Farnaz Azmoodeh, CTO at Linktree, shares her journey from Google to leading substantial projects at Snap. She discusses the necessity for engineering leaders to shift mindsets from delivery to discovery. Farnaz emphasizes the power of data-driven decision-making over anecdotal evidence and the art of pivoting strategy for fast, efficient cross-functional teams. She also highlights how AI is reshaping the collaboration between product, design, and engineering, and the emergence of trends in technology and proactive medicine that enhance user engagement.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Humble Shift to Product Leadership
Farnaz Azmoodeh found leading product and design alongside engineering a humbling shift from delivery to discovery.
Taking on full product accountability revealed nuances she hadn't faced as an engineer focused mainly on delivery.
insights INSIGHT
Trust Anecdotes Over Data
When anecdotes contradict data, it's wiser to trust anecdotes to uncover underlying issues.
Relying too heavily on data can mislead, especially when transitioning to new contexts where assumptions differ.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Failed Pattern Match Lesson
Farnaz attempted a rebuild strategy at Linktree inspired by a prior success at Snap but it failed due to different circumstances.
This taught her the critical lesson to challenge assumptions and identify what is unique in each situation.
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The book tells the story of four characters—two mice named Sniff and Scurry, and two 'Littlepeople' named Hem and Haw—living in a maze and searching for their favorite cheese. When the cheese at their usual spot, Cheese Station C, disappears, the mice adapt quickly and find new cheese at Cheese Station N. However, the Littlepeople struggle with change, with Hem refusing to move and Haw eventually embracing the need to adapt. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of complacency and the importance of embracing change to succeed in both personal and professional life.
The Last Lion
Winston Spencer Churchill
William Manchester
This trilogy presents a detailed and revelatory portrait of Winston Churchill. The volumes cover his life from 1874 to 1965, including his early years ('Visions of Glory, 1874-1932'), his political isolation and warnings about the Nazi threat ('Alone, 1932-1940'), and his leadership during World War II and the post-war period ('Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965'). The final volume was completed by Paul Reid based on Manchester's research and notes after Manchester's death.
Farnaz is the CTO at Linktree, the leading social platform for creators and small businesses. Linktree enables its users to unify, curate, and monetize their online presence. Farnaz started her career at Google, focusing on the ad tech space. Farnaz then joined Snap, leading Snap's AR monetization team before scaling to run Snap's Platform and product engineering. Farnaz earned her bachelor's degree in computer science from Sharif University of Technology before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Southern California. After fulfilling the credits for a master’s degree, she decided to enter the tech industry where she could contribute to human progress by bringing products to millions of users.
ElevenLabs is the leading Voice AI platform for developers with thousands of ultra-realistic, human-like voices across 32 languages.
Developers use ElevenLabs to build life-like, conversational AI voice agents to handle customer support queries, appointment scheduling, and even offer personalized 1-1 tutoring.
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