Manesh Arora I Why I Left Google I InternMatch FYF
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Transcript of Manesh Arora I Why I Left Google I InternMatch FYF
“Find Your Focus”
My Path, and Lessons Learned
Maneesh AroraMay 2, 2011Stanford
About me Product Management - Google, Zynga500Startups Mentor and LP Angel Investor (7 companies)Working on 2-3 projects
My First Job (after College)
Consulting/Enterprise(1997-2003)“real world”
Internet - Consumer(2003-2010)“new world”
Startups – Investing Building
Mentoring(2010 - ?)
“Planning is guessing” - 37 signals dudes)
My “plan”– Get a high paying job at a big
name organization– Optimized mainly for $ and
title– At some point get an MBA or
MS in Computer Science– Repeat….
What happened– Left high paying job at big
paying organization– Optimize for being
around smart people– Never pursued graduate
degrees
Google – great, career-changing• Great products; treat user with respect• Engineering driven, results-based• Everyone smarter than me (it seemed)• Opportunities to learn everywhere• Open, transparent culture – employee trust• Clear, compelling mission: “Organize the world’s
information and make it universally accessible and useful”
• Founders’ “religion” permeated the organization• Very strong alumni network (better than MBA?)• (perks)
Product Manager at Google• “Quarterback” of the product
– Coordinate with everyone: Engineering, Customer Service, UI/UX, Legal, Marketing, Biz Dev, PR
– Everything “miscellaneous” is your responsibility• Who’s the customer, what do they really want/need?• Give them something they “didn’t know they wanted”• Day to Day: Features, Metrics, Product Strategy• Attributes
– Technical Bias– Understand “80% of everything”– Thick Skin– Grades matter (should they?)
• Lessons Learned:– Don’t build for each other (Like Minded folks)– Google’s brand and distribution advantage– Less is more
Google -> Zynga
• Why I went there (in retrospect)– Publicity / Hype– Money– Change (force myself)
Big Lesson Learned: Don’t follow the money/hype Believe in the product, company, and people!
My Lessons Learned
• Take more risks earlier• Learn how things really work vs what `they’ tell you
or what’s in the handbook or training manual• Switched from enterprise to consumer earlier• Surround yourself with smarter people than you• I’m a better creator, leader, and builder than I am a
follower and operator• Perks are nice, but…• $5k or $10k might seem like a lot…but…• “Optimize for happiness” earlier
Familiar?
• Followed the rules• Listened to parents/family• Studied hard• Did things “the right way”• Got “great” internship / job
Years later…Satisfied? Happy?
Knowing Yourself
• Natural tendencies• Leader or Follower?• Creator, Seller, or Operator
– Creator: “There’s a better way to do this”– Seller: “We should eat at this restaurant”– Operator: “Gimee all that stuff, I’ll organize it and
make it run smoothly” • Prefer structure/rules? Or prefer some chaos?
It Ain’t About You!
• It’s About:– Making a difference (“adding value”)– Helping someone or something– Using your talents
Do stuff that solves a problem or helps others, that people will pay for!
Resumes• Mostly Keyword Searches.• Most readers will do a very quick browse and only
1-2 things will catch their eye.• What stands out: Results with measurable impact
and real #’s.• Don’t kill yourself debating length/format/fonts• Trend: Resumes are becoming obsolete – LinkedIn
and online aggreators like About.Me will win over time
About.Mehttp://about.me/alexis
Separation
• Lots of smart people (look around you)• What separates them?
– Communication / Connection– (Hustle + Persistance) > Talent ?– Explain/convince/show their value– GETS THINGS DONE (Joel on Software)
“Standing out”
• Show actual work (Demo links, github repos, videos, blogs) versus a “fluffy” PDF/Word resume
• Learn about the person and company – recent news is best. Show that you know what’s up. (Tweets, Google News Alerts, etc)
• Startups – many jobs aren’t posted; almost always in hiring mode
• Know your 1-2 liner “value pitch”, vs. “I think I can be a great asset to the company”
Corporate vs. Startup• Cog in a machine vs building a machine• Predictability vs Chaos & Uncertanity • Process over Results• Politics vs meetings over beers• Follow in line vs “Figure shit out”• Headaches taken care of• “Corporate Culture” matters. BIG TIME.
– Great Netflix deck• Appearances vs. Reality• Effort vs. Effectiveness• Easy answer to Social Pressure
Overrated / UnderratedOverrated: • Titles• Fancy resumes and cover letters (BS words/phrases)• Commodity Online Connections (e.g. LinkedIn (commodity) )• Following a status-quo process
Underrated:
• What you actually did and learned• Working with strong team, esp your boss• Authentic Connections and Network you build over time• Ability to sell & explain your value
Leaving Your Mark
• Did I Make a Difference?• What did I contribute?• Did it matter?• What’s my “legacy”?• “Giving Back” – why I’m mentoring startups
Looking ahead…
Solve someone’s problem(don’t invent new ones!)
Save time….for the world….
Online Banking + ATMs
- Saves Trees- Saves Gas- Saves Money Postage, Late Fees
30 minutes / week52 weeks / year200 million people
3,500,000,000 hours saved per year
Where’s things are heading…
MobileIt can see – it has eyes
It can hear – it has ears
It can talk – it has voice
It knows where you are - GPS
It’s your music collection
It can do email and internet
It’s everywhere
6.8 Billion people in the world; 5 Billion cellphonesOnly 4 million Kenyans have electricity; 16 million have cellphones
Location-Based Services
With GPS in most smart phones – it knows where you are
- Businesses can send you real-time offers
- Alerts
- “Let me know if my friend is nearby…”
Person-to-person lending: Prosper.com
10.81% Return (2009)
Group Buying: Groupon
30
Your Health Records in One Place
Imagine if…
A pipe bursts in your house while you’re on vacation…and before much damage is done, you get a text message
Imagine If…
You got a phone call telling you that your garage door was left open?
Imagine If…
The only possession you ever needed to take with you was your mobile phone?
- You could open your car and house, or any personal possession with it.- You could buy everything with it.
Imagine If…
Thank you… Q & A