Nobody ever taught me how to plan out my career, so I thought about all the things I would want to tell my younger self based on reverse engineering my good career decisions. This is the talk I gave to a bunch of Stanford CS majors at Stanford eCSplore on May 10, 2014. The event was hosted by Stanford Women in Computer Science.

1. CONFIDENTIAL
If I Could Go Back in Time, Here’s What I Would
Tell Myself about Careers in Computer Science
JESS LEE, POLYVORE CEO @ ECSPLORE

2. CONFIDENTIAL
Hi! I’m
Jess Lee
POLYVORE CEO
STANFORD CS 2004
jessyoko.com
@jesskah

3. CONFIDENTIAL
Grew up in
Hong Kong
• EXCELLED IN MATH
• LOVED ART
3

4. CONFIDENTIAL
Studied CS
at Stanford
• WHOA EVERYONE SO SMART
• LOVED PROGRAMMING
4

5. CONFIDENTIAL
Joined
Google’s
APM Program
• DERAILED MY PLANS
TO BE AN ENGINEER
• AMAZING LEARNING
EXPERIENCE
5

6. CONFIDENTIAL
GO WHERE YOU’LL GROW & LEARN THE MOST
Always take the more challenging path

7. CONFIDENTIAL
Learned a
Ton at Google
• PM OF GOOGLE MAPS
• HOW TO BUILD PRODUCTS
• HOW TO LEAD TEAMS
• HOW TO BUILD CULTURE
7

8. CONFIDENTIAL
One Day
Polyvore
Caught My
Eye…
• GOT ADDICTED TO IT
8

9. CONFIDENTIAL
I Sent a Note
To the Founders
• FIX THIS PLEASE
9
Hi Pasha,
Nice to meet you! :-) I just wanted to tell you that
I love Polyvore! It's fun to use, completely
addictive, and there's a pretty healthy community
of users on it. I haven't been this excited about
anything on the web since maybe YouTube. I
honestly think Polyvore could be the next Flickr.
Could you add a lightweight way of bookmarking
items for future use?
I want image rotation. Just 90-degree increments
would be enough.
< lots more suggestions >
Anyways, Polyvore really rocks and I think you've
hit a goldmine.
Jess

10. CONFIDENTIAL
They hired me!
• FIRST HIRE
• STARTED AS A PM
10
Hi Jess,
This may seem a bit out of the blue... but I was
wondering if you might be interested in joining
Polyvore.
We are very close to completing our first round of
funding (Benchmark Capital) which enables us to
expand the team, etc... I immediately thought of
you as one of the people I'd like to contact.
What do you think?
Pasha

11. CONFIDENTIAL
Impress your interviewers with your
knowledge of their product!

12. CONFIDENTIAL

13. CONFIDENTIAL

14. CONFIDENTIAL
Polyvore Today
• 90 PEOPLE IN MV & NYC
• 20 MILLION USERS PER MONTH
• PROFITABLE
• PM à VP PRODUCT à CEO
• HONORARY COFOUNDER
1414

15. CONFIDENTIAL
VOLUNTEER TO DO THE HARD, ANNOYING THINGS
Find ways to make an impact

16. CONFIDENTIAL
Career Planning
16
1. ROLE
2. COMPANY
3. CULTURE

17. CONFIDENTIAL
Career Planning
17
1. ROLE
2. COMPANY
3. CULTURE

18. CONFIDENTIAL
Career Decision Tree
ENGINEERING
PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT
Technical Manager
Individual
Contributor
Manager
USER
EXPERIENCE
Design Research

19. CONFIDENTIAL
2 Engineering Tracks
19
TECHNICAL
Associate Software Engineer
Software Engineer
Senior Software Engineer
Staff Software Engineer
Principal Engineer
Distinguished Engineer
Moving to management is not a “promotion”
You can be a leader without being a manager
MANAGEMENT
Engineering Manager
Senior Engineering Manager
Eng Director

20. CONFIDENTIAL
Technical Ladder
20
Complexity
& Scope
Knowledge
& Experience
Business
Impact
Leadership &
Influence
Associate Software Engineer
Software Engineer
Senior Software Engineer
Staff Software Engineer
Principal Engineer
Distinguished Engineer

21. CONFIDENTIAL
2 Product Management Tracks
21
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR
Associate Product Manager
Product Manager
Senior Product Manager
Group Product Manager
Principle Product Manager
MANAGER
Group Product Manager
Director of Product

22. CONFIDENTIAL
How PMs Grow
22
Product
Strategy
• Vision
• What and Why
• User Empathy
• Market
Research
• Analytics
Leadership &
Influence
• Influence
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Coordination
Business
Impact
• Business goals
• Customer Love
• User Growth
• Revenue
Growth
• ROI
Knowledge &
Experience
• PM Skills
Toolbox
• Continuous
improvement
• Perspective

23. CONFIDENTIAL
IT’S EASIER TO GO FROM ENG à PM
THAN TO GO FROM PM à ENG
If you’re not sure, start in Eng

24. CONFIDENTIAL
Career Planning
24
1. ROLE
2. COMPANY
3. CULTURE

25. CONFIDENTIAL
I learn through mentorship & training
I want the potential of high reward
I learn by being forced to do it myself
Big Company Small Startup
I don’t mind changing goals and ambiguityI prefer clear goals and projects
I want a predictable, high salary

26. CONFIDENTIAL
What Can I Learn?
BUILD T SHAPED KNOWLEDGE
2626
Web
Dev
Mobile
Dev
Big
Data
Cloud
Platforms
Machine
Learning
General
Understanding
Deep Technical
Expertise

27. CONFIDENTIAL
THAT UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING IS CALLED LEARNING
Make sure you’re always slightly nauseous

28. CONFIDENTIAL
Career Planning
28
1. ROLE
2. COMPANY
3. CULTURE

29. CONFIDENTIAL
Culture is
Guiding
Principles
• NOT PING PONG TABLES

30. CONFIDENTIAL
Culture Comes
from the Top
• EXTENSION OF THE
BELIEFS & PERSONALITIES
OF THE LEADERSHIP

31. CONFIDENTIAL
Meritocracy is
What Makes
Companies
Female Friendly
• FAIR PLAYING FIELD
• LOOK FOR GOOD ROLE MODELS
31

32. CONFIDENTIAL
WORK IS YOUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Culture Fit Matters A Lot

33. CONFIDENTIAL
Should You
Start Your
Own Company?
• ECSTASY AND TERROR
• 99.9% FAILURE RATE
• 100% GUARANTEE YOU’LL
LEARN AND GROW A LOT

34. CONFIDENTIAL
Learn How to
Build a Company
• LOOK FOR TRANSPARENCY
• LEARN THE NON-ENG SKILLS TOO

35. CONFIDENTIAL
TALENTED PEOPLE WHO YOU CAN LEARN FROM
PEOPLE YOU ENJOY BEING WITH EVERY DAY
Surround yourself with great people

36. CONFIDENTIAL
Thanks! Questions?
@jesskah
polyvore.com/jobs