Dor Dvorsky’s Post

Recently, my CPO/mentor, Yathindhar, shared a gem of wisdom: career growth isn't just about personal advancement; it's also about helping others succeed. This struck a chord with me and inspired me to write this post. (So if it's a bit long, don't hate me; my manager made me do this 🤭) As of May 2024, it’s been six years since I graduated from college—a period filled with diverse work experiences. (So diverse that you might say🤷♂️) Looking back, I chose an internship at a startup (completely unrelated to my studies) over a full-time job at an MNC. Despite much advice against it, I followed my gut. Why wouldn't I? I've always loved the phrase "Taking the Road Less Traveled." For years, I doubted this choice (sometimes I still do 😅). But looking back now, it was one of the best decisions I ever made 😎 This path led me to meet incredible people who shared their knowledge and supported me. • Bharathi, my first manager/co-founder at Sigaram Tech, taught me that people at startups often do everything and end up being lost in their careers. He introduced me to product management. • Preethi, my other co-founder at Sigaram Tech, taught me that it's okay to figure things out as you go. • Whatever tech I know, I learned from my two CTOs and from my peers Arjith, Keerthana, and Venkatesh. • I picked up different aspects of design from Vivek, Kiran, Sandeep, and Arvin. • I learned about traditional marketing and sales from Raamsundar, and whatever little digital marketing and content I know, I owe to Shyam, Nihal, and Shivasankari. • Gajendra (Sam) showed me how to make a point, stand by it, and make it happen. • Patience and solving customer issues with a smile? I learned that from Subhangi. It's been a year and a half since I joined Gallabox. Fast forward to now, I have contributed to and built some of the key features in the product. Ideating on features, building them, getting them out there for customers, and everything in between—that’s my jam. I've grown 10x better since joining Gallabox, thanks to mentors Karthik, Yathindhar, Yogesh, and Chennam. They taught me to see the big picture, offered new perspectives, and shared insights about business and product development. The best part? They gave me the freedom to make my own decisions. I don’t know if I’ve impacted anyone’s life the way you all have impacted mine, but that's the plan 🤞 If you've read this far, I guess I either mentioned you above or you actually resonate with my journey. For those who do.. • Remember, you're not less smart or talented than others; you just need the right exposure. Find the kind of exposure you need and keep learning from everyone, everything, and everywhere. • It’s okay if you don’t know something the first time, but make sure not to say "I don't know" about the same thing the second time. Keep learning, keep growing! 🌱 #CareerGrowth #Gratitude #ProductManagement

This week at Headstarter has been incredibly inspiring 🔥 ! The Pathways to Tech event provided a fantastic opportunity to learn from top industry leaders and get amazing knowledge into the current market . Here’s what I took away from each speaker: Dennis Crowley - Founder of Foursquare ($150M Revenue): He emphasized the importance of being deeply passionate and emotional about your product. When you truly care about what you’re doing, it becomes easier to stay consistent and find fulfillment in your work. Tariq Ahmed - First Engineer at AppLovin ($30Bn IPO): His advice, "Chaos is a ladder," was particularly impactful. It highlights the value of adapting and making the most of uncertain situations, persevering even when the path to success isn’t clear. This was my favorite takeaway. Julian Alvarez 🚀 Alvarez - Former SWE at Meta, CEO of Wisdolia ($20K+ MRR): Julian stressed that "the only real failure is the failure to learn." Acknowledging and learning from your mistakes is essential for growth. As Edison famously said, "I have not failed 10,000 times—I've successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work." Hamza Ali - CEO of Olostep: He highlighted the significance of taking initiative. Being proactive, seizing opportunities, voicing your opinions, and knowing what you need to learn are crucial traits that make you valuable in any industry. I also completed my second mock interview with Aidan Ouckama's AI, and my performance improved significantly. Combining Headstarter’s mock interviews with NeetCode's resources has rapidly enhanced my technical interview skills, making this journey incredibly rewarding. I am particularly excited about the recently announced partnership with Olostep. To maximize my chances of getting hired by Olostep, I plan to prioritize: 1. Enhancing My Technical Skills: I will continue to improve my coding and problem-solving abilities through regular practice and mock interviews. 2. Networking and Seeking Mentorship: I will actively engage with mentors and peers to gain insights and feedback for my professional growth. 3. Proactive Learning: I will focus on understanding Olostep’s projects and technologies to prepare myself for meaningful contributions from day one. A huge thanks to Yasin Ehsan 🚀, Faizan Ahmed, and the entire Headstarter team for organizing such a valuable event and bringing together these incredible speakers to share their wisdom. #AI #Headstarter #SoftwareEngineering #ComputerScience #DSA #Interview #YCombinator #Startup #Determined #Growth #Perseverance #Mindset

Wow, what a week! 🌟 I can’t believe how much I’ve learned and grown already in just two weeks! 🚀 As I wrap up my second week at Headstarter, I’m feeling more inspired than ever after attending the Pathways to Tech event, where I heard from some of the most inspiring minds in the industry. Here’s what stood out to me: Dennis Crowley, Founder of Foursquare, stressed the importance of understanding and engaging with your user base. Understanding your audience and building a strong community around your product is just as crucial as the technology behind it. Tariq Ahmed, First Engineer at AppLovin, spoke about navigating challenges. 💪 His story highlighted the value of resilience and adaptability in the startup world. Embracing challenges and navigating the ups and downs is key to achieving success. Julian Alvarez 🚀, Former SWE at Meta and CEO of Wisdolia, emphasized the importance of embracing a mindset of experimentation and iteration in development. His insights underscored the need to stay adaptable and open to change, continually refining approaches based on feedback and results. Prioritizing well-being and managing stress effectively are crucial for balancing technical challenges with personal growth and enjoyment. Hamza Ali, CEO of Olostep, emphasized that practical experience and tangible results often outweigh formal degrees and cultivating a proactive, self-starting attitude is crucial in fast-paced environments. He noted that being able to independently identify and solve problems is highly valued, and staying adaptable and committed to continuous learning is essential. But that’s not all! I had an incredibly cool experience doing my second mock interview with Aidan Ouckama's AI. It was phenomenal—it not only helped me solve problems but also prepared me for real-world interviews where communication is just as crucial as problem-solving. 🗣️ I was blown away by how advanced the technology is and how detailed the feedback was. This experience has drastically improved my technical interview skills. 🔥 A massive shoutout to the Headstarter team, especially Yasin Ehsan 🚀 and Faizan Ahmed, for putting together such an amazing event and connecting us with such inspiring speakers! 🙌 Your hard work is truly appreciated.

🌟 Meet the Starteryou Inc. Team! 🌟 I’m excited to introduce the incredible team that’s been with me through every twist and turn in building Starteryou Inc. It’s been a journey of highs, lows, and continuous learning, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the people making this vision a reality. 👨💻 Md Asif Siddiqui – Full Stack Developer   Asif brings a wealth of knowledge in both front-end and back-end development, building a foundation that keeps our platform running smoothly and efficiently. 👨💼 Rohit kumar Bandi Ravikumar – Technology Manager   Rohit manages our tech direction, from infrastructure to deployment. His strategic insights have been crucial as we move toward launching our MVP. 🎨 Shivam Doijad – Graphic Designer   Shivam’s creativity is at the heart of our user experience, designing visuals that bring our vision to life in every interaction. 💻 Moin Sayyed & Yash Sonawale – Technology Interns   Our interns, Moin and Yash, have shown great enthusiasm, jumping right in to tackle new challenges and grow alongside us in a fast-paced environment. Building Starteryou Inc. hasn’t been without its challenges. We’ve had people come and go, with some joining only to leave soon after, expecting a finished product and immediate rewards. But we’re still a company in progress, fully committed to our vision and our growth. This team has shown resilience and adaptability, facing obstacles with a positive spirit. 🚀 Our MVP is on the way! 🚀   Thanks to the dedication of this team, we’re excited to release our MVP to our pilot customers soon. It’s a significant milestone, and we can’t wait to see the impact it has! To my team—thank you for sticking through every up and down, pushing forward as we get closer to realizing Starteryou Inc.’s potential. Here’s to more achievements, learning, and growth! #StarterYouInc #MeetTheTeam #TechJourney #StartupLife #MVPLaunch #Teamwork #GrowthMindset #ThankYou

Something very interesting happened a few days back when I visited my previous company during sem break… I thought of surprising my previous colleagues and founders on a random Friday and spend some time seeing how things might have changed as the company reached 50+ employees from the previous 15 people focused team. Quite a lot changed in just 8 months! A funding round happened, office space expanded in our coworking space, new internal teams were formed, SOPs that I was preparing on excel were now on super formalized platforms, the product and the value proposition went through many iterations after multiple market insights. 👉But what amazed me were not these changes! It was rather one thing that remained constant: culture. It is so easy to get diluted on culture as the company’s scale. Surprisingly, there was not even an iota of change in how the culture was defined since I left. I could easily witness these core behaviour patterns in every person out there: 1️⃣Insane customer obsession 2️⃣Under commit but over deliver 3️⃣Problem-first mindset 👉How it happened? It is really hard to bring the team to the same level of your vision until you instill your vision in their minds over and over again. Such a culture was actually the outcome of “overcommunication” engineered beautifully by both the founders Pushpal and Brijesh Agarwal. It was happening at Devx with weekly company level updates by Pushpal to everyone in the company (even interns), then at vulnerable one on one chats with each and every one regarding the rights and wrongs, again over one on one catch-ups with Pushpal sharing lunch time with every employee individually. And subtly even in regular team outings. Here is where I truly understood the power and application of this saying! “The biggest issue with communication is the Illusion that it has happened.” Super proud of the team! The journey is just getting started✨ #startups #learnings #culture #funding #values

Excited to announce this will be my last month at Superlink after an amazing 12 months... I wanted to give a special shoutout to Matt Winn for being a great manager, leader, mentor, and overall human being!! You taught me so much about: - Doing things that don't scale - Startups are a learning curve, great employees stay ahead of the curve - In a startup if there is a gap, if you take initiative to fill it, no one else will - Good physical and mental health drive consistent performance - How to use figma, framer, build product specs, and write press releases!! One of my biggest career lessons was learning how to operate like a leader instead of an IC - writing a clear quarterly plan, aligning with company objectives, executing on it, and reporting on it regularly. In this way, you are always pulling leadership forward, instead of waiting for them to push you. Also - we tried this crazy "experiment" of hosting an Executive Dinner - which turned out to be such an insane growth playbook we doubled down on it. At the beginning we afraid it was not going to work, but as I look back at my time working here its one of the proudest 🙏 accomplishments in my career. What's Next? I will be consulting startups on growth, working on some events for clients, and taking a week off on Miami Beach ⛱️ It's honestly been a wild 6 years being in software sales, going from huge companies like IBM, to scaleups like Shopify, to startups like Unstoppable Domains, to a pre-revenue company like Superlink, and working on a solo events practice in between. Each career move has brought me on a new adventure with an uncertain destination, but one thing I know for certain is that each step brings me closer to discovering what my unique ikigai I can offer to this world 🌎 Thank you Superlink!

Don’t mind me, I’m just taking a sneak peak of our BRAND NEW website that’s launching next week… 👀 Stay tuned for an all new & improved Start People website where you’ll be able to browse for your next job opportunity, find out more info about us and learn how you can come and join our team!💚 Keep your eyes peeled! #GetStarted #StartPeople

I recently attended an inspiring tech leaders panel hosted by Headstarter. Thank you to Yasin Ehsan 🚀  , Headstarter, Faizan Ahmed for this valuable opportunity. Here are some key takeaways from industry leaders: 1. Dennis Crowley  (𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗲):    - Discussed the journey of founding Foursquare and scaling it to a $150M revenue company.    - Shared insights on the importance of perseverance and innovation in the tech industry. 2. 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗾 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱 (𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻):    - Highlighted his experience being the first engineer at AppLovin and contributing to its $30Bn IPO.    - Emphasized the significance of having a strong engineering foundation and adaptability in a startup environment. 3. Julian Alvarez 🚀  (𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗪𝗘 𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮, 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗮):    - Described his transition from a software engineer at Meta to founding Wisdolia, achieving over $20K MRR.    - Focused on the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship and the value of user feedback. 4. 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝘇𝗮 𝗔𝗹𝗶 (𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽):    - Spoke about Olostep’s mission and the importance of hiring and nurturing talent through programs like Headstarter Fellows.    - Provided advice on what Olostep looks for in candidates and the importance of a strong work ethic and passion. 5. Erik Cupsa (𝗠𝗟 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗥𝗖):    - Shared his journey as a machine learning engineer and content creator with a following of 75K.    - Discussed the impact of building a personal brand and leveraging social media for career growth. 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: - 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝘇𝗮 𝗔𝗹𝗶 was my favorite speaker due to his practical advice on hiring and mentorship, which aligns with my career aspirations. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: -My plan for the fellowship is to improve my skills by focusing on relevant projects, engaging in networking, and seeking mentorship opportunities to enhance my chances of getting hired by Olostep. #AI #Headstarter #Mindset #CareerinTech #SoftwareEngineering #ComputerScience #YCombinator #Startup #Determined #Growth #Perseverance

As summer break wraps up, I'm thrilled to dive back into my favorite events, starting with #ProductTO, my first time attending, and it did not disappoint! The format was refreshingly unique, featuring small, focused circles where PMs discussed key topics like strategy-to-roadmap, accessibility, managing multiple products, being the first PM hire in a startup, and sales-led vs product-led organizations. I chose to join the “First PM Hire in a Startup” discussion because I haven’t had such experience before, and Mohit Arora did an incredible job guiding the conversation and sharing insightful takeaways with the group. Here are my highlights: 🔑 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨/𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: Before joining a startup as the first PM, ensure you have meaningful discussions with the co-founders to understand their vision and leadership style. These factors will significantly shape your day-to-day experience, so it's crucial to ensure it's the right fit for you. 🔑 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: Startups often operate with a “hacky,” unstructured approach. While that’s part of the excitement, it’s also essential to create guidelines that promote effective, sustainable work practices as the company grows. 🔑 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: Especially in uncertain markets, it’s important to evaluate your risk tolerance, particularly the financial aspect. Startups often face high uncertainty, and the company’s trajectory depends heavily on secured funding. 🔑 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: With the risks come tremendous rewards. The impact you can make as the first PM is substantial, both in terms of company direction and the potential financial upside if the startup succeeds. What an amazing start to the Fall season 🍂! Looking forward to all the exciting events ahead! I didn't take a picture so I asked ChatGPT for some help :D! #ProductManagement #Startups #CareerGrowth #FirstPM #Toronto #PMEvents

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐬! In today’s fast-paced startup world, 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 is about connecting your team with your company’s mission and inspiring innovation. 🎯 Hackathons aren’t just 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐬 — they're a chance for teams to 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬. Innovative organisations all over the world like Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, Flipkart, Zomato and Swiggy utilise Hackathons as a tool to innovate and stay ahead of the curve! At Where U Elevate, we are on a mission to make the power of hackathons accessible to every startup in India through our “𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬” Join our ever growing community of 100+ satisfied customers who have experienced the power of hackathons and got incredible results for their businesses! DM me or connect with Parag Sharma for a DEMO of the incredible platform! #StartupGrowth #TalentEngagement #HackathonInnovation #EmployeeExperience #Innovation #Besthackathonplatfrom #WUEhackathonplatform