AMA with Amir
forward to anyone who might be interested in brainstorming with me!
Brainstorm with me!!!
ABOUT WHAT?
✓ ML Product Development
✓ Starting Your Own Company
✓ Founders' Social / Mental Health
✓ Partnering with aggregate intellect
✓ Entering Data Science
✓Career Progression / Pivots
✓You want to teach me something interesting
WHAT IS THIS?
I have been doing daily 20 min calls with anyone who wants to bounce ideas of me about any of the above. Sometimes we all need someone from outside to take a look at the problem we're dealing with and give us feedback!
DISCLAIMER
I don't claim to know the answers, but I can help you ask better (at least different) questions!
EXAMPLES
①
Situation: came to Canada a year ago, has done some PM work in home country and here, really wants to get into data science.
Ask: what's the best way to find data science roles?
My take: play to your engineering background and strength. instead of applying for data science roles, apply to PM / engineering roles that work directly with data scientists, and then over time do a horizontal move to a data science or machine learning engineering role
②
Situation: recent grad. has done some preliminary work for a startup. has investigated some incubators.
Ask: how can i find a technical co-founder?
My take: finding a co-founder is very hard. it's like getting married. it takes time, patience, and rigor. there are many more ways that i can go wrong than right. instead of feeling blocked by the engineering aspect, figure out who is most desperate for your offering right now and sell them some sort of service work. use what you learn from that to raise a small amount of money. use that money to hire / test drive devs that might become your co-founders. repeat. do not assume that anyone that is willing to work for you on equity is going to be as committed / passionate as you are.
③
Situation: working at a corporate. feels well settled into the role. thinking about what's next.
Ask: is there a difference between different corporate jobs? or do i need to start my own thing to feel satisfied?
My take: there are many aspects of the corporate jobs that are the same. for example politics, the fact that you are a small cog in a big machine, etc. but there could be a big difference given who your managers and teammates are. depending on your life constraints a corporate job might actually be the right choice for the work-life balance you might want to have. but if you want to experience the high of a startup, you don’t necessarily need to start your own immediately. you could try out a smaller company, and even go all the way to be the first few employees of a funded startup. you get a lot of the benefits without the significant risk!
WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON THESE?
WHAT NOW?
If you are looking for this kind of conversation, or if you know some who is, grab a time here: https://calendly.com/amirfzpr/20min-ama