If your MCP server has dozens of tools, it’s probably built wrong.You need tools that are specific and clear for each use case—but you also can’t have too many. This creates an almost impossible tradeoff that most companies don’t know how to solve.
That’s why we interviewed Alex Rattray, the founder and CEO of Stainless. Stainless builds APIs, SDKs, and MCP servers for companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Alex has spent years mastering how to make software talk to software, and he came on the show to share what he knows. We get into MCP and the future of the AI-native internet.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Start
00:01:14 - Introduction
00:02:54 - Why Alex likes running barefoot
00:05:09 - APIs and MCP, the connectors of the new internet
00:10:53 - Why MCP servers are hard to get right
00:20:07 - Design principles for reliable MCP servers
00:23:50 - Scaling MCP servers for large APIs
00:25:14 - Using MCP for business ops at Stainless
00:28:12 - Building a company brain with Claude Code
00:33:59 - Where MCP goes from here
00:41:10 - Alex’s take on the security model for MCP
Links to resources mentioned in the episode:
- Alex Rattray: Alex Rattray (@RattrayAlex), Alex Rattray
- Stainless: https://www.stainless.com/
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
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