The Hard Part with Evan McCann Farhan Thawar from Shopify
May 6, 2025
Farhan Thawar, VP and Head of Engineering at Shopify, shares insights from his journey through Xtreme Labs and the unique culture that thrived there. He discusses Shopify's innovative use of AI, including their pioneering adoption of GitHub Co-Pilot and the transformative 'Delete Code Club' aimed at reducing code for efficiency. Farhan emphasizes the importance of elegance in engineering, fostering collaboration, and maintaining a hacky culture in a large organization, showcasing a vibrant approach to navigating the tech landscape.
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Extreme Labs' Unique Culture
- Extreme Labs created a work environment with intense pair programming and technical curiosity that deeply impacted Farhan Thawar.
- The culture made people feel they could thrive without moving to the US, emphasizing learning and collaboration.
Deliberate Meaningful Perks
- Be deliberate about culture and perks, giving meaningful rewards that reflect company values.
- Small custom gestures like free Netflix memberships can have huge positive impact on team morale.
Hiring Without Heavy Interviewing
- Extreme Labs and Helpful minimized interviews, focusing on live role feedback to find curious and hardworking engineers.
- High 90-day attrition was accepted as a trial period; pair programming facilitated rapid assessment.
