I was fascinated when I first came across the idea, popularised by radreads, that no matter what your actual salary level, some of the actual work you do is worth something like $10/hour, but sometimes it’s worth a whole lot more. I've been thinking about this idea that we all do a mix of different types of work with markedly different values. $10/hr, $100/hr, $1000/hr and $10,000/hr. I realized a few things.It’s not hard to figure outFirst, I was surprised but it’s relatively easy to kn...

I was fascinated when I first came across the idea, popularised by radreads, that no matter what your actual salary level, some of the actual work you do is worth something like $10/hour, but sometimes it’s worth a whole lot more. I've been thinking about this idea that we all do a mix of different types of work with markedly different values. $10/hr, $100/hr, $1000/hr and $10,000/hr. I realized a few things.It’s not hard to figure outFirst, I was surprised but it’s relatively easy to kn...

How to use cross-team guilds to accomplish more than you ever thought possible NOTE: I wrote this in February 2018 when I was working at Wise (formerly known as TransferWise). It was originally meant as an internal guide, but is applicable in any organisation with perhaps 150+ people.PART 1 - WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO SET THEM UPIt outlines the two key roles and clarifies the types of problems cross-team guilds can and cannot solve.How to set up cross-team guildsIn a fast growing company, ther...

How to use cross-team guilds to accomplish more than you ever thought possible NOTE: I wrote this in February 2018 when I was working at Wise (formerly known as TransferWise). It was originally meant as an internal guide, but is applicable in any organisation with perhaps 150+ people.PART 1 - WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO SET THEM UPIt outlines the two key roles and clarifies the types of problems cross-team guilds can and cannot solve.How to set up cross-team guildsIn a fast growing company, ther...

I’ve written quite a bit over the years, but hardly published anything. I decided it’s worth sharing with whomever is interested. I imagine it’s mostly useful for:People considering joining our mission at Salv. My co-founder Taavi has a tons of his thoughts online but I’m harder to find. This is a start.Salvers who are thinking about how to scale up Salv. A lot of what I captured here I learned helping Wise to scale.Personal growth$10/hr or $10,000? - thoughts on how to value your time, maxim...

I’ve written quite a bit over the years, but hardly published anything. I decided it’s worth sharing with whomever is interested. I imagine it’s mostly useful for:People considering joining our mission at Salv. My co-founder Taavi has a tons of his thoughts online but I’m harder to find. This is a start.Salvers who are thinking about how to scale up Salv. A lot of what I captured here I learned helping Wise to scale.Personal growth$10/hr or $10,000? - thoughts on how to value your time, maxim...

Everybody signs up for codeacademy at some point but almost nobody finishes. It’s because they can’t get over sucking. It’s torture to suck so bad for so long. Understanding how to get them unstuck could transform how we learn to code.BackgroundI recently learned python. I’m not good at it — I still suck — but I’m a lot better. I was reflecting on how I learned it. In particular, what obstacles I had to overcome as well as how a couple of colleagues helped me. I was also reflecting on my expe...

Everybody signs up for codeacademy at some point but almost nobody finishes. It’s because they can’t get over sucking. It’s torture to suck so bad for so long. Understanding how to get them unstuck could transform how we learn to code.BackgroundI recently learned python. I’m not good at it — I still suck — but I’m a lot better. I was reflecting on how I learned it. In particular, what obstacles I had to overcome as well as how a couple of colleagues helped me. I was also reflecting on my expe...

I read this great article by Erik Torenberg called Life Capital that got me thinking about the idea that there’s a huge investment opportunity that almost nobody is taking advantage of yet. I've often met people, sometimes just briefly or sometimes for longer stretches, where I just thought they're amazing, but totally unappreciated in what they're doing. For example, an astonishingly good waiter in a dingy Pizza Hut in London. My thought at the time was, "he'd be the best...

I read this great article by Erik Torenberg called Life Capital that got me thinking about the idea that there’s a huge investment opportunity that almost nobody is taking advantage of yet. I've often met people, sometimes just briefly or sometimes for longer stretches, where I just thought they're amazing, but totally unappreciated in what they're doing. For example, an astonishingly good waiter in a dingy Pizza Hut in London. My thought at the time was, "he'd be the best...

tl;drAn informal conference that puts 50 teachers and 50 people from tech companies together for an afternoon. Together they focus on how to help students develop the essential skills they’ll need to thrive in tomorrow’s economy. Teachers develop a new appreciation for what students need, put together a plan, and start to build a network of people to help them bring it to life.What’s needed for Estonia to thrive?Tech companies — whether in Estonia or elsewhere — will revolutionize the world. ...

tl;drAn informal conference that puts 50 teachers and 50 people from tech companies together for an afternoon. Together they focus on how to help students develop the essential skills they’ll need to thrive in tomorrow’s economy. Teachers develop a new appreciation for what students need, put together a plan, and start to build a network of people to help them bring it to life.What’s needed for Estonia to thrive?Tech companies — whether in Estonia or elsewhere — will revolutionize the world. ...

The Context: I’ve been brainstorming what, if anything, I could do to help this covid-19 situation. Below is an idea that — obviously — doesn’t solve covid-19, but could help many families in Estonia make the most of the situation. It may even spark something incredible. The challenge: Many students in Estonia and everywhere are stuck at home and getting restless. They're not able to go to regular classes, enjoy extra-curricular classes, or hang out with their friends. Many parents need ...

The Context: I’ve been brainstorming what, if anything, I could do to help this covid-19 situation. Below is an idea that — obviously — doesn’t solve covid-19, but could help many families in Estonia make the most of the situation. It may even spark something incredible. The challenge: Many students in Estonia and everywhere are stuck at home and getting restless. They're not able to go to regular classes, enjoy extra-curricular classes, or hang out with their friends. Many parents need ...

I wrote this blog post early in 2017. Besides my day job leading the analysts at Wise (formerly TransferWise) I was also a part of the “planning guild”. There were four of us and our task was to coordinate the quarterly planning cycles for all 35+ internal teams. There was just one problem: planning was broken. -- START --Outgrowing “the way we’ve always done things”Every quarter — over the last 6 years of TransferWise’s existence — each product team has presented their plans to the rest of t...

I wrote this blog post early in 2017. Besides my day job leading the analysts at Wise (formerly TransferWise) I was also a part of the “planning guild”. There were four of us and our task was to coordinate the quarterly planning cycles for all 35+ internal teams. There was just one problem: planning was broken. -- START --Outgrowing “the way we’ve always done things”Every quarter — over the last 6 years of TransferWise’s existence — each product team has presented their plans to the rest of t...