Mentor at The Commons Sean currently works as a Senior Data Analyst at Alto Pharmacy, a San Francisco based telehealth pharmacy startup.
His week is typically filled with 1:1s, metrics meetings and brainstorms, plus carveouts for heads down work. A no meeting Wednesday afternoon frees up time for distraction free, deep work.
A typical day in the life for him looks a little something like this...
6:20 AM: Wake up and check my phone. This typically includes Texts, Urgent Emails, CNN, The Atlantic, Coinbase Pro, and a steaming cup of Instagram endorphins to top it off 📱
6:50 AM: Reading… ideally for pleasure. A great quote by Fran Lebowitz… “Think before you speak and read before you think”. I like to start my day with something creative which gives me an interesting perspective to ponder throughout the day. Traditional entrepreneur books like Inspired and Shoe Dog are only a small part of my reading list.
7:50 AM: Run, stretch, prep for work 🏃
8:59 AM: Commute to work, pray for no traffic as I travel from my bed to my desk three feet away
9:00 AM: Check several dashboards I monitor. Note trends for the day and unusual activity. Occasionally ping some of the business leaders when I notice exciting benchmarks
9:30 AM: I typically have only 2-4 hours of deep data analytics focus in my reserve each day. This is the time when I can solve complex query problems, run experiments, and gather strategic insights. I value this type of work most, and therefore try to plunge in while I’m still fresh for the day 💻
11:30 AM: Update forecast models for GM/finance review. We do not have any fancy IBM planning tools so these models break… a lot. If all goes well, I can partner with our GMs to figure out what we can expect as a business in the next month, 6 months, etc.
12:00 PM: Eat lunch with my roommate. Typically he will be watching Real Housewives, and I will spend the majority of the time asking clarifying questions throughout the emotional roller coaster
1:00 PM: Weekly team priorities meeting. This allows us to determine redundancies in our work and make a plan for the week. If anyone has done something super cool we’ll take time to talk about their findings. 🗓
1:30 PM: Write an email to the exec team outlining interesting trends which have taken place in the last week
2:00 PM: Simplify analytics dashboards and forecast models. Ideal outcome is less breakages and more meaty insights. My preferred combo is SQL + GSheets, but we also use Looker
3:30 PM: Call my mom. Occasionally enter into a debate as to why I’m living so far away in San Francisco when everything I could ever need is in Ohio. 📞
4:00 PM: My manager just had an idea from an exec meeting (he’s the VP of Strategic Finance). I receive a phone call and we discuss the value of auto-refills in predicting patient engagement. I promise to get some hard numbers to follow up on his theory by tomorrow
6:00 PM: Facetime with my highschool friends. We’ve had a renaissance in our friendship after going separate ways due to the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. We begin to make plans to visit a new national park 🌳
7:00 PM: Attempt to become a better cook. Unless this involves Caesar Salad, Salmon, or Mushroom flatbreads I humbly accept my mediocre place in the culinary sphere. My roommate cooks something orders of magnitude yummier
8:00 PM: If I’m lucky, one of my friends in or near Hayes Valley will reach out for a casual drink somewhere around the corner. Occasionally this impacts the 6:00-8:00 am portion of the next day’s schedule. 🍻
Interested in learning more about Sean and opportunities in Strategic Finance roles in tech? Join the Strategic Finance Sprint, which Sean co-leads, to get direct access to his insights and advice.
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