Hacker Valley Studio

Episode 129 - Seeing the Value in Everything with Saam Motamedi

Saam Motamedi is a General Partner at Greylock, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Saam has  always found joy in finding individuals with the ideas and perspectives needed to become leaders and seeing them grow. As a student, Saam built student led organizations and nurtured the talent in his peers so they could grow as leaders. Saam started his professional journey on the product side of the industry working for a startup company, BladeIQ. The organization was an early adopter of machine learning and made innovations in the Customer Relationship Management solution market. The company was later acquired by Salesforce and their technology was integrated into the Salesforce CRM solutions. 

Saam shares that he enjoys helping entrepreneurs go from technical insight to an initial product. His superpower is leveraging his insight into how products and software solutions fit into the larger economic ecosystem. Saam also has success with helping companies continue to develop their products while bring new offerings using planned strategy. Ron asks Saam how he sorts through companies that are focused on artificial intelligence or machine learning in order to find great opportunities and people. Saam elaborates that he is focused less on the theoretical applications of these tools and more on how they are used to solve problems for customers. Saam provides perspective on the value of end user input in improving the quality of machine learning itself.

Chris asks Saam about advice about product market fit and how to ensure the company has the right timing. Saam shares that timing varies across customer segments. It is important to not only understand what customers want but be able to see what customers should want or what they’re going to want. The conversation touches upon how COVID-19 has shifted the venture capital landscape. Saam tells us that the amount of interesting ideas and products has actually increased, and that entrepreneurs need to understand what their own story is and how it is even more relevant today than perhaps two years ago. Ron asks Saam about the most exciting technology to him today. Saam remains enthusiastic about machine learning technology helping better decisions being made as well as automation helping free up time and more of the workforce to focus on higher valued tasks. Saam lets us know that it’s never too early to talk to Greylock and that some of the most impactful investments have been based on an idea and an understanding of the market the entrepreneur was aiming to disrupt. 

 

0:00 — Intro

01:21 — Welcome Back to Hacker Valley today in the Studio, Saam Motamedi.

04:30 — Saam’s superpowers: understanding products, markets and people.

06:30 — Saam’s experience with the product innovation side

08:13 — Network building and finding talent

10:28 — Seeing the entrepreneur in people even before they see it in themselves

12:37 — Investing in solutions to important problems and not the technology they’re using.

14:17 — Creating a learning engine that actually learns over time

15:55 — Advice on having the right team and the right idea at the right time.

18:37 — Timing requires predicting what customers are going to want

20:09 — How the pandemic has shifted the entrepreneurial and VC landscapes

23:05 — Customer interactions and brand ambassadors shifting to digital channels

25:00 — Crawl before you walk before you run: how to grow a company

27:04 — Getting the right attention, standing out in a digital sales landscape

29:00 — Showing off your product and continuing to grow without high touch interactions 

31:34 — Saam shares how security is more relevant than ever

33:10 — If you’ve got an idea and imagination it’s never too early to start talking to Greylock.

35:32 — Understanding your own story to build your own company.

If you want to stay up to date with what’s going on with Saam you can follow him on twitter Saam Motamedi (@saammotamedi) or find him on linkedin Saam Motamedi - General Partner - Greylock Partners. Check out Greylock Partners to find out more about this venture capital firm and read their blog to learn more about what they’re doing.

 

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Episode 128 - A Masterclass on Being Yourself with Ashish Rajan

Ashish Rajan is a Cloud Security leader, podcaster, investor and fashion expert. He’s the Melbourne chapter leader of the OWASP Foundation and the Head of Security & Compliance. Ashish makes full use of his expertise and shares his knowledge as founder of a Cloud Security academy as well as in his weekly Coffee with Ashish which streams on Twitch, linkedin and YouTube. 

Ashish shares that while doing his weekly cloud security livestreams from the streets of Melbourne he became a recognizable person. Dressing with the intention of presenting something different to people Ashish began changing the way people look at him as a cybersecurity person. Ron asks Ashish about people understanding his value and how that can be conveyed through being confident with self image and comfortable in your own skin. Ashish speaks about the difference that presenting a new image of a security expert makes in his own career, that sometimes folks in the industry don’t necessarily communicate enough with people who don’t already have that knowledge base and so there can be a gap.

The conversation moves to how Ashish’s interests overlap and have grown throughout his cybersecurity practice and professional growth, he began meeting people more into sales over coffee in order to make more connections with other forward thinking professionals. Ashish’s mindset is that goals have to evolve especially when you’re able to meet them ahead of schedule, he applies this successfully to his Coffee with Ashish weekly show. Chris asks Ashish about his innovative mindset and a time he’s had to overcome an obstacle. His journey overcoming that is inspiring, after being let go from a job Ashish still believed there was reason to invest in the ideas and company. From there he began putting his time and energy into the cloud security academy and cloud security podcast using the motivation gained after that setback put in front of him as motivation to teach others how to fish in the cyber ocean. Ron and Chris talk with Ashish about legacy and Ashish shares that planting seeds will be the legacy he hopes for. Ashish hopes that making significant impact on other people’s lives in a positive way will become his. Ashish shares that finding mentors aligned with the goals that you have, starting on your goals will pay dividends. 

Impactful Moments

0:00 — Intro

2:05 — Welcome to Hacker Valley Studio with Ashish.

4:15 — Origin story of a Tinkerer and mastering the cheat codes.

6:10 — Trying new things and trying to innovate them creatively.

7:45 — Unintentionally stumbling into the fashion world.

9:00 — Transforming into an extroverted Security person.

10:33 — Diversifying Cybersecurity with fashion and putting yourself out there.

12:40 — Being comfortable in your own skin after putting yourself out there.

13:33 — Following in the footsteps of your parents.

16:00 — Discovering more than just security and learning how to sell.

18:00 — The organic origins of Coffee with Ashish.

20:00 — Overcoming obstacles and teaching others to fish. 

22:10 — Making the right investments in helping other people.

24:10 — Ashish leveling up constantly and what’s next.

26:20 — Ashish’s advice for stepping into your own personal strength.

28:00 — The very online future and making your own media hub.

 

Links:

Connect with Ashish on LinkedIn and check out his podcast Coffee with Ashish.

Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.

Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.

Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.

If your experience with compliance has sucked, check out our friends at ByteChek and see what they can do for you.

Episode 127 - Finding Comfort in Being Uncomfortable with Paul Rivera

Paul Rivera is the president and CEO of Def Logix, he built his own company from the ground up. Paul was born in the Bronx, NYC and grew up in both Queens, New York and Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas. 

The two areas he grew up in couldn’t be more different and he faced a lot of social anxiety. In middle and high school Paul felt there was a difference between the things he worried about and the concerns of his peers. Young Paul would rather figure out how to improve himself than impress others with something more material.  Eventually at the age of fifteen Paul quit school and instead began going to the library. There he spent time reading on his own. He went from reading science fiction to learning about the physics, chemistry and math behind it.

In his twenties Paul moved back to New York for college and was working while attending school. Following in his hero Mr. Spock’s footsteps he took classes in: Logic, Philosophy and Computer Science. Paul fell in love with programming after building his own calculator application by using coding. Programming was a way to use computers to build things from his own imagination and engaging his creative side. He got his Computer Science degree in his mid twenties.

Paul speaks about the difference between New York City and the Dallas Fort Worth Area and some of the interpersonal differences moving to a less diverse area and not fitting in. Ron asks Paul what the missing puzzle piece that led him on the education path he chose. The conversation between Paul, Ron and Chris touches on different ways of learning and thinking. Paul shares about the school of hard knocks and researching, he shares about having to research excessively can lead to potential missed opportunities. 

Chris asks about a challenge he faced building Def Logix. Paul talks about finding his way as a significant contract closed out, dealing with employees being discontent and having to conceptualize Def-Logix 2.0. Our hosts Ron and Chris speak about the burnout that can happen when tasks aren’t aligned with purpose. Paul shares that he enjoys creating solutions more than other tasks that are typically aligned with being at the top of a company. Paul had to learn to delegate more in order to grow the company. Towards the end of our conversation Paul shares some of his experiences with public speaking, something he was very uncomfortable with at first. It was necessary for him to get out of his comfort zone in order to keep growing.

Impactful Moments During the Show

00:00 — Intro

01:35 — Welcome back to the Hacker Valley Studio and welcome to Paul Rivera.

03:05 — Learning the science behind the sci-fi.

04:25 — Why Paul quit school at 15 and his path back to education.

06:00 — Calculators and falling in love with programming.

07:40 — Thinking differently about clothing.

09:05 — Thinking outside the box with logic AND intuition instead of logic OR intuition.

10:31 — Paul’s key way of learning.

12:20 — Paul on building his own company and challenges faced.

14:20 — What would change if he closed shop and started again?

16:30 — The harebrained ideas, creating solutions and finding joy.

18:30 — Growth and getting out of your comfort zone

Links

You can find Paul Rivera on LinkedIn

Check out Def-Logix a cybersecurity company that does research and development, software development and secure networks. 

Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.

Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.

Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter. 

Check out ByteChek they can help you establish your security program, automate your readiness assessment, and complete your SOC 2 audit faster.

Episode 126 - The Grit of Being World Champion Part 2 with Lee Kemp

In this episode we continue our conversation with Lee Kemp, a three time World Champion in Wrestling (1978, 1979 and 1982 all in the 74 kg weight class) and held the record for being the youngest World Champion. In addition to being a champion wrestler, Lee is a father, a wrestling coach, a public speaker, and an author. He learned many of the skill sets needed to navigate his life on the mat. A child of the 60’s, he was adopted at the age of 5, before adoption learned how to find his own contentment in the situation he was in. From a young age Lee learned how to focus on what’s important and tackle whatever he needed to get done.

Our conversation with Lee Kemp resumes with Chris asking Lee a question about representation. Lee shares that there were other Black wrestlers that were successful before him and while Dan Gable was a direct inspiration he saw additional championship inspiration in Black wrestlers. Lee found representation and inspiration to one day own his own business working for Tom Burrell of Burrow Communications. He shares tremendous insight about race relations in the USA being further complicated by suppression of stories, like that of the mathematicians from Hidden Figures.

When Lee’s family left Cleveland in 1968 they moved to Chardon, Ohio; this was almost an entirely White community. Growing up there Lee saw his family being accepted into this community and learned that mutual respect was possible. We ask Lee about what someone who wants to be a champion needs. Lee explains that putting your focus on someone else that is successful can help and that finding inspiration is a truly important thing. Listening is important, if someone like Lee tells you the steps that you need to take to truly become a champion it’s important to take the advice as a whole. 

Being the best isn’t the only measure of achievement, for Lee going for something with all your heart is meaningful. After winning World Championships and global competitions two years running Lee was on track mentally and physically to become an Olympic champion, but in March of 1980 President Jimmy Carter announced that the USA would not be participating at the Olympics. Lee explains how that opportunity being taken away impacts him even now. 40 years later the 2020 Summer Games have been delayed and Lee speaks a bit about that showing how the grit to be world champion endures.

 

Impactful Moments During The Episode

00:00 — Intro

01:00 — Welcome back to Part 2 our conversation with Lee Kemp.

01:33 — Looking at what types of representation mattered to Lee.

03:49 — Representation making a difference on a professional level.

05:50 — Lee speaks about Tom Burrell, advertising and race.

06:59 — Seeing your own value and everyone seeing each other’s humanity. 

07:53 — We’re all the same race.

08:39 — The examples that parents set. 

10:10 — Leaving Cleveland and moving to Chardon in 1968.

12:09 — The respect Lee’s father received from his community.

13:24 — Lee speaks about the importance of listening and empathy.

15:22 — Putting yourself in the right environment to be a champion.

17:07 — Taking advice and finding motivations.

18:31 — Going for something with all your heart. 

19:50 — A story of “Things not happening.” 

21:04 — Resiliency and the Tokyo Olympics, lessons learned.

22:25 — Thanks to Lee Kemp and for listening to Part 2 of the Grit of Being World Champion

Links:

Learn more about Lee Kemp and pick up his book Winning Gold. 

Watch the great documentary Watch Wrestled Away: The Lee Kemp Story | Prime Video.

Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.

Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.

Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.

Learn more about our sponsor ByteChek.

Episode 125 - The Grit of Being World Champion with Lee Kemp

Our special guest this episode is Lee Kemp, a three time World Champion in Wrestling (1978, 1979 and 1982 all in the 74 kg weight class) and held the record for being the youngest World Champion. In addition to being a champion wrestler, Lee is a father, a wrestling coach, a public speaker, and an author. He learned many of the skill sets needed to navigate his life on the mat. A child of the 60’s, he was adopted at the age of 5, before adoption learned how to find his own contentment in the situation he was in. From a young age Lee learned how to focus on what’s important and tackle whatever he needed to get done.

Lee’s childhood with his adoptive family involved a lot of hard work. His family moved from the city to a rural neighborhood and he worked on a farm. There was a certain strictness his father held, if farm work needed to get done it had to get done. Over the summers of Lee’s youth, he learned about finding contentment in hard work and became comfortable being uncomfortable. Lee started wrestling in high school in the 9th grade and made the varsity team in the 10th grade, his first season in varsity he won as many matches as he lost. The summer between the 10th and the 11th grade year was the turning point for young Lee. He attended a Wrestling Camp that the wrestler Dan Gable was at right before the Olympic games of 1972, what he learned from Dan Gable at that camp became the catalyst for Lee becoming a different wrestler and different person. Lee gained a new mindset from that wrestling camp with Dan Gable. Coach Lee went on to win the state championship as a junior in high school, defeating the defending state champion. 

As the episode progresses, Ron and Chris ask Lee about his philosophies on consistency. Lee describes that at each point in his journey to be a champion wrestler he took every opportunity to learn more about his game and his opponents. While Lee was in wrestling camp with Dan Gable, he was the only willing volunteer that would allow Dan to try out wrestling moves on him. Lee knew that if he could understand how one of the greatest wrestlers performed offensively and defensively he could at a minimum learn something new and potentially incorporate it into his style. Lee’s determination has always been contagious and a positive influence to his community. An example that Lee shares is the story of his wrestling teammate Pat Christenson. Before defeating Dan Gable, Wisconsin had a drought of national champions in wrestling. Pat Christenson shared with Lee after defeating Gable he realized he could aspire to become a world champion also.

Impactful Moments During The Episode

01:30 - Welcome back to the Hacker Valley Studio.

01:56 - Introducing the three time world champion Lee Kemp.

03:04 - A child of the sixties and learning how to give back.

04:18 - Understanding where you come from and learning to be content.

07:01 - Characteristics of grit.

08:43 - Overcoming the biggest roadblock to success.

11:08 - Finding a worthwhile goal as a high school wrestler and learning from the best. 

12:26 - The inflection point towards success for wrestler Lee Kemp

14:24 - The fateful wrestling camp experience of 1972.

16:25 - Watching your camp coach from the summer with Olympic Gold.

17:28 - Lee Kemp finds the opportunity to wrestle against his former wrestling camp Coach, the gold medal winner Dan Gable.

19:05 - How Lee stayed focused on wrestling Gable despite detractors and distractions.

21:20 - Finding a different mindset, finding a different Lee Kemp.

22:51 - Taking little steps of confidence towards goals.

24:11 - Lee Kemp being in the moment wrestling in the last 30 seconds against Gable.

25:53 - From being in the moment to being part of the moment. 

27:30 - The reaction to breaking expectations

29:00 - A rivalry that couldn’t be played out in competition, an unofficial match between Kemp and Gable

31:00 - Moving mountains

32:57 - Inspiring future wrestling champions at University of Wisconsin

34:30 - Having a mindset and attitude for making things possible

36:30 - Thank you for listening to Part 1 of Lee Kemp on Hacker Valley.

 

Links:

Learn more about Lee Kemp and pick up his book Wrestled Away.

Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.

Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.

Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.

Learn more about our sponsor ByteChek.