NerdWallet’s CEO on Navigating the Shift from First-Time Founder to Seasoned Exec
NerdWallet co-founder and CEO Tim Chen reflects on the arc of his journey as founder after more than a decade of company building. He shares the six mindset shifts he needed to make to transition from entrepreneur to executive as his startup scaled, weaving together a collection of lessons that will be invaluable for any founder finding themselves at this very same crossroads.
Keep readingThe 6 Decision-Making Frameworks That Help Startup Leaders Tackle Tough Calls
Startup leaders make tough calls every day. We spoke with 6 top operators to gather the tactics and strategies they use to make smart decisions under pressure, garner trust with stakeholders and execute with conviction.
Keep readingI Asked 100 Founders, CEOs and VCs About Career Transitions — Here’s What I Learned
After founding and scaling LendUp for seven years, Sasha Orloff decided to step down as CEO. He shares his journey and his illuminating takeaways about career transitions, structuring time off and founder life after the startup.
Keep readingThe Power of Performance Reviews: Use This System to Become a Better Manager
Performance reviews are key to accelerating your report's career. A former Airbnb Product Lead shares the conversation template that he's used to build high-performing teams and motivate growth all year long.
Keep readingThe Inside Story of How This Startup Turned a 216-Word Pitch Email into a $2.6 Billion Acquisition
Looker went from a single customer to more than 1700, from a small, scrappy team in Santa Cruz to a 700-person company spanning eight offices around the globe. Now on the heels of its acquisition by Google, co-founders Lloyd Tabb and Ben Porterfield, CEO Frank Bien, and first investor Bill Trenchard come together to fill in the details and dig into the lessons learned from Looker's founding story.
Keep readingThese Seven Emotions Aren't Deadly — They're Your Secret Career Superpowers
It's time to do away with the myth that emotions don't belong in the workplace. With hilarious, relatable illustrations, Liz Fosslien shares how you can tap into anxiety, envy and other "deadly" emotions to boost your career and well-being.
Keep readingMake Friends With the Monster Chewing on Your Leg, and Other Tips for Surviving Startups
After telling us to 'Give Away your Legos,' Molly Graham is back to dig deeper into tactics for handling the emotional rollercoaster of scaling startups. Here, she shares the strategies she used at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Quip and Facebook to keep her head on straight and defang three common challenging situations.
Keep readingOur 6 Must Reads for Honing Focus and Managing Your Time
How do you find focus in a world of competing priorities? Operate with intention. We share the Review's six best strategies for resisting distraction, boosting productivity and making every minute meaningful.
Keep readingThe Secrets to Designing a Curiosity-Driven Career
Zainab Ghadiyali's extraordinary career has taken her from nonprofit work in Peru to life as Product Lead at Airbnb. With tactical advice on building transferable skills and beating impostor syndrome, she shows entrepreneurs how to embrace the unconventional path and forge a career fueled by curiosity.
Keep readingFounder Exposed: Opening Up About Startup Failures and Vulnerability
Jeff Wald knows firsthand that behind every startup success story is a stack of seldom discussed defeats. The investor and three-time founder opens up about why leaders should embrace vulnerability, and offers tools for extracting lessons from failure and getting back in the game.
Keep readingThe Essential Questions That Have Powered This Top Silicon Valley Manager’s Career
After over a decade spent leading teams, Facebook VP of Product Design Julie Zhuo firmly believes that questions are a manager’s best tool. Here, she shares the essential questions she's used to build trust, improve 1:1s and make sure feedback is heard.
Keep readingNavigating the Leap from Big Tech to Startups — Advice from a Former Google and Flipkart Exec
Punit Soni cut his teeth as a product leader at large companies such Google, Motorola and Flipkart before venturing out on his own to found Suki, a healthcare startup. Here, he shares his observations on the differences between the two experiences, noting what surprised him, what he felt unprepared for, and what aspiring entrepreneurs should consider as they look to make a similar leap from big to small.
Keep readingWhat Sweetgreen Can Teach Startups About Scaling Intimacy
Co-founder Nathaniel Ru draws on his experience scaling Sweetgreen to offer startups a clearer window into how rapidly growing companies can stay connected with customers, partners and employees.
Keep readingThe 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2018
We've rounded up 30 of the best insights from the articles we published over the last year. Read on for a time-capsule-like toolkit, full of the best tactical wisdom that seasoned company builders had to offer in 2018.
Keep readingThe Founder’s Guide to Discipline: Lessons from Front’s Mathilde Collin
Front's CEO and co-founder Mathilde Collin shares why a founder’s discipline matters more than vision, unveiling her own best practices and templates for communication, time management, fundraising and team building.
Keep readingLessons from Coinbase’s Wild Ascent: Four Rules for Scaling
Engineering leader Varun Srinivasan had a front-row seat as Coinbase scaled to meet an explosion in demand for cryptocurrencies. Here, he shares the four org design rules they relied on to gear up for hypergrowth.
Keep readingThe Imperative Practice of Relaxing Constraints
Founders are always told to "think big," but it's not always clear how or where to begin. First Round Capital co-founder Howard Morgan challenges founding teams to start by relaxing four key constraints.
Keep readingHow This Head of Engineering Boosted Transparency at Instagram
While leading engineering at Instagram, James Everingham spotted a problem: the inevitable dip in transparent decision-making and communication as teams scale. Drawing on three decades of experience, he shares how to operationalize transparency during hypergrowth.
Keep readingThe Simple Tool That Revives Employee Motivation
At Pinterest and LinkedIn, product leader Jack Chou learned firsthand how vital it is to zero in continuously on what keeps people motivated as a company scales. Now Head of Product at Affirm, here are the four components of workplace motivation that he leans on from the start.
Keep readingThe Type of Team Diversity You’re Probably Not Paying Attention To
Grammarly Head of People Itamar Goldminz shares a model that can help managers build stronger teams — and become more intuitive, effective leaders.
Keep readingHypergrowth and The Law of Startup Physics
Reboot.io founder and professional coach Khalid Halim has guided the leadership at Coinbase, Lyft and Checkr through some of the steepest parts of their growth curve. Here, he shares the two promises every founder must make before hypergrowth.
Keep readingWhat Your Startup Can Learn from Astronauts, The Daily Show, and the Coach of the Boston Celtics
Organizational psychologist and Wharton professor Adam Grant jumps into unconventional workplaces to surface insights that'll help the rest of us work smarter and better.
Keep readingOur 6 Must Reads For Creating and Accelerating Trust on Teams
Trust is intangible, but foundational to nearly every part of company-building. We've assembled our top posts from leaders who have gotten particularly tactical with fostering trust on their teams.
Keep readingHack Back Distractions with Tactics from This Behavioral Designer
Hooked author Nir Eyal has seen an epidemic of employees who get so distracted at work that they don’t have time to do their job. Here, he shares tactics that'll help you fend off distractions and help reinstate focus and creativity.
Keep readingAssembling an Executive Leadership Team is Daunting — Let Thumbtack’s CEO Help
Recruiting and hiring executives is difficult for any leader, but especially first-time or early-stage founders who may not have enough knowledge to test candidates for skill in their area of expertise. Thumbtack CEO Marco Zappacosta has been there — and has a roadmap that'll help.
Keep readingUse This Equation to Determine, Diagnose, and Repair Trust
Anne Raimondi has headed up product, marketing and operations at big names throughout tech. This one lesson is at the heart of her approach to leadership.
Keep readingLean Startup’s Eric Ries on How to Make ‘Gatekeepers’ a Source of Power and Speed
As companies add 'gatekeeper' functions like Legal, Finance, IT and Compliance, they tend to slow way down. But they don't have to. Here's how to lay the right foundation.
Keep readingMaster the Art of Influence — Persuasion as a Skill and Habit
As a product leader at Google and Reddit, Tyler Odean uses persuasion as a tool in his everyday job. Here's what he's learned through experience and research about being influential at work.
Keep readingOur 6 Must Reads for Managers to Give Feedback That Helps People Grow
Giving constructive feedback that resonates is extremely difficult. You have to strike exactly the right chord for your words to cause change. Here's the best advice we've seen on how to do that.
Keep readingThe Indispensable Document for the Modern Manager
To build the strongest teams from the get-go, PatientPing Co-founder and CEO Jay Desai has written the definitive user guide — on himself. Read on to see how his tactical framework creates the bedrock for productive employee/manager relationships.
Keep readingFour Categories You Need to Nail for Healthy Startup Growth — and Top Tips for How to Do It
Mike Brown managed all facets of Uber's business in Asia for four years as it went from $0 to billions. Here are his key takeaways for early startups to lay the groundwork for healthy growth.
Keep readingWhat I Learned about Management and Culture from Growing Uber’s Asia Business from Zero to Billions
For four years, Mike Brown oversaw all aspects of Uber's business in Asia. Now he's sharing what startups can learn from his experience to go big.
Keep readingRead This Before Joining as Employee 1 to 20 at a Startup
Stacy La made the leap from design at Yammer and Microsoft to Clover Health, when the bootstrapped startup was only four people. Now, the company's raised over $425M, 500+ employees strong, and La leads an eight-person design team. Read on for her tactics on how to survive — and thrive — as an early employee.
Keep readingA Taxonomy of Troublemakers for Those Navigating Difficult Colleagues
Disruptive technology is one thing. Disruptive co-workers are another. Here, Dr. Jody Foster classifies the types of colleagues whom others find difficult — and advises how to navigate working with them.
Keep readingThe 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2017
The most insightful and transformative pieces of advice we published on the Review in 2017, curated for your perusal and continued excellence. Relevant to everyone working in tech, not just founders.
Keep readingLists of Must Reads From the Most Talented Tech Operators in Our Network
Dig into seven reading lists curated by our network of operators and experts, as they recommend must-reads for their disciplines: product, sales, recruiting, marketing, management, engineering and more.
Keep readingOur 6 Must Reads for First-Time Managers to Hit the Ground Running
Becoming a manager is like no other professional experience. It requires gaining a whole new skillset incredibly fast. This list will help you nail that transition.
Keep readingHumans Hate Being Spun: How to Practice Radical Honesty — from the Woman Who Defined Netflix’s Culture
Patty McCord created the famed 'Culture Doc' that became Netflix's foundation. Here, she talks about how to make honesty everyone's default.
Keep readingFirst Round Review's 6 Must Reads to Run Fast, Efficient Meetings
We've featured advice from some pretty smart, successful people about how to run better meetings that don't sap energy or waste time. Here's everything they've shared.
Keep readingThese 13 Exercises Will Prepare You for Work's Toughest Situations
Maggie Leung, VP of Content at Nerdwallet, has encountered every management challenge. Here, she shares the one practice that helps her thrive through difficult decisions and conversations.
Keep readingHow Facebook’s VP of Product Finds Focus and Creates Conditions for Intentional Work
Facebook VP of Product Fidji Simo shares tactics to master focus in a world where possibilities are endless and the stakes are high.
Keep readingOur 6 Must Reads to Make Self-Care Your Competitive Advantage
Too many of us abandon healthy habits in order to work more. But the most successful among us know that self-care is a secret weapon to get more done better.
Keep reading‘Pitch the Immeasurable’ and Other Leadership Tips
It's not easy making the transition from manager to executive. One Medical VP Marketing Vanessa Hope Schneider shares the lessons she leans on from her marketing, PR and publishing days that have helped her become a better leader.
Keep readingThe Don’ts That Turned Alexis Ohanian into the Leader He Is Today
Alexis Ohanian is back at Reddit and excited to pick up where he left off. As he starts this new chapter, he's looking back at the things he DIDN'T do that made all the difference.
Keep readingTrack and Facilitate Your Engineers’ Flow States In This Simple Way
Cynthia Maxwell has led engineering teams at Slack, Apple, Yahoo! and Pinterest. Here's the management framework that's become one of the most powerful resources in her toolkit.
Keep readingThis Matrix Helps Growing Teams Make Great Decisions
As CTO of Flatiron Health, Gil Shklarski has had to keep a rapidly-growing technical team aligned through many tough decisions. This is the framework that works every time.
Keep readingOur 6 Must Reads for Scaling Yourself as a Leader
To succeed in tech, you have to grow not just your skills, but also your energy, your time management, and your approach to work. This is a good place to start.
Keep readingOur 6 Must Reads if You’re at a Startup With 30+ People
Startups are always evolving, but something transforms them between 30-50 employees. Here's what the Review's experts have to say about navigating that particular inflection point more smoothly.
Keep readingAtlassian Boosted Its Female Technical Hires By 80% — Here’s How
As a diversity and inclusion leader, Aubrey Blanche is all about experiments backed up by research and data. Here, she shares what's worked and what hasn't at Atlassian.
Keep readingTo Grow Faster, Hit Pause — and Ask These Questions from Stripe’s COO
Claire Hughes Johnson is the woman overseeing Stripe's rocketship ascent. Here, she shares a list of questions that any startup can use to guide hyper-growth.
Keep readingA Field Guide to Identifying and Integrating Independent Board Members
Amazon veteran Michelle Wilson serves as an independent board member for Pinterest, Okta and Zendesk. From how to find independent board members to when to bring them on, here's what she tells startups that ask about this critical board role.
Keep readingDon't Play with Dead Snakes — Kill Projects Before They Kill You
DNAnexus CEO Richard Daly on how they tripled revenue by killing and scorching the earth under 'Dead Snake' projects.
Keep readingDear PMs, It's Time to Rethink Agile at Enterprise Startups
Flatiron Health's CMO and SVP Product Strategy Ogi Kavazovic explains how traditional PM practices break down at B2B companies, and what they can do instead.
Keep readingPivot Survival Tactics from Kabam's 3 Near-Death Triumphs
Kabam executed three tough about-faces to eventually sell for $800M. CEO Kevin Chou shares the keys that made this possible.
Keep readingFrom Burning Millions to Turning Profitable in Seven Months — How HotelTonight Did It
HotelTonight went from a monthly burn of $2.5 million to profitability — in just over two quarters. Now a year since that milestone, CEO and Co-founder Sam Shank shares the tactics and lessons that helped the company execute the impressive turnaround.
Keep readingPlanGrid's Playbook for Startups to Crack Big, Established Industries
PlanGrid is changing the way the construction industry has operated for years. CEO Tracy Young describes the scrappy strategy that made them a catalyst.
Keep readingLessons in Tenacity from the Co-Founder of Foursquare
Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley has been doggedly pursuing an idea for over a decade across a few startups. Here, he shares the different types of tenacity it takes to turn a new concept into a notable company.
Keep readingWarning: This Is Not Your Grandfather’s Talent Planning
So you've heard of radical candor by now, right? That's just one of many tools you'll need to be a better boss, according to Candor, Inc. co-founder Kim Scott. You also must master the different modes of performance on your team — especially for your top people. Here's why.
Keep readingWhy You Need Two Chiefs in the Executive Office
Influitive CEO Mark Organ explains how a chief of staff can power up a CEO to superhuman status. Here, he details a roadmap to hiring and training for this critical role.
Keep readingFrom C++ to the C-Suite: How Software Engineering Made Me A Better Executive
For most software engineers, career development is a choice between managing more code or more developers. Here, Sailthru President and CEO Neil Lustig makes the case for jumping out of those two lanes — and how software engineering can equip you for the executive track.
Keep readingStartups, Software Development and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance
LaunchDarkly CEO and Co-founder Edith Harbaugh biked solo across the U.S. in the summer of 2007. A decade later, her lessons from the road — from ways to grind through long stretches to how to approach forks in the road — still inform how she leads teams and builds software.
Keep readingSnag the Best Advisors for Your Startup, from Best-selling Authors to Fortune 500 CEOs
Former Google executive Amy Chang has successfully courted heavy hitters and VIPs to advise her startup Accompany. Here, she breaks down how to score big fish for your braintrust.
Keep readingMake Operations Your Secret Weapon - Here’s How
Etsy COO Linda Kozlowski knows an operations leader is critical to the success of a company. Here, she sheds light on the most mysterious role in the C-suite — and how startups can hire and empower the right COO for their company.
Keep readingThe 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2016
In our annual roundup, we've distilled the top 30 insights from all of our articles published over the last year. Read on to take in tactics and advice from some of the sharpest minds we know.
Keep readingTeam Health Monitors and Why Your Startup Needs a Check-up
Atlassian president Jay Simons makes the case for team health monitors and explains how to evaluate for the eight traits of high-performing teams.
Keep readingLess Work, More Play: Change the Game With Simulations
New Relic CIO Yvonne Wassenaar details the game-changing benefits of business simulations and how to use them to transform your company.
Keep readingThree Powerful Conversations Managers Must Have To Develop Their People
Google and Twitter veteran Russ Laraway breaks down the most critical conversations you must have with your employees to help them grow into fulfilling careers.
Keep readingWhat Obama’s Tech Startup Has to Teach About Adaptability
USDS marketing chief and former head of marketing for Google X Janine Gianfredi shares her lessons on how to build adaptable teams, even in the most rigid and regulated environments.
Keep readingHow to Lead and Rally a Company Through a Layoff
For decades, HR leader and Mensch Ventures' founder Beth Steinberg has tackled complex talent challenges at some of the biggest names in technology and retail. Here, she opens her playbook on a topic that many avoid before it's too late: layoffs.
Keep readingOn Receiving (and Truly Hearing) Radical Candor
Candor Inc. co-founders Kim Scott and Russ Laraway have both written and spoken often on how to give radical candor to colleagues. Here they turn the tables and focus on how to receive it.
Keep readingHow to Save Your Company From A Communications Crisis
Company crises — like wildfires — are complex developments that can progress in unexpected ways. Simple's Head of Communications Krista Berlincourt outlines the principles and practices that can help triage and tackle any incident.
Keep readingThe Pivotal Stories Every Startup Leader Should Be Able to Tell
Since starting his career as a U.S. Marine, Don Faul has led operations at Facebook, Pinterest and now Athos. Here are the stories he tells to rally big teams to do their best work.
Keep readingHow A/B Testing at LinkedIn, Wealthfront and eBay Made Me a Better Manager
Instacart VP of Product Elliot Shmukler shares how he uses A/B testing as a management framework to not only accelerate product decisions, but also empower product teams.
Keep readingThe Principles of Quantum Team Management
Instagram Head of Engineering James Everingham walks us through a different approach to management, drawing on science and machine-building.
Keep readingAdam Grant On Interviewing to Hire Trailblazers, Nonconformists and Originals
Bestselling author Adam Grant follows up on his highly acclaimed book Originals with a set of interview questions needed to surface and select originals for your startup. Here's what to ask and how to find the nonconformists that will help propel your company forward.
Keep readingWhat Scott Cook Wished He Knew About Being a CEO When He Founded Intuit
Intuit Founder Scott Cook on the most important lessons he learned, including the right (and rigorous way) to check references.
Keep readingFind, Vet and Close the Best Product Managers
Todd Jackson is skilled at identifying excellent product managers. Now Dropbox's VP of Product and Design, he shares his process here.
Keep readingThe Science of Speaking is the Art of Being Heard
Reboot.io founder and professional coach Khalid Halim has drawn from his training in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to help top-tier tech leaders better communicate and resonate with their growing teams.
Keep readingReddit and Facebook Veteran On How to Troubleshoot Troublemakers
Bethanye Blount shares her hard-earned tips on how to detect and debug troublemakers.
Keep readingPractical Frameworks for Beating Burnout
After leading a massive division at LinkedIn, and now running three groups at a startup, Roli Saxena knows about burnout. Here's how she fights it with logic.
Keep readingThe Remarkable Advantage of Abundant Thinking
Katia Verresen is one of the most sought-after leadership coaches in tech. Here's how she's seen abundant thinking transform careers and companies.
Keep readingAdvice is Cheap — Context is Priceless
Serial entrepreneur and angel investor Hiten Shah deconstructs the best advice he's ever received to extract what made it so remarkable. He draws from the standout experience to illustrate the tactics that he's used to become a skilled advice giver — and recipient.
Keep readingOne Founder, Both Sides of the M&A Table — What All Startups Can Learn from His Experience
Jeff Seibert sold two startups back-to-back, and now regularly advises Twitter on acquisition deals from the inside. Here's what all founders need to know about this process.
Keep readingHow Early-Stage Startups Can Enlist The Right Amount of Security As They Grow
Security isn't about reducing risk to zero. It's about continuously rebalancing risk as context shifts. Here's how Box's Michael Graham helps startups approach security at each growth stage.
Keep readingShims, Jigs and Other Woodworking Concepts to Conquer Technical Debt
One Medical CTO Kimber Lockhart subscribes to a philosophy -- inspired by woodworking -- that helps startups judiciously control technical debt. Here's how it works.
Keep readingThoughts on Gender and Radical Candor
Management expert Kim Scott builds on her argument for 'Radical Candor' by looking at the challenges of giving and receiving feedback through a gender lens.
Keep readingTransform Employee Equity Compensation in Two Steps — Here’s How
Three years ago, Amplitude Co-founder and CEO Spenser Skates rewired equity compensation at his mobile analytics startup. Here's why and how he did it.
Keep readingThe ‘Adaptable Leader’ is the New Holy Grail — Become One, Hire One
Anne Dwane, CBO at Chegg, has had to adapt a lot in her career as she's started and sold companies. Here's what she learned.
Keep readingThe Tools Early-Stage Startups Actually Need to Understand Their Customers
Segment Co-founder and CEO Peter Reinhardt has personally test-driven a tool a week for the last three years. Here he shares the toolkit you need to get the most out of your customer data.
Keep readingThis is How Effective Leaders Move Beyond Blame
Next Big Sound's Head of Engineering Dave Zwieback cautions against the perils of blame — and shares how to circumvent them to build a more resilient company.
Keep readingStarting Fires on Purpose — When and How Leaders Need to Break the Rules
Rebelmouse Founder and CEO Paul Berry on those moments when no playbook can help you and you have to go off script — how to do it right.
Keep readingThis Is How You Design a Lasting Brand — An Inside Look at Gusto's Reinvention
Gusto CEO Josh Reeves reveals the months-long process the company used to change its identity for the better without losing customers or momentum.
Keep readingOpenTable's CEO on How to Dodge Company Breakdown as You Scale
OpenTable's leader Christa Quarles explains how startups can spot and survive their breaking points.
Keep readingSquare Defangs Difficult Decisions with this System — Here’s How
Gokul Rajaram shares a framework that he's used at Square and Caviar to make the most difficult decisions, all while assigning ownership, being inclusive and coordinating execution among all stakeholders.
Keep readingTake on Your Competition with These Lessons from Google Maps
Former Facebook CTO and Quip chief Bret Taylor shares how to dislodge well-established rivals.
Keep readingThe 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2015
In 2015, we brought you nearly 100 articles chock-full of advice from the best minds in tech. Here, we've distilled this down to the very best, needle-moving insights.
Keep readingThe 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2014
A comprehensive list of the top pieces of advice we heard in 2014 from people who are the very best at what they do.
Keep readingHow Does Your Leadership Team Rate?
Upstart Founder and CEO Dave Girouard on the uniquely difficult challenge of evaluating and providing feedback to the leaders at your company.
Keep readingRadical Candor — The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss
Kim Scott cut her teeth as a manager at Apple and Google, and now helps create great leaders as an author and coach for companies like Twitter. Here's the secret that's made all the difference for her.
Keep readingThe Keys to Scaling Yourself as a Technology Leader
Adam Pisoni spoke at First Round's recent CEO Summit about the lessons he plans to apply as a second-time founder.
Keep readingAltSchool's CEO Rebuilt Google's Performance Review System to Work for Startups — Here It Is
Max Ventilla may be revolutionizing early education, but he's also changing the way startups work. Here's how his company handles the critical matter of performance reviews.
Keep readingExpensify’s CEO on the Tactics that Doubled its Customer Base in Just Six Months
Expensify Founder and CEO David Barrett dispels five myths about user acquisition and shares atypical truths about how to attract and retain new customers.
Keep readingThe Total Talent Reboot — How This Startup Overhauled Its Workforce
Two years ago, Nerdwallet completely remade its staff with a new set of values, frameworks, and a fresh approach to hiring. Here's a breakdown of how they did it.
Keep readingUnlocking the Benefits of Self-Management Without Going All In on Holacracy
Mike Arauz is an expert at understanding and building new systems of management. Here, he talks about how startups can break from tradition to up their productivity.
Keep readingHire a Top Performer Every Time with These Interview Questions
Koru CEO Kristen Hamilton helps hundreds of people hire and get hired every year. These are the traits she knows translate into excellent performance on the job.
Keep reading‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups
Molly Graham helped forge a work culture at Facebook that's withstood huge amounts of growth. Today, she's something of a rapid scaling expert. Here's the key to doing it right, she says.
Keep readingThe Most Dangerous Leadership Traps — and the 15-Minute Daily Practice That Will Save You
Sought-after leadership coach Chris Holmberg on the mistakes he sees too many leaders make, and the best way to sidestep them.
Keep readingWhat Startups Can Learn from General McChrystal about Combining Strategy and Execution
Yammer Co-founder Adam Pisoni speaks with General Stanley McChrystal about the lessons technology companies might take away from his new book Team of Teams.
Keep readingThis 90-Day Plan Turns Engineers into Remarkable Managers
Twitter's former Director of Engineering shares the plan he uses to transform engineers into successful and happy managers.
Keep readingHow I Structured Engineering Teams at LinkedIn and AdMob for Success
LinkedIn’s SVP of Engineering shares the team structure and mindset that clinched its $2.5B IPO.
Keep readingSpeed as a Habit
All things being equal, speed will determine whether your company succeeds or not. Here's how to make it core to your culture.
Keep readingProduct Leadership Rules to Live By From My Experience at Pandora
Pandora's VP of Product Jack Krawczyk offers the six tactics you need to lead product managers.
Keep readingI'm Sorry, But Agile Won't Fix Your Products
Yammer CTO and Co-founder Adam Pisoni on why more startups should consider breaking away from agile development and how they can start the conversation.
Keep readingThe Case for Startups to Make Radical Transparency the Top Priority
Yesware's CEO Matthew Bellows on how he's built a culture that champions surprisingly candid and clear communication.
Keep readingLeslie’s Law: When Small Meets Large, Small (Almost) Always Wins
Longtime entrepreneur and investor Mark Leslie on the inevitable truth that when small companies meet big ones, small usually wins out. Here's why.
Keep readingYour Data Is Your Lifeblood — Set up the Analytics It Deserves
Looker Co-founder Ben Porterfield talks about why most startups miss the mark on their analytics and provides a formula for nailing it the first time around.
Keep readingBureaucracy Isn’t Inevitable — Here’s How Airbnb Beat It
Airbnb VP Engineering Mike Curtis on the practices and principles you can put in place to bust bureaucracy before it starts.
Keep readingThis is How Effective CTOs Embrace Change
Twilio Co-founder Evan Cooke shares the best ways to stay effective and make impact at every stage of being a startup CTO.
Keep readingWhat I Learned Scaling Engineering Teams Through Euphoria and Horror
Serial entrepreneur Tim Howes has grown several huge engineering teams from scratch. Here are the five area he focuses on to keep everything on track.
Keep readingHere's Why You Should Care About Holacracy
Yammer Co-founder Adam Pisoni is on a mission: To spread the word about responsive company models. Here's how Holacracy fits into this movement.
Keep readingThis Is What Impactful Engineering Leadership Looks Like
Jessica McKellar, former founder and now engineering manager at Dropbox, shares the tenets that have made her an effective technical leader.
Keep readingWhat the Seed Funding Boom Means for Raising a Series A
Josh Kopelman on why raising a Series A is harder than ever, and how startups can adapt to survive the changing investment landscape.
Keep readingWhy Yammer Believes the Traditional Engineering Organizational Structure is Dead
Yammer VP of Engineering Kris Gale explains why organizational norms are holding us back and what to do about it.
Keep reading42 Rules to Lead by from the Man Who Defined Google's Product Strategy
Former Google SVP of Products Jonathan Rosenberg on the quintessential lessons every leader needs to learn.
Keep readingWhat 'Making Partner' Means at a Startup
Looker Founder Lloyd Tabb on why it's vital for startup founders to treat their early employees like partners in the business.
Keep readingHow Medium Is Building a New Kind of Company with No Managers
Jason Stirman, one of the top minds behind Medium, explains how the company is using holacracy to do more faster and better.
Keep readingDrew Houston’s Morph from Hacker to Hyper-Growth CEO
Dropbox Founder and CEO Drew Houston turned a great piece of software into a massive business. Here's how he got there.
Keep readingHow to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO
Artillery Co-founder and CTO Ian Langworth talks about the tactics required to make the jump to technical leadership.
Keep readingThe Arc of Company Life - and How to Prolong It
Mark Leslie, longtime executive and advisor, explains how companies can prolong their lifespan by innovating at the right time.
Keep readingGet the Most Out of Your Space - Secrets from The Workplace Designer Behind Airbnb and SoundCloud
From wall colors to snack options, office designer Kelly Robinson shares tips that any startup can use to make the most of their workspace.
Keep readingSurvive the Leap to Hyper-Growth with This Advice from Steve Blank
Most startups die right before they enter hyper-growth. Steve Blank shares his perspectives on how companies can cross the chasm.
Keep readingThe One Thing Every Leader Needs to Learn: How to Scale Change
Yammer Co-founder Adam Pisoni investigates how companies can make revolutionary internal changes without breaking apart.
Keep readingHow This Founder Turned Slow Burn Rate into a Big Exit
Location Labs' founder provides a template for a low-burn strategy that strengthened his company while extending its runway.
Keep readingAn Inside Look at a Flat Organization That Serves Millions
Gumroad adopted a flat management structure by accident, but it's still working great. Founder Sahil Lavingia explains why flat is better.
Keep readingWhat Everyone Should Know About How Talent is Bought and Sold
Mike Brown, corporate development veteran from Facebook and Twitter, explains how to win the talent acquisition process.
Keep readingThere’s a .00006% Chance of Building a Billion Dollar Company: How This Man Did It
David Friedberg, CEO of The Climate Corporation, tells the story of how they built a valuable company from scratch.
Keep readingThe Secret to Making Board Meetings Suck Less
Jeff Bonforte, former CEO of Xobni (now SVP at Yahoo), provides a step-by-step guide to running a painless, productive board meeting.
Keep readingTop Hacks from a PM Behind Two of Tech's Hottest Products
Todd Jackson has experience managing products at Google, Facebook and his own startup. Here's what he learned.
Keep readingFight Like You're Right, Listen Like You're Wrong and Other Keys to Great Management
Stanford Business and Engineering Professor Bob Sutton shares his secrets for effective leadership (including the No Asshole Rule).
Keep readingThe Right Way to Grant Equity to Your Employees
Andy Rachleff, co-founder of Benchmark Capital, breaks down the ideal plan for granting equity to incentivize loyalty.
Keep readingHow to Win as a First-Time Founder, a Drew Houston Manifesto
Dropbox CEO Drew Houston shares his strategy for getting up to speed fast to succeed as a novice founder.
Keep readingEvernote’s CTO on Your Biggest Security Worries From 3 to 300 Employees
Evernote's CTO David Engberg goes in-depth on all the security threats you'll face as your startup grows and how to combat them.
Keep readingThe Best Approach to the Worst Conversation: "You're Fired"
Michael Lopp has headed up People Operations at both Palantir and Pinterest. Here, he explains how to fire people the right way.
Keep readingThe 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2013
Our 2013 roundup of the very best pieces of advice for entrepreneurs shared by experts and leaders across the tech industry.
Keep readingHow to Make OKRs Actually Work at Your Startup
Swipely CEO Angus Davis shares how his company deployed OKRs to grow past 50 employees and $1 billion in sales.
Keep readingWhat It Takes to Grow Your Startup 500% in Months
Angel investor and seasoned consultant Paul Arnold on how to introduce organization that will accelerate your startup.
Keep readingAsana’s Justin Rosenstein on the One Quality Every Startup Needs to Survive
Asana Co-founder Justin Rosenstein on the critical need for clarity within startups and how to achieve it as you scale.
Keep readingThis Product Prioritization System Nabbed Pandora 70 Million Monthly Users with Just 40 Engineers
Pandora CTO Tom Conrad explains how Pandora picks the most important features to build with its limited engineering power.
Keep readingUnlocking the Power of Stable Teams with Twitter’s SVP of Engineering
Chris Fry, former SVP Engineering at Twitter, talks about how forging strong teams is vital to building a long-lasting company.
Keep readingThe Brain Hacks Top Founders Use to Get the Job Done
Sought-after executive coach Katia Verresen shares the tips and tricks you can use to be as effective as possible.
Keep reading23 Tools to Make Your Feedback Meaningful
First Round Partner Phin Barnes on the best way to give feedback so that it's not only heard, but also makes a big difference.
Keep readingThis Startup Launched in 30 Cities in 6 Months — Here’s How They Did It
Founder Adora Cheung shares the strategies and hard lessons that allowed Homejoy to sprint across two continents and keep quality high.
Keep readingCrisis Management — From the Man Who Helped Save eBay
Maynard Webb has become known as Mr. Fix-It for his crisis management at eBay, Salesforce and Yahoo. Here's how he did it.
Keep readingMy Management Lessons from Three Failed Startups, Google, Apple, Dropbox, and Twitter
Kim Scott, veteran of Google, Apple, Dropbox and Twitter, shares what she's learned — especially the importance of giving a damn.
Keep readingThe Do’s and Don’ts of Rapid Scaling for Startups
Stanford Business and Engineering Professor Bob Sutton shares the tactics startups can use to grow fast without fatally breaking.
Keep reading70% of Time Could Be Used Better - How the Best CEOs Get the Most Out of Every Day
First Round Partner Bill Trenchard on how the best CEOs in tech get the most out of their time.
Keep readingFacebook VP of Engineering on Solving Hard Things Early
Cory Ondrejka, former director of mobile engineering at Facebook, on how to tackle hard things early so you don't run into trouble later.
Keep readingFlying Lessons
Angus Davis, founder and CEO of Swipely, on the lessons he learned from flying that now apply to entrepreneurism.
Keep readingWhen You're at the Crossroads of Should and Must
This is a pep talk for anyone who’s chosen Should far too long and feels like it’s about time they give Must a shot.
Keep readingHyper-Growth Done Right - Lessons From the Man Who Scaled Engineering at Dropbox and Facebook
Aditya Agarwal, VP of Engineering at Dropbox, talks about how he was able to scale their engineering team while maintaining productivity.
Keep reading80% of Your Culture is Your Founder
Molly Graham joined Facebook at 400 employees and helped turn a culture of chaos into a streamlined organization. Here's how she did it.
Keep readingSpark Creativity with These Tips from Pixar's President
Ed Catmull, President of Pixar, has spent his career being creative. Now he's exploring how companies can proactively ignite creativity.
Keep readingHow Fast-Growing Startups Can Fix Internal Communication Before It Breaks
URX CEO John Milinovich knows communication is crucial and that maintaining it will be hard as they grow. Here's what he's doing about it.
Keep readingEmployee Onboarding at Startups Is Broken – Here’s How to Fix It
Carly Guthrie has helped onboard new employees in startup offices and crowded restaurants. Here's what she learned from hard-won experience.
Keep readingShooting for an IPO? Take These Steps Now Before It's Too Late
Glenn Solomon, partner at GGV Capital shares the ingredients that make for a good IPO and disasters to avoid along the way.
Keep readingPower Up Your Team with Nonviolent Communication Principles
Ann Mehl and Jerry Colonna coach startups to communicate more clearly. These are the quick tips they've seen make a huge impact.
Keep readingAnnual Planning is Killing Your Growth – Try This Plan Instead
The need to plan a year ahead can cripple fast-changing startups. Instead, here's a system to think long-term with short-term agility.
Keep readingHow Squarespace’s CEO Pivoted to Scale for Millions
Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena explains how the company pivoted several times before discovering the recipe for success.
Keep readingProcess Is Being Told What to Do by Someone Who Has Less Information than You
As companies grow, process tends to slow things down. Follow these steps from Instagram's Director of Product to stay lean.
Keep readingHere’s Why Founders Should Care about Happiness
After 24 years climbing the corporate ladder, Scott Crabtree now focuses on data-driven approaches to what makes people happy at work.
Keep readingWhat Eventbrite Did Early to Create ‘Sustainable’ Success
When Julia and Kevin Hartz first started Eventbrite, they knew they weren't looking for a quick exit, but for long-term, durable success.
Keep readingMechanize Your Hiring Process to Make Better Decisions
Hiring the best is hard because there's so much human variation. Amazon's Anurag Gupta shares a system that always raises the bar.
Keep readingHere's the Advice I Give All of Our First Time Founders
According to First Round Partner Rob Hayes, there are only three things new founders need to focus on to succeed.
Keep readingExecute Like a Rookie, Lead Like a Multiplier
Knowing too much can be dangerous and narrow your view. Leadership advisor Liz Wiseman offers tips for avoiding this trap.
Keep readingThis is Why People Leave Your Company
Carly Guthrie has run HR for major restaurant groups and startups. Here, she shares lessons for startups looking to hold onto their talent.
Keep reading