Archive for the ‘ My Experience ’ Category

Startup Founder: Prepping, Prototyping, and Pitching

In 2 days I’ll be celebrating my 6 month anniversary of leaving my last startup and working on my current one (cue Jay-Z).  Having been a startup engineer I knew I had to prepare myself for the transition to founder. The long hours of a startup engineer are drastically different from the long hours of a founder. [ READ MORE ]

Startup Engineer: Which number is right for you?

Having been an engineer at a startup I empathize with people who are being recruited into startups especially if it’s their first startup. The key deciding factor for me was that I wanted to learn everything about engineering a consumer product. Sure making bank is a nice motivation, but I quit my Masters [ READ MORE ]

Self-Direction Leads to Your Calling

From the ripe age of 8 I’ve been thinking about my career, I aspired to be a lawyer, professor, and writer.  I read all the time and wrote stories for fun.  I had lofty goals of being published in seventh grade, but my dreams were curtailed when my family moved.   I can’t say it [ READ MORE ]

Momentum

Being at the ground floor of a startup is the best, not that I’ve ever come in at a later stage, but having gone through the full lifecycle of one startup I can vouch for the beginning being the most exciting and romantic period.  You define the product, engage with users, research technologies to use [ READ MORE ]

Living Life on Your Own Terms Requires Work.

When I tell people I’m starting a company they somehow think I’m taking a huge risk. To me it’s the next logical move for my career. I could have gone back and finished the masters I quit three years ago, applied to B-school, or gone and worked [ READ MORE ]

Focus

Focus is one of the keys to success.  All-star athletes and entrepreneurs practice it day in and day out until the big win.  It’s not just about keeping your eye on the prize, it’s setting goals and thinking about the execution of them and not letting anything distract you while you’re executing. My senior year of [ READ MORE ]

Adaptation

Growing up my family moved around every few years, which meant that I was the “new kid on the block” a handful of times.  Every new school I entered required me to learn a new system, and most of the time I was the only brownie, which made my social-life a little more challenging.  Being a [ READ MORE ]

Testing Traditions

I come from a culture that reveres degrees, status, and tradition.  While I think those things are important, they just aren’t important to me.  When I was 10 I told my mom I wasn’t going to have an arranged marriage, her response: “We’ll see.”  We are still seeing…  At 18 I told my pious parents [ READ MORE ]

Epilogue: Mint.com Femgineer to Femtrepreneur

Almost one month ago I left Mint.com to strike it out on my own.  I remember leaving the building after saying goodbye to people that I had helped hire, and built a product with for over 3 years of my life.  The days leading up to my last day were filled with a bit of [ READ MORE ]

TalkShoe Podcast

I was interviewed this afternoon by Anne Swift.  She focused on my experience as one of the founding engineers at Mint.com, and how that has helped me start my own venture.  Enjoy the podcast! Tweet This Post[ READ MORE ]