Gajus Kuizinas, CTO at Contra, on velocity without code reviews, rebuilding from scratch, and hiring for autonomy

In this episode of CTO2CTO, Forte Group CTO Lucas Hendrich talks with Gajus Kuizinas, Co-founder and CTO at Contra, about what it takes to build a platform—and a team—that scales with autonomy, not bureaucracy.

From abandoning code reviews to rebuilding the company’s architecture from scratch, Gajus shares a clear-eyed view of what real trust, velocity, and startup leadership look like behind the scenes.

Velocity Begins With Trust

LH: Your engineering team moves fast. What enables that?
GK: We’ve built our culture around trust. Everyone owns their work, from idea to production. We don’t require code reviews unless someone asks for it—we use Loom walkthroughs instead. If I can see your intent and the results, that’s enough.

When to Throw It All Out

LH: How did you and your co-founder align technically?
GK: We didn’t—at first. When we decided to work together, I told him: we’re scrapping everything. The codebase, the team. That’s a hard thing to hear after you’ve maxed out credit cards and built something. But he said yes. That trust is the foundation of everything we’ve built since.

Hiring for Autonomy

LH: What do you look for in engineers?
GK: I ask one question: Do you consider yourself lucky? Everyone we’ve hired has said yes—and when you ask why, they talk about great projects, great teams, great experiences. That’s not luck. That’s someone who’s collaborative, consistent, and open to growth.

Tools Don’t Build Culture, But They Can Support It

GK: Tools like Loom help us communicate intent without adding process. We optimize for fewer meetings and more maker time. If we’re trusting people to ship, we need to give them the space and structure to do it well.

The Cost of Early Decisions

LH: What’s your advice for early-stage technical founders?
GK: Every shortcut has a cost. The tech debt you take on in year one can be a tax you pay in year five. That doesn’t mean overengineering—it means thinking long-term, even when you’re moving fast.

Stay tuned for more conversations at the intersection of autonomy, leadership, and engineering culture on CTO2CTO.