Ep 16 - Dan Pilone - Element84, Large Scale Computing, Enabling Open Data & People Focused Growth

Dan Pilone is the CEO and co-founder of Element84, a software engineering company focused on building geospatial solutions at scale. We touch on Dan's experience working on geospatial software engineer problems and how those have changed over the past decade. We discuss the work Element84 has done to contribute to AWS's Open Data program, as well the journey of co-founding a company with Dan's wife Tracey, and how they're thinking of growth through a people-focused mindset.---Find previous episodes and other show notes at mindsbehindmaps.comIf you'd like to help support the podcast, please consider leaving a review directly on the website, or on Apple Podcast. This helps showcase the value of the podcast when reaching out to new potential guests. ---About Dan:LinkedInTwitterElement84 website Time-stamps:03:16 - Conversation starts, Dan present himself07:03 - Presenting Element8409:33 - Element84’s early days - Moving towards geospatial over time12:16 - Problems change over time16:15 - Scale changes too20:48 - Contributing to Amazon’s Open Data Registry26:16 - Making Sentinel data more accessible34:30 - Getting nerdy: What do Dask & Xarray mean for the future of geospatial data processing40:16 - Moving towards more layers of abstraction41:52 - Business model behind different open data contributions45:11 - A game theory approach to Open Source50:28 - The Openness of Geospatial compared to other fields56:16 - Co-founding a company as a couple1:04:21 - Preventing people “careering out” of the company1:11:19 - People-focus growth1:16:58 - Element84’s hiring process1:21:14 - Changing culture as the company grows1:27:54 - How Dan’s role has changed over the years1:30:47 - The relevance (or not) of keeping a foot in the code as a CEO1:33:29 - Opportunity cost from Dan’s point of view1:36:34 - Book & podcast recommendations Show notes:Earth SearchBook & podcast recommendation:Great game of business Unlocking the Power and Profitability of Open-Book Management by  Jack Stack, Bo BurlinghamDear White Friend: The Realities of Race, the Power of Relationships and Our Path to Equity by Melvin J. Gravely IIFour Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver BurkemanManager Tools podcastTugboat GroupInterview with Dan & his wife Tracey on co-founding Element84 together Please feel free to reach out!My TwitterFor news about the podcastWebsite