The Retro

Randy Brown, Kirk Fernandes•retro.simplecast.com

You're listing to The Retro, our show where we talk about the tactical, nitty-gritty, of how anyone can build a successful career in tech. I'm your host, Randy Brown, and along with Kirk Fernandes, we're the co-founders of Merit. Merit is a free platform to connect people on software teams to senior leaders in their field to growth their craft and career.

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Episodes

Donald DeSantis

Today we're joined by Donald DeSantis. Donald is a founder, designer, investor, and (soon to be) author. He was previously co-founder of Hightower (now VTS), which he grew from an idea in a Seattle coffee shop to a 250 person company. In this episode, we talk about why people join early-stage startups, the foundational and operational obsessions of founders, the golden triangle of hiring and why Merit is called Merit.

Apr 20, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 8

Jen Hau

Today we're joined by Jen Hau. Jen Hau is currently a Senior Product Manager at Truss. Previously Jen has held product leadership roles at Troops, VTS and VenueBook. Jen also has worked as an Operations Manager at Compass, worked at one of David Chang's restaurantS, volunteered for the 2008 Hilary campaign and has a law degree. Full disclosure Jen is a coach, investor, advisor in Merit along with being a friend. Thanks for joining us, Jen!

Apr 08, 2020•47 min•Ep. 7

Urim Choi

Today we're joined by Urim Choi, Director of Product at Eden Health and a coach on Merit. At Eden Health, Urim is building a new type of primary care delivery platform. Urim has nearly a decade of experience in Product Management across healthcare, commercial real estate, and ad-tech. Urim has led many big projects in his time as a PM, including launching the AppNexus Data Marketplace, leading the internationalization efforts of VTS, and scoping and launching Blink Health's first home delivery b...

Mar 18, 2020•37 min•Ep. 6

Kwame Thomison

Today we're joined by Kwame Thomison. Kwame is currently the Founder and Principal at Magnetic, which provides coaching for engineering leaders and social learning experiences for emotional intelligence, software delivery best practices, leadership, and more. Kwame has more than a decade of building software for companies such as Facebook, Google, and Asana. Kwame is also a coach on Merit where he enjoys coaching engineers who are looking to level up in their career. In this episode we talk abou...

Mar 09, 2020•41 min•Ep. 5

Kirk Fernandes ft. Stephanie Del Paggio

Today's format is a bit different than normal, as we're going to interview my co-founder, Kirk Fernandes. As such, joining us today as co-host is Stephanie Del Paggio. Stephanie is a Product Manager at Harry's, a direct to consumer company which designs, builds, and distributes quality grooming solutions. Stephanie's early in her PM career — so we figured we would have a lot to ask our guest today about learning the craft of PM. Today our guest is Kirk Fernandes, who's my co-founder at Merit. Ki...

Feb 18, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 4

Will Howard

Today we're joined by Will Howard, who's a coach a Merit. This year, Will co-founded Do What Works, which provides companies data and insights to help them run better tests faster. Before that, he was a Director of Engineering at Meetup, where over 11 years he hired an unknowable number of engineers and led various teams of 5 - 30 people.

Feb 11, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 3

Kate Matsumoto

Today we're joined by Kate Matsumoto. Kate is a Senior Product Designer at Etsy, which is an online marketplace where people can make, sell, and buy unique goods. She previously worked for CreativeMornings and Tattly. When Kate's not at her monitor, you can find her at her pottery wheel, or hosting the podcast, "So where are you from?". Kate is also a coach on Merit, where she enjoys connecting with other designers to help them craft their own careers.

Feb 04, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 2

Jackie Jiménez

Today we're joined by Jackie Jiménez, a Staff Software Engineer at Meetup, where she's worked on Product and Platform teams. Prior to Meetup, she led engineering teams at SportsRocket Media, where she was a Director of Engineering. Jackie is passionate about diversity and inclusion in tech, writing clear and maintainable code, and building reliable architecture solutions.

Jan 26, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 1

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