The Blind Ambition with Jack Kelly

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to Intel's decision to cut the pay of the CEO, leadership team and middle management by 5% to 25% after its layoffs. We look into what might be the catalyst for these decisions and why high-profile pay cuts like Apple's Tim Cook might not be anything more than a PR play. Notably, Jack explores how job-cut announcements affect the stock market and the job mark...

AJ Cooper, Director of Hardware Engineering at Lyft Few people get the opportunity to work on a global scale, but AJ has done it twice as a hardware engineer. We learn how to develop a business mindset as a technologist and how he transitioned from focusing on the tactical to thinking like an owner. He also shares a blueprint for demonstrating impact and developing a high career velocity, even if...

Jeffrey Spector, President and Co-Founder of Karat If you've interviewed at a tech company, Karat might have been responsible for the process or the interview itself. Jeffrey explains why technical job interviews are often broken and how some companies have adapted to hire better talent. As a bonus, he also shares why most companies' performance reviews and job performance incentive programs don't...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen break down Alphabet's layoff of 12,000 people worldwide. We compare and contrast the job cuts at Google's parent company with others this month, including Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce and more. We explore whether Google and Microsoft played follow-the-leader with their job cuts and if this means a recession is likely. Jack and Rick also react to how professionals re...

Jost Capito, Former CEO and Team Principal of Williams Racing Formula One is as much a business as it is a sport. Jost took over the reins of Williams Racing, tasked with leading a turnaround story for a struggling team. He walks us through his first days on the job, including how he incorporated feedback from each team member and the pressure involved. We also explore the workplace culture of a s...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen discuss Goldman Sachs' decision to lay off up to 3,200 people worldwide. We get a behind-the-scenes look into the typical Wall Street interview process and what business cycles and possible recessions mean for a career in banking and finance. Then, Jack and Rick make sense of how applying for a job differs in banking and finance compared to startups or the tech industr...

Michal Pechoucek, Chief Technology Officer at Gen Before his career in cybersecurity, with stints at Cisco, Avast and NortonLifeLock, Michal was one of the first academics to study AI. We ask the founder of the Artificial Intelligence Center everything from the hottest opportunities in AI to the intersection of cybersecurity and AI and the dangers many people still need to consider. https://bit.ly...

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 how to work with recruiters. Jack pulls back the curtain on recruiters and how they get hired and paid by companies. He explains why they might go from nagging to ghosting you and what their messages and phone calls actually mean...

Sagi Gidali, Chief Growth Officer at Perimeter 81 Sagi is a veteran of the Israel Defense Force's elite visual intelligence unit. Unit 9900, as it is called, has incubated dozens of startups and public companies valued at $1 billion or more, especially in cybersecurity. We get the "411" on why that has been the case and how security has evolved after the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of remote an...

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 bouncing back after a layoff. Jack shares what you should do if you've been laid off. He explains how you can get leads for a new job or a job referral. Jack also outlines how you can start a plan for a new job. With the onsl...

Matt Spitz, Vice President, Engineering at Vanta Matt was previously one of the founding engineers at Dropbox New York. He reflects on how the office grew from zero to 160 employees. We touch on how he helped hire 90 engineers, whether geography or job-hopping matters for your career and how Silicon Valley engineering culture might differ from New York and elsewhere. Finally, he explains what it's...

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 "career cushioning." Jack explains what so-called career experts and media pundits mean when they talk about career cushioning. In short, it's the plan that professionals should have to protect their futures and perhaps even surv...

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 the "hidden job market."  Jack explores why some jobs are never posted on job boards or a company's career page. He explains what some companies are doing to get around New York City and some states' pay transparency laws, w...

Danielle Poonoosamy, Director, People and Culture at Alma Danielle had an untraditional route to becoming the head of people and culture at a startup, and she says it started because she put her mental health first. We explore how burnout can fog our judgment and damage our personal growth. She also shares the latest in mental health benefits and top tips on keeping our sanity amid our current unc...

Kelly Scheib, Chief People Officer at Crunchbase Kelly reveals how companies determine their strategy for total rewards—everything from pay to benefits and even whether you have to come into the office. She explains why some employers are reluctant to change their benefits or pay. Finally, we get an insider's look into how the CEO and the rest of the executive leadership team perceive HR and compa...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen explore what a crazy week it's been at Twitter. We discuss what happens with voluntary severances or employee buyouts and whether asking the hardcore to stay really works. Jack points out there's a vibe shift underway at Twitter, and Rick digs into the culture, reputational and employer brand risk of Elon Musk's late-night emails and policy changes. https://blindap.onelink...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to Amazon's layoffs before Black Friday and the holidays. We put the 10,000 job cuts in context, compared it against the Twitter and Meta layoffs, and dug into whether Amazon might cut even more jobs later. Rick shines a spotlight on what the Blind community says about Amazon's company culture and how HR terms like unregretted attrition or performance improvement pla...

Alissa Schepisi, Executive Vice President, Employee Experience at Edelman Alissa is the go-to person for many company executives when they need to make a tough decision. We go behind the scenes into how leaders plan and communicate policy changes, like return-to-office plans, layoffs, employee attrition, and even compensation changes. She explains why some CEOs share non-answers in all-hands meeti...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen look into what happened with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its enigmatic founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried. We tackle the crypto high-flyer's rise and sudden fall and discuss the red flags that might have been there all along. As a bonus, Jack shares his opinion steeped in working with hundreds of Wall Street and financial-technology compliance professionals for dec...

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen break down Mark Zuckerberg's decision to lay off more than 11,000 people at Meta. We explore what might have led to the historic 13% reduction in force, how the Blind community of more than 7 million professionals reacted, and what this means for the tech job market. Finally, Jack shares intel from his experience as an owner of an executive search firm, and Rick looks into...

William A. Adams, Former Technical Advisor to the CTO at Microsoft William reflects on working with Steve Jobs and how he became Microsoft's first technical advisor to the CTO. We tackle whether the compensation packages of $400,000 or more, which are now common in the tech industry, are sustainable and why some of the largest tech companies are doomed to be forgotten. Finally, William reveals the...

Sean Flood, Managing Partner at EFO Ventures Sean walks us through the boom-and-bust cycle of mobility tech. He explains why he's still a fan, despite the public failures of some e-bike and scooter startups, and the niche he believes could spark a second renaissance in mobility. Plus, we get his advice on dealing with the recent stock collapses and how some of the best entrepreneurs overcame the 2...

Jonathan Salama, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Transfix Jonathan reflects on his time as a lead software engineer working on internal tools. He knows it isn't sexy work, but it proved pivotal in his career, helping him find a $700-billion opportunity. (Talk about impact!) Plus, find out why he turned down an acqui-hire job offer from Lyft.  https://blindap.onelink.me/ttCg/ephglaj...

Joe Apprendi, Founder and General Partner at Revel Partners Joe reveals the metrics that he uses to invest and how we should use them to gauge a startup's prospects before we interview. He explains how startup valuations got so high, what happens when a company's share price drops below $1, and what we should ask the recruiter or CEO the next time we interview. https://blindap.onelink.me/ttCg/rlnp...

Randy Kern, Chief Technology Officer at Marqeta It happens. Sometimes we all get to the point where our careers start to plateau. Randy shares his tried and true methods to develop the mastery to level up your career as a software engineer or technologist. He outlines how to manage how you are perceived and what it takes to demonstrate impact and land the next promotion. https://blindap.onelink.me...