I was born and raised in Saint-Petersburg, Russia – not a particularly diverse city, and I would not be identified as a visible minority. So, I hadn’t spent much time thinking about diversity until a relatively recent trip to San Francisco.
Today I am 31. Here is the main lesson I learned this year.
Last year I wrote an article covering the main lessons I learned by the age of 30. This year I decided to do it again. This year I finally wrapped my head around how people become adults.
Ways to Think About Scaling Startups (Inspired by Camping)
Earlier this month I spent a week in Beautiful British Columbia. One of the trips we undertook was to Garibaldi Lake. After a 23 km hike we were rewarded with one of the most stunning views I have ever seen. The next day, sitting around the picnic table having breakfast, the conversation drifted towards business and startups, and the following question was put to me:“What is it like to start scaling a startup?”
Building The Agency Model of The Future (Peter Reitano)
This article originally appeared on BetaKit. In this interview I spoke to Peter Reitano, CEO of Abacus, an “ad tech/agency” focused on growing startups and helping big brands solve their marketing problems. We talked about the agency model of the future, how technology empowers and automates creative, and the concept of the “ego-less” marketer which I found very interesting.
The Ice Cream Story
“I remember the first Baskin Robbins to come to Saint-Petersburg, Russia. It opened in the mid-90s when I was about seven years old, and was located on Nevsky Prospect, right in the heart of the city. My younger sister and I walked past it at least once a month, and every time, we dreamt of tasting the ice cream there. Particularly, the ice cream cake. Unfortunately, at the time, my family simply couldn't afford it.
