Introduction 00:05
- Introducing Mark Kahn, Partner and Head of Consumer at Protégé Search, and a GC-turned-Exec Recruiter.
Starting your career in product with your dream organization: 1:22
- Taking your first job working with a baseball team, the Oakland A’s.
- Getting close enough to the business that you are asked to weigh in on signing Jose Conseco.
- Returning to school and marrying your tech degree with your law degree.
- Dealing with job search during the 2000 dot-com-bubble burst.
- Diverting plans to work in tech and becoming a litigator.
Working your way up the corporate food chain to WhatsApp: 6:22
- Dealing with imposter syndrome and finding disappointment in your work.
- Reeling what aspects of your work you don’t like and gravitating towards your strengths.
- Identifying the right-sized company regardless of role and realizing you work best in start-ups.
- Reconsidering an opportunity at WhatsApp after the Facebook acquisition announcement.
How WhatsApp differed from his expectations: 12:39
- Taking on an international role.
- Repositioning your organization to engage with governments and corporations.
- Protecting user privacy alongside concerns from law enforcement.
Knowing when to step back from a stressful role and leave: 18:27
- Surviving a stressful and high-profile position.
- Recognizing when you aren’t being an effective team leader.
- Prioritizing your health and mental state when your performance suffers.
Taking time off and negotiating a role at Segment: 24:13
- Finding time to evaluate whether you still want to work in legal.
- Using time between jobs to better yourself and try new things.
- Approaching a new opportunity at Segment with your strengths in mind.
- Meeting with recruiters who understand your concerns.
Working with an executive coach: 29:13
- Finding useful advice even if you can’t build rapport.
The Segment/Twilio acquisition and carving out a new role for “VP of Ethical Use”: 30:13
- Defining the idea of “ethical use” for product users.
- Twilio’s questioning of the Parlor app following its role in the January 6th riots.
- Developing an ethical framework for acceptable use.
- Heading a committee to evaluate hypothetical examples of acceptable use.
Stepping away from law into executive recruiter role: 38:15
- Choosing to leave a role that is interesting but not essential.
- Shifting your focus to help others build their careers.
Demystifying the job-seeking experience: 40:29
- Offering tips to those looking for new executive roles.
“Designing Your Life” and advice to his younger self: 43:23
- Recommending a book to help readers understand their working goals.
- Wishing you had been better prepared for unanticipated challenges.
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