Nadin Kulikova’s Post

Tech professionals, you know that failure is an inevitable part of the innovation process. But it's how you respond to failure that matters. Every failed experiment, every buggy code, and every rejected proposal is an opportunity to learn and try again. Remember, success in tech is often the result of persistence and determination. It's the combination of late nights and early mornings. So, don't be discouraged by setbacks. Instead, embrace them as chances to refine your approach and try again. As a tech professional, you have the skills and expertise to turn your ideas into reality. Don't wait for others to give you the answers - take ownership of your projects and see them through to completion. And when you finally achieve success, remember that it's not just about the destination, but about the journey you took to get there. So, keep coding, keep innovating, and most importantly, keep trying. Because in the world of tech, it's not about being afraid to fail, it's about being afraid to never try at all." Happy new week family. PS: Ouuuuuuu it's a new week, let's work for a successful week.

Quick quiz and without looking: Do you work at a tech company? Or a tech-enabled company? If it's a tech company, your product/tech/R&D teams are directly responsible for the company's value. If it's a tech-enabled company, you're a cost center unlocking value for some other part of the business. Nothing wrong with either, but the path to happiness lies in understanding which one you work at.

Happy Monday, tech superstars! This week is yours for the taking. Challenge yourself and make an impact through code. Sharpen your skills on a cutting-edge project, elevate a user experience, optimize a complex system, or crush a tricky bug. You have the chance to level up and deliver something incredible. Remind yourself: - You are capable of tackling hard tech problems with focus and determination. - No one will care more about your unique contributions than you. - Stretch goals aren't limits but a chance to expand your abilities. - There are mentorship, knowledge and growth opportunities all around you. - You can become an even better version of yourself over the next 5 days. So stand up, take a deep breath and dive in. What motivates you at the start of a new week? #TechTalent #MondayMotivation #LevelUp #Code #ChallengeYourself #Opportunities #GrowthMindset Oyedijo Toyese Oyekunle MBA Abdullateef AdeniranYusuf Faniran Olaitan Felix Olawole Olatubora Miracle Nwabueze Adora Nwodo Pankaj Soam Tolu Adejimi Emmanuel Samuel 🚀 Habeeb Tijani Oluwole Majiyagbe OGO OKOSUN

Saturday. Let’s reflect the first week at Techstars. I could not have dreamed about the amount of learnings I had within one week. It’s not possible to capture it all in this message but here are my major learnings; - Always give first. In every relationship. - Features are your companies enemy. Everything you as a product loving founder think you have to do, is wrong. - Stop thinking you can build for multiple customer profiles, most likely you can’t. As a founder you do have to work hard, but more importantly you have to make sure you are focused. - Profile dynamics are amazing to help you understand your teams querks and how to help each other. - OKRs and KPIs can actually be helpful at early stage. They help your team focus on the same goals. Anyone who had these in uni and thinks he knows how to use them, hit me up, I would love to hear your interpretation. - find a ******* Problem, and be sure your customers will pay for it - then start validating if you can solve it I ended the week with a nice dinner and some of the other teams. Had a beautiful talk with Justus van Mil, thanks. Straight before I went to sleep for a long time. 😂

Happy Monday, tech enthusiasts! 🌟 As we dive into a new week, let's remind ourselves of the incredible power we hold as IT developers. Each line of code we write, every bug we squash, and each innovation we bring to life contributes to the dynamic world of technology. 🚀 This week, let's focus on: 🔹 Continuous Learning: Embrace new challenges and push the boundaries of your knowledge. Remember, growth comes from stepping out of your comfort zone. 🔹 Collaboration: Work together, share ideas, and support each other. The best solutions often come from a collective effort. 🔹 Creativity: Let your creativity flow. Think outside the box and explore new possibilities in your projects. 🔹 Persistence: Stay determined and don't let setbacks discourage you. Every problem has a solution, and your persistence will lead you there. Remember, every small step you take today builds the foundation for a brighter tomorrow. Let's make this week a productive, inspiring, and successful one! Keep coding, keep innovating, and keep thriving! 💻✨ #MondayMotivation #TechDevelopers #Innovation #Teamwork #GrowthMindset #StayInspired #KeepCoding

Why'd I make the jump to fractional from full-time? Here's a bit about how I thought about this jump myself: 👍 1 - Saying “yes” to product: After a career building products at Airbnb and early-stage cos, I still fundamentally loved the craft of product management. So continuing to build products and teams in some capacity was a no-brainer. 📕 2 - Learning from new products, industries & teams: I'm a curious guy. I wanted to work in a capacity that enabled me to work on, and ultimately learn from, a diversity of teams, products, and industries. And after having spent 5+ years at Airbnb, I was also eager to get back into early-stage product and company building (which is ultimately what attracted me to a career in tech and what led me to work on the founding team of my first startup during college). 📈 3 - More impact: My career has spanned building products and teams across growth and early-stage cos and in product & non-product roles. Given this, I felt uniquely positioned to drive product and business impact for cos at the earliest stages. And doing this in a fractional capacity, where I would be able to work simultaneously across multiple products and cross-pollinate the learnings from one company to the next, would enable me to deliver even more impact than I otherwise could have. 💪 4 - Increased autonomy, control: I also wanted to experience a relationship with product mgmt that afforded more autonomy. I wanted more control over what I worked on and how I spent my time. Through this, I wanted to develop even more control over my career and my trajectory. 👨💼 5 - Scratching that entrepreneurial itch: After having worked in growth-stage tech for more years than I (tbh originally) anticipated, it was time to re-tend to the entrepreneurial bug (that's always lurking). I wanted to get back to being an owner and building something from the ground up.

My good friend from the Google days, Anthony DiMarco, stopped by the Flowcode office yesterday. While he didn't have a plan to address the team, I put him on the spot, and let me tell you, everyone walked out of that office with a newfound sense of motivation. Anthony is one of the hardest-working and most motivated individuals I've ever known. Back during our time at Google, whenever I needed a boost, I'd make my way to his floor. Witnessing his team operate at peak performance was always inspiring and now, I apply those lessons to lead my team at Flowcode. Anthony openly answered questions from our team, and I'm excited to highlight some of the key insights he shared: 1️⃣ "Swallow the Biggest Frog": Start your day by tackling the toughest task first. By addressing the most challenging task early on, you set a positive tone for the day and pave the way for smoother progress. 2️⃣Embrace a Beginner's Mindset: Approach work with curiosity and humility. Continuously seek opportunities to learn, innovate, and rebuild when necessary. 3️⃣ The Power of Pomodoro: Adopt the Pomodoro Technique for enhanced productivity. Work intensely for 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break. This cycle helps maintain momentum and prevent burnout. 4️⃣ Prioritize Self-Care: Take care of your body and mind. Proper nutrition and exercise are essential for peak performance. Remember, self-care isn't a luxury—it's a fundamental requirement for success. #careerdevelopment #careeradvice #founderstories #motivation #productivity #flowcode #teammotivation #selfimprovement

Some people have been asking why we started Thryve? So I figured I'd share the story behind it all... 🍿 Having been in Asia's startup scene for over a decade, I’ve unfortunately noticed a lack of resources and communities for young product managers. Of course, there are events, meetup groups, and tons of online material, but nothing I’ve found that was of deep substance, relevant to stakeholder dynamics in Asia, or that could be practically applied in day-to-day work. After a catchup with my friend and fellow product leader, Jitesh Chhabria, we realized that we both grew the most from getting connected to peers in similar career stages, who can instantly understand and empathize with our challenges, and consequently help us work through them (most commonly through small whatsapp groups or over late-night street food). Therefore, we figured why not start something ourselves, replicating those helpful spaces and providing it to early-career PMs. In addition, it'd be a way to give back to the community, grow stronger product leaders locally, and potentially uncover the unaddressed intricacies of product management in Asia. Since that chat, we’ve ran a few cohorts, tackling issues such as individual time management, weighing out design decisions with engineering resources, prioritization considerations throughout the various layers of stakeholders, career progression based on the someone's strengths and aspirations, and more. I’m humbled to have seen the small initiative snowball, and even more lucky to have amazing people step up and get involved, such as Sophia XUEFEI FAN, Qianlu, Cherry Zhu, and Justin Kung! We’re currently enrolling PMs for our next set of cohorts and excited to see who we’ll be working with! We’re also ecstatic to see how a few improvements we’ve implemented will play out, such as a more focused discussion structure, thoughtful cohort matching, and further easing logistical headaches, which overall, contribute to a better group discussion which is what matters most. If the above resonates with you, then there are a few ways you can help grow this with us 🚀 1. Apply to be part of the next cohort: https://thryve.app/ 2. Share it with someone who you think would benefit 3. Help us through other methods (operations, design, content, etc) by reaching out to me!

🚀 Hack Weeks: A Catalyst for Innovation and Team Health 🚀 At Spotify, we believe in the power of innovation and the magic that happens when teams come together to explore, create, and solve. That’s why Hack Weeks are a cornerstone of our culture. Some might wonder, “Is it okay to take a week off from regular work?” Here’s the gotcha: during Hack Week, we’re not stepping away from work—we’re diving deeper into it. We’re taking a break from the routine to discover new ideas and solutions that we can bring back to enhance our user experience. Hack Weeks are more than just a break; they’re a necessity. Healthy teams do healthy things, like dedicating time to hack away at problems, push boundaries, and unleash their creativity. It’s during these weeks that we see some of our most innovative ideas come to life. To all teams out there: embrace your Hack Weeks. They’re not just about taking a break—they’re about fueling your next big leap forward. #Innovation #TeamHealth #HackWeek #Spotify #EngineeringLeadership

My profile says I work at Yelp, but I actually left once! Storytime :) I don't regret my decision, I got to work at Boosted.ai and help build out their tech stack! It was super exciting to help build a business from scratch with an amazing team. I loved it! However part of my motivation for leaving was faulty. One thing that really frustrated me was that I felt like nobody challenged me anymore. I had a ton of implied authority on my team. I was a rank and file software engineer like everyone else, but I was the last remaining engineer who helped found the Core Android team. I did the quarterly planning, and project management for the team. I helped mentor and train the new folks. My manager was managing another team, so I was given a ton of free reign to run things the way I liked, and he took care of the people side of things. It was a great setup, but everyone just... did what I said. I'd spend time putting together a detailed tech spec for something I thought we should build, and people would thumbs up and go "cool, when do we start!?" instead of giving any feedback. There was no way I nailed it on the first go... My mistake was making a false narrative and not validating it. I told myself that everyone trusted me because of my seniority, and wouldn't push back on me no matter what I did. I never validated whether this was true, and I never talked to my team about it, or my manager. Heck, I never even mentioned it to a mentor! I let it fester into a problem where I said I needed a change. We tried moving me to another team where I didn't have expertise, but by then I was already looking at Boosted. The stories we tell ourselves are incredibly powerful. They can build you up, but they can ruin your career, your relationships, or get you seriously hurt. In this case it took me down a different path, that helped me grow and evolve, but I would have been better served to deal with that issue head on. Talk to people, find ways to be challenged. Maybe I made it unsafe for folks to challenge me. Maybe a million other possibilities. I wonder what other stories I'm telling myself that I should validate?