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If I Could Go Back in Time, Here’s What I Would Tell Myself about Careers in Computer Science

JESS LEE, POLYVORE CEO @ ECSPLORE

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Hi! I’m Jess Lee POLYVORE CEO

STANFORD CS 2004 jessyoko.com @jesskah

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Grew up in Hong Kong •  EXCELLED IN MATH •  LOVED ART

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Studied CS at Stanford •  WHOA EVERYONE SO SMART •  LOVED PROGRAMMING

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Joined Google’s APM Program •  DERAILED MY PLANS

TO BE AN ENGINEER •  AMAZING LEARNING

EXPERIENCE

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GO WHERE YOU’LL GROW & LEARN THE MOST

Always take the more challenging path

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Learned a Ton at Google •  PM OF GOOGLE MAPS •  HOW TO BUILD PRODUCTS •  HOW TO LEAD TEAMS •  HOW TO BUILD CULTURE

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One Day Polyvore Caught My Eye… •  GOT ADDICTED TO IT

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I Sent a Note To the Founders •  FIX THIS PLEASE

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Hi Pasha, Nice to meet you!  :-) I just wanted to tell you that I love Polyvore!  It's fun to use, completely addictive, and there's a pretty healthy community of users on it. I haven't been this excited about anything on the web since maybe YouTube. I honestly think Polyvore could be the next Flickr. Could you add a lightweight way of bookmarking items for future use? I want image rotation.  Just 90-degree increments would be enough. < lots more suggestions > Anyways, Polyvore really rocks and I think you've hit a goldmine. Jess

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They hired me! •  FIRST HIRE •  STARTED AS A PM

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Hi Jess, This may seem a bit out of the blue...  but I was wondering if you might be interested in joining Polyvore. We are very close to completing our first round of funding (Benchmark Capital) which enables us to expand the team, etc... I immediately thought of you as one of the people I'd like to contact. What do you think? Pasha

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Impress your interviewers with your knowledge of their product!

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Polyvore Today •  90 PEOPLE IN MV & NYC •  20 MILLION USERS PER MONTH •  PROFITABLE •  PM à VP PRODUCT à CEO •  HONORARY COFOUNDER

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VOLUNTEER TO DO THE HARD, ANNOYING THINGS

Find ways to make an impact

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Career Planning

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1. ROLE

2. COMPANY

3. CULTURE

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Career Planning

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1. ROLE

2. COMPANY

3. CULTURE

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Career Decision Tree

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ENGINEERING PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Technical Manager Individual Contributor Manager

USER EXPERIENCE

Design Research

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2 Engineering Tracks

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TECHNICAL Associate Software Engineer Software Engineer Senior Software Engineer Staff Software Engineer Principal Engineer Distinguished Engineer

Moving to management is not a “promotion”

You can be a leader without being a manager

MANAGEMENT Engineering Manager Senior Engineering Manager Eng Director

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Technical Ladder

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Complexity & Scope

Knowledge & Experience

Business Impact

Leadership & Influence

Associate Software Engineer

Software Engineer

Senior Software Engineer

Staff Software Engineer

Principal Engineer

Distinguished Engineer

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2 Product Management Tracks

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INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR Associate Product Manager Product Manager Senior Product Manager Group Product Manager Principle Product Manager

MANAGER Group Product Manager Director of Product

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How PMs Grow

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Product Strategy

• Vision • What and Why • User Empathy • Market

Research • Analytics

Leadership & Influence

•  Influence • Communication • Collaboration • Coordination

Business Impact

• Business goals • Customer Love • User Growth • Revenue

Growth • ROI

Knowledge & Experience

• PM Skills Toolbox

• Continuous improvement

• Perspective

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IT’S EASIER TO GO FROM ENG à PM THAN TO GO FROM PM à ENG

If you’re not sure, start in Eng

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Career Planning

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1. ROLE

2. COMPANY

3. CULTURE

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I learn through mentorship & training

I want the potential of high reward

I learn by being forced to do it myself

Big Company Small Startup

I don’t mind changing goals and ambiguity I prefer clear goals and projects

I want a predictable, high salary

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What Can I Learn? BUILD T SHAPED KNOWLEDGE

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Web Dev

Mobile Dev

Big Data

Cloud Platforms

Machine Learning

General Understanding Deep Technical Expertise

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THAT UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING IS CALLED LEARNING

Make sure you’re always slightly nauseous

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Career Planning

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1. ROLE

2. COMPANY

3. CULTURE

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Culture is Guiding Principles •  NOT PING PONG TABLES

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Culture Comes from the Top •  EXTENSION OF THE

BELIEFS & PERSONALITIES OF THE LEADERSHIP

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Meritocracy is What Makes Companies Female Friendly •  FAIR PLAYING FIELD •  LOOK FOR GOOD ROLE MODELS

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WORK IS YOUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Culture Fit Matters A Lot

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Should You Start Your Own Company? •  ECSTASY AND TERROR •  99.9% FAILURE RATE •  100% GUARANTEE YOU’LL

LEARN AND GROW A LOT

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Learn How to Build a Company •  LOOK FOR TRANSPARENCY •  LEARN THE NON-ENG SKILLS TOO

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TALENTED PEOPLE WHO YOU CAN LEARN FROM PEOPLE YOU ENJOY BEING WITH EVERY DAY

Surround yourself with great people

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Thanks! Questions? @jesskah

polyvore.com/jobs