Gagan Bajaj

In 2021, we seriously considered hiring international engineers to save burn. We decided against it, and I now understand why outsourcing is mostly a bad idea for startups: My co-founder, Shreyans, led engineering teams at Venmo and sold his last startup to Google, so he leaned towards hiring top tier talent in the US. I was allured by the 30-50% cost savings to hire engineers abroad. Shreyans insisted we could get more productivity out of having 6 US-based engineers than 15 outsourced abroad. I was skeptical, but deferred to him as Head of Engineering. He was right. Our productivity has easily been 2-3x better than what we’d get from outsourced engineers. It also has allowed us to keep our product and engineering management team small, which further increases the overall efficiency. The talent market is relatively liquid, so 10x engineers in other countries eventually work their way up to US-lite salaries. There are times when outsourcing makes sense: - If you have an “edge” finding undiscovered talent in a foreign country (you or your co-founder is from there) - You don’t have the social capital to hire great talent in the USA (at Udemy, we were too unknown to hire great US talent for our first 3 years) Otherwise, I don’t think it's worth it. When you’re a small team, always, always, optimize for quality over quantity.

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Alphabet Shares Jump 14% On Earnings Beat, First-Ever Dividend: Alphabet has reported first quarter results that topped analysts' estimates with soaring profits in its cloud division. It also announced its first-ever dividend. CNBC shares the results: Earnings per share: $1.89 vs. $1.51 per share expected by LSEG Revenue: $80.54 billion vs. $78.59 billion expected by LSEG Wall Street is also watching several other numbers in the report: YouTube advertising revenue: $8.09 billion vs. $7.72 billion expected, according to StreetAccount. Google Cloud revenue: $9.57 billion vs. $9.35 billion expected, according to StreetAccount. Traffic acquisition costs (TAC): $12.95 billion $12.74 billion expected, according to StreetAccount. Alphabet's revenue increased 15% from $69.79 billion a year earlier, the fastest rate of growth since early 2022. Alphabet said its board approved a cash dividend of 20 cents per share to be paid on June 17, to stockholders of record as of June 10. The company said it "intends to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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How I got hired at Amazon after performing badly in the interview, ... Here is my Amazon Interview Story, While I was preparing for Full-time roles in the early 2021, I networked with a Hiring Manager at Amazon. After an hour-long informational call, the hiring manager told me that I would hear back from the recruiter on the Phone Screening and next steps. To summarize, my phone screening went well and I was invited for a virtual onsite interview of 5 rounds. 1. 5 rounds between 10 am and 4:45 pm. 2. 15 min break between each interview. 3. 45 min break for lunch after the 2nd round. My last round was at 3:45 pm. I was exhausted after solving 20+ questions (DSA and SQL) and talking for 80% of the time from the past 5 hours. The entire interview didn’t go as I hoped. I solved a subset of DSA questions with hints but I could not provide impactful stories for some leadership principles and ended up with multiple disagreements on the system designs. Overall, I felt I performed badly in the interview. One week later, I got the call from recruiter that I got the job. I was happy and to show my gratitude I called the hiring manager to thank him for his guidance during the overall interview process. I shared my last round experience with him and told him that I felt that I would be rejected because of my last round. Manager Response: “𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸; 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘕𝘰-𝘏𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.” Therefore, do not let your previous interview round influence your next round. Give your best in each round independently and let the interviewers evaluate you. Keep hustling, stay motivated, get hired. #motivation #interviewprep #amazon #faang

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Hey Alexa, let’s trim our management layer by 14000 to improve operational efficiency. After the RTO mandate, Amazon plans to cut a chunk of management roles globally. I am positive more companies will soon follow suit. More than ever before, this is the age of sharpening your management skills to stay ahead of the curve. Gone are the days when you can survive/grow in a company based on relationships and people pleasing. Although it still exits to a large extent under the pretext of “networking” or “building relationships” but if that is you, you're going to lose your seat the table. For instance, we have a growing population of Gen Z’s coming into the workforce, hiring and managing this new workforce needs a fresh approach and mindset. Most teams by now have a diverse group of cross generational talent. The manager of a high performing team will know how to utilize cross generational skills effectively rather than treating everyone with the same style of leadership. #situationalleadership Some people are managers and some are true leaders. Leaders “lead” and managers “manage”. With all the technological changes coupled with mass restructuring, this distinction will become more evident in the years to come. 

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Great article about navigating your career

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😎 Want to join me to build cool products at Linkedin? ➡️ Apply to the APM program! The application for our Summer 2025 Associate Product Manager Internship program is now live! 💡 What is the APM program? LinkedIn's Associate Product Manager Internship program is a small, competitive program that develops soon-to-be college graduates into world-class Product Managers. From day one, LinkedIn APM interns are given ownership and responsibility of impactful projects, while receiving mentorship and guidance from some of the best product leaders and entrepreneurs in the industry. That program is 🔥 Check out the job description in the link in the first comment to see if you qualify. If that’s not you, be kind and tag someone who may be interested! #CoolJobAlert #APM #LinkedinLife

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For O-1A visa seekers out there, I'm offering the following: * A 30 min. 1-1 consult where you can ask me about my experience applying as a pre-raise founder, including how to serve as a judge for hackathons and incubators: $10 (so I know you're serious) * My entire O-1 application packet--all 400 pages--demonstrating how to meet 7/8 of the requirements. (Looking back, knowing what a successful application looked like would've been SO helpful!): $100 * A list of judging opportunities I compiled: $25 $120 for the whole bundle. I got more consults than I expected the last time I did this so this time, I'm capping it at 10. DM me if interested. If you're not satisfied, I'll give you a full refund.

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The cost cutting at Amazon continues to produce financial results. My team grew from 6 to 800 in 9 years. That was awesome for me and we got a lot done, but throwing people at problems eventually led to giant, expensive teams. I've been told that Amazon Web Services (AWS) began with 55 people. I knew some of the first team members and the teams were very small, so this is quite possible. I don't know how many people are in AWS today, but it is more than 55,000. Despite incredible growth, that is a lot of people - a whole city. Amazon has done a lot of layoffs and allowed a lot of attrition, in part driven by the Return to Office (RTO) policies. They are even thinning the leadership ranks. I hear from more Director+ people who are losing team members, being pushed out, or being moved to non-manager roles as senior individual contributors as the company adjusts. This trimming of the bloat that accumulated through years of growth is both necessary and working financially (disclosure: yes, I still own Amazon shares). I worry about the long term talent supply given that other companies will offer senior people excellent hybrid or remote roles to attract them. I also worry about a lack of innovation. Despite Amazon's protests, the company clearly missed the first AI wave and is struggling to catch up. Given that the first hype cycle of AI seems to be slowing down, however, it may be that they can do this too. The bottom line is... that the bottom line is better! Amazon has managed to clean up and trim down years of over-growth. I was a part of that rapid growth because at the time using extra people for speed was the desired playbook. Now, with a type of maturity, that has changed. One consequence - it is much harder to move up at Amazon today. The pressure is in fact to delayer the organization and decrease the percentage of senior positions. A good corporate move, but one that makes direct promotion more difficult for individuals. Which creates our conclusion: whether it is promotion or RTO, what is good for company operations may not be as good for individual careers. Comments? https://lnkd.in/gh826uwe

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When I asked how to grow at Amazon, I always heard back: More scope & impact. Find projects that affect more teams and bring bigger results. That is true for product career in general. Most people focus on the “shiny” objects: • Brand name  • Title • Compensation But here is the thing: Sometimes titles don’t match the reality. I’ve met L7s whose scope was so tiny that it would be considered junior PM elsewhere. I’ve met people who work at FAANG companies and make $$$$ but are embarrassed to tell what they actually do. Growing a product career is not about titles or comp. It’s about the scope and results you bring to the business. Your title and compensation later are simply outcomes of that. Next time you evaluate the offer, think about: * How much of the product will you own? Will you own multiple products? * What internal / external users will this impact and are they important to the business? * Is it a revenue-generating team? Sometimes titles are BS. Scope never is. 

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𝐈’𝐦 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐲𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. For me, a full 5 days in the office isn’t always the best path to being productive or finding balance. Hybrid work gives the flexibility to do both—focus on tasks at home and collaborate in person when needed. It’s not just about where we work, but how we work best! #HybridWork #WorkLifeBalance #Flexibility #Productivity

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"I guess I no longer have the opportunity to become Director" That was one of my initial reactions after being laid off from my dream job at Google. Becoming a Director (or even better VP) at Big Tech is extremely prestigious and that was my career goal. In an informal exit chat with a senior leader, I shared this disappointment with him. His response: "Heart attack. Divorce. Loneliness" "Pick one" This senior leader shared anecdotally that 90% of Directors/VPs he knew were suffering from health issues or strained relationships with their family. From all the long hours, endless traveling and relentless pressure to overachieve. "And even if you find a way to balance it all, you will quickly find out how lonely it is at the top" This leader then used my layoff as an example. "To lay you (and others) off, a Director or VP would have known it 6-12 months in advance. They cannot share this burden with anyone else and have to work in secrecy.                        They may attend your wedding, see you get pregnant or put your first home downpayment. But they cannot say anything to warn you. So they either feel guilty or they keep their distance. Either way it gets lonely" So while it's easy to criticize corporate leadership these days (some deservedly so),  I also remind myself that their jobs are not easy, that I am lucky to meet some really good ones, and there's always a hidden cost to any career goal. Follow my YT channel for career and finance tips without the BS and corporate fluff: https://t.ly/XTO4z Keep fighting your good fight.

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I’ve been playing around with YC Founder Matching and it seems like everyone and their mother is interested either in 2-sided marketplaces or B2C businesses, even though they’re ostensibly the least profitable and hardest-to-get-off-the-ground business models there are. Why do people do this? You only have to take a glance at enterprise vs individual pricing to want to switch gears.

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PM = a school of hard knocks. #PM(mis)education Like most people, I did not train to be a product manager. I fell into it, and loved it, and began building my way forward and up. When I wrote my first PRD, I had a very vague idea of what I was doing. We were building a feature to surface different versions of the same video game (for Xbox, PC, Playstation; regular, collector’s, game of the year edition; CD or DVD etc.) on Amazon’s site. Mine was a fine artifact, complete with metrics plan and early mockups, exhaustive, elegant, literature-worthy. It had its own font. It stood on its own, quite literally: the fourty-page packet stood vertically on the table without leaning on props. The Eng team met me, agreed on the definition of success verbally, and handled the development from there on (true story!). Nobody ever read the PRD. My packet ended up under a SWE’s monitor, raising it higher so that he could avoid neck pain. Nobody "took me aside for a talk", feedback culture in most corporate America being what it is. So I started assembling the pieces by myself, asking for help, shadowing fellow PMs to figure out the informal process of creating consensus on requirements. I learned a lot from this one PM who did not even write PRDs, but managed solely by asking his engineers questions. The point being, why in 2024 there still is no undergrad program in Product Management? #realproductmanagement #productmanagement

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Founders are realizing the significant value of raising capital from retail investors, and there is a potential big upside for those retail investors as Rebecca Kacaba highlights. The ability for founders and investors to both realize those values is exactly what DealMaker enables. 😉

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