The Blind Ambition with Jack Kelly

Latest Episodes:

Jack and Rick Take on Walking Away From $1.2 Million and When You Should Leave Your Job Sep 09, 2024

Show notes

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen take on the ultimate question: "Should I stay, or should I go?" in response to some recent viral Blind discussions. We react to how many high-earning professionals feel financially stretched and falling behind and the paradox where million-dollar compensation packages still leave people feeling like they're living paycheck to paycheck.

Jack and Rick explore the decision to leave these lucrative positions and the calculus you might use to determine whether your current role is worth staying and if the new offer is good enough to take.

https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

https://www.teamblind.com/post/Golden-handcuffs-in-highly-political-environment-rMtVuBqc

https://www.teamblind.com/post/Former-Reddit-CEO-calls-on-CEOs-to-fire-incels-7m8hswpY

Jack and Rick Take on Nvidia's Millionaires, Golden Handcuffs and Stock-Based Compensation Sep 06, 2024

Show notes

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to a viral Blind poll that found that 76% of Nvidia professionals claim to be millionaires, and 33% may have a net worth of $20 million or more as a result of Nvidia's incredible stock price appreciation since 2019. Rick reveals how much stock you might have gotten depending on when you joined Nvidia.

Rick explains how stock-based compensation works and why employers have set up stock grants to unlock over long periods of time. We look into how companies purposefully try to create golden handcuffs and lock in their employees. Jack explores what it might be like when many of your coworkers are millionaires and what Nvidia's work culture is like.

https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

https://x.com/FilledWithMoney/status/1807020496677957931

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/09/04/nvidia-employees-become-multi-millionaires-but-at-what-price/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-26/what-s-it-like-working-at-nvidia-you-may-get-rich-but-work-remains-stressful

Jack and Rick Take on Goldman Sachs' Latest Layoffs and Wall Street Compensation Sep 05, 2024

Show notes

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen break down Goldman Sachs' latest planned layoffs of 1,300 to 1,800 people as part of its annual performance review process. We react to the mega investment bank's plans to "cull" its workforce and why so many Wall Street firms and banks have annual layoffs. Jack reflects on how the situation is exacerbated by the stigma associated with being labeled a so-called "low performer" and how it typically impacts someone's job prospects in the future.

Rick compares the pay packages common on Wall Street and the finance industry with what you might earn at Nvidia, Meta or a startup in the tech industry. He also explains how stock options and restricted stock unit grants work and whether people really earn $500,000 or more in tech. Jack contrasts the tech industry's stock-based compensation with Wall Street's cash bonuses and explains which might be the better bet for your career.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/09/03/goldman-sachs-plans-to-lay-off-around-1300-employees/

Terence Bennett, CEO of DreamFactory Software: How to Make Transitions Work for Your Career Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

Terence Bennett, CEO of DreamFactory Software

Terence has long known he would join the U.S. Navy, but it was unclear what he might do after leaving the armed services. We explore his remarkable career journey, marked by different transitions: specialties within the Navy, military life to civilian life, and going from an individual contributor to becoming a startup COO and then CEO.

Terence also shares how he stood out when applying for a job at Google, including the tip he tells every veteran to ace their job interviews. (Hint: Hardly anyone ever takes the time to do it!)

https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

Kyle Elliott, Founder of Kyle Elliott Consulting: How to Land Your Dream Tech Job Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

Kyle Elliott, Founder of Kyle Elliott Consulting

Kyle helps senior professionals and executives land their dream jobs at some of the hottest companies in Silicon Valley.

We get Kyle to coach us on how to network—even when you feel like you have to start from zero—optimize your resume so that you can better compete against AI and the tens of thousands of other applicants, and how you can package your experience into standout stories to wow recruiters, hiring managers and executives.

https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

Charles Beadnall, Chief Technology Officer at GoDaddy: Your Career Roadmap for Faster Promotions Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

Charles Beadnall, Chief Technology Officer at GoDaddy

Charles was one of the early builders of the Internet. We learn how Turner Broadcasting, Yahoo!, and other tech companies influenced how he leads his engineering teams and the experimental and innovation-focused culture at GoDaddy today.

Charles shares his insights into how technologists can use their problem-solving skills to hack faster promotions. He emphasizes the importance of understanding business goals and problems and matching skill sets, mentors and drive to overcome each challenge to drive impact at the company and your career.

https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

Jack and Rick Take on Wall Street and its 100-Hour-Plus Workweeks Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to Wall Street's 100-hour-plus workweeks and its culture of grinding out employees, especially in the junior ranks. We explore the compensation available and whether the money is worth the sacrificed weekends, social relationships and mental health.

Jack also walks through all of the available functions and roles in the finance industry and why tech professionals might want to make the switch.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

https://wsj.com/finance/banking/bank-of-america-worker-death-policies-89eff5f6

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/05/30/the-dark-side-of-investment-banking-stress-pressure-and-100-hour-workweeks/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/03/19/the-price-to-pay-for-success-and-wealth-young-goldman-sachs-bankers-complain-of-100-hour-workweeks-sleep-deprivation-and-micromanagement/

Angie Hicks, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer of Angi: How Anyone Can Be an Entrepreneur Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

Angie Hicks, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer of Angi

Angie shares the unlikely story of how she became an entrepreneur as a 22-year-old right out of college. We explore the origins of Angie's List, including how they created a marketplace startup before it became popular, why the company bears her name and the marketing tactics the company used to grow to attract venture capital funding and eventual acquisition.

We learn how anyone can be an entrepreneur or startup founder, even if you don't consider yourself a risk-taker. Angie provides a rare glimpse into her leadership approach and how the company maintains a people-first and adaptable culture.

https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

Carlo di Florio, Global Advisory Leader at ACA Group: How I Became a Regulator Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Carlo di Florio, Global Advisory Leader at ACA Group

Carlo spent a decade as a senior regulator, overseeing the financial services industry at the SEC and FINRA. He gives us a rare look into what it's like to be a regulator and how someone lands a role in these top jobs. He also shares the common scams and naughty things bankers, brokers, finance executives and traders might do.

Carlo also takes some time to debunk some myths about a career in compliance, risk and regulatory work. He shares the common career paths for these roles and how many are not accountants or lawyers, plus the typical work-life balance, organization culture and compensation in the field. Finally, we learn about how seamlessly someone can transition from government work as a regulator to the private sector and consulting and back again.

https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

Lynne Oldham, Chief People Officer at Stash: Why HR Gets a Bad Rap Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

Lynne Oldham, Chief People Officer at Stash

Lynne made it as an HR executive through a circuitous route across companies, industries, and even countries. We tackle all of the different HR tropes out there, including whether HR is your enemy, how they might only serve executives or the companies, and how mass layoffs might happen.

Lynne gives us a sneak peek into what it's like working in HR as we tackle and dispel each of these myths one by one and through the lens of her time as the chief people officer at Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic and her transition to Stash, a purpose-focused company.

https://bit.ly/blind-podcast

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