Aaron Terrazas is an economist who has worked for the U.S. Treasury, Zillow and was most recently, the chief economist at Glassdoor. He spent his career providing research, analysis and commentary on today’s evolving workplace and fast-changing labor market.  Aaron discusses how there are two different job markets concurrently happening, and delves into the undercurrent beneath the headline numbers we are seeing in the economy and job market, primarily the erosion of the quality of work for...

Phil Willburn leads the People Analytics division at Workday, a platform serving human resources and finance needs with over 70 million users and handling 800 billion transactions annually.  The current job market for white-collar workers is highly competitive, with job applications being submitted at a rate four times higher than the number of job openings. This disparity highlights the challenges faced by job seekers, who also perceive limited opportunities for advancement within their...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) called for a breakup of Google, divesting its Chrome browser and potentially Anthe droid operating system. This move comes after a federal judge ruled in August that Google illegally monopolized the online search and advertising markets. The DOJ argues that forcing Google to sell Chrome would eliminate its dominance. Things will be changing quickly in 2025!

Robert Israch is the President of Tipalti, a global finance automation platform, who has over 20 years of leadership experience. During Rob’s tenure, Tipalti has experienced 50x growth, while helping the company receive a valuation of over $8.3 billion. The company has appeared on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Inc. 5000 lists for the last five years running. In this episode, Rob talks about the importance of the 3 P’s when balancing your career: Place, People and Profession and how...

Kiranbir Sodhia is a Senior Engineering Manager, leading teams developing machine learning frameworks for Google and the open-source community. He has over 15 years of experience working in AI, AR, gaming, mobile app and semiconductor industries at companies like Microsoft, Apple and Garmin International. Notably, at Microsoft he led development teams in Azure, Xbox and HoloLens. Kiranbir has always known exactly what he wanted to do, since the age of 12, and used that vision to build the...

Mark McCaffrey is the CFO of GoDaddy. McCaffrey joined the company in 2021 after a long and successful career at PwC—a decision that was swiftly made within 24 hours of a conversation with the company's CEO. He was drawn to GoDaddy's passion for its customers and its underdog mentality, as well as the opportunity to contribute to the company's transformation from a domain business. In this episode of the Blind Ambition Podcast with Jack Kelly, we discuss the importance of controlling your...

Although we are having an American Presidential election, it looks like people from other countries can bet on the outcome of who wins the US Presidency. For example, a French trader known only as "Théo" has made headlines for placing a massive $30 million bet on Donald Trump winning the 2024 presidential election through the cryptocurrency prediction market platform Polymarket. If successful, his bet could yield approximately $80 million in returns, but he risks losing most or all of his...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to Home Depot's policy requiring all corporate employees to work eight hours at one of its retail stores every quarter. Rick discusses the practicality and what it'd be like to have senior executives, remote workers or people who don't have any day-to-day understanding of retail policy or frontline experience working. Jack compares the policy to an episode of "Undercover Boss" and wonders if the company can improve its supply chain and corporate policies to be...

Chip Hazard, Co-Founder and General Partner of Flybridge Chip shares how he became a venture capitalist, including how he convinced Greylock to hire him when they hadn't added anyone to their team in 10 years. He explains what the day-to-day work is like as an investor and even what it's like to be a member of a company's board of directors. Finally, Chip shares how he gained the insights and confidence to advise the countless executives and startup founders he works with. Chip also gives...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen dive into the growing popularity of ayahuasca, ketamine and other mind-altering substances in the tech industry. We look into why tech CEOs are becoming more outspoken about their drug use and how some telehealth-style startups are cashing in on the craze for psychedelics. Jack takes an inventory of all the reasons Silicon Valley might find ayahuasca so appealing, including California's general openness and risk-taking culture. Rick wonders if it's all just an...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen investigate whether recent news reports of tech jobs disappearing are accurate. Rick explains that the tech industry isn't one of the hardest-hit industries by job cuts and casts some doubt into the methodology of how reporters and their sources count jobs and job losses. He also shares how some companies have slowed hiring without enacting hiring freezes. Jack shares his reporting about the AI industry and why every company wants to say they are hiring AI jobs. He...

Naveen Rao, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Databricks Naveen recalls his journey to become a trained neuroscientist and how his PhD studies at Brown University informed his entrepreneurism in AI. We explore how he convinced venture capitalists to invest in hardware startups when it was out of fashion and why the first AI startup founders were often computational neuroscientists. We also learn how he became a serial entrepreneur after successfully selling multiple AI...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to the viral social media video of a Waymo driverless car getting stopped and tagged with graffiti in the streets of San Francisco. We look into how it happened, including how driverless cars work and their safety record, and whether the incident might be part of an anti-tech movement and sentiment. Jack and Rick then talk about how fast they adopted new technology and compare and contrast today's startups and the startups and businesses from the not-so-distant...

Gordon Wintrob, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Newfront Gordon co-founded Newfront, an insurance-technology startup and brokerage firm last publicly valued at $2.2 billion, but he did not start his career in insurance. We dig into his career from his days in college and how he pivoted from his electrical engineering and computer science studies to investment banking and then to the world of startups. Gordon credits shadowing for a lot of his success. We explore how he and his...

Christopher Garzon, Founder and CEO of Data Engineer Academy Christopher shares his Big Tech insider's perspective on the prospects for the data engineering profession. He reveals how companies like Amazon and Lyft hire data engineers and why they can't seem to get enough, which might make breaking into Big Tech easier than other roles. We also explore why he started Data Engineer Academy and how it helps professionals, even those without previous data or tech experience, land a job as a...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen take on Andy Jassy's memo, which, among other things, ends remote work and calls for Amazon to "operate like the world's largest startup." We break down what that means, including Jassy's decision to create a "bureaucracy mailbox" for people to snitch on bureaucratic processes, a companywide reorganization to cut management layers, and a five-day-a-week in-office work schedule beginning January 2025. Rick explains how CEO and leadership memos are drafted and why...

With Blind Bytes, Jack Kelly and Rick Chen reveal insider tips about professional life, which you can use immediately to level up your career. In this episode, we take on why you didn't get the job despite acing the interview. Jack explains how interview cycles are set up at most companies and why a hiring manager, recruiter or HR team might take their sweet time with the process and the decision. He also takes us into the minds of the hiring manager and the behind-the-scenes work they might...

Christine Tao, Founder and CEO of Sounding Board Christine's career has been marked by some challenging economic climates. We look into how she persevered and ultimately landed an executive role at a startup. Christine generously shares the step-by-step process of how she identified and seized opportunities, how she developed into a leader along the way, and how her experience might be a good roadmap if you're looking to become a manager or executive. We also dig into how she got access to...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen take on the ultimate question: "Should I stay, or should I go?" in response to some recent viral Blind discussions. We react to how many high-earning professionals feel financially stretched and falling behind and the paradox where million-dollar compensation packages still leave people feeling like they're living paycheck to paycheck. Jack and Rick explore the decision to leave these lucrative positions and the calculus you might use to determine whether your...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to a viral Blind poll that found that 76% of Nvidia professionals claim to be millionaires, and 33% may have a net worth of $20 million or more as a result of Nvidia's incredible stock price appreciation since 2019. Rick reveals how much stock you might have gotten depending on when you joined Nvidia. Rick explains how stock-based compensation works and why employers have set up stock grants to unlock over long periods of time. We look into how companies...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen break down Goldman Sachs' latest planned layoffs of 1,300 to 1,800 people as part of its annual performance review process. We react to the mega investment bank's plans to "cull" its workforce and why so many Wall Street firms and banks have annual layoffs. Jack reflects on how the situation is exacerbated by the stigma associated with being labeled a so-called "low performer" and how it typically impacts someone's job prospects in the future. Rick compares the pay...

Terence Bennett, CEO of DreamFactory Software Terence has long known he would join the U.S. Navy, but it was unclear what he might do after leaving the armed services. We explore his remarkable career journey, marked by different transitions: specialties within the Navy, military life to civilian life, and going from an individual contributor to becoming a startup COO and then CEO. Terence also shares how he stood out when applying for a job at Google, including the tip he tells every...

Kyle Elliott, Founder of Kyle Elliott Consulting Kyle helps senior professionals and executives land their dream jobs at some of the hottest companies in Silicon Valley. We get Kyle to coach us on how to network—even when you feel like you have to start from zero—optimize your resume so that you can better compete against AI and the tens of thousands of other applicants, and how you can package your experience into standout stories to wow recruiters, hiring managers and...

Charles Beadnall, Chief Technology Officer at GoDaddy Charles was one of the early builders of the Internet. We learn how Turner Broadcasting, Yahoo!, and other tech companies influenced how he leads his engineering teams and the experimental and innovation-focused culture at GoDaddy today. Charles shares his insights into how technologists can use their problem-solving skills to hack faster promotions. He emphasizes the importance of understanding business goals and problems and matching...