Tech for Non-Techies

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action"  - Peter Drucker.  As 2021 comes to a close, it's useful to reflect on what worked, what didn't and how your industry evolved.  In this episode, you'll hear from  Sang Valte , Senior UX Director at international design agency Jellyfish, and Design Standards Board Member at General Assemb...

Did you know that 54% of all jobs in tech companies are non-technical, according to research by Glassdoor. This means there is plenty of opportunity for non-techies who want to transition into the world's most lucrative and exciting sector. Avoid these mistakes if you want to transition into a career in tech: Don't sign up to a 6 month coding course,  you probably won't need this level of detail....

Creating a successful business is a huge feat, but even founders with profitable exits struggle when they first break into tech. Bryan Clayton co-founded Greenpal, the Airbnb for lawn mowing, after he sold his first business. But, his first business was a landscaping company, which meant that even as an experienced entrepreneur, he was a newbie in tech. Learning notes from this episode: Non-techni...

Money isn't enough to hire the best product teams. If you want to hire great people to build your product, you need to convince them that your vision has potential. To do this, techies and non-techies alike need to come prepared. Learning notes: A product is a solution to a problem  someone is experiencing. You use Uber to get from A to B, not because you want to use an app. Great outsourced produ...

Jennifer Byrne studied Psychology at university and went on to become the Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft US. Listen to this episode to learn how this liberal arts graduate transitioned into tech and became one of the most senior people in the industry.  Learning notes from this episode: " You have to understand the difference between acquiring digital context versus digital fluency. Context...

Lots of smart people want to transition into careers in tech, but don't know how to get started. If that sounds like you, then listen to how Alexandra Soroko went from finance to tech leadership. Today, Alexandra is Head of Merchant Sales at Visa in France, and connects fintech companies, banks and Visa's technologies to help some of the world's largest companies process payments. In her role, she...

The number of technology oriented jobs is predicted to rise to 190 million in 2025, according to Microsoft. But, if you're a non-techie, how do you get in on that? In this episode, you'll hear how three people transitioned into successful careers and tech, and learn how to apply their tactics to your career transformation. Learning notes from this episode: To succeed in tech as a non-techie, you n...

Consumer facing tech businesses like Uber aren't just competing with other firms that provide a similar service. They're competing with everything that vies for your attention. This is why B2C tech businesses tend to be more innovative, better at design thinking and take inspiration from a wider pool than their enterprise tech counterparts. Learning notes: The Attention Economy refers to products...

95% of new products fail, according to Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. But, usually this isn't because they are badly made, but because they don't solve the right problem. Before you delve into product development, define the problem you are solving. In this episode, you'll learn from Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg, author of What's Your Problem and Innovation As Usual, about how...

Working in innovation at a large company can be a great way to join the tech boom for non-techies. But what do you do when you get there?  Innovation leaders have a wide range of backgrounds. Some have deep tech expertise, and others are marketing pros. The innovation path a company has chosen determines the background of the person who'll lead it. Learning notes:  There are  6 paths to innovation...

What's technology for? Tech products can make our lives better and make businesses a lot of money. But, without a focus on the user and on the business, technology is an academic project at best, or just an expensive hobby. In this episode, you'll hear from Elisabeth Bohlmann, VP of strategy at December Labs, a product and development studio that works with corporates like Google, and start-ups to...

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, and Ben Horowitz, the co-founder of VC fund A16Z, both started their careers as Product Managers (PMs). PMs rise to leadership positions in the tech sector, because the job combines user perspectives, business needs and technological capabilities.  Whatever you want to do in the tech sector, learning how product managers think will help you succeed. Learning no...

You've probably heard the term cloud computing, but like most non-techies, you're not sure what it means. In this episode, you'll learn what it is and how businesses use it to solve problems. You'll learn from DJ Johnson, who works at Microsoft Azure. DJ started his career as an NBA player and transitioned into a career in tech. Learning notes from this episode: Cloud computing allows businesses t...

Many investors view non-technical founders as more risky. Sometimes this is plain silly, but there are legitimate investor concerns that non-techie founders will make costly mistakes that technical founders will not. The answer is not to learn to build the product with your bare hands, but to know enough about tech to have a product strategy and relate it to business goals.  Learning notes from th...

Product managers combine user perspectives, business needs and technology capabilities in one job. But, what they do day to day varies widely. In this episode, you'll hear how what PMs do differs between Apple and Amazon from Souvik Bhattacharya, who has worked at both. This episode is for product managers, founders, investors and those who want to understand tech companies from the inside.  Learn...

Every app and site is made up of lots of different tech tools and languages. Like a house, one part is built on top of another and they need each other to function. If one part of the structure breaks, the rest can fall down too.  These are called dependencies. To keep a product working, all the dependencies need to work together. This is part of the invisible work that software engineers do. Lear...

Andi Govindia has gone through three accelerators on her start-up journey. This helped her build a business model, find co-founders and get her first major clients. Andi leads Riviter, a visual search company that uses AI to predict fashion and beauty trends, and counts L'Oreal amongst its clients.   If you're interested in entrepreneurship and how non-technical founders can succeed in tech, this...

Hiring developers and designers to build your tech product is always risky, because as a non-techie, you're hiring people to do things you don't know how to do. Is outsourcing more risky because you're far away from the team? Or is in-house more risky, simply because it usually costs more? Listen to this episode to find out.   Learning notes from this episode: Always  get employees and contractors...

More money is entering venture capital today than ever before. This means more career opportunities for investors, and funding options for founders. In this episode, you'll hear from Check Warner, parter at Ada's Ventures, and co-Founder of Diversity VC. Check talks about her career transition from advertising to VC, how the venture industry is changing and how that affects founders.   Learning no...

Why do some products go viral and others die a quiet death? The answer lies in growth hacking.  Growth hacking is a type of marketing that combines working on the product, which is an inside job, and working on promotion, which is an outside job. It is a new discipline born with the tech sector, and growing in popularity today. Learning notes from this episode: The  Dropbox growth hacking case stu...

Neither life nor business are linear. Startups often pivot their business models several times to find product market fit, just as we try out different careers. In this episode, you'll hear from Hannah Feldman, the CEO and co-founder of Kidadl, which helps families do fun and useful things with their kids. Hannah began her career as a corporate lawyer, then worked in banking, and then with Dragon...

"The business strategies employed by highly successful start-ups and the career strategies employed by highly successful individuals are strikingly similar," says Reid Hoffman in his book  The Startup of You . If you want to have a great career in tech as non-techie, but don't know how to get started, this episode is for you. Learning notes from this episode: Hoffman says we all have  3 puzzle pie...

Space tech developments aren't just a battle between middle aged billionaires. Nor is it a Cold War leftover.  The technologies we use every day to watch TV and hail a taxi rely on connections in space. As the cost of space tech falls, and VC investment in the sector rises, the opportunities for business and consumer innovation open up. Listen to this episode with Dr James Lambert, Head of Operati...

Big data and predictive analytics can help you make profits, sell clothes and strike oil. But, unless you know how to ask data scientists the right questions and then use their answers, data are just a collection of meaningless facts. Listen to this episode to learn what data scientists do and how to work with them.   Learning notes from this episode: Every senior level professional today has to l...

Put on your party pants! In this episode, you'll hear from Julie Novack, the CEO & non-technical co-founder of PartySlate. PartySlate is a platform that connects event professionals to people planning events. During the pandemic, PartySlate had to quickly reinvent its offering, but managed to end 2020 with no revenue loss. This is a great story in about resilience, leadership and giving users what...