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What happens when a great product fails? Not because the code was bad. Not because the team was weak. But because the company wasn’t ready for it — or the market wasn’t.
In this episode of Tech Teams Today, I sat down with John Van Vranken, CTO at MPC Solutions, to unpack the quiet reasons even brilliant teams lose, and how the industry’s view of engineering talent is finally catching up to what startups figured out years ago.
Here’s what we covered:
Why the “smartest” teams still fail
Even teams with elite talent and solid products can fail, not because of execution, but because the market isn’t ready, the internal politics get in the way, or the messaging doesn’t land. John shared firsthand experience of working on a highly strategic initiative with strong buy-in… that still got shelved.
👉 Key takeaway: Great products don’t just need to be built well — they need to be sold, positioned, and timed right.
Big tech used to ignore generalists while startups embraced them
John flipped the script mid-interview and asked me about my experience as a generalist. The truth? Startups hired me because I could wear multiple hats, but big tech didn’t know what to do with that. That’s changing now.
👉 Key takeaway: Today’s engineering leaders want versatile, product-minded builders, not just hyper-specialized “sharpshooters.”
Balancing velocity and security on distributed teams
One of John’s top priorities at MPC is enabling teams to move fast without compromising trust or safety. He outlined how they use automated security testing, strong CI/CD pipelines, and a mature QA practice to stay nimble without losing sleep over risk.
👉 Key takeaway: Speed and security aren’t opposites if you invest in the right test coverage and DevSecOps mindset.
AI, LLMs, and the future of engineering roles
John sees AI tooling as an inevitable part of the modern engineer’s toolkit, but not a replacement for critical thinking. He emphasized the importance of pairing LLMs with engineers who can reason about tradeoffs, evaluate risk, and adapt architecture at scale.
👉 Key takeaway: AI will accelerate workflows but it’s still human judgment that scales products.
What makes a great engineering leader?
For John, leadership means protecting the team’s ability to execute. It’s not about ego or being the loudest voice, it’s about removing blockers, building alignment, and staying hands-on enough to understand what the team needs.
👉 Key takeaway: Technical leadership is less about controlling the roadmap and more about enabling momentum.
🎧 Tune into the full episode
This episode of Tech Teams Today is live on all major podcast platforms:
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts
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