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This crowdfunding campaign has me thinking about my start in the Valley.
I knew nobody and had few marketable skills.
I didn’t know the difference between an API and a VC.
Within 3 months, I’d met @erenbali and@caglaroktay and we had started @udemy.
**Read On**
I knew nobody and had few marketable skills.
I didn’t know the difference between an API and a VC.
Within 3 months, I’d met @erenbali and@caglaroktay and we had started @udemy.
**Read On**
I graduated during the 2008 recession. I was sure I was gonna lose my job at Accenture.
My mother had just lost hers, & I was freaking the fuck out. All first-year analysts were joking daily about the situation.
One day, I got the ominous email from Accenture management...
My mother had just lost hers, & I was freaking the fuck out. All first-year analysts were joking daily about the situation.
One day, I got the ominous email from Accenture management...
... The good news: I still had my job.
The bad news: I had to relocate to Washington DC.
I had one friend in DC: Vikrum.
I told him about my dream of working in tech. He gave me my golden ticket: “Check out TechCrunch, that’s what all my tech friends read.”
The bad news: I had to relocate to Washington DC.
I had one friend in DC: Vikrum.
I told him about my dream of working in tech. He gave me my golden ticket: “Check out TechCrunch, that’s what all my tech friends read.”
I consumed TechCrunch voraciously.
I read Every. Single. Post. For months on end.
Eventually, two posts appeared that changed my life.
One was a hiring post for MobileCrunch, TechCrunch's sister blog.
The other was about @founding, a new incubator for idea-stage companies.
I read Every. Single. Post. For months on end.
Eventually, two posts appeared that changed my life.
One was a hiring post for MobileCrunch, TechCrunch's sister blog.
The other was about @founding, a new incubator for idea-stage companies.
To get in, I had to "hack" the process.
I had no technical background and was just a number at Accenture.
What I did have were my days of TechCrunch consumption. I'd read so much I could tell you about the writing style and personal lives of major writers Leena, Mike and Erik.
I had no technical background and was just a number at Accenture.
What I did have were my days of TechCrunch consumption. I'd read so much I could tell you about the writing style and personal lives of major writers Leena, Mike and Erik.
I also knew the writing style of MobileCrunch editor @Grg Kumparak.
I wrote my application channeling this understanding and within hours, got the response:
“You're in. You start tomorrow.”
I wrote my application channeling this understanding and within hours, got the response:
“You're in. You start tomorrow.”
At MobileCrunch, I used a combination of ambition and opportunism, with luck sprinkled on top.
To be a recognized journalist, your articles need to get page views. To get page views, I had to get articles cross-posted on the parent blog, TechCrunch.
To be a recognized journalist, your articles need to get page views. To get page views, I had to get articles cross-posted on the parent blog, TechCrunch.
I monitored what types of articles got cross-posted and realized that posts about funding announcements and company-level news often appeared on the main page.
By focusing on articles that got cross-posted, I increased my profile quickly.
By focusing on articles that got cross-posted, I increased my profile quickly.
Working at MobileCrunch helped me recognize that one of my unique advantages was communicating a vision through writing.
At this time, I was in @founding as well and looking for a technical co-founder to build out an education company offering video courses online.
At this time, I was in @founding as well and looking for a technical co-founder to build out an education company offering video courses online.
Despite sharing this vision with everyone in the program, no technical co-founders joined.
I was about to get kicked out of the program, but @adeoressi gave me an out.
He introduced me to the founders of this nascent idea called Udemy and told me to join them.
I was about to get kicked out of the program, but @adeoressi gave me an out.
He introduced me to the founders of this nascent idea called Udemy and told me to join them.
Eren and Oktay were the smartest engineers in the program, but were overlooked due to their backgrounds.
We bonded over being immigrants, and they gave me a demo of Udemy. It blew my mind and I used my TechCrunch connections to convince them to let me join the team.
We bonded over being immigrants, and they gave me a demo of Udemy. It blew my mind and I used my TechCrunch connections to convince them to let me join the team.
I had no title or role to begin with. We were all working part-time. I had no equity or agreement for future compensation.
This was the Valley in 2008. You just showed up and worked.
Luckily, we got along and they gave me a co-founder title and the equity to go with it.
This was the Valley in 2008. You just showed up and worked.
Luckily, we got along and they gave me a co-founder title and the equity to go with it.
A few lessons for those looking to break into the Valley:
Lesson 1: Silicon Valley is network-driven. To thrive, understand its code of conduct.
Luckily, the code is public. It's on Twitter, it's on blogs, it's on podcasts.
Use this public information to become an insider.
Lesson 1: Silicon Valley is network-driven. To thrive, understand its code of conduct.
Luckily, the code is public. It's on Twitter, it's on blogs, it's on podcasts.
Use this public information to become an insider.
Lesson 2: Take shots
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky
If I’d never applied to the positions on TechCrunch, I could still be in DC, I may have never co-founded Udemy.
There wasn’t a clear path or connection, but the dots connect in retrospect.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky
If I’d never applied to the positions on TechCrunch, I could still be in DC, I may have never co-founded Udemy.
There wasn’t a clear path or connection, but the dots connect in retrospect.
Lesson 3: Find your edge
For me, it was writing, communication and a passion for education.
Each person has a different edge and needs to find a way in. Take what you can get; don’t let your pride get in the way of a great opportunity. Use your talents every chance you get.
For me, it was writing, communication and a passion for education.
Each person has a different edge and needs to find a way in. Take what you can get; don’t let your pride get in the way of a great opportunity. Use your talents every chance you get.
Lesson 4: Fake it til you make it
Never lie, but don’t undersell yourself either.
It wasn’t obvious to others that I should be at MobileCrunch or founding a startup, but I believed in my abilities.
Self-awareness is about understanding your strengths, not just your weaknesses.
Never lie, but don’t undersell yourself either.
It wasn’t obvious to others that I should be at MobileCrunch or founding a startup, but I believed in my abilities.
Self-awareness is about understanding your strengths, not just your weaknesses.
Thanks for reading!
A full blog post on this topic is at https://www.gaganbiyani.com/blog/udemy-a-product-of-recession
For more stories like this, check out https://www.gaganbiyani.com/newsletter
A full blog post on this topic is at https://www.gaganbiyani.com/blog/udemy-a-product-of-recession
For more stories like this, check out https://www.gaganbiyani.com/newsletter
