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Guest Profile Rubric: Ship It Tuesday

Show premise: A fortnightly podcast for technical founders and heads of engineering at UK startups between 5 and 60 people, exploring the build-vs-buy decisions that impact their businesses.

Must-have criteria

• Direct experience with infrastructure cost optimization - The guest must have hands-on experience in reducing infrastructure spend, providing valuable insights and actionable advice for the audience.
• Technical expertise in cloud computing or SaaS - A strong understanding of cloud computing or SaaS is essential, enabling the guest to discuss the technical aspects of infrastructure cost optimization.
• Ability to communicate complex concepts simply - The guest should be able to explain technical concepts in a clear, concise manner, making the episode engaging and informative for the audience.

Episode Plan: "The Hidden Cost of Managed Everything"

Format: interview · Target length: 45 minutes
Core premise: Priya Raman, former VP Engineering at Loamly, shares her honest experience of cutting infrastructure spend from £48,000/month to £19,000/month, revealing the hidden costs of managed services and the lessons she learned from what worked and what didn't.

Intro hook (0:00–2:00)

Opening line:
"Priya Raman cut her company's infrastructure bill by nearly sixty percent, but admits she regrets some of the cuts - what can we learn from her experience?"

What to cover:

• The surprising truth about managed infrastructure costs
• How Priya's experience can help listeners identify and cut their own unnecessary expenses

Segment 1: The £48,000 Monthly Bill (~10 minutes)

Core question: What are the common hidden costs in managed infrastructure that can quietly double a startup's bill between seed and Series A?
Timestamp: ~0:02

Talking points:

• Priya's initial experience with the £48,000/month infrastructure bill at Loamly
• Common 'convenience taxes' that startups often overlook
• The importance of scrutinizing every line item in the infrastructure bill

Segment 2: The Audit Method (~12 minutes)

Core question: How did Priya conduct her audit to identify areas for cost optimization, and what specific steps can listeners take to do the same?
Timestamp: ~0:12

Question Bank: Priya Raman × Ship It Tuesday

Episode angle: Exploring the hidden costs of managed infrastructure and the lessons learned from Priya's experience in cutting infrastructure spend at Loamly. · Format: interview · Target length: 45 min
Questions: 20 across five levels

Warm-up - ASK OFF-MIC, BEFORE RECORDING

• What's the most surprising thing you've learned about infrastructure costs since leaving Loamly?
• Can you tell me about a recent project where you had to make tough decisions about cost optimization?

Opening

• You've spoken publicly about cutting infrastructure spend from £48,000/month to £19,000/month at Loamly. What was going through your mind when you first saw that £48,000 bill?
• How did your team react when you announced plans to reduce infrastructure costs, and what were some of the initial challenges you faced?

Core - The £48,000 Monthly Bill

• What are some common 'convenience taxes' that startups often overlook when it comes to infrastructure costs?
  • Follow-up: Can you give an example of how one of these 'convenience taxes' was impacting Loamly's bottom line?
• How did you conduct your initial audit to identify areas for cost optimization, and what were some of the key findings?
  • Follow-up: Were there any surprises in the audit process, and how did you prioritize which areas to address first?

Intro Script - read this verbatim

"Priya Raman cut her company's infrastructure bill by nearly sixty percent, but admits she regrets some of the cuts - what can we learn from her experience? As a former VP Engineering at Loamly, Priya has hands-on experience in reducing infrastructure costs and is willing to share her lessons learned, including what worked and what didn't. This episode is for any startup founder or engineer who's ever felt like they're being nickel-and-dimed by their infrastructure providers, and wants to take control of their costs. Join us as we explore the hidden costs of managed infrastructure and how to identify and cut unnecessary expenses. Welcome to Ship It Tuesday, I'm your host, and today we're talking to Priya Raman about the hidden cost of managed everything."

Why this lands: This introduction matters to our audience because it speaks directly to the pain point of infrastructure costs, which is a major concern for many startup founders and engineers. By sharing Priya's story and lessons learned, we can help our listeners make more informed decisions about their own infrastructure costs and take control of their expenses.

Outreach: Priya Raman × Ship It Tuesday

Stage: confirmed
The angle we are pitching: Exploring the hidden costs of managed infrastructure and the lessons learned from Priya's experience in cutting infrastructure spend at Loamly.

Cold pitch - Variant A: warm and conversational

Subject: Cutting infrastructure costs: lessons from a £48,000/month bill

I came across your post 'We were paying for other people's on-call' and was struck by your honesty about the challenges of infrastructure cost optimization. Your experience at Loamly, where you reduced the infrastructure spend from £48,000/month to £19,000/month, is particularly relevant to our audience of technical founders and heads of engineering at UK startups. I think our listeners would greatly benefit from your insights on identifying and cutting unnecessary expenses, especially since you've publicly shared that about 40% of the savings were a mistake in hindsight. The episode would be a 45-minute interview, focusing on your audit method, the lessons you learned, and advice for small teams. We'd love to have you on the show - would you be available for a recording on [insert date] or prefer to schedule via our booking link?

Cold pitch - Variant B: professional

Subject: Expert insight on infrastructure cost optimization for UK startups