Meet Raza, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum and staple in The Commons community
At the very worst, you join a curated, exclusive community of current and future tech leaders who are incredible, kind, and helpful, with whom you can become friends with, learn from, and potentially score your next job through. At best, you’ll make lifelong friends, learn tangible skills that pay massive dividends in your career, and be plugged into the “what’s happening” in the industry.
Leaning in: How Justin Collett has made the most of The Commons
Justin Collett is an active member of The Commons community. From leveraging the network, to being a Geo Captain for our Vancouver community, read on to learn more about Justin's journey with The Commons!
What is BizOps? Comparing BizOps at a Series A Marketplace and a Series E SaaS
BizOps can look different at different companies. We sat down with two Commons alumni, Alysha and Sybil, who are both BizOps managers, to learn more about their roles.
How a career start in CPG and a desire to keep learning led to a role at DoorDash
Dipti is an Engagement Associate at DoorDash and a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum who leveraged her data skills and experience in CPG to land her current role in tech.
Meet Holly: After excelling in the Strategy + Operations Sprint, Holly pivoted into tech when she landed a role on her mentor’s team
Holly Lin joined The Commons' Strategy + Operations Sprint with the goal of pivoting into tech. After working hard in the Sprint and making a good impression on her mentor, everything came full circle when Holly's opportunity to break into tech was with a role on her mentor's team.
Meet Cheryl: Internal strategy at a bank to BizOps at skincare tech startup
Meet Cheryl, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who pivoted from finance & management consulting at a large bank to Operations Strategy at tech-enabled custom skincare startup Curology. Cheryl is currently based in San Francisco.
Meet Carolyn: Management consulting to building new verticals at DoorDash
Carolyn pivoted from management consulting to the BizOps team @ DoorDash, focusing on new verticals. Carolyn is based in New York. Carolyn joined her mentor at The Commons James at DoorDash and continues to be an engaged member of our community (and the growing The Commons x DoorDash crew).
Meet Chong: Corporate Finance to Head of Operations at a Startup
Meet Chong, an alum of The Commons and the Head of Operations @ WISK.ai, a restaurant technology platform startup. Chong pivoted from finance into tech after joining the Fall 2020 cohort of the Strategy + Operations Sprint!
Meet Jonathan: Entrepreneur, Professional Athlete and now, Product Owner at a Fintech startup
Meet Jonathan, an alum of The Commons and Product Owner at Neo Financial, a Fintech startup. Jonathan is an entrepreneur, professional athlete and now, a Product Owner at a startup, after joining the November ‘20 Strategy + Operations Sprint and September ‘21 Product Strategy Sprint.
Meet Armish Sehar: Corporate Finance at a big Telco to BizOps at a Startup
Meet Armish, an alum and Ops Manager at Sampler, a startup that digitizes DTC product sample delivery. Armish pivoted from consulting into the tech industry after joining the Spring ‘21 Strategy + Operations Sprint.
Meet Gurmehar Sodhi: Consulting to leading BizOps for Uber Direct
Meet Gurmehar Sodhi (Gurmee), an alum of The Commons and Sr. Manager, BizOps at Uber Direct. Gurmee pivoted from consulting into the tech industry after joining the February ‘21 Strategy + Operations Sprint. Gurmee joined the team as the first Canadian hire with a mandate to help grow the business quickly while ensuring operational rigour is maintained.
From Strategy Consulting to BizOps: How Julia Di Spirito Found Her Career Passion
When Julia graduated from university with a business degree in hand, she went into management consulting. But after a few years, she came to the same conclusion that so many young consultants do: this wasn’t exactly what she wanted to work on for the rest of her life. There was, however, the small question of what was next?
Evaluate a Startup Like a Venture Capital (VC) Investor
We hosted Turner Novak for a workshop to share his process for evaluating startups through a VC lens, and he walked us through a couple of examples live. These are his tips.
Navigating a layoff in tech, from someone who just went through it
Four months after landing his first BizOps role in tech, Raza was a part of company wide layoffs. In recent months, Raza landed his second BizOps role at Webflow. He joined us to share more about his experience navigating and bouncing back from a layoff in tech.
How to pivot into tech, key skills needed for BizOps roles and how BizOps roles differ at small vs large companies
Stuart Wilson, Senior Director of BizOps and Strategy at Hotel Engine, joined The Commons for a Speaker Series on careers in BizOps and you can find the key takeaways here!
How to build a no-code Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Starting a new tech project is exciting. No-Code tools like Webflow are relatively easy to learn and can kickstart your progress. The Commons grad Wasi describes a step-by-step approach to leveraging No-Code tools to build an app and scale it using an app he built, Togle, as an example. You can use this framework to build your next big idea, too!
What's the difference between BizOps and Chief of Staff?
Two roles that are typically a good fit for generalists are BizOps and Chief of Staff. Both are generalist roles with a lot of overlap but also some key differences.
There's One Metric Which Could Determine The Fate of Your Startup
Strategic Finance has never been more important for ensuring the future success of a company. And we have one weapon in our arsenal that is more valuable than all the rest: LTV/CAC.
Top 10 Tactics to Leverage When Onboarding Remotely
Many people in The Commons community have been starting new roles and onboarding remotely. Our community pooled together to offer their advice on how to best dive in to a new remote role.
Why Tech Companies Look for Consulting and Finance Experience (and how you can still land a job in tech if you're not one)
Ever wonder why so many business roles in tech list consulting or finance as a preferred background for candidates? Take a read to learn why, and to learn about how you can still make yourself stand out if you are coming from a different industry.
Job offer evaluation and negotiation is one of the aspects of the recruiting process that we see people asking about the most at The Commons. We compiled some of the best advice the community has shared on the topic.
Ending a job interview off with insightful questions can help you stand apart from the rest of the candidates. We turned to The Commons community for their tips on what questions to ask at the end of an interview.
Pop in here to find the questions (and answers!) to the brain teasers that we ask in the weekly The Commons Digest newsletter. How many did you get right?
When pivoting into a business role in tech, you’ll need to be able to nail your elevator pitch. Learn how to craft - and perfect - yours with this guide.
Looking for a high-impact role? Working at a startup can be one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of your career. Let's dive into the different stages of startups to discover which one is right for you.
Fairuz, one of the data mentors for the The Commons' Strategy + Operations Sprint, outlines why SQL has become a critical skillset in strategic business roles in tech.
The way we do finance is changing. More and more, fresh-faced bankers are standing out amongst their peers by learning technical skills such as statistics, data analytics, and dashboarding. While there was a time when the best-of-the-best were defined by their ability to work the hardest, there’s a growing group of financial professionals who stand out by working the smartest. Amidst all this change, there’s one area no one seems to be talking about… GSheets. It’s superior to Excel in every single way.
Common Interview Structures for Strategy & Operations Roles in Tech
The interview process at tech companies can be long and grueling. Read on to learn about common interview structures and tips from mentors at The Commons.
Evaluate a Startup Like a Venture Capital (VC) Investor
We hosted Turner Novak for a workshop to share his process for evaluating startups through a VC lens, and he walked us through a couple of examples live. These are his tips.
Navigating a layoff in tech, from someone who just went through it
Four months after landing his first BizOps role in tech, Raza was a part of company wide layoffs. In recent months, Raza landed his second BizOps role at Webflow. He joined us to share more about his experience navigating and bouncing back from a layoff in tech.
How to pivot into tech, key skills needed for BizOps roles and how BizOps roles differ at small vs large companies
Stuart Wilson, Senior Director of BizOps and Strategy at Hotel Engine, joined The Commons for a Speaker Series on careers in BizOps and you can find the key takeaways here!
The Commons opened up my eyes to the world of Strategy and Operations in tech, which was something I was not aware of at all previously...The Commons has become my medium to meet more people, and I hope to continue to be a part of making this community even stronger.
Holly L.
I learned how to think, speak, and collaborate like a tech leader. From small skills like how to effectively use tools like Slack, Notion, Asana, and Calendly, to more technical skills like SQL, Google Workspace, and Tableau - I now use all of these components of my tech toolkit to be an effective worker at my fast-paced tech job.
The Commons opened up my eyes to the world of Strategy and Operations in tech, which was something I was not aware of at all previously...The Commons has become my medium to meet more people, and I hope to continue to be a part of making this community even stronger.
Holly L.
I learned how to think, speak, and collaborate like a tech leader. From small skills like how to effectively use tools like Slack, Notion, Asana, and Calendly, to more technical skills like SQL, Google Workspace, and Tableau - I now use all of these components of my tech toolkit to be an effective worker at my fast-paced tech job.
Michele Y.
The best part of my experience was hands down the community, mentors and real-life experiences. Everyone is so generous with their time, determined, and hardworking. These are some of the smartest and scrappy individuals I've ever met — who are also kind hearted.
Syke H.
I feel like [the community] is a gift that keeps on giving. I intend to really lean on new friends and community members during my job search.
Eddie W.
The Strategy + Operations Sprint is one of the best learning experiences I have had...I got to work with some of the brightest and most amazing people who share similar career goals...The journey is very rewarding and the more work you put in, the more benefits you reap.
Sarah L.
Joining The Commons was one of the best things that happened to me this year. I still rave about it to all my friends, if you're not in The Commons then you're seriously missing out. The value I got most immediately was improving my soft and hard skills through a BizOps project and mentorship...The value I continue to get is from the community.
Just. Get. Started. That’s one of our biggest takeaways from Christian Keil’s excellent profile of Packy McCormick from a few weeks ago. Packy is of course the author and creator of Not Boring, a business strategy and trends newsletter that has evolved into a community, investing syndicate, job board and VC fund.
This one is for all aspiring product leaders 📣 Virtually every company preaches the value of diversity. But few properly articulate why a multitude of perspectives actually leads to better products. Sasha Pang, a Product Manager at Facebook, fixed that on the latest episode of Need to Know.
Today we want to talk about the phrase “bias for action.” Specifically what it is and why tech companies look for this quality in candidates. Those of you who work in tech have probably thrown the phrase around a million times. Those who are recruiting have certainly heard it too. But what does it mean?
One reason career moves are so scary? Opportunity cost. Time and money are finite resources. We can only invest so much of both in the pursuit of a career move. And when it comes down to actually making that change, you want to be certain it’s the right one. But how?
Confidence is often the key missing piece to leading a successful and rewarding job search. Imposter syndrome is something that resonates with many Skillfulers, our team included!
In our last update we spoke about Pete Huang’s approach to finding jobs in startup land. Namely to find sectors that interest you, and then build a pipeline of companies in those sectors. Today we’ll talk about a slightly different approach.
In true Skillful fashion, this issue is the first of many iterations (quick wins, anyone?). So if you have any thoughts, questions or feedback, let us know! And if there’s anything you’d like to share with the community at large, let us know - we’ll almost always be happy to include it in here.
We send a weekly newsletter with career advice, discussion threads from our community and curated job openings focused on strategic business roles in tech.
The Podcast: Need to Know
PODCAST
Dasha Sivkov - VP Product Marketing at Wealthsimple
Join Luis as he sits down with Dasha Sivkov, VP of Product Marketing at WealthSimple, Canada’s fintech unicorn. Dasha brings us into her day-to-day in Product Marketing and shares takeaways and stories from her career journey. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Salmaa Elshanshory - VP of Market Expansion at Medly
Kris sits down with Salmaa Elshanshory, VP of Market Expansion at Medly, a full-service, digital pharmacy that offers free same-day prescription delivery for all types of medications. Salmaa shares how she broke into tech from a background in public policy, why the best companies celebrate failure and how she thinks about career opportunities.
Gary Yang - Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder
Join Kris as he sits down with Gary Yang, Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder, an online marketplace that connects those with unused space with fast-growing companies. Gary candidly shares his insights on BizOps and Products, what it takes to succeed in the ever growing world of start-ups and his journey from management consulting into tech.
Luis chats with Sri Batchu, Head of Growth at Instacart - the online grocery delivery service we’ve all come to know and love (especially) over the past year. Sri shares the challenges he has faced throughout career transitions, how he jumped into a remote leadership role at the height of the pandemic and how he continues to foster and grow his network. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
Christian Keil, an internet lover turned operator, shares some intimate insights into his own journey of becoming the ultimate generalist. Currently he is the Chief of staff at Astranis, a company reinventing internet satellites by making them at a fraction of the size and cost. Join our host Kris, as Christian shares with us how he became an "almost" entrepreneur at the age of 14, to what made him walk away from his own project as a founder and how he broke into the San Francisco world of start-ups and tech!
Join Kris as he chats with Pete Huang, currently leading BizOps at WorkOS - A San Francisco based startup that is building Stripe for enterprise ready features. Pete and Kris dive into multiple topics together - from the importance of the role of sales at startups, all the way to how Pete has decided which startups to jump into. This is a recording from a Fireside Chat at The Commons where our community came together to connect and listen to Pete’s story.
Gary Yang - Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder
Join Kris as he sits down with Gary Yang, Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder, an online marketplace that connects those with unused space with fast-growing companies. Gary candidly shares his insights on BizOps and Products, what it takes to succeed in the ever growing world of start-ups and his journey from management consulting into tech.
Sheldon McCormick - Co-Founder and COO at Properly
Kris chats with Sheldon McCormick, Co-Founder and COO at Properly - a company helping its users to buy and sell their homes and reshaping the real estate industry. Sheldon shares how and why he decided to step away from consulting, and what later led him to co-found a project of his own. He candidly shares what he feels prepared him to be a founder, how he perceives risk and the intricacies of building a company and team. There’s lots to unpack here - don’t miss this one!
Dasha Sivkov - VP Product Marketing at Wealthsimple
Join Luis as he sits down with Dasha Sivkov, VP of Product Marketing at WealthSimple, Canada’s fintech unicorn. Dasha brings us into her day-to-day in Product Marketing and shares takeaways and stories from her career journey. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Salmaa Elshanshory - VP of Market Expansion at Medly
Kris sits down with Salmaa Elshanshory, VP of Market Expansion at Medly, a full-service, digital pharmacy that offers free same-day prescription delivery for all types of medications. Salmaa shares how she broke into tech from a background in public policy, why the best companies celebrate failure and how she thinks about career opportunities.
Andre Charoo, founder and GP at Maple VC, a San Francisco based seed stage fund, talks candidly about his journey that led him into venture capital. We find out how Andre realized he didn’t want to be a founder, and how that led him to jump into the start-up world as the 25th hire at Uber and later the 15th employee at Hired. Join our host Luis, as Andre shares with us what it really means to know and play to your strengths and build a strong network, no matter where you find yourself.
Marcus Bertilson - VP of Go-to-Market at Thumbtack
Join Luis as he chats with Marcus Bertilson, VP of go-to-market at Thumbtack - an online platform that matches customers with the best local professionals. Thumbtack is backed by investors like the Qatar Investment Authority, Blackstone, Sequoia Capital and CapitalG, and is currently valued at $3.2 billion. Listen to Marcus give advice on how to find the right metric(s) for success, the benefits of cross-functional teams and what that means for operators working in tech today!
Join Luis as he speaks with Ahmad Bani - COO at Wisp, a telehealth company focused on providing accessible and affordable primary care prescription medication and natural remedies to its customers. Ahmad shares with us how he keeps calm when facing storms at work and the importance of being a generalist that can strike a balance by thriving in chaos while also building (some) structure.
After deciding corporate law wasn't for him, Thomas Hamilton forged his own path into the world of start-ups. He co-founded and is now COO at Automate Medical, a tech company that builds open-source developer tools to help bridge the many gaps they see in the medical software market. Join our host Kris, as Thomas shares with us his key learnings and insights from across the board, touching on his experience in making a major career transition as well as what it takes to be an operator at a fast-paced tech start-up!
Kris chats with Hadar Dor, Product Lead at Shopfiy. Hadar shares his insights on how to build your career as a generalist (or not) and narrowing in on the right role for you. We also dive into Hadar’s perspectives on what it means to influence without authority, and the importance of this skill inside and outside of the product world. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
Kris chats with Sasha Pang, Product Manager at Facebook. Sasha dives right in with us and shares what it takes to lead with empathy and the lasting impact that can have in the cross-functional world of product. Hang on until the very end of this episode - Sasha also shares her unique experience and perspectives on what it takes to transition to a new role. We hope you enjoy the conversation.
We’re more than just skills training. We're the place where high achievers come to fulfill their career potential. We combine education, mentorship and community to empower the next generation of ambitious professionals to achieve their career goals.
The time to build the education institution of the future is now. And we're doing it.
Careers are catalyzed through skills-training, mentorship and a supportive network. At The Commons, we're delivering those critical career elements together through learning experiences that are social, mentorship-based and community-first.
This event is reserved for members of The Commons. If you're a member, follow the link below to sign up for the event. If you're not a member yet, apply to a Sprint to join The Commons!
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