How We Work in GoustoTech — Part 2 — Squads

In the first part of our series looking at How We Work in GoustoTech we focused on the overall team structure. This post digs into more detail about how an individual squad works, the methodology they follow and what the day-to-day role of an Engineer or Product Manager is within a squad.

Structure

Each squad in GoustoTech consists of five Engineers and one Product Manager. As we grow our team there may be fewer Engineers, but the overall goal is to be a six-person team. The aim is to make each squad a small, self-contained, independent unit that works towards achieving a mission…

Cottage Review: The Nutshell, Pluckley, Kent

We recently spent nine nights in September 2018 staying at The Nutshell in Pluckley, near Ashford in Kent. We came across the cottage through the Kent and Sussex Cottages website. We’ve never booked through this site before but it seemed to rank well for cottages in Kent which was the…

Restaurant Review: The Compasses Inn, Crundale, Kent

The last six months has been a whirlwind as you can probably tell with the lack of posts on my blog. To recover, we booked a nine night stay in a cottage in Kent that coincided with our wedding anniversary. …

Five reasons why your next job should be at a recipe box company

Deciding your next step on the career ladder is never a simple task. Not only do you have to choose what you want to be, but you have to think about where you want to be. These choices aren’t made any easier by most of us having preconceptions about different companies and the challenges they face.

Before joining Gousto in September 2017 as Head of Engineering, I had my own ideas of a technology-driven, recipe box company. Gousto had only been around for five years, the meal-kit sector was young and the wider UK grocery market wasn’t associated with being at the forefront of innovation.

A…

Restaurant Review: Lima, Fitzrovia, London

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I paid a visit to Lima Fitzrovia in London. Last year I spotted that Lima advertised on Travelzoo (join using that link and we both get £10 to spend) during their quiet periods (normally Jan-March and over the summer). Unlike many other offers that restaurants make, this voucher was for two-courses from the a-la-carte menu (rather than a separate set-menu), meaning you could sample whichever dishes you wish. A couple of the more expensive dishes do have small surcharges, but for £49 for 2-courses and champagne for two people, this really makes a good value evening out.

Lima, which currently holds 1 Michelin Star is located in Fitzrovia, a 5-minute walk north from the hustle and bustle of Tottenham Court Road Underground Station and Oxford Street. For anyone on a shopping trip, or even before an evening out at the theatre, Lima is a great option.

Lima’s…

How We Work in GoustoTech — Part 1

For anyone who’d like to see more about my day-job as Head of Engineering at Gousto I’ve started a series of blog posts on Gousto’s Engineering Blog, TechBrunch. The first post in the series look at how we structure the team. I’ve tried to cover not only the ‘how’ but…

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing — Breakfast with Daniel Pink

Last week, on Friday 26th January, I was lucky enough to be invited to a breakfast book launch of Daniel Pink’s newest book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. The event was arranged by Harrington Starr, a recruiter I’ve worked with over a number of years. Harrington Starr have always organised great events with top-quality speakers and this was no exception. Hosted at The Vintner’s Company in the City of London, a grand place to start your day.

For those of you who haven’t yet come across Daniel Pink, he’s an author of many other books, but is probably most famous for Drive. Dan is also famous for his 2009 TED talk, The Puzzle of Motivation, which has nearly 20m views on the TED website.

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Thinking

In his latest…

How We Work in GoustoTech — Part 1 — Team Structure

After joining Gousto as Head of Engineering in September 2017 I’ve spent a lot of time interviewing candidates as we look to scale out our engineering team. One of the most common questions I’m asked is how we structure the team here at Gousto. …

Restaurant Review: Fox and Hounds, Hunsdon, Hertfordshire

My wife celebrates her birthday in early January and every year I search for restaurants not taking a well earned break after the December peak. …

Restaurant Review: Gravetye Manor, Sussex

During a short break to Kent in November 2017 (where we stayed in The Granary) we were looking for a restaurant to enjoy a relaxing lunch. This area of the country doesn’t have a massive amount of Michelin starred establishments but we did come across Gravetye Manor in West Hoathly…

In the first part of our series looking at How We Work in GoustoTech we focused on the overall team structure. This post digs into more detail about how an individual squad works, the methodology they follow and what the day-to-day role of an Engineer or Product Manager is within a squad.

Structure

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Thinking

Ben Brown