Our Community

Our mentees and mentors come together to create a powerful community that accelerates careers. Learn more about them here 🚀
Mentee Spotlight: Raza Khan, Part 1
ALUMNI STORIES
Mentee Spotlight: Raza Khan, Part 1
Meet Raza, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum and staple in The Commons community
At the very worst, you join a curated, exclusive community of current and future tech leaders who are incredible, kind, and helpful, with whom you can become friends with, learn from, and potentially score your next job through. At best, you’ll make lifelong friends, learn tangible skills that pay massive dividends in your career, and be plugged into the “what’s happening” in the industry.
#TheCommonsWins 👏

Jasmine landed a role a Strategy & Operations role at Deel

Read their story

Nicole landed a Product Management role at Zensurance

Read their story

Jasmine landed a role with Productboard in Customer Success

Read their story
Alumni Stories
Mentee Spotlight: Ayo Hambolu
Alumni Story
Mentee Spotlight: Ayo Hambolu
Meet Ayo, a Strategy & Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who landed a Product Analyst role at Relay
Mentee Spotlight: Jasmine Chi
Alumni Story
Mentee Spotlight: Jasmine Chi
Meet Jasmine, a Strategy & Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who went on to Expansion Strategy & Operations at Deel
Mentee Spotlight: Devreet Dulay
Alumni Story
Mentee Spotlight: Devreet Dulay
Meet Devreet, a Strategy & Operations Sprint alum at The Commons & first non-technical hire at Respell
Mentee Spotlight: Ayo Hambolu
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Ayo Hambolu
Meet Ayo, a Strategy & Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who landed a Product Analyst role at Relay
Mentee Spotlight: Jasmine Chi
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Jasmine Chi
Meet Jasmine, a Strategy & Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who went on to Expansion Strategy & Operations at Deel
Mentee Spotlight: Devreet Dulay
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Devreet Dulay
Meet Devreet, a Strategy & Operations Sprint alum at The Commons & first non-technical hire at Respell
Mentee Spotlight: Alize Bhatia
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Alize Bhatia
Meet Alize, a Strategy & Operations, and Product, Sprint alum at The Commons & member of the Operations Team at Techstars
Mentee Spotlight: BK Babatunde
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: BK Babatunde
Meet BK, a two-time Sprint alum at The Commons & member of the Analytics Team at OpenTable
Mentee Spotlight: Raza Khan, Part 2
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Raza Khan, Part 2
Meet Raza, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum and staple in The Commons community.
Mentee Spotlight: Raza Khan, Part 1
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Raza Khan, Part 1
Meet Raza, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum and staple in The Commons community
Mentee Spotlight: Mitchell Tistworth
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Mitchell Tistworth
Meet Mitchell, a two-time Sprinter who identified what he was looking for in a career and went after it
Mentee Spotlight: Justin St-Louis Wood
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Justin St-Louis Wood
Meet Justin, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum at The Commons & member of EventConnect's BizOps team of 1.
Mentee Spotlight: Michelle Amand
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Michelle Amand
Meet Michelle, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who made the pivot from banking to HealthTech.
Mentee Spotlight: Wilford Lam
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Wilford Lam
Meet Wilford, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who leveraged the community to land his current role at DoorDash.
Mentee Spotlight: Alon Jourdan
Learner Story
Mentee Spotlight: Alon Jourdan
Meet Alon, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who landed his current role thanks to referral from the community.
Meet Jake: From industrial engineering to analytics in tech
Learner Story
Meet Jake: From industrial engineering to analytics in tech
Meet Jake, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who pivoted from industrial engineering to Analytics & Insights Strategy at Instacart.
Quality Content: how John Thomas and Draft are changing the way businesses do content
Learner Story
Quality Content: how John Thomas and Draft are changing the way businesses do content
We sat down with John Thomas, Co-Founder and COO of Draft, to discuss the importance of content for businesses and his experience a founder.
Leaning in: How Justin Collett has made the most of The Commons
Learner Story
Leaning in: How Justin Collett has made the most of The Commons
Justin Collett is an active member of The Commons community. From leveraging the network, to being a Geo Captain for our Vancouver community, read on to learn more about Justin's journey with The Commons!
What is BizOps? Comparing BizOps at a Series A Marketplace and a Series E SaaS
Learner Story
What is BizOps? Comparing BizOps at a Series A Marketplace and a Series E SaaS
BizOps can look different at different companies. We sat down with two Commons alumni, Alysha and Sybil, who are both BizOps managers, to learn more about their roles.
How a career start in CPG and a desire to keep learning led to a role at DoorDash
Learner Story
How a career start in CPG and a desire to keep learning led to a role at DoorDash
Dipti is an Engagement Associate at DoorDash and a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum who leveraged her data skills and experience in CPG to land her current role in tech.
Meet Holly: After excelling in the Strategy + Operations Sprint, Holly pivoted into tech when she landed a role on her mentor’s team
Learner Story
Meet Holly: After excelling in the Strategy + Operations Sprint, Holly pivoted into tech when she landed a role on her mentor’s team
Holly Lin joined The Commons' Strategy + Operations Sprint with the goal of pivoting into tech. After working hard in the Sprint and making a good impression on her mentor, everything came full circle when Holly's opportunity to break into tech was with a role on her mentor's team.
Meet Cheryl: Internal strategy at a bank to BizOps at skincare tech startup
Learner Story
Meet Cheryl: Internal strategy at a bank to BizOps at skincare tech startup
Meet Cheryl, a Strategy + Operations Sprint alum at The Commons who pivoted from finance & management consulting at a large bank to Operations Strategy at tech-enabled custom skincare startup Curology. Cheryl is currently based in San Francisco.
Meet Carolyn: Management consulting to building new verticals at DoorDash
Learner Story
Meet Carolyn: Management consulting to building new verticals at DoorDash
Carolyn pivoted from management consulting to the BizOps team @ DoorDash, focusing on new verticals. Carolyn is based in New York. Carolyn joined her mentor at The Commons James at DoorDash and continues to be an engaged member of our community (and the growing The Commons x DoorDash crew).
Meet Chong: Corporate Finance to Head of Operations at a Startup
Learner Story
Meet Chong: Corporate Finance to Head of Operations at a Startup
Meet Chong, an alum of The Commons and the Head of Operations @ WISK.ai, a restaurant technology platform startup. Chong pivoted from finance into tech after joining the Fall 2020 cohort of the Strategy + Operations Sprint!
Meet Jonathan: Entrepreneur, Professional Athlete and now, Product Owner at a Fintech startup
Learner Story
Meet Jonathan: Entrepreneur, Professional Athlete and now, Product Owner at a Fintech startup
Meet Jonathan, an alum of The Commons and Product Owner at Neo Financial, a Fintech startup. Jonathan is an entrepreneur, professional athlete and now, a Product Owner at a startup, after joining the November ‘20 Strategy + Operations Sprint and September ‘21 Product Strategy Sprint. 
Meet Armish Sehar: Corporate Finance at a big Telco to BizOps at a Startup
Learner Story
Meet Armish Sehar: Corporate Finance at a big Telco to BizOps at a Startup
Meet Armish, an alum and Ops Manager at Sampler, a startup that digitizes DTC product sample delivery. Armish pivoted from consulting into the tech industry after joining the Spring ‘21 Strategy + Operations Sprint.
Meet Gurmehar Sodhi: Consulting to leading BizOps for Uber Direct
Learner Story
Meet Gurmehar Sodhi: Consulting to leading BizOps for Uber Direct
Meet Gurmehar Sodhi (Gurmee), an alum of The Commons and Sr. Manager, BizOps at Uber Direct. Gurmee pivoted from consulting into the tech industry after joining the February ‘21 Strategy + Operations Sprint.‍ Gurmee joined the team as the first Canadian hire with a mandate to help grow the business quickly while ensuring operational rigour is maintained.
From Strategy Consulting to BizOps: How Julia Di Spirito Found Her Career Passion
Learner Story
From Strategy Consulting to BizOps: How Julia Di Spirito Found Her Career Passion
When Julia graduated from university with a business degree in hand, she went into management consulting. But after a few years, she came to the same conclusion that so many young consultants do: this wasn’t exactly what she wanted to work on for the rest of her life. There was, however, the small question of what was next?
Community Events
Private
Jul 25, 2023 8:00 PM
Which Stage is right for you?
Private
Jul 18, 2023 7:00 PM
Community Panel: The Art of the Internal Pivot
Private
Jul 12, 2023 7:00 PM
Community Panel: Working in VC
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Which Stage is right for you?
Private
Community Panel: The Art of the Internal Pivot
Private
Community Panel: Working in VC
Public
San Francisco Summit IRL
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Vancouver Summit IRL
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Montreal Summit IRL
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Toronto Summit IRL
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NYC IRL: Central Park 🌳
Private
Mentor Office Hours, June
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Company Showcase: Clipboard Health
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Grow your network: Speed Socializing
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Grow your network: Speed Socializing
Public
The Commons: Live Product Critique
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The Commons: Strategic Finance Primer
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PodLIVE: A Conversation with the Founder of Ingreendients
Public
The Commons: Ops Hacking 101
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Toronto IRL: Blue Jays Game ⚾️
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The Commons Alumni Panel
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Speaker Series: Elaine Min from HiMama
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Company Showcase: Banyan Software
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NYC IRL, April
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Montreal IRL: Board Game Night
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Mentor Office Hours, April
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Mental Health + Wellness Tech Primer
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Translating your International Work Experience
Public
Transitioning from Ops to Product
Private
Creating a Professional Portfolio
Private
The Commons LA IRL
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#community-advice, LIVE
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Founder Open House: The Commons Product Sprint
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The Commons: SF IRL Brunch
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The Commons MBA Exclusive: Cracking the BizOps Case Interview
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The Commons x VfC Vancouver IRL
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The Commons Alumni Panel
Private
The Commons: Behavioral Interview Prep
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Montreal IRL Brunch
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Automating Workflows, pt. 3
Private
Mentor Office Hours, February
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The Commons: Evaluate a Startup like a VC
Private
The Commons: Go to market workshop
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The Commons London IRL 🎡
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Speaker Series: Matt Hammel from AirOps
Private
Company Showcase: Jobber
Private
Speaker Series: Stuart Wilson from Hotel Engine
Public
The Commons Sprints Primer
Private
The Commons: Automating Workflows with Alexis from Spotify
Private
Mentor Office Hours, December
Private
The Commons: Weathering Tough Times & Job Search Chat
Private
No-Code/Low-Code Workshop ⚡️
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Acing the Recruiter Screen
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The Commons: Automating Workflows with Alexis from Spotify
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Mentor Office Hours, October
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Building Your Personal Brand
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Product Toolkit Essentials
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Mentor Office Hours, October
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Pitch Yourself! 📣
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Community Hang
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Mentor Mini-Case Workshop
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The Commons: Mentor Office Hours
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Great Debate: MBA
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New Friends in Business & Tech (The Commons x Andrew Yeung)
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The Commons: Vancouver IRL Hang ☀️
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The Commons: Data Viz & Tableau Workshop w/ Mentors Fairuz & Lauren
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The Commons: Toronto Speed Networking Mixer
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The Commons: Demistifying Strategic Finance
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The Commons Team Office Hours
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Equity at Startups: Understanding & Evaluating Your Startup Equity
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Skillful: Crypto Chat with Sarah Tulin
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Mentor Fireside with Shane: Powering through Tough Times
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The Commons Team Office Hours
Resources
Evaluate a Startup Like a Venture Capital (VC) Investor
Resource
Evaluate a Startup Like a Venture Capital (VC) Investor
We hosted Turner Novak for a workshop to share his process for evaluating startups through a VC lens, and he walked us through a couple of examples live. These are his tips.
Navigating a layoff in tech, from someone who just went through it
Resource
Navigating a layoff in tech, from someone who just went through it
Four months after landing his first BizOps role in tech, Raza was a part of company wide layoffs. In recent months, Raza landed his second BizOps role at Webflow. He joined us to share more about his experience navigating and bouncing back from a layoff in tech.
How to pivot into tech, key skills needed for BizOps roles and how BizOps roles differ at small vs large companies
Resource
How to pivot into tech, key skills needed for BizOps roles and how BizOps roles differ at small vs large companies
Stuart Wilson, Senior Director of BizOps and Strategy at Hotel Engine, joined The Commons for a Speaker Series on careers in BizOps and you can find the key takeaways here!
Making All Hands Count
Resource
Making All Hands Count
Community member, Brad Grabell, shares his thoughts on how to make the most of All Hands meetings.
Can AI convince you to work at a startup?
Resource
Can AI convince you to work at a startup?
What's the hype all about? We break down some AI generated content.
There’s No Crying in the Office! Emotional and Behavioural Regulation in the Workplace
Resource
There’s No Crying in the Office! Emotional and Behavioural Regulation in the Workplace
Community member Megan Jones shares her thoughts on emotional and behavioral regulation in the workplace.
The Power of Community
Resource
The Power of Community
Miriam shares her experience connecting with likeminded peers and unlocking new opportunities in The Commons community.
How to build a no-code Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Resource
How to build a no-code Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Starting a new tech project is exciting. No-Code tools like Webflow are relatively easy to learn and can kickstart your progress. The Commons grad Wasi describes a step-by-step approach to leveraging No-Code tools to build an app and scale it using an app he built, Togle, as an example. You can use this framework to build your next big idea, too!
What's the difference between BizOps and Chief of Staff?
Resource
What's the difference between BizOps and Chief of Staff?
Two roles that are typically a good fit for generalists are BizOps and Chief of Staff. Both are generalist roles with a lot of overlap but also some key differences.
Getting started with tableau
Resource
Getting started with tableau
The basics of data visualization and how you can improve your data viz skills with Tableau.
A SQL crash course: the easiest way to gain an edge as a generalist in tech
Resource
A SQL crash course: the easiest way to gain an edge as a generalist in tech
Learn SELECT, WHERE, CASE WHEN, LEFT JOIN, SUBQUERY & more in this SQL crash course, plus how to apply it to real-world business cases.
6 steps to improve your LinkedIn profile today
Resource
6 steps to improve your LinkedIn profile today
We reached out to our community to provide you with some easy, actionable tips for improving your LinkedIn profile.
There's One Metric Which Could Determine The Fate of Your Startup
Resource
There's One Metric Which Could Determine The Fate of Your Startup
Strategic Finance has never been more important for ensuring the future success of a company. And we have one weapon in our arsenal that is more valuable than all the rest: LTV/CAC.
Should you apply to a company's "general" job opening online?
Resource
Should you apply to a company's "general" job opening online?
Our community offers their perspective on whether it's a worthwhile strategy to apply to "general" job postings online.
How to stay motivated during a job search
Resource
How to stay motivated during a job search
We turned to our community for their tips on how to stay motivated during a job search.
Top 10 Tactics to Leverage When Onboarding Remotely
Resource
Top 10 Tactics to Leverage When Onboarding Remotely
Many people in The Commons community have been starting new roles and onboarding remotely. Our community pooled together to offer their advice on how to best dive in to a new remote role.
Why Tech Companies Look for Consulting and Finance Experience (and how you can still land a job in tech if you're not one)
Resource
Why Tech Companies Look for Consulting and Finance Experience (and how you can still land a job in tech if you're not one)
Ever wonder why so many business roles in tech list consulting or finance as a preferred background for candidates? Take a read to learn why, and to learn about how you can still make yourself stand out if you are coming from a different industry.
Advice for Evaluating and Negotiating a Job Offer
Resource
Advice for Evaluating and Negotiating a Job Offer
Job offer evaluation and negotiation is one of the aspects of the recruiting process that we see people asking about the most at The Commons. We compiled some of the best advice the community has shared on the topic.
Great Questions to Ask at the End of an Interview
Resource
Great Questions to Ask at the End of an Interview
Ending a job interview off with insightful questions can help you stand apart from the rest of the candidates. We turned to The Commons community for their tips on what questions to ask at the end of an interview.
Brain Teasers 🧠
Resource
Brain Teasers 🧠
Pop in here to find the questions (and answers!) to the brain teasers that we ask in the weekly The Commons Digest newsletter. How many did you get right?
Cracking the BizOps Case Interview
Resource
Cracking the BizOps Case Interview
Aya Mimura, a Strategy + Operations Sprint participant at The Commons, shares her top tips for BizOps case interviews.
Elevator Pitch 101
Resource
Elevator Pitch 101
When pivoting into a business role in tech, you’ll need to be able to nail your elevator pitch. Learn how to craft - and perfect - yours with this guide.
What Stage Startup Is Right For You?
Resource
What Stage Startup Is Right For You?
Looking for a high-impact role? Working at a startup can be one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of your career. Let's dive into the different stages of startups to discover which one is right for you.
Why You Should Learn SQL
Resource
Why You Should Learn SQL
Fairuz, one of the data mentors for the The Commons' Strategy + Operations Sprint, outlines why SQL has become a critical skillset in strategic business roles in tech.
Mentor Tips: Google Sheets is better than Excel
Resource
Mentor Tips: Google Sheets is better than Excel
The way we do finance is changing. More and more, fresh-faced bankers are standing out amongst their peers by learning technical skills such as statistics, data analytics, and dashboarding. While there was a time when the best-of-the-best were defined by their ability to work the hardest, there’s a growing group of financial professionals who stand out by working the smartest. ‍Amidst all this change, there’s one area no one seems to be talking about… GSheets. It’s superior to Excel in every single way.
Common Interview Structures for Strategy & Operations Roles in Tech
Resource
Common Interview Structures for Strategy & Operations Roles in Tech
The interview process at tech companies can be long and grueling. Read on to learn about common interview structures and tips from mentors at The Commons.
The Power of Community
Resource
The Power of Community
Miriam shares her experience connecting with likeminded peers and unlocking new opportunities in The Commons community.
How to build a no-code Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Resource
How to build a no-code Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Starting a new tech project is exciting. No-Code tools like Webflow are relatively easy to learn and can kickstart your progress. The Commons grad Wasi describes a step-by-step approach to leveraging No-Code tools to build an app and scale it using an app he built, Togle, as an example. You can use this framework to build your next big idea, too!
What's the difference between BizOps and Chief of Staff?
Resource
What's the difference between BizOps and Chief of Staff?
Two roles that are typically a good fit for generalists are BizOps and Chief of Staff. Both are generalist roles with a lot of overlap but also some key differences.
Recent ❤️ for The Commons
Fairuz H.
The Commons opened up my eyes to the world of Strategy and Operations in tech, which was something I was not aware of at all previously...The Commons has become my medium to meet more people, and I hope to continue to be a part of making this community even stronger.
Holly L.
I learned how to think, speak, and collaborate like a tech leader. From small skills like how to effectively use tools like Slack, Notion, Asana, and Calendly, to more technical skills like SQL, Google Workspace, and Tableau - I now use all of these components of my tech toolkit to be an effective worker at my fast-paced tech job.
Fairuz H.
The Commons opened up my eyes to the world of Strategy and Operations in tech, which was something I was not aware of at all previously...The Commons has become my medium to meet more people, and I hope to continue to be a part of making this community even stronger.
Holly L.
I learned how to think, speak, and collaborate like a tech leader. From small skills like how to effectively use tools like Slack, Notion, Asana, and Calendly, to more technical skills like SQL, Google Workspace, and Tableau - I now use all of these components of my tech toolkit to be an effective worker at my fast-paced tech job.
Michele Y.
The best part of my experience was hands down the community, mentors and real-life experiences. Everyone is so generous with their time, determined, and hardworking. These are some of the smartest and scrappy individuals I've ever met — who are also kind hearted.
Syke H.
I feel like [the community] is a gift that keeps on giving. I intend to really lean on new friends and community members during my job search.
Eddie W.
The Strategy + Operations Sprint is one of the best learning experiences I have had...I got to work with some of the brightest and most amazing people who share similar career goals...The journey is very rewarding and the more work you put in, the more benefits you reap.
Sarah L.
Joining The Commons was one of the best things that happened to me this year. I still rave about it to all my friends, if you're not in The Commons then you're seriously missing out. The value I got most immediately was improving my soft and hard skills through a BizOps project and mentorship...The value I continue to get is from the community.
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The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (02/25/2022)
Everything going on in the community including a member spotlight on mentor, Max Nimaroff, GM at Uber.
The Commons Digest (02/10/2022)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (02/10/2022)
Everything going on in the community including a member spotlight on Gurmee Sodhi, BizOps at Uber.
The Commons Digest (01/29/2022)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (01/29/2022)
Everything going on around the community including a member spotlight on Cheryl Lau.
The Commons Digest (01/13/2022)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (01/13/2022)
Everything happening at The Commons this week plus a member spotlight on Carolyn Tang.
The Commons 2021 Year in Review
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons 2021 Year in Review
This is a very special edition in that it's dedicated exclusively to a 2021 Community Review. Think of it as The Commons version of Spotify Wrapped :)
The Commons Digest (12/02/2021)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (12/02/2021)
Everything going on right now at The Commons including a member spotlight on Chong Zhai.
The Commons  Digest (11/18/2021)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (11/18/2021)
Just. Get. Started. That’s one of our biggest takeaways from Christian Keil’s excellent profile of Packy McCormick from a few weeks ago. Packy is of course the author and creator of Not Boring, a business strategy and trends newsletter that has evolved into a community, investing syndicate, job board and VC fund.
The Commons  Digest (11/04/2021)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (11/04/2021)
This one is for all aspiring product leaders 📣 Virtually every company preaches the value of diversity. But few properly articulate why a multitude of perspectives actually leads to better products. Sasha Pang, a Product Manager at Facebook, fixed that on the latest episode of Need to Know.
The Commons  Digest (10/22/2021)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (10/22/2021)
Today we want to talk about the phrase “bias for action.” Specifically what it is and why tech companies look for this quality in candidates. Those of you who work in tech have probably thrown the phrase around a million times. Those who are recruiting have certainly heard it too. But what does it mean?
The Commons  Digest (10/07/2021)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (10/07/2021)
One reason career moves are so scary? Opportunity cost. Time and money are finite resources. We can only invest so much of both in the pursuit of a career move. And when it comes down to actually making that change, you want to be certain it’s the right one. But how?
The Commons  Digest (09/23/2021)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (09/23/2021)
Confidence is often the key missing piece to leading a successful and rewarding job search. Imposter syndrome is something that resonates with many Skillfulers, our team included!
The Commons Digest (09/10/2021)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (09/10/2021)
In our last update we spoke about Pete Huang’s approach to finding jobs in startup land. Namely to find sectors that interest you, and then build a pipeline of companies in those sectors. Today we’ll talk about a slightly different approach.
The Commons Digest (09/27/2021)
The Commons Insider Newsletter
The Commons Digest (09/27/2021)
In true Skillful fashion, this issue is the first of many iterations (quick wins, anyone?). So if you have any thoughts, questions or feedback, let us know! And if there’s anything you’d like to share with the community at large, let us know - we’ll almost always be happy to include it in here.
Get a glimpse into The Commons community.
We send a weekly newsletter with career advice, discussion threads from our community and curated job openings focused on strategic business roles in tech.
The Podcast: Need to Know
PODCAST
Dasha Sivkov - VP Product Marketing at Wealthsimple
Join Luis as he sits down with Dasha Sivkov, VP of Product Marketing at WealthSimple, Canada’s fintech unicorn. Dasha brings us into her day-to-day in Product Marketing and shares takeaways and stories from her career journey. We hope you enjoy the episode!
PODCAST
Salmaa Elshanshory - VP of Market Expansion at Medly
Kris sits down with Salmaa Elshanshory, VP of Market Expansion at Medly, a full-service, digital pharmacy that offers free same-day prescription delivery for all types of medications. Salmaa shares how she broke into tech from a background in public policy, why the best companies celebrate failure and how she thinks about career opportunities.
PODCAST
Gary Yang - Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder
Join Kris as he sits down with Gary Yang, Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder, an online marketplace that connects those with unused space with fast-growing companies. Gary candidly shares his insights on BizOps and Products, what it takes to succeed in the ever growing world of start-ups and his journey from management consulting into tech.
Sri Batchu - Head of Growth at Instacart
PODCAST
Sri Batchu - Head of Growth at Instacart
Luis chats with Sri Batchu, Head of Growth at Instacart - the online grocery delivery service we’ve all come to know and love (especially) over the past year. Sri shares the challenges he has faced throughout career transitions, how he jumped into a remote leadership role at the height of the pandemic and how he continues to foster and grow his network. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
Christian Keil - Chief of Staff at Astranis
PODCAST
Christian Keil - Chief of Staff at Astranis
Christian Keil, an internet lover turned operator, shares some intimate insights into his own journey of becoming the ultimate generalist. Currently he is the Chief of staff at Astranis, a company reinventing internet satellites by making them at a fraction of the size and cost. Join our host Kris, as Christian shares with us how he became an "almost" entrepreneur at the age of 14, to what made him walk away from his own project as a founder and how he broke into the San Francisco world of start-ups and tech!
Pete Huang - BizOps at WorkOS, Ex Airtable
PODCAST
Pete Huang - BizOps at WorkOS, Ex Airtable
Join Kris as he chats with Pete Huang, currently leading BizOps at WorkOS - A San Francisco based startup that is building Stripe for enterprise ready features. Pete and Kris dive into multiple topics together - from the importance of the role of sales at startups, all the way to how Pete has decided which startups to jump into. This is a recording from a Fireside Chat at The Commons where our community came together to connect and listen to Pete’s story.
Gary Yang - Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder
PODCAST
Gary Yang - Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder
Join Kris as he sits down with Gary Yang, Head of Product & Operations at Placeholder, an online marketplace that connects those with unused space with fast-growing companies. Gary candidly shares his insights on BizOps and Products, what it takes to succeed in the ever growing world of start-ups and his journey from management consulting into tech.
Sheldon McCormick - Co-Founder and COO at Properly
PODCAST
Sheldon McCormick - Co-Founder and COO at Properly
Kris chats with Sheldon McCormick, Co-Founder and COO at Properly - a company helping its users to buy and sell their homes and reshaping the real estate industry. Sheldon shares how and why he decided to step away from consulting, and what later led him to co-found a project of his own. He candidly shares what he feels prepared him to be a founder, how he perceives risk and the intricacies of building a company and team. There’s lots to unpack here - don’t miss this one!
Dasha Sivkov - VP Product Marketing at Wealthsimple
PODCAST
Dasha Sivkov - VP Product Marketing at Wealthsimple
Join Luis as he sits down with Dasha Sivkov, VP of Product Marketing at WealthSimple, Canada’s fintech unicorn. Dasha brings us into her day-to-day in Product Marketing and shares takeaways and stories from her career journey. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Salmaa Elshanshory - VP of Market Expansion at Medly
PODCAST
Salmaa Elshanshory - VP of Market Expansion at Medly
Kris sits down with Salmaa Elshanshory, VP of Market Expansion at Medly, a full-service, digital pharmacy that offers free same-day prescription delivery for all types of medications. Salmaa shares how she broke into tech from a background in public policy, why the best companies celebrate failure and how she thinks about career opportunities.
Andre Charoo - GP at Maple VC, Ex Uber, Hired
PODCAST
Andre Charoo - GP at Maple VC, Ex Uber, Hired
Andre Charoo, founder and GP at Maple VC, a San Francisco based seed stage fund, talks candidly about his journey that led him into venture capital. We find out how Andre realized he didn’t want to be a founder, and how that led him to jump into the start-up world as the 25th hire at Uber and later the 15th employee at Hired. Join our host Luis, as Andre shares with us what it really means to know and play to your strengths and build a strong network, no matter where you find yourself.
Marcus Bertilson - VP of Go-to-Market at Thumbtack
PODCAST
Marcus Bertilson - VP of Go-to-Market at Thumbtack
Join Luis as he chats with Marcus Bertilson, VP of go-to-market at Thumbtack - an online platform that matches customers with the best local professionals. Thumbtack is backed by investors like the Qatar Investment Authority, Blackstone, Sequoia Capital and CapitalG, and is currently valued at $3.2 billion. Listen to Marcus give advice on how to find the right metric(s) for success, the benefits of cross-functional teams and what that means for operators working in tech today!
Ahmad Bani - COO at Wisp
PODCAST
Ahmad Bani - COO at Wisp
Join Luis as he speaks with Ahmad Bani - COO at Wisp, a telehealth company focused on providing accessible and affordable primary care prescription medication and natural remedies to its customers. Ahmad shares with us how he keeps calm when facing storms at work and the importance of being a generalist that can strike a balance by thriving in chaos while also building (some) structure.
Thomas Hamilton - COO at Automate Medical
PODCAST
Thomas Hamilton - COO at Automate Medical
After deciding corporate law wasn't for him, Thomas Hamilton forged his own path into the world of start-ups. He co-founded and is now COO at Automate Medical, a tech company that builds open-source developer tools to help bridge the many gaps they see in the medical software market. Join our host Kris, as Thomas shares with us his key learnings and insights from across the board, touching on his experience in making a major career transition as well as what it takes to be an operator at a fast-paced tech start-up!
Hadar Dor - Product Lead at Shopify
PODCAST
Hadar Dor - Product Lead at Shopify
Kris chats with Hadar Dor, Product Lead at Shopfiy. Hadar shares his insights on how to build your career as a generalist (or not) and narrowing in on the right role for you. We also dive into Hadar’s perspectives on what it means to influence without authority, and the importance of this skill inside and outside of the product world. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
Sasha Pang - Product Manager at Facebook
PODCAST
Sasha Pang - Product Manager at Facebook
Kris chats with Sasha Pang, Product Manager at Facebook. Sasha dives right in with us and shares what it takes to lead with empathy and the lasting impact that can have in the cross-functional world of product. Hang on until the very end of this episode - Sasha also shares her unique experience and perspectives on what it takes to transition to a new role. We hope you enjoy the conversation.
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The time to build the education institution of the future is now. And we're doing it.

Careers are catalyzed through skills-training, mentorship and a supportive network. At The Commons, we're delivering those critical career elements together through learning experiences that are social, mentorship-based and community-first.

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