Tech for Non-Techies

If you have an idea for a new product in a traditional business, you will probably have to work on an extensive plan before you do anything else. This is not how it works in tech companies. When the likes of Airbnb and Slack bring new apps or features to market, they use the Sprint Method. It is a methodology developed by Google Ventures to bring new ideas to life and test them quickly and cheaply. Learn how this works in this podcast. Learning notes from this episode: The aim of a sprint is to test an idea for a new product to find out whether it is worth investing more money in. For example, you can use a sprint to test an idea for an app by creating a prototype. If users like what you've made, only then should you hire developers. Each sprint should focus on one idea to test. Do not try to test multiple ideas in one sprint. To figure out where the biggest risks in a new idea lie, ask yourself: if this time in a year, this project failed, why would it have done so? A sprint team contains 5 – 7 people with different backgrounds. Only one should be an engineer, the rest should come from marketing, finance, design and more. This is because the sprint is about testing whether the product needs to exist, not how to build it. Get the Google Ventures book Sprint: How To Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days To learn the core concepts you need to succeed in tech as a non-techie, sign up for: FREE TRAINING: How To Speak Tech For Leaders Live training and Q&A on 26 & 27 January. Places are limited. Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

Agile is now a ubiquitous management term, but few people understand what it means in practice. For some products, agile is THE BEST system, for others, it is THE WORST. Listen to this week's episode to find out what it is, how it works in practice, when to use it and when to avoid it. You'll hear how WhatsApp used this methodology to release its first product, and learn how to use it yourself. Learning notes from this episode: There are two methodologies to make things: waterfall and agile. Waterfall came from manufacturing and construction and emphasises planning in order to release a perfect product. For example, if you're building a house, you need to plan ahead and only let people move in to live in it when it is complete. Agile methodology is an iterative process, used by software developers. Simple changes get released frequently, in response to user needs or technological changes. The product is by definition never complete, because it is always changing. To learn the core concepts you need to succeed in tech as a non-techie, sign up for: FREE TRAINING: How To Speak Tech For Leaders Live training and Q&A on 26 & 27 January. Places are limited. Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

It's easy to put the tech sector on a pedestal, as we're constantly bombarded with its power and profits. But "technology is just a tool to affect business outcomes," says prop tech entrepreneur Sebastian Rivas. Sebastian runs Andes STR, a which uses machine learning algorithms to find property investments for short term rentals. If you want to invest in a property and rent it out on Airbnb, Andes STR will find the investment and manage the rental. Sebastian started his career in finance, and created a smart plan to break into tech. Listen to this episode to learn how he did it. Learning notes from this episode: Technology is a tool used in business to improve efficiency, user experience and productivity, but it is not an end in itself. Being tech savvy and understanding how technology influences business outcomes is a must have in today's working environment, almost no matter where you work. Even your coffee shop has an app! "The biggest difference between entrepreneurship and tech entrepreneurship is that in a tech company the speed at which you're disrupting, innovating, and developing products is significantly higher," says Sebastian. To learn the core concepts you need to succeed in tech as a non-techie, sign up for: FREE TRAINING: How To Speak Tech For Leaders Live training and Q&A on 26 & 27 January. Places are limited. Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

The tech sector is massive and is set to get even bigger in 2022. As it matures, the number of non-technical roles increases. Listen to this episode to prepare for the non-techie jobs boom. Learning notes from this episode: According to research by Glassdoor, 54% of all jobs in tech companies are for non-technical roles. As the tech sector matures, it becomes more open to non-techies. When a tech start-up grows into a business, it needs the human infrastructure of a business: marketing departments, legal expertise, procurement help and so on. Peloton is a great example of a tech company, whose non-technical component makes it truly special. The bikes and treadmills are great, but the instructors, the community aspect and the branding is what makes consumers buy and love the products. To learn the core concepts you need to succeed in tech as a non-techie, sign up for: FREE TRAINING: How To Speak Tech For Leaders Live training and Q&A on 26 & 27 January. Places are limited. Listen here on Apple Podcasts. Listen here on Spotify. Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

No code apps and outsourced product studios mean that there is more opportunity than ever for non-technical founders and traditional businesses to get into tech and succeed. But, as more companies enter the market, they'll be competing for a finite resource: our attention. Listen to this episode how to make the most of this opportunity and avoid costly mistakes. Learning notes: The prevalence of No Code apps and outsourced product studios is driving down the cost of building apps, sites and algorithms. As more tech products enter the market, marketing costs will increase. This means a boon for Facebook and Google, and also for professionals who know how to attract and engage new users. Jobs that will benefit from this boom include User Experience designers, who know how to make habit forming products, Community Managers and Strategic Partnerships experts. None of these roles require coding, but they all require an understanding of how tech products get built and who does what on a tech team. To learn the core concepts you need to succeed in tech as a non-techie, sign up for: FREE TRAINING: How To Speak Tech For Leaders Live training and Q&A on 26 & 27 January. Places are limited. .... Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action" - Peter Drucker. As 2021 comes to a close, it's useful to reflect on what worked, what didn't and how your industry evolved. In this episode, you'll hear from Sang Valte, Senior UX Director at international design agency Jellyfish, and Design Standards Board Member at General Assembly, about how he reviews his year and how the UX changed in 2021. Questions to ask yourself for your end of year review: What have you gained in your health & wealth? Where have you lost? Sang thinks of wealth in relationships, friendships and knowledge, and health in terms of financial health, mental health and physical health. What have you done to further your skills in your career this year? Good UX designers must work to remove bias from their thinking to truly understand the users they make products for, says Sang. To sharpen critical thinking and dull bias, his recommended reads are Noise by Daniel Kahnemann and Think Again by Adam Grant. What have you done to build relationships for your career? Build relationships before you need them. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Sang had a job offer, which suddenly fell through. He spent 5 months applying for jobs fruitlessly, and landed a dream opportunity when he reached out to someone he met at a design conference. How has your industry changed in 2021? In your end of year review, think beyond your experience and think about how the sector evolved. Reflecting on the trends will help you capitalise on them in future. For example, Sang says that the UX field now has more senior women in it than ever before, and that there is a new interest in diverse thought. If you want 2022 to be the year when you take your career to the next level, apply for Sophia's Break Into Tech Program. Sophia will teach you what you really need to know about tech to succeed as a non-technical professional, help you come up with a tailored career action plan and support you throughout your journey. APPLY HERE Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

Did you know that 54% of all jobs in tech companies are non-technical, according to research by Glassdoor. This means there is plenty of opportunity for non-techies who want to transition into the world's most lucrative and exciting sector. Avoid these mistakes if you want to transition into a career in tech: Don't sign up to a 6 month coding course, you probably won't need this level of detail. Instead take a shorter course on how software products get made, get the basic tech vocab and understand who does what on a tech team. Don't spend all your time on academic learning. Combine learning with taking action. For example, take a course on tech for non-technical founders and put your knowledge to use as a tech start-up advisor. Don't limit your job search to LinkedIn. Most jobs aren't advertised, which means you need to build your network to find opportunities. This is especially true when you're breaking into a new sector. Don't use your old resume for tech job applications. Rebrand your existing experience to align with your dream job in tech. If you want 2022 to be the year when you take your career to the next level, apply for Sophia's Break Into Tech Program. Sophia will teach you what you really need to know about tech to succeed as a non-technical professional, help you come up with a tailored career action plan and support you throughout your journey. APPLY HERE Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

Creating a successful business is a huge feat, but even founders with profitable exits struggle when they first break into tech. Bryan Clayton co-founded Greenpal, the Airbnb for lawn mowing, after he sold his first business. But, his first business was a landscaping company, which meant that even as an experienced entrepreneur, he was a newbie in tech. Learning notes from this episode: Non-technical founders need to know enough to be dangerous before hiring developers. Understand how your business strategy connects to product aims and know how to estimate your development budget. Even badly made first products can show you're on the right track, as long as you have interest from users. If people want to use your product, but your product sucks, you can improve the product and then scale. If you have a great product and nobody wants to use it, then you have a real problem. The perfect scenario of a tech founder + business savvy founder rarely happens in real life. As long as you and your team is willing to learn on the job, you don't have to put your plans on hold while looking for a technical co-founder. If you want to be part of the tech boom, as a founder, investor or corporate innovator, then apply for Sophia's Break Into Tech program. APPLY HERE Sophia will teach you what you really need to know about tech to succeed as a non-technical professional, help you come up with a tailored career action plan and support you throughout your journey. Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

Money isn't enough to hire the best product teams. If you want to hire great people to build your product, you need to convince them that your vision has potential. To do this, techies and non-techies alike need to come prepared. Learning notes: A product is a solution to a problem someone is experiencing. You use Uber to get from A to B, not because you want to use an app. Great outsourced product teams like the Evil Martians will question your assumptions and want to validate your idea. If a product team doesn't ask you any questions and just wants to take your money, they are probably not very good, and so you should not work with them. To prepare to work with a great product team, research the problem you are solving and your target users. This research will also be useful if you are fundraising or applying for accelerators. User and problem research is also relevant if you want to get a job in a tech business, invest in tech or lead digital transformation. This will help you stand out at interviews and think like a digital leader. Get my How To Hire Your Product Team & Go From Idea To App: The Non-Technical Founder's Guide Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership community. As a community member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses Exclusive Resources & Perks Learn more and sign up at https://www.techfornontechies.co/membership Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.

Jennifer Byrne studied Psychology at university and went on to become the Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft US. Listen to this episode to learn how this liberal arts graduate transitioned into tech and became one of the most senior people in the industry. Learning notes from this episode: "You have to understand the difference between acquiring digital context versus digital fluency. Context means seeing the bigger picture of how things connect together, but not necessarily understanding the detail," says Jennifer. Jennifer says that it is impossible to know everything about technology, even when you are at the top. Instead, she says understand the broad context of how tech products get made and do deep dives into areas that interest you. As a CTO you have to think strategically: what problem are we solving? How can technology be applied to this problem? Good CTOs must connect technology strategy to drive business decisions. Follow Jennifer Byrne on LinkedIn. Get the Black Friday offer: 6 months free Tech for Non-Techies membership when you sign up for an annual subscription. This is only available to the first 6 people who sign up. As a Tech for Non-Techies member, you'll get: Monthly coaching with Sophia Matveeva Live masterclasses with global experts Supportive Online Community Library of masterclasses from Harvard professors, Y Combinator alumni, tech investors and digital leaders to watch on demand Exclusive Resources & Perks There are only 6 Black Friday memberships available. Grab yours here. Say hi to Sophia on Twitter. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter.