M&Ms 50: Who am I writing for?
Hey Team,
Tonight is the 50th edition of this newsletter; that's 50 weeks.
So I got to thinking, as people usually do when they hit some crappy milestone, longer-term, who am I writing for?
And I keep coming back to the same answers.
This newsletter is for the people that maybe grew up poor. Maybe they are immigrants. They couldn't afford a gap year in college to see the world or try things. They probably could only afford college by working a full-time job during. Or by some massive sacrifices. The people I'll be writing for probably didn't have parents that told them it was a good idea to take risks. Nobody around them would ever, in their right mind, tell them to quit a full-time job.
These people have no examples in their circle. They have to go out and find them on their own.
It's for the people that didn't have anyone around them to teach entrepreneurship. Don't worry; we will figure it out together because I am not sure I am very good at it yet either.
This newsletter is for those that might still be in Big Tech. Maybe they are engineers, managers, or product people. They've got to do a good job where they are so they can get promoted fast and build up a cushion to chase their dreams. Where I was a little while ago. But, many of them if they could start their own thing, they probably would do it in a heartbeat.
This newsletter is for the people that see the world burning down. And would like to make a bigger impact and maybe change something about it. Maybe do something for their kids.
These people, like me, might have other problems, too, like being socially awkward or introverted. And those things don't lend themselves well to quitting a job and surviving on our own. Many other people say those are not good traits for sales and entrepreneurship.
But I will be here every week with this newsletter to tell these people they've got something to contribute. I'll tell them every week to become more courageous and take more risk. I'll transparently share my journey, everything I learn, and everything I already know in the hopes that it helps in some way.
I'll let them know that the world needs to hear from people like them, not just from the loudest people around. I'll remind them that there has never been a better time to put themselves "out there" and try things, even on the side.
I'll be here to tell them that If I can do this shit, they can too.
And most importantly, this newsletter will also have some memes because the world is a messed up place and laughter is the only cure.
Two Tweets from this week:
Write of Passage, the cohort-based course in which I am a mentor right now, is coming to an end next week for Cohort 8.
It's bitter-sweet to teach others how to build an online writing habit because I had no idea what I was doing exactly one year ago.
And Write of Passage is where I started. WoP, along with Small Bets, remains my favorite course, not just that I've taken online, but of all time. It's where I learned to write well and I learned to "sell."
This wonderful Tweet came up three nights ago while we were recording our Engineering Advice podcast.
Speaking of which, we have started a podcast with 4 other great engineering leaders with experience as senior ICs and Engineering Managers.
It has been a blast to record and so many great insights continue to come up that will help engineers at all levels.
Two Memes from this week:
Gas prices are climbing fast and Ice T touched a nerve.
The funny thing about this Tweet is back when I wanted to raise venture dollars for UpHome, this is what our slide deck looked like, clearly they all suck.
Side by side:
A few quick updates from me:
I was a guest on the podcast "Develop Yourself" with Peter Elbaum a few weeks back which I am not sure I shared on here.
And of course, we started the "Engineering Advice You Didn't Ask for Podcast" as a 10 episode pilot. That we may re-new for a second season if we hit certain goals. So please go listen and help us hit those goals, episode 2 gets good around the middle.
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Louie
P.S. you can respond directly to this email and I will do my best to reply. I'd love to hear from you.