Starting a Company in a Space You’re Not an Expert in — This Founder Shares 6 Lessons
From the importance of founder naivety, to seeking out the doubters, to rigorously assessing founder/market fit, Irving Fain shares his lessons from building a company in a space he wasn't an expert in, as well as other takeaways from the earliest days at his startup, Bowery Farming.
Ask Why It Won’t Work, And Other Lessons This Founder Relies on While Building From 0 to 1
From all the ways a candidate might fail, to how a commonly-used framework might not be a good fit, to where a go-to-market strategy might fall apart, Rick Song shares the pre-mortem technique he relies on, as well as other company building lessons from Square and his startup, Persona.
Hiring a VP of Engineering? Use This Framework from Shopify’s VPE to Get it Right
After more than 20 years in tech, eight companies, and thousands of hires, Shopify's Farhan Thawar shares his go-to-framework for snagging a VP of Engineering. From the skills that are most important to the questions to ask and red flags to watch out for, his advice will help founders dive several l
Counterintuitive Lessons on How to Get Better as You Scale, From Twilio’s Jeff Lawson
13 years after Twilio first launched, CEO and co-founder Jeff Lawson opens up about the peaks and valleys to share a set of unconventional company building lessons on how to get better as you scale — from introducing new products and refining go-to-market strategies to focusing annual planning.
3 Rules for Building a More Caring Culture — This Chief People Officer Shares Lessons from Lambda School & InVision
Mark Frein has served as Chief People Officer at Return Path, InVision, and now Lambda School. Here, he shares his approach to spinning up the people function, as well as tactical tips for creating a great employee experience, enabling a workforce that feels seen and heard, and making an environment
Following “Radical Candor,” Kim Scott is Back with Another Incredible Framework for “Just Work”
"Radical Candor" bestselling author Kim Scott's superpower is outlining simple tactics and straightforward frameworks to put big amorphous ideas into practice. In her latest book, "Just Work," she applies that tactical lens to workplace injustice.
The Engineering Leader’s Guide to Crafting a Personal Brand that Stands Out From the Crowd
As an Engineering Leader at Help Scout, Anjuan Simmons has carved out a robust side hustle as a public speaker and blogger. Here, he shares his playbook for engineers to get started with personal branding and stand out from the crowd.
This GTM-Leader-Turned-Investor Crowdsources Early Lessons From Stripe, Figma & More
As he makes the transition from operator to investor, Meka Asonye looks back on his career as a sales leader at Stripe and Mixpanel to offer tactical takeaways and go-to-market lessons — crowdsourcing additional advice from the top revenue leaders in his network.
Focus on Your First 10 Systems, Not Just Your First 10 Hires — This Chief of Staff Shares His Playbook
As Chief of Staff at HashiCorp, Kevin Fishner focuses on treating the company like a product. Here, he unpacks why the systems side of company building doesn’t get as much attention and digs into the nitty-gritty details of how they set and track progress toward goals.