The honest view from inside technical leadership
Podcast episode

From the CTO chair

Long-form conversations with the people running technical organisations.

Episode 014 · Strategy & Business

Align, Build, Capitalise — Cost Capitalisation and Engineering Management

Dhanush HettiEngineering Leader, US & SE Asian Startups (20+ yrs)

With 20+ years across US and Southeast Asian startups, Dhanush brings a rare cross-market perspective. He unpacks cost capitalisation — a topic that rarely surfaces despite its financial impact — and how engineering leaders can use it for business alignment. He also covers flow tracking as a true measure of engineering productivity.

What we covered

  • cost capitalisation
  • engineering fundamentals
  • flow tracking

What I took away

  • Cost capitalisation is an accounting mechanism engineering leaders should understand and leverage
  • Flow tracking exposes hidden bottlenecks that velocity metrics and standups miss
  • Startup engineering fundamentals are the first things cut and the hardest to rebuild
  • IC-to-leader transitions require a full identity shift, not just new responsibilities

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