MGMT Newsletter #114: Apr, Week 2 2022

Networking in the Age of Elon

Networking in the Age of Elon

For Twitter employees it was supposed to be a recharge week without meetings. You can imagine how quickly that got turned upside down when Elon entered the app. Just a couple weeks before payments startup Fast hit the wall and shut down suddenly leaving hundreds of employees looking for new jobs. In a rapidly changing macroeconomic environment, things are getting tougher out there!

These days, whether you work at a large public tech company or a seemingly fast growing private company, your reality can change very quickly. And most of that is going to be outside your control. That's life.

Employees at both of those companies and many more beyond are probably thinking about doing some networking. Whether it's for the next job or attempting to reconnect we all get to the point where we need to poke our heads up and try to figure out what's next.

My perspective on the concept of "networking" has evolved a lot over the years. In the beginning it felt necessary to try to meet as many people as possible in order to open doors. As you can imagine, there wasn't a lot of value being given in exchange for the time I was receiving. Mostly just meeting with nice people who were willing to give me a few minutes of their time.

Later, I thought it more necessary to put my head down and "get experience". It didn't make sense to do all that fluffy conference stuff. Waste of time and...so much useless swag. How many pairs of corporate socks do you really need?

The pendulum, at least for me, has swung back to the middle more recently. Work each day requires a lot of effort. That pays the bills, has a lot of the upside potential, provides experience, and builds the internal network. But also each month I'm trying to spend to spend a couple hours keeping in touch with people. Old co-workers, clients, and people I've met along the way. It doesn't hurt to stay in the mix a little bit.

So in these uncertain, wacky, "life is a simulator" times, perhaps stay plugged in. Opportunity can come from anywhere. You don't want to be head down when it knocks...or tweets!

From the Internet:

• How to know when to stop / a guide to avoiding burnout by Andy Johns via Lenny Rachitsky @ Lenny’s Newsletter

• 20VC Exclusive: Fast’s Domm Holland on What Really Happened at Fast? (podcast) by Harry Stebbings @ 20VC

• Elon Musk Knows Exactly What He’s Doing by Kara Swisher @ NYT Opinion

From Twitter:

Yishan @yishan

I've now been asked multiple times for my take on Elon's offer for Twitter. So fine, this is what I think about that. I will assume the takeover succeeds, and he takes Twitter private. (I have little knowledge/insight into how actual takeover battles work or play out) (long 🧵)

Ryan Breslow @theryanking

🥵🥵 HOT OFF THE PRESS 🥵🥵 How Sequoia murdered Instacart’s Founder In Cold Blood 🔻

Bri Kimmel @briannekimmel

Believe it or not, my favorite company value came from Uber… “Be an owner, not a renter.” The top performers at a company make decisions, drive projects, and think like a founder. These are the types of people we back when they leave to start their own company.

Nathan Baschez @nbashaw

I lament the lack of informed, realistic takes in tech these days. Too much “us vs them” / “optimists vs pessimists” / “builders vs haters” Not enough “let’s just figure out what’s actually going on” It’s almost as bad political discourse

Mike DAOdas (🏌️‍♂️, ⛳️) @mdudas

Zuckerberg: Apple's 30% App Store fees are outrageous Also Zuckerberg: Meta is going to charge up to 47.5% creator fees in its metaverse

businessinsider.comMeta will charge creators fees of up to 47.5% to sell virtual wares in its metaverseMeta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have previously criticised Apple for charging developers a 30% fee for in-app purchases via the App Store.

Ashlee Vance @ashleevance

Okay, who had Twitter's HQ being turned into a homeless shelter as the thing that ushered in ✌️ between Musk and Bezos on their bingo card?

Catch ya next week! -MC