When enough was enough - practical and emotional drivers for leaving big tech to bootstrap Metacast | Arnab Deka & Ilya Bezdelev (AWS, Google)

When enough was enough - practical and emotional drivers for leaving big tech to bootstrap Metacast | Arnab Deka & Ilya Bezdelev (AWS, Google)

Author: Ronak Nathani, Guang Yang November 7, 2023 Duration: 1:17:55

Should engineers and product managers "stay in their lanes"? What big company habits should you keep vs unlearn when transitioning to working at a start-up? Could an ayahuasca retreat give you more clarity on your career goals? Ilya and Arnab join the show to share their journey quitting big tech to bootstrap a podcasting startup.

Arnab and Ilya are the co-founders of Metacast. Before starting the company, Arnab was a Principal Engineer at AWS while Ilya was a Sr. Product Manager at Google and Principal PM at Amazon before that. While at Amazon, Arnab and Ilya worked together on various projects including AWS Chatbot, which they started from scratch and launched into a successful AWS service. 

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Segments:

[0:00:00] Starting Metacast

[0:05:39] Should engineers and product managers "stay in their lanes"?

[0:11:56] How to decide when to explore options vs committing to a decision

[0:14:46] Do you have to be a specialist to be successful?

[0:18:20] Quitting Amazon & Google

[0:33:52] Spiritual retreat

[0:47:09] Trying therapy

[0:51:33] Orthogonal weaknesses

[0:57:31] Big co habits to keep vs unlearn

[1:04:32] Metacast Milestones


Behind every line of code, there's a person with a story, and that's where Software Misadventures finds its pulse. Hosts Ronak Nathani and Guang Yang pull up a chair with engineers, founders, and investors, but the conversation rarely stays in the technical manual. Instead, it wanders into the human territory of career detours, hard-won insights, and those unpredictable stumbles that often teach the most. This podcast is built on the idea that the journey is just as important as the destination, especially in the fast-moving tech world. You'll hear guests recount the projects that went sideways, the decisions they'd rethink, and the moments of clarity that emerged from the chaos. It’s a refreshingly honest look at the industry, emphasizing that expertise isn't just about what you build, but what you learn when things don't go as planned. Tune in for conversations that are less about perfect solutions and more about the real, sometimes messy, process of creating with technology. Each episode offers a blend of professional wisdom and personal narrative, making it a compelling listen for anyone curious about the lives woven into our digital landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 55

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