Cafes are crowded. There is no space to sit and enjoy the drink — it’s occupied by people with laptops. Students and young professionals had flooded cafes. Most of them don’t even order anything. Some even don’t drink coffee, but they choose this crowded space as the location for work or study. Why not a library? Why not at home? The cafeteria was not meant to be an “office”, but it is now.
It is obvious that there is a demand for some type of space, where people can work or study. Call it a “co-working” space or an office.
Why do people choose to work from Starbucks? A typical answer sounds like this: “I like coffee and the atmosphere”. What is it about the atmosphere that people like?
The Freedom. Working from the office makes you go to the same location every single day. No matter how great the office space is — it gets boring. There is more freedom of choice if you choose to work from the cafe. If you ever feel like you need to change the atmosphere, you simply go to another cafe. Living a remote lifestyle — you are not confined by the office walls.
Networking. Working at the cafes give you the opportunity to find brilliant talent and connect with others. You never know who you will meet the next time you’re in a cafe. You might make friends with an artist, an entrepreneur, a headhunter or a real estate agent. Personally, I’ve met a lot of interesting people and made a lot of connections which directly or indirectly helped me in business and life.
Internet. When you are on the road, it’s hard sometimes to catch a good LTE signal. Starbucks becomes a goto place if you need a somewhat stable connection.
What if there was a place that would combine all the benefits of working from Starbucks, a library and the office?
Free unlimited printing;
Free unlimited tea, coffee and snacks;
Lifestream video conferencing rooms;
Soundproof booths;
Podcast recording studio;
Meeting rooms and opened coworking space;
Washrooms and lockers;
Clean and modern design.
Well, that space exists. I recently discovered “Staples Studio” — a coworking space that includes everything from the above. Staples experiments with this new offering and according to its employees, things go really well. The daily fee is $25, which is somewhat pricey when you consider the free use of Starbuck’s space. However, you can’t go to Starbucks after hours. The music and the crowd might destruct you from your work. You can’t print anything. You won’t look professional at the Zoom meeting.
You can access the Staples Studio 24/7, any day of the week, no matter if it’s a Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve. You can leave your laptop or other belongings without worrying that anyone might steal it. Drink as much coffee as you want. There is a fully equipped kitchen with a fridge and microwave. You can even take a nap on the couch if you feel tired…
If you pay out of the pocket, you might think twice, however, if you convince your employer that you are more productive at a space like this — they will cover the costs. I certainly would, if I was an employer. I believe that more companies will start issuing their employees the “stipend” for such things as a co-working space. A membership might even be included in their benefits along with fitness allowances.
The concept of the office had changed. You don’t have to work from home all the time. You need to get out and luckily there are amazing places like Staples Studio, where you can be productive and do your work to the best of your abilities. Look up what Staples currently offers with their membership and decide for yourself. Come for a tour and see what’s inside.
Personally, I chose to work from the Studio because I like space and people. I am accomplishing more and feel productive. This is where I can focus. I didn’t get paid for this review and I did it just because I really like what Staples did with their former warehouse space. I see great potential for this initiative and I believe that the typical office will never be the same.
Think about an Olympic training facility. What do you know about such? People come there to work. High performance athletes, best of the best, come to improve physically and break the limits of what’s possible. Our athletes are mental athletes. We work with CEOs, executives, writers, singers, artists and pretty much anyone who makes a living by mental work.
In your life, you know that there are locations and environments in which you are more productive. On the other hand, there are places where you can’t focus and struggle to put two words together. Work environment plays a huge role in your mental performance. I already mentioned that processed foods and sugar will not help you focus. Nutrition must be dialed in as well. No matter how great of potential you have, but all you eat is junk food – you will not reach your full potential. Neither physical nor mental.
We help people focus. Located in remote locations, in the middle of the forest, next to a beautiful lake. Nothing around that could distract you. No bars, no strippers, no casinos, no fast food restaurants, no news or radio, nothing that could potentially distract you.
We are not a typical co-working space. Coming to us – you get into a protective digital bubble. We are your digital shield from the outside disruptions. We provide you with all the support you need to achieve your goals.
Before you come, you have to formulate the question – the one thing that you want to have accomplished. You have to have the problem to solve, so you need to know why you come. If you’ve been struggling with focus. If you tried to write a chapter, a song, record the podcast, draw the picture, plan the next year’s goals for your company, but you couldn’t and feel stuck – come to us. If no one seem to be able to help you find the answer – we are your go to place. We will help you to get into the mental “zone”. We will support you nutritionally and physically. You won’t worry about cooking, because all the food will be prepared for you. The world’s distractions will not sink through our shield. Nothing that could potentially distract you. Our study/work rooms were designed by leading scientists and researchers on human brain. We built a place which maximizes your mental performance. We are your mental workout gym. We are the Olympic training facility for the world-class mind performers. Our creative place is designed with sole purpose to stimulate your mind’s activity. Here, you will start coming with breakthrough ideas and creative solution that you would have never gotten back in your typical environment. In our camp you will gain the laser sharp focus and complete your projects in no time. You came with the question and left with the answer. You came with the problem – but left with the solution. We didn’t tell you the solution, but you developed it. We only provided you with environment and support to help you succeed.
ADHD
Focus is our everything. In the age of information – focus worth more than gold. Information is not the problem and it is available to anyone at any time. Getting focused is the problem. So many great ideas and thoughts were murdered by constant distractions of the outside world. Smart and intelligent people need just a little bit of focused time. Sometimes they do get it, on their own they create the environment or develop a method which helps them to get into the “zone”. Some work at the Starbucks, crowded cafe makes their focus sharp. Others work in their home basement, with no sound nor lights. People escape from distractions into remote locations, far from civilization. People run away from the noise.
What if they were able to hold the focus and stay in the zone for longer? What if there was a place where they could come and achieve this elevated state? A place where they can get into the zone and time didn’t matter anymore. A place, where their brains would work like a well-tuned race car. Once the noise is minimized and distractions are gone – they can achieve greatest things and become unstoppable. Ideas start flooding their minds. We can help people change the world.
We can help people to come up with the answers not us all we do is we do everything possible to help creators get into the zone into the best what they can do they will be able to make connections between thoughts and ideas, to put the dots together. We provide our residents with the environment that promotes a “laser-sharp focus”. We choose our locations in collaboration with researchers who find the best areas in the world which had been known to promote human health, physical and mental performance. Fresh air, nutritious food, favorable electro-magnetic fields and a lot of other factors that we consider. There are places in the world which were chosen by ancient people for their ceremonies and settlements. Those are the “places of power”, which make our minds work on different frequencies. We carefully pick location because we realize that the environment is one of the most important factors to help humans achieve the best state of mind and focus possible.
I want to create a destination where people would come with the question and leave with the answer. I won’t guarantee that they will get the answer overnight or even over course of the week, but I can guarantee that at our location people will have the best chance of getting closer to that answer. We will do everything possible to help you to move your mental performance to the highest level possible. We will use science and work with scientists to develop tools, technology and environment which will help you achieve the things you never thought you could have achieved. How many beautiful things will come out from our facilities? The next time musician produces a song that people all over the world love, he will tell on one of the interviews that he got inspired at one of these “focus places”. He will say that a team of people helped him to get the most out of his creativity and create the song that everybody now enjoys. The next time you read a bestselling book, there is a chance that it was written by somebody who spent some time at our place. We helped the author to tap into his/her creativity and produce a masterpiece.
All our guests need to come with the question or a problem to solve. We won’t give them the answer, neither will we solve the problem, but we will do all we could to move them closer to the solution.
I would really like to hear your thoughts and feedback so please reach out to me at oleksandr.tereshchuk1@gmail.com
Coronavirus had changed the way we work – remotely, from home. Where is home? Home is anywhere with a stable internet connection. You can work from your cabin, the basement of your house, Thailand, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Phoenix, San-Diego… Tech giants like Uber, Microsoft, Google – all moved their employees to remote work until next year. Employees are given the opportunity to remote in until summer next year. My former company where i used to work, Uber ATG, had moved all its employees to remote work until June 2020. That’s almost a year from now. What could happen in a year? What could happen in a month?
Recently I’ve had a zoom call with my friend who lives in the Silicon Valley, SF. I asked how did the Coronavirus lockdown impact Silicon Valley and what were his observations. He said that the streets and offices were empty. No people on streets, at the grocery stores, minimum cars on the roads. Everyone moved away. People went back home, where now they work from. Some even went back to their home countries like India or China, for example. His co-workers are now spread all over the globe and they all work remote in the Zoom meetings. What he described was that commercial spaces and offices in particular were shutting down. Companies took financial loss by breaking the lease. Indeed, it doesn’t make any sense to keep on paying high rent, while all the employees are working from home. It doesn’t make make financial sense to keep security and cleaning stuff on payroll. No need for the catering services and the parking space. Everyone works from home. The companies don’t have the office they used to. Does it mean that they don’t need it? I don’t think so… they do.
Human beings are social creatures. We need to congregate and meet face-to-face. We are more productive and come with better ideas by collaborating with others. We need to share our experiences and thoughts by communicating verbally face-to-face. Video conferencing like Zoom or Google Hangout will never replace the natural human interaction. We need to meet face to face especially when we are working on the same project. Nowadays this becomes a challenge for two reasons: companies don’t have the office anymore; government restrictions to how many people can congregate in an enclosed area at the same time.
Another friend of mine works at UOT – University of Toronto. He manages the team and he is totally fine with people working from home. In fact, a lot of people are being more efficient and productive. Despite the high levels of performance of his team, he recognizes the need to gather them together on regular basis. There is no large space enough to have everyone in at the same time. There are restrictions due to COVID. What he wants to do, is to gather his stuff at least twice a month for meetings, presentations, sprint planning or some sort of team building events. People need to feel as they are a part of something – a company. People need to feel they belong. Working from home all the time does not fulfill this need.
Staples – the office supply company. Recently, I learned about a new venture they got into. On the back of thr Staples store, where used to be a warehouse space is now a co-working space. It’s called a Staples Studio, look it up. The company with its new owners is testing the market. Staples Studio are available in Toronto, Oakville, Kelowna, Ottawa. There are also six locations in Boston, Massachusetts. They plan to continue expanding, however taking it slow. There was a dip in April and May, however now it recovers back, and people are coming back into their coworking spaces. Staples Studios offer live streaming conference rooms, podcast recording booths, fully equipped kitchens with free coffee, tea and snacks, soundproof booths, washrooms, free parking, private conference rooms and 24/7 access. They charge a fee – $25 /day.
I learned that Staples work with big companies like Spotify and Google, where they rent the office space out to those companies. They rent the space for few days or a week, where employees come together to work on projects. Once done, everyone goes back to remote work. Twice or three times a month, employees come together in the rental office space. Staples and other coworking hubs are typically located in urban areas of the city.
In post-COVID world, companies won’t need to own office equipment, computers, furniture, pay high rent, manage security stuff etc. Office space will be rented “on demand”, whenever there is a need to bring the company employees together. Few times a month people gather together and work from home the rest of time. Kudos to Staples for trying new things.
Let’s move this concept a little further. The “new office” don’t have to be in the city. Coworking space can be set up in Banff, for example. Beautiful mountains, surrounded by lakes, in the middle of woods. Our corporate customers would rent co-working space and bring their staff for temporary work engagements.
Why work with us, but not just any coworking place?
We are unique in a way we design, build and situate our offices. Our main goal is to create the environment, where people can focus. We limit any external distractions, so our customers can perform at their best. Beautiful, remote places stimulate creativity and improve work performance.
Our rental offices will provide your team with the following:
24/7 catering service. Our nutritionists prepare meals that support brain activity and improve focus. Our menu is designed to boost your mental performance.
Breathing instructors. Daily breathing sessions to teach you how to improve your focus.
Blasting High-Speed Internet (completely secure).
Soundproof booths.
Livestreaming conference rooms.
Podcast recording rooms.
Video recording studios.
Because we minimize distraction, people are not worried about cooking, so they focus solely on work. All the food is being prepared for them by our cooks. What kind of food? Brain food. We all know that sugar and processed foods harm our mental abilities and fog our brains. Our mental performance declines and our thinking stagnate. Large high-tech companies take exceptionally well care of their employees and invest in their well-being. They realize: the healthier their employees are – the better work they do. Our “brain food” menu is designed in collaboration with leading nutritionists in the field of human brain. Our meal plan provides people’s brains with all it needs to work at the maximum capacity.
Breathing instructors will be working with our clients to help them achieve the level of performance they desire. Science knows that with breathing you can control your body’s states and as a result – mental performance. With shallow, rapid breathing, you can get your body in a fight or flight state or in the state of relaxation. A person cannot create anything meaningful or creative in a stressful state or a fight-or-flight. People need to relax to be able to focus. Our breathing instructors will teach people different breathing techniques and educate consul them on any related questions. When people return back home, they will be bringing an extra skill with them.
High speed secure internet. Internet security is priority for a lot of tech companies. You probably heard about hacker’s attacks on Zoom during pandemic. You are not concerned about security when chatting with friends and family, attending online classes or taking courses. However, if you are a senior executive, CEO or manager and you run a publicly traded company – information security becomes a priority. Beside the fact that our conference rooms and phone booths are soundproof, you can be confident that everything you say will not leave the walls of our place unless you want.
Podcast recording booths. Podcasting is really popular right now. Thousands of podcasters produce content on apple podcasts. If you are one of them, we have recording studio set up for your use. You can work there on your own or invite your guests to record the audio professionally.
If you make a living by producing video content, you will have entire professional video recording space at your disposal at any time 24/7.
Live streaming conference rooms. If you were to be Steve Jobs, you could easily make a video presentation of the next iPhone XX from our live streaming room.
Tech companies are leading the way to a permanent shift to working from home. Corporations don’t need to rent large office spaces. Instead, I suggest bringing the teams together for creative engagements several times a month, but keep the staff working from home on a permanent basis. I propose a new way of organizing office work and team events. I have an idea of building new-age coworking spaces, located in the most beautiful places on earth.
Our locations will provide your team with the following:
24/7 catering service. Our nutritionists prepare meals that support brain activity and improve focus. Our menu is designed to boost your mental performance.
Breathing instructors. Daily breathing sessions to teach you how to improve your focus.
Blasting High-Speed Internet (completely secure)
Soundproof booths
Lifestreaming conference rooms
Podcast recording rooms
Video recording studios
Individual Application
Are you feeling stuck? Can’t focus?
Have you ever noticed that you are more productive in certain places? Somehow you get more things done and feel productive. You are able to focus and get more done in one hour than in the entire day filled with distractions. The environment plays a huge role in the way you think and solve problems.
Come to our high-performance creative lab. It is designed with the sole purpose to stimulate people’s minds to generate break-through ideas and creative solutions. At our “camp” you will gain the laser-sharp focus and complete your projects in no time.
We help people focus. We minimize distractions, which prevent you from performing at your best. We are the shelter for your best ideas and thoughts. We are the digital protective bubble. We designed our facility in a way to keep you calm, steady, and productive. We worked with the best researchers and scientists to develop a working space, which maximizes people’s productivity and brings it to the next level.
Nowadays ADHD is at an all-time high. Intelligent and smart people suffer from the inability to put their minds to the best use. They barely can handle the noise that bombards them from every direction. So many great ideas and thoughts are being killed by constant distractions from the outside world. All they need is a little bit of focused time. Once achieved, they become unstoppable. They generate unique and creative thoughts. They find solutions to the problems that never been solved before. They make odd connections and come up with ideas. ADHD is not a handicap. It can be your biggest gift if applied properly. To harness it, you need the right environment.
I want to create a destination where people come for answers. A please where ideas are born. A place of focus – the Zone.
Our guests come with a question and leave with the answer. We don’t have the answers, but we help you discover them on your own.
Let’s build something great! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
I love my job, however, I have always felt there is something more behind the office window and meaningless conversations with your colleagues over lunch. I knew I can do more, I knew I can be more. Not to prove, not to show off, but because I can.
What happens to a tree when it stops growing? It dies! Same with people.
I discovered this simple truth cycling in Spain, on the hills of Marbella. I always draw the analogy between humans and trees and see it works in every aspect of our lives. The environment we grew up in is the soil. Clay or sandy, low in organic matter soils are the synonyms of the environments filled with drugs and abuse, poverty, fighting parents, tears and pain. Family, friends, our core beliefs and principles – are the roots. Work, relationships, health etc. are the branches of our tree. If we put all ourselves into work and forget about health or relationships with others we are risking to crack the tree. Without a counterbalance, the work branch will grow so big and heavy that it will bend the tree to the side and can even brake it under its weight. Ugly tree. If we stop improving spiritually, mentally and physically we degrade, we die. I live by the motto: To be the best myself – To be the most impactful. Only by being the best version of ourselves, striving for excellence and improving, we find peace and happiness. Once we “filled our cup”, we then can give back to the World, create, build and love. Achievingmastery, when we are at our best at whatever we decide to put our minds to, we begin to love ourselves and we spill the love into the world and people around.
I am searching for freedom. Financial freedom will allow me to do the things I truly enjoy and become an expert in them. I strive for mastery in anything I put my mind to. I am passionate about writing. I enjoy finding a problem other people have and solve it. I enjoy training and seeing my physical body evolve and improve. By working at my full-time job I essentially trade my time for money, I sell my life. Again, don’t get me wrong, I love the job! Working with self-driving cars, being in this industry at this amazing time, working with some of the smartest people I ever met, are you kidding me? This is a dream job! I truly believe it is and I am endlessly grateful for doing what I’m doing. However, it’s not about the job, its “coolness” or the money it brings. There is something inside of me that whispers there is something bigger, I can create something that will bring the value to others, there is another path to take, there is a new world to discover…
There are so many ways I can give back to the world once I am 100% in control of my time. My search for financial freedom led me to real-estate as a vehicle to achieve it. Besides my work and training I ran few side-project businesses. Quickly I discovered that they didn’t make me any happier. I didn’t feel I got the opportunity to give my all and use my mind to its full capacity. My biggest strength is analysis and analytical thinking. That’s why I want to try myself in investing and specifically real-estate investing. Based on my goals I believe that real estate is the perfect vehicle for getting me to destination I travel.
I am looking to create several “passive” streams of income that will generate monthly income of CAD$5,000 (cash flow). I am planning to build a real estate portfolio of several units to achieve my financial goal. How did I come up with the number? Great question! I live a very simple life and try to take from this World only what I need, no more or less. I’ve had luxury cars, I lived in big houses, I stayed at the best 4/5-star hotels and went to fantastic restaurants, I wore nice clothings and traveled to some of the most exotic and expensive destinations in the World. In my short life, I’ve been all over the places just to discover that none of those things or places made me any happier. I realized I don’t need much to be happy and in fact much less than I ever thought. How much is “not much”? To get the number I did a simple napkin math see how much I need to cover my basic life expenses while staying happy.
napkin math: Nutritious & Clean Food (just for me and my dog) + Shelter (small warm and clean place, where I feel myself comfortable) + Sport (equipment, clothing, racing and coaching fees) + Emergency Fund + Travel + Shopping (pretty much just books and coffee)
I realize that it’s very difficult to achieve great appreciation and a cash flow simultaneously. I use conservative approach and Looking for investment properties that will bring the maximal cash flow. My research has shown that small multifamily houses tend to be the most profitable rental investment in terms of cash flow (please correct me if I’m wrong). I recently got pre-approved for a mortgage and planning on buying a house as soon as I find a good one, ideally sometime this fall (Oct-Nov). I don’t have any personal preference for location, condition or the look of the house, as I am buying it strategically to generate positive cashflow by renting it out. In my research I found that Peterborough is one of the areas that have a strong cash flow potential.Also, I am able to fix minor things around the house as well as to perform minor improvements. I plan on living at the premises full-time half of the year (winter), another half (Mar-Sep) I’ll be in’n’out, still present whenever I need. As I already mentioned before the main thing I care about is monthly cashflow.
Apple keeps its work on self-driving cars behind closed doors. Apple employees spread rumours about work being done on an electric autonomous car. People say different things, but what we know is that there was a project like that, however, the project’s focus has changed to developing self-driving car software instead of an actual vehicle. Few facts:
Apple might still be working on building the self-driving car
The vehicle will be deeply integrated with Apple’s software
DMV issues an autonomous testing permit to Apple
The company is testing self-driving software
Jobs AT APPLE
On their job board web page Apple added the filter named “Home Office”. If applied, you will filter out remote jobs. Search for “self-driving” or “autonomous” keywords.
Apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Apple here: Apple Jobs Apply for Analyst jobs at Apple here: Apple Jobs
Also called Apolong, its bus mass production was started three years ago in 2017. Three companies work on its production: Baidu, Kinglong and SB Drive (a subsidiary of Softbank). You won’t find a steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals in the vehicle. It drives at speeds of 20 to 40 kph and is capable of sensing and predicting pedestrian and vehicle movements. It runs on an open-source driverless operating platform called Apollo 3.0.
Recently, on August 11, 2020, Aptiv announced its autonomous driving joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group. They called the project Motional.
Motional has its offices in Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, and Singapore.
Jobs at APTIV
The company takes serious precautions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Read more about it on their career page. Also, they warn you about job scams. Nevertheless, you can apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Aptiv here.
In July 2020, BMW Group, Intel, and Mobileye had joined their forces to push the needle further in self-driving vehicle development. Such a partnership will enable developing a truly end-to-end solution. Each company promises to contribute to this partnership in the following ways:
Mobileye contributes expertise in sensing, localization and driver policy. Mobileye currently plans to deliver fully autonomous cars to customers in 2022. Intel brings a comprehensive portfolio of hardware solutions. The company will supply self-driving vehicles with powerful and reliable electronic brains, capable of processing terabytes of data in a matter of milliseconds.
Bosch to Build $1.1 Billion Chip Plant for Self-driving Cars. According to Bloomberg:
Auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH will build a 1 billion-euro (US$1.1 billion) semiconductor plant, the biggest single investment in its history, as the maker of brakes and engines prepares for a surge in demand for components used in self-driving vehicles.
Currently, Waymo operates their Level 4 robo-taxis in Phoenix, Arizona (there are drivers upfront functioning as a backup driver). Few weeks ago, in July 2020, Waymo LLC and Fiat announced their partnership to commercial vehicles. Fiat Chrysler will produce fully self-driving vehicles exclusively with Waymo going forward.
Since last year, Waymo nearly doubled its headcount from 800 to 1,500 employees. They call them “Waymonauts”. Waymo hopes that hiring of hundreds of engineers will help it achieve a technological breakthrough in developing autonomous vehicles.
Jobs at Waymo
The company warns applicants about potential scams and informs that they “…do not contact candidates about career opportunities through instant messaging apps like Telegram, email addresses from domains other than waymo.com…” Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Waymo here.
At the end of July 2020, Argo AI was valued at $7.5 billion. Three years ago, in 2017, the company cost just a little more than $1 billion. The company shows significant growth, and expansion, which means more jobs and opportunities for professionals in the autonomous vehicle development industry.
The company laid off nearly a hundred employees, under 10% of the entire staff, in April. Zoox’s job openings were the same in February as they were in October, however, fallen down 31% since then. While it doesn’t seem promising for prospective employees, you still should apply and see if you win the lottery.
If you are not familiar, comma ai develops integrated third party autonomous driving solutions that retrofit into your car. The make an “open pilot”, which works by taking your car’s radar data and combs it with the camera built into comma hardware. Then the device determines what acceleration, braking, and steering events are required. The company had the mission to solve Level 3 in 3 years.
The Nuro R2 is a self-driving vehicle used only for the delivery of goods. It l transports goods instead of passengers. The vehicle is being tested on public roads in Houston, Texas. What is special about this vehicle is that its the first company to receive an autonomous exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since its vehicles are designed to carry goods instead of humans.
Lucid Motors, Inc. is an American automotive company specializing in electric cars. The company was founded in 2007, and is based in Newark, California. The company’s CTO, Peter Rawlinson, is the former Tesla Model S chief engineer and their first vehicle is an electric luxury sedan to compete with the Model S.
Lucid is currently best known for supplying batteries to Formula E race cars.
Jobs at Lucid Motors
Good news! CEO of Lucid Motors said that the company is still hiring and moving forward with its plan to bring the Air to production. He told the Silicon Valley Business Journal:
“Leading up to the rise of COVID-19, Lucid had grown to over 1,000 employees and we are maintaining this aggressive growth trajectory even now. We have worked with the HR team to maintain interview schedules for new-hire candidates while switching them to phone calls, and we are also moving forward on talent acquisition strategies.”
The company builds autonomous trucks. From their website:
“TuSimple is a self-driving technology company making it possible for heavy-duty trucks to operate autonomously on highways and surface streets. Founded in 2015, our global headquarters is located in San Diego, and we also operate facilities in Tucson, Shanghai, and Beijing. TuSimple achieved unicorn status in 2019 and is backed by an impressive group of investors which include UPS, NVIDIA, and SINA Corporation among others.”
TuSimple recently unveiled its plans to build out a coast-to-coast freight-hauling business. Following that announcement, US truck maker Navistar had joined forces with TuSimple, to build a self-driving semi-trucks.
Pony.ai is an autonomous vehicle technology company co-located in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Guangzhou. It was founded in late 2016 by two gentlemen: James Peng and Lou Tiancheng – former developers for Baidu.
The startup aims to build reliable autonomous driving solutions. From their website:
“Pony.ai has been committed to revolutionizing the future of transportation by building the safest and most reliable solution for autonomous mobility. Pony.ai has been testing its Robotaxi pilot service, PonyPilot since late 2018 in Guangzhou, China. With PonyPilot, Pony.ai became the first company to launch a Robotaxi operation and offer self-driving car rides to the general public in China. In November 2019, Pony.ai also became the first company to roll out a public-facing Robotaxi pilot service in California, demonstrating its ambition and commitment to mobility services at a global scale.”
$400 million were invested into the company by Toyota. (Feb, 2020)
Embark is building self-driving trucks. Their automated trucks performed cross country rides, operating in rain and fog, and navigating between transfer hubs. The company’s website emphasizes the value of the team and employees, which makes it appealing to job seekers. Below is what they say:
“Embark is assembling a world-class group of engineers from companies like Tesla, Google, Audi and NASA with a professional operations team that averages over a million miles per driver. Working together, we are able to develop a system tailored to the demands of real world trucking.”
Four years ago, in 2016, Nissan announced its self-driving system ProPilot. This ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist System), evolved over time and New ProPilot 2.0 now has 3D mapping navigation, and with its advanced sensors and cameras, it even recognizes pedestrians’ faces.
Created by former MIT faculty Dr. Karl Lagnemma and professor Emilio Frazzoli, self-driving car startup nuTonomy has been getting autonomous cars on roads from Boston to Singapore, where it has been providing autonomous taxis since 2016. NuTonomy has also partnered with Group PSA, owner of European car brand Peugeot SA, to bring self-driving SUVs to Singapore. In August 2016, it launched its autonomous taxi service using a fleet of 6 modified Renault Zoes and Mitsubishi i-MiEVs.
In June 2017, nuTonomy teamed up with Lyft to figure out how autonomous vehicles work in practice, whether they’re put toward ride-sharing or personal ownership. In the same year, in November, nuTonomy joined Aptiv and is now an integral part of Aptiv’s Automated Mobility team.
Jobs at APTIV (NuTonomy)
The company takes serious precautions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Read more about it on their career page. Also, they warn you about job scams. Nevertheless, you can apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Aptiv here.
Tesla is one of the early pioneers and leaders in the self-driving cars market. It has the self-driving system “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.”
In his Tweet, Elon Musk wrote: “If you don’t have a college degree, it won’t hold you back from working for Tesla“. “Join AI at Tesla!”. The artificial intelligence team “reports directly to me [and] we meet/email/text almost every day.”
APPLY FOR AI JOB AT TESLA
Autopilot – find jobs related to autonomous vehicles All Jobs – search through all job postings
Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) is working on developing self-driving cars. The team consists of world-class researchers, engineers, and product specialists. Company’s mission is to bring safe, reliable self-driving transportation to everyone, everywhere.
Formerly Known As Azevtec, Outrider – the pioneer in autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, helps large enterprises improve safety and increase efficiency. The only company exclusively focused on automating all aspects of yard operations, Outrider eliminates manual tasks that are hazardous and repetitive. Outrider’s mission is to drive the rapid adoption of sustainable freight transportation by deploying zero-emission systems. Outrider is a private company backed by NEA, 8VC, and other top-tier investors.
Jobs at Outrider.ai
Apply for opened job positions at Outrider.ai here.
Torc Robotics, headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, offers a complete autonomous software solution for mobility applications like self-driving cars and transit by working with partners in automotive, transit and technology. The company produces an autonomous technology that retrofits to existing machinery and vehicles. Its custom products, software and automation kits have been used on vehicles in several industries, including military, mining agriculture, and automotive over the last decade.
GM Cruise, commonly referred to as Cruise, is an American self-driving car company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Cruise is a majority-owned subsidiary of GM. Cruise vehicles are purpose-built for self-driving at a dedicated GM manufacturing plant.
Self-driving cars are built on the platform of Chevrolet Bolts. The company also works on its “electric shuttle”.
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This post is about me, me, me… Why write? Why post? I believe that my job search experience can be useful for those who are in the same boat as me – in transition. This subject is very relevant because a lot of people had lost their jobs because of the COVID pandemic. I would love to hear your thoughts and if you find at least one useful sentence – I am happy.
Analysis, Data Analytics. I enjoy any kind of analysis. My mind is very analytical and always searches for hidden meanings and connections. I question every step I take. Why? To know. To understand. I analyze everything: my thoughts, feelings, actions, decisions. I break down the things into pieces and analyze the crap out of it. I have inborn strong analytical skills. My brain is wired in that way.
Research and analysis is my meditation. I get joy from such work. My recent position at Uber as an Engineer/Project manager required me to work with lots of raw data. Dry numbers and spreadsheets – boring stuff. I loved it. Whenever I sat down to extract, analyze and try to make sense out of datasets – the time flew. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t stop. I would wait to go to the bathroom, so I can dig deeper. I would hold for so long, that I would almost pee in my pants. That’s how consuming this type of work was to me. I would be afraid to lose that state of mind – the “flow state”. I would often skip on meals and drinks. Not because I didn’t want to eat, but because I didn’t want to interrupt that free fly of my mind. I was comfortable in my thoughts and ideas. I would have to force myself to close the laptop, so I can train. I knew I was exhausting myself mentally and I needed to leave the energy for physical training.
People I used to work with often said that I had a very analytical mind. My co-workers praised me for the research I’ve done on various projects. I was not afraid to approach people and ask questions. I asked a lot, a lot of questions. This might be one of the major reasons why I was able to get into the self-driving vehicle industry and learn. My co-workers would often say how disciplined I was. After the fact, I recently learned that three years ago, when I just started working at Uber as an autonomous vehicle reliability technician management saw the qualities in me that I was not aware of. Now my friend, one of the managers said that they saw how disciplined I was. I had the ability to approach people with questions or suggestions. He said that I was perceived as a very reliable person. They knew that if they were to ask me to do something, I will have it done. There was a “management aura” around me. They saw that I had not only the discipline and the skill of managing my own work and execute on the plan, but also influence others.
Discipline at everything: life and work
I always say: Discipline is Freedom. I really mean it.
Over the course of several years, I managed full-time work with triathlon training and racing. Just for the reference, the training piece typically takes two workouts a day and approximately 15-20 hours a week. I also managed to run several “side hustles” and tried myself as an entrepreneur. I read a lot, I studied, I took courses and I travelled. Oh boy, did I travel?
Because I was interested in so many things, I had to have a system that would help me manage them all. I developed the structure that made it all possible. It all started with “To-Do Lists”. I would have multiple: for work, training, packing for the trips, my dog, my car, reading or studying… Then I evolved to Gant Charts, Calendars and task management tools. I was always on a hunt for tools that would help me organize my life. I was always striving to be as efficient as possible. Why? So, I can fit in more. There are so many cool things I want to try, but I have so much time… I became pretty damn good at managing the most important project – the project of My Life. I read a lot of books in search of structure. Among them are such bestsellers as:
“The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals”, by Chris McChesney
“The ONE Thing”, by Gary W
“Getting Things Done”, by David Allen and more…
Every time I would learn about a new managing tool or technique – I would get excited. I am still searching… The point here is that I became very, very good at scheduling and organizing. I get a sense of joy from turning a mess into a nicely organized and structured thing. Everything in my house has its own place. Everything is organized by colour, purpose, size etc… Yes, I know, I am weird in that way, but I need it. It’s not my preference – it’s my physiological and mental need to have everything in order. I feel uncomfortable when it’s not.
The Sport
Triathlon training involves three sports: swimming, cycling and running. Three separate and different projects to manage in a way that when combined, would result in high athletic performance. This sport had though me a lot about planning, scheduling and logistics. I had learned how to self-motivate and push beyond the limits. The discipline that so many people admire in me, I got from the sport.
Entrepreneurship
I have always had a lot of interest in business. I didn’t care what kind of business. If I saw the opportunity, imaginary or real, I would act on it. I’ve attempted several businesses, which are absolutely unrelated to my education or work experience. Dog grooming salon; Pool Cleaning and Maintenance company; High-performance athletic recovery center… and others. There is a lot to tell about those experiences, but the reason I bring it up is the skill I gained. Every business was a project with a lot of moving pieces. Every time I went into the new venture – I mastered this critical skill – project management. I thought I was working on my business, while in fact I was working on myself. Combined with full-time job and training I became pretty damn good at project management.
I’ve been searching
For the past three-four months I’ve been searching. I’ve been asking: What kind of work do you want to be doing? I did a lot of thinking and analysis of the past events. I’ve spoken to a lot of people, trying to get some clarity and insights into my strengths and weaknesses. I thought I figured it out – analytics. While this remains true, it’s so brought and wide opened. You can be financial analyst, business analyst, investment banking analyst. You can work as such in healthcare, aerospace, real estate, autonomous vehicles… you name it. There are so many different industries and businesses and each one offers data analyst positions. I had a direction, but still it was not clear where to go.
The more people I talked to, the clearer it got. I was able to extract the common theme – analytical, disciplined, well organized, self-motivated… How do use these personal traits in a way that bring me money and pleasure from work? Is there is a job that would require such skillset? If not, can I create such a job for myself? No need… there is one.
I have recently applied for an engineering position at very well-known autonomous vehicle company. I passed the phone screening; however, the manager had more questions. The questions seemed unrelated to position I’ve applied because he was asking a lot about my experience managing my businesses and different projects at work. He asked a lot about my experience with analysing data, drawing conclusions and presenting my findings to the broader audiences. His questions made me wonder if he was looking to put me in another position. Indeed, he was. Even knowing I’ve applied for an engineering role; the company suggested a better fit for me – Technical Project Manager.
I didn’t know much about the TPM role, so I went to people who did. I talked to my former co-workers and friends. Some of them had actually worked as TPMs and knew what it’s like from the inside. I asked questions and listened… The more they told me about their work duties the more I realized – this is it. I’ve been already doing all these things, but in my personal life, training and business. I realized that all I’ve been doing is managing different projects. Everyone Whenever I said that I was interviewing for a Project Manager position, they all said that I would be a perfect fit for that. “You were born to be a TPM”, one of them said. This is when it hit me. What is it’s my calling? What if I can get really damn good? What if this is my “superpower” – to bring the structure into the chaos? I got this euphoric feeling that I’ve found something very valuable in me.
Is this it?
I can help people and businesses to organize themselves. I can bring the order and structure. I can move the projects forward by motivating and keeping people accountable. I enjoy talking and learning new things – cross-team networking. I enjoy research – necessary to understand technical detail of the project. There is an analysis piece to this. I love to analyse data – project metrics and status updates. I love presenting the finding of my analysis, finding new ways of doing things, putting together presentations and delivering my findings. I am very good at planning and scheduling. I have a lot of technical experience and a degree in Computer Science. I have in depth understanding of the different business processes – the MBA degree. I have the energy and ability to motivate others. Holly smokes, this is it! It seems that my entire life was preparing me for this.
I felt euphoric. I have discovered what my talents are and what I am naturally good at. I also know where my skills are in demand and what’s the name of such a job. I know where I can get very good at. A have a feeling that I can get pretty good at this. I am confident! A huge sense of relief – I have found what I was searching for. I still don’t have a job, but I am calm and happy because I know exactly what I want to be doing next. I will try wearing a heat of a TPM – Technical Project Manager. And it’s a fully remote position…
How to start a conversation? How to approach a person? It’s so much easier to shoot a message to the people that know you well, than email a person whom you haven’t talked for years. You got to have a strategy. You need to know what to say.
First, I suggest that you do a little research. Most likely you are connected with the person on Facebook or LinkedIn. Open up the profile and scroll through their newsfeed. You will find out what they’re interested in, what they talk or post about. Maybe there was some significant event in their lives. New job, the birth of a child, gettings engaged, purchase of a house, finishing the first marathon, you name it. Whatever it is – it’s your conversation starter.
Next, message your connection: email or social media. You want to be short and friendly.
Your main objective is to build a relationship
You want to meet to listen and learn. The other person has a lot of experience in his or her space, and you want to sit and learn about the industry they are in. Ask about the challenges they have. What are they proud of?
Another thing to mention is the time we’re in. You got to be empathetic. Coronavirus had impacted a lot of people around the world. Be mindful of that and open up your message with ensuring that the recipient is well and healthy. Nowadays, you need to be as thoughtful as ever. Realize that how you compose the email with another professional entirely depends on whether your relationship is close or distant.
Think twice before you hit “Send”
Generic, lazy man Greetings
“Hope you’re well.” “Hope this email finds you healthy.” “Hope you and your family are healthy and safe during these uncertain and unprecedented times.”
Everyone’s writing the same greetings. You can do much better than that.
Get Creative
“I hope you are staying safe, sheltered in place, stocked with toilet paper, and healthy during these absolutely unprecedented, wild, chaotic, terrifying times.”
email script EXAMPLE
Hi[Name],
I hope you are staying safe, sheltered in place, stocked with toilet paper, and healthy during these absolutely unprecedented, wild, chaotic, terrifying times.
I know you have a lot of experience in [their area of expertise], and I would love to have a chat with you over the phone or FaceTime to learn about the industry as well as the “do’s” and “don’ts” as I get started.
Please let me know if you’re free over the next couple of weeks for a quick conversation. I’d appreciate the chance to ask questions.
Regards, Alex
LINKEDIN SCRIPT EXAMPLE
Hi [Name],
Your LinkedIn profile got my attention OR We are both in the [name the group] group and I wanted to reach out and introduce myself.
In the interest of expanding my professional network and collaborating with fellow professionals, I am hoping we can connect.
Would you be open to a 20-minute phone or video call to get to know each other? If so, please let me know what days/times work for you.
Thanks for considering the possibility, Alex
Step 2: Have a conversation
tips for conversation with your contact
Once you’ve scheduled a meeting, use these tips to structure an effective conversion with your contact:
Research their connections on Linkedin and determine who you may like to be introduced to
Be enthusiastic, express energy in a way you speak, be personable and curious
Make sure you have good reception/no background noise for phone conversations
Be respectful of their time and pay attention to the clock
Always ask how you can help them, and thank them for their time and support
One-on-One script EXAMPLEs
Before you start talking, you need to know what you want. What is the outcome of the conversation you are after? What do you want as a result of it? I suggest that you ask for connections. Most likely, the person you are going to talk to won’t be able to help you, BUT they probably know someone who can. This must be your main objective – to get a reference. Ideally, the person will introduce to their contact.
Open the conversation “Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I am excited to learn more about you and see how we can help each other professionally.”
Learn about them “How did you get your start? I’d be interested to learn a little bit about you. What is it that you currently working on? What is the biggest challenge?”
Tell them what is your focus “… my focus is on data analytics. I would like to land a position with a well established consulting company or a company that’s main focus is on data analysis and research…”
Offer to help “Who would be beneficial for you to meet right now? I would be happy to make an introduction or be of support in any way if there is someone in my network who could help.”
Make a request ”Do you think there is someone that you know, whom I should talk to? Would you feel comfortable making an introduction?”
Let’s say the conversation went well and someone has made an introduction for you. Here is how you approach your new connection that you’ve been referred to:
Hi [Name],
Nice to meet you! Seeing that you work for [company name] got my attention and [Name] was open to making the introduction. [Name] and I know each other from [explain]. In my current transition, I am researching various companies in the market and wanted to see whether you might be available for an exploratory conversation about your career and how you like working for [company]. I would like to learn about the work that you are doing and see how we can support each other professionally.
[State your PVP (personal value proposition) and focus] If you are available, let’s schedule a 30-minute phone call to get to know one another better.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to connecting, Alex
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If you read the article about “The Three Bucket Method”, you are familiar with this approach and maybe even created the list of people to contact. If you haven’t, I encourage you to take a quick skim at the article and follow the suggestions. Once done, come back and I’ll show you what to do next.
I am sure that the list of people who know you well is much slimmer than the one full of folks whom you met several times in your life. This is normal! In your “bucket exercise”, shoot for at least 30 people in both. This is nothing, considering how many Facebook friends you have. Once done, you need to get in touch.
Ideally, you want to meet with all the people on your list in person. COVID situation does not support effective networking, so you got to get creative. There are a lot of reasons why you can’t meet in person, but that is not mission-critical. A phone call, FaceTime, Video conferencing or email at the very least.
The important thing here is how you approach a meeting and what you say. What you say matters, but what you don’t – matters even more.
Too much talking can and will hurt you. Talk less, listen more.
Digital Networking
This is not a new thing, however, nowadays it’s as relevant as never before. What is digital networking? To better understand it, we need to refresh the memory on what business networking is. I will answer this question in two parts: “pre-pandemic networking” and “post-pandemic networking”.
“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want“
ZIG ZIGLAR
Also, despite the fact that things had changed dramatically over the past several months the concept of networking remained the same – help other people. Networking, particularly business networking is the process where you make an effort to establish a synergetic relationship with other people. It is called “networking” because you build a network of people around yourself. You meet new people and try to figure out how to help one another. The key part of networking is meeting people. Due to an extraordinary time caused by the pandemic, we got to redefine the concept of networking.
Digital networking is the process where you make an effort to establish a synergetic relationship with other people online.
Just one word, but changes everything. Let’s examine how much of different digital networking is from face-to-face networking.
The “Old” – Pre-COVID Networking
The best way to network with other local business owners and entrepreneurs was through face-to-face meetings and local business groups. People would regularly attend networking group meetings. However, networking did not happen only at a “networking event”. There are countless other places to meet people with whom you could build mutually beneficial relationships. Here are the 12 best typical networking places:
Any Business event
A networking club or business organization
Someplace where like-minded people belong
Any type of class you take to learn more and improve yourself
A civic organization
A cultural event
Charity or volunteering event
Trade shows
Private clubs
Health clubs
Sports events
Happy hours
Well, those places were good before the pandemic. As I said, typically networking was done face-to-face. Now things different, and we have to adapt. Let’s move to the “digital” part of the networking.
The “New” – COVID-19 Networking
Going through the list above, none of the typical networking places or events are relevant anymore. At least for now, we need to find better places to connect with others. You already know the answer – online. Everyone needs to be networking online. No matter where you are in your current career stage, networking can and will improve your personal or professional life. Digital networking doesn’t require a lot of tools and resources. A smartphone, email address, a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profile as for the beginning… If you wish to go further, there are 10 alternatives to face-to-face networking, which I guarantee that you haven’t heard of at least a half of them:
The bottom line is that you need to network. Because of situation, you need to network online. You need to know where to find people online and how to approach them. In the next post I will lay out the scripts and strategies for effective networking over the internet. Stay tuned.
To begin, let me share with you some recent statistics.
This is sad… It is even more sad to realize that you are one of those millions of unemployed people. What do the numbers tell us?
Millions of Americans have been laid off because of the COVID-19
There are four sectors of the economy that took the biggest hit:
Private businesses
Non-farm
Service
Leisure and hospitality (to a lesser degree)
There are more chances to find a job in one of the following industries:
Utilities
Financial Activities
Mining and Logging
Wholesale Trade
IT
Construction
What do you expect those millions of people do? That’s right – hunting for a new job. There is no time to feel bad for yourself so get to work! Competition on the job market is sky high, while demand and new job opportunities are at an all-time low. A perfect storm!
At least 70% of jobs are not even listed
According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, 70% of all jobs are found through networking. Another recent survey shows that only 10% of positions were filled through job boards. The survey showed that most jobs are either filled internally or through referrals. What does it mean to you? Use your resources wisely. Time is your no-renewable resource, so make sure you spend it on the right things. Here is how:
Network – 70% Research – 20% Apply for jobs – 10%
Is this what the buckets for? Nope, not for that. The Three Bucket concept applies to the main task on your list – Networking.
Bucket #1
List all the people that know you very well. Family members, former colleagues, friends, friend’s friends and so on. Fill the red bucket with all the people you think might fall into this category.
Bucket #2
People who know you a little. This might be a guy you met at a networking event. Somebody you’ve had a brief chat on social media. List anyone you can think of, who you know not so well to put them into the first bucket.
Bucket #3
This is the main bucket, which comes empty by default. You are going to fill it with references from the people in the previous two. As you begin contacting people whom you know, they will refer you to someone they think might help. Those reference links can alight into the long chain of contacts, which will bring you…. somewhere. The idea is that eventually, you will get in touch with the right person and land on the job of your dreams. That’s the idea. Fill the green bucket with the references you obtain from other people. Very simple.
That’s all for now. The subject of my next post will be around effective networking and communication. How to approach people from your list? What to say? What not to say? … and more. I will also include email scripts – the actual things to say. Stay tuned.
email script EXAMPLE
LINKEDIN SCRIPT EXAMPLE
One-on-One script EXAMPLEs
