DeepSummary
Hadi Partovi is a tech entrepreneur and CEO of the education nonprofit Code.org. He discusses his upbringing in war-torn Iran and immigrating to the US, where his family struggled financially, which fueled his drive for success. Partovi shares leadership lessons from working with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer at Microsoft, including their attention to detail and high standards.
He describes his early interactions with Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook when it had under 10 employees, recognizing Zuckerberg's intensity and vision. Partovi advises on hiring top talent, emphasizing passion and fit over just skills. He defines high performance as working smart and hard while balancing other aspects of life.
Partovi explains his decision to step away from the 'for-profit treadmill' with Code.org to prioritize societal impact over wealth accumulation. He believes teaching computer science in schools is crucial for preparing students for an increasingly technological future.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Hadi Partovi's difficult upbringing in war-torn Iran and financial struggles as an immigrant fueled his ambition and drive for success in the tech world.
- Working closely with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Partovi learned the importance of intense preparation, attention to detail, and holding teams to an extremely high standard.
- In his early interactions with Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, Partovi recognized Zuckerberg's intense vision and ambition that transcended the company's humble beginnings.
- Prioritizing passion, creativity and cultural fit over skills alone is crucial when hiring top talent, according to Partovi's experiences advising companies.
- Partovi stepped away from the 'for-profit treadmill' with Code.org to focus on his mission of transforming education and better preparing students for the technological workforce.
- Teaching computer science and digital skills in schools is vital for preparing the next generation for an increasingly tech-driven economy and job market.
- Despite prevalent negativity in media, Partovi believes the world is actually becoming better by many measures of prosperity and human development.
- As economic conditions change with rising inflation and interest rates, companies need to reevaluate spending approaches suited to a bygone era of easy money.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Our approach to spending is for a world that no longer exists.“ by Hadi Partovi
- “If you look at who are the greatest technologists for consumer companies or the greatest technology, consumer technology companies, you think of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk. None of these folks are just trust that the team will get it done. They're getting very involved in little details.“ by Hadi Partovi
- “The reason I started code.org is after a decade of working in tech myself and a decade of investing in companies, I realized every single company struggles with the challenge of hiring great talent.“ by Hadi Partovi
- “If you look at what employers are looking for and what the workforce of today wants, they want problem solving, creativity, and collaboration. And yet our school system in many classes, repeats the sort of, you're going to listen to a lecture and write notes and then memorize it and then answer questions on a test.“ by Hadi Partovi
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Episode Information
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Harry Stebbings
12/16/22
Hadi Partovi is a tech entrepreneur and investor, and CEO of the education nonprofit Code.org. Before founding Code.org, Hadi founded two prior startups: Tellme Networks (acquired by Microsoft, discussed on 20VC with Emil Michael), and iLike (acquired by Newscorp). Hadi has also been an active advisor and angel investor to some of the best including Facebook, Dropbox, airbnb, and Uber. If that was not enough, Hadi currently serves on the Board of Directors of Axon and MNTN.
In Today's Episode with Hadi Partovi:
1.) From the Iran-Iraq War to Founding Startups:
- How Hadi and his family made their way from war-torn Tehran to the US and Silicon Valley?
- How did seeing his family have nothing and struggle financially impact Hadi's mindset as an entrepreneur?
- What does Hadi believe he is running from? What is he running toward?
2.) Lessons from Ballmer and Zuckerberg:
- How did Hadi first come to meet a young Mark Zuckerberg when TheFacebook had less than 10 employees? Why did Hadi believe he was so special from that first meeting?
- What are Hadi's biggest takeaways from working with Steve Ballmer? How did the reign and leadership of Ballmer compare to the reign of Bill Gates?
- Hadi has helped both Facebook and Dropbox with their engineering hires, what is the secret to hiring amazing engineers? How does he structure the process? Where do so many go wrong?
3.) Hadi Partovi: The Leader:
- How does Hadi define "high performance" in leadership? How has it changed with time?
- What is Hadi's framework for making tough decisions? How does Hadi teach that framework to his team? What are the biggest mistakes leaders make in decision-making?
- How important does Hadi believe speed of execution is? How does Hadi determine when is the right time to go slow to go fast?
4.) Hadi Partovi: The Person:
- How does Hadi analyze his relationship with money today? How does it change over time?
- Hadi stepped off the for-profit treadmill with Code.org, why did he make that decision? How does he avoid the trappings of chasing wealth?
- How does Hadi think about ego and ego management today? How does Hadi separate self-worth from financial gain and accomplishment?
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
Hadi's Favourite Book: Sapiens: The #1 bestselling journey through human history and anthropology