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In 2011, I was hired as an Associate Product Manager at Google.
I was one of 30 selected from a pool of 50,000+ people.
Here are 8 Lessons I Learned At Google That'll Make You a Better Founder:
I was one of 30 selected from a pool of 50,000+ people.
Here are 8 Lessons I Learned At Google That'll Make You a Better Founder:
1. Test & Iterate
Your job isn’t always to be correct.
No one is always correct.
So don’t pretend you know the solution if you don’t.
Your job isn’t always to be correct.
No one is always correct.
So don’t pretend you know the solution if you don’t.
Your job is to come up with a good hypothesis and test it.
As a founder, there is a lot of stuff you’re not going to have the answer to.
And that’s okay!
As a founder, there is a lot of stuff you’re not going to have the answer to.
And that’s okay!
At Google, I worked on the YouTube team.
We wouldn’t update the YouTube homepage globally until we tested it among many groups!
As a founder, whether you're launching a new feature, product, or system, make sure to test and iterate.
We wouldn’t update the YouTube homepage globally until we tested it among many groups!
As a founder, whether you're launching a new feature, product, or system, make sure to test and iterate.
2. Nail Internal Communications
Google puts a huge emphasis on writing clear and informative memos.
Memos make it easier to replicate work in the future.
Everyone wants to work more effectively and efficiently.
This is only possible with tight internal communication.
Google puts a huge emphasis on writing clear and informative memos.
Memos make it easier to replicate work in the future.
Everyone wants to work more effectively and efficiently.
This is only possible with tight internal communication.
Internal communication is even more important at a startup!
Your team is small, you’re hiring freelancers, and there is a ton of stuff to get done!
Keeping an internal wiki that documents repeatable processes and decisions makes it easier to manage work in the future.
Your team is small, you’re hiring freelancers, and there is a ton of stuff to get done!
Keeping an internal wiki that documents repeatable processes and decisions makes it easier to manage work in the future.
3. Always Be Open To Feedback
As a founder, it's easy to get defensive over what you are building.
But if you don’t accept feedback, you’re hampering your growth.
It’s important to build a feedback-friendly culture.
As a founder, it's easy to get defensive over what you are building.
But if you don’t accept feedback, you’re hampering your growth.
It’s important to build a feedback-friendly culture.
4. Focus On One Thing at a Time
Google has over 271 products!
But it wasn’t always that way.
Google started as a search engine.
They focused relentlessly on building the best search engine possible.
Google has over 271 products!
But it wasn’t always that way.
Google started as a search engine.
They focused relentlessly on building the best search engine possible.
Once Search hit escape velocity, they began expanding into other areas:
• Google Groups | 2001
• Google News | 2002
• Gmail | 2004
• Google Maps | 2005
• Etc.
But it wasn’t until they nailed Search that they began focusing on other products.
• Google Groups | 2001
• Google News | 2002
• Gmail | 2004
• Google Maps | 2005
• Etc.
But it wasn’t until they nailed Search that they began focusing on other products.
Founders are often “too clever”.
They try to solve too many things at one time.
As a founder, you need to be half a step ahead of the market, not 100 steps.
They try to solve too many things at one time.
As a founder, you need to be half a step ahead of the market, not 100 steps.
5. Implement Vibes-Based Hiring
Google has a very rigorous hiring process.
One of the most important aspects of Google’s hiring process is determining whether the candidate is “Googley.”
What does it mean to be Googley?
Google has a very rigorous hiring process.
One of the most important aspects of Google’s hiring process is determining whether the candidate is “Googley.”
What does it mean to be Googley?
Being “Googley” is a mashup of passion and drive that’s hard to define, but easy to spot.
In my experience, someone is Googley if they are:
• Friendly
• Upbeat
• Smart
• And Interesting
They are people who hold doors for others and have interesting stories to tell.
In my experience, someone is Googley if they are:
• Friendly
• Upbeat
• Smart
• And Interesting
They are people who hold doors for others and have interesting stories to tell.
Vibes-based hiring is something I stole from Google.
When making a hiring decision, I often ask myself:
“Is this someone I’ll enjoy spending time with every week for the foreseeable future?”
If yes, the decision to hire is pretty clear.
When making a hiring decision, I often ask myself:
“Is this someone I’ll enjoy spending time with every week for the foreseeable future?”
If yes, the decision to hire is pretty clear.
6. Never Stop Learning
At Google, there was a huge focus on learning and development.
• We’d always have authors come and speak
• There were a ton of classes we could take
• And we spent time during our workday learning
At Google, there was a huge focus on learning and development.
• We’d always have authors come and speak
• There were a ton of classes we could take
• And we spent time during our workday learning
As an entrepreneur, sometimes you need to take your head out of pure execution mode to:
1. Learn how to expand your business
2. Invest in personal growth
3. Reflect on what's going well and what needs to be improved
1. Learn how to expand your business
2. Invest in personal growth
3. Reflect on what's going well and what needs to be improved
7. Have A Clear Vision
Google is very clear on how they view the world.
You can see it in their employees and in their marketing.
It’s not easy, but Google pretty much nails it.
As a founder, it’s important that you and your team understand the overall vision of your company.
Google is very clear on how they view the world.
You can see it in their employees and in their marketing.
It’s not easy, but Google pretty much nails it.
As a founder, it’s important that you and your team understand the overall vision of your company.
8. Focus On Hard Problems, Not Easy Ones
Larry Page would often tell us:
All problems take work; easy ones and hard ones.
It’s often better to focus on the hard ones because the juice is worth the squeeze.
Larry Page would often tell us:
All problems take work; easy ones and hard ones.
It’s often better to focus on the hard ones because the juice is worth the squeeze.
When projects get difficult and you feel like you want to quit
Knowing the impact can change the world gives you the motivation to keep going!
Knowing the impact can change the world gives you the motivation to keep going!
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
That alone sounds pretty hard!
However, if you break that problem down into smaller, more manageable tasks, it’s not that difficult.
That alone sounds pretty hard!
However, if you break that problem down into smaller, more manageable tasks, it’s not that difficult.
For example:
At Health Via Modern Nutrition ( @hvmn), we’re on a mission to create ketones as a new nutritional primitive, a tool in everyone’s toolkit for metabolic health and performance.
With a mission like ours, we are faced with many hard problems...
At Health Via Modern Nutrition ( @hvmn), we’re on a mission to create ketones as a new nutritional primitive, a tool in everyone’s toolkit for metabolic health and performance.
With a mission like ours, we are faced with many hard problems...
1. Scaling our supply chain
2. Building educational resources
3. Creating and supporting new scientific research
4. Making things that have never been made before
Nonetheless, it keeps our work very interesting and worthwhile!
2. Building educational resources
3. Creating and supporting new scientific research
4. Making things that have never been made before
Nonetheless, it keeps our work very interesting and worthwhile!
Could we be working on easier problems instead?
Absolutely.
But if we pull this off, we will make a massive dent in the global metabolic health crisis
And that’s motivating every single day!
Absolutely.
But if we pull this off, we will make a massive dent in the global metabolic health crisis
And that’s motivating every single day!
TL;DR
8 Lessons I Learned At Google That'll Make You a Better Founder:
1. Test & Iterate
2. Nail Internal Comms
3. Be Open to Feedback
4. Focus On One Thing at a Time
5. Implement Vibes-Based Hiring
6. Never Stop Learning
7. Have a Clear Vision
8. Focus On Hard Problems
8 Lessons I Learned At Google That'll Make You a Better Founder:
1. Test & Iterate
2. Nail Internal Comms
3. Be Open to Feedback
4. Focus On One Thing at a Time
5. Implement Vibes-Based Hiring
6. Never Stop Learning
7. Have a Clear Vision
8. Focus On Hard Problems
If you found this thread valuable:
1. Follow me @bdm_runner for more threads on startups, CPGs, and modern nutrition
2. Retweet the first tweet to help a fellow founder out! https://twitter.com/bdm_runner/status/1514316464123121667?s=20&t=AINZye41fxyoBvS2HnNQWA
1. Follow me @bdm_runner for more threads on startups, CPGs, and modern nutrition
2. Retweet the first tweet to help a fellow founder out! https://twitter.com/bdm_runner/status/1514316464123121667?s=20&t=AINZye41fxyoBvS2HnNQWA
