I need to source it myself?" - Mike and Kossi discussing the launch of the Microsoft Talent Cloud and how companies can use Gebeya to build their talent pools [4:32] (Exploring the benefits of Gebeya's platform for companies)

"It's like a talent selection SaaS platform" [5:07] Mike summarising Gebeya

"If you want more, I would say to have more probability of succeeding, um, and focusing on your business instead of building the platform and at the same time in the business. I would say, oh, SaaS is the best solution for you." [22:34] (Kossi discussing the benefits of using Gebeya's SaaS platform compared to building an in-house solution)

 "We started straight from microservice, but like I said it's really in the middle because we had the same big services not that big, but not also small. So we did not start with a monolith. We start right away with microservice, but in a safer way because if you don't, if you jump right into microservice, we don't have the right knowledge, you make work much more difficult for yourself, right?" [33:27] (Kossi explaining Gebeya's approach to microservices)

"I think a lot of problems will be solved in this world if you can have the right person, the right position to do a job."  [59:39] (Kossi discusses how Gebeya's platform can revolutionise the way organisations find and manage skilled individuals for specific projects)

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://gebeya.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Meet Mike, a seasoned tech entrepreneur and visionary with over two and a half decades of invaluable experience in founding and scaling successful tech start-ups. Mike brings a wealth of firsthand knowledge and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and tech professionals.

As a host, Mike is dedicated to sharing actionable insights, strategies, and stories gathered from conversations with industry leaders, innovators, and experts. With a remarkable ability to distill practical wisdom from guests, Mike curates engaging discussions that resonate with both aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals. 

ABOUT THE SHOW

Welcome to Mastering Tech Growth, where we dive deep into the strategies, challenges, and triumphs of scaling tech-driven ventures. Join us as we explore the dynamic world of technology businesses, uncovering the secrets behind successful growth trajectories. Each episode brings you candid conversations with founders and industry experts, sharing invaluable insights, proven tactics, and real-life stories. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned professional, discover the roadmap to navigating the complexities of scaling in the ever-evolving tech landscape.