Most important thing I learned from working with for-profit startups and at a non-profit

When I started studying computer science, I thought the hardest problems in the world were technical. Algorithms, systems, optimization, problems with logical answers. The longer I worked in teams, the more I realized technical problems are often the easy part because there will be someone that can solve them. The real problems showed up where people and communication collided.

You can have perfect code and still fail because the team is misaligned. You can have funding and still stall because the story is unclear. You can have experienced people in the board room and still make bad decisions because no one can communicate the problem to each other. This became the space that interests me because I have see so many different people try to work in so many different teams.

The intersection between technology, business, and human behavior is very interesting when observed from the outside. My background in engineering trained me to think in systems and connect things to each other. My work in nonprofits and with early-stage companies taught me that systems only work when people do. Investors invest in the people at the companies more than they invest in companies.

The value is not created in building a cool thing, it’s created when people connect at the right times. I am still early in building my voice in this space. If there is one thing I am confident about, it is that the people who can bridge technical expertise with human connection have an advantage over the competition.

If you are thinking about starting a new company, think very hard about who you want on your team, and how you can best communicate with each other. If you are working at the intersection of technical expertise and people, follow along and share this with someone who lives in both worlds. Your future co-founder?