tl;dr - email me at first-name at last-name dot org
I have been fortunate in my life to have gotten assistance from some remarkably talented folks. My writing is one way I try to pay it forward, but I am available to help in other ways for those with whom I do not have a preexisting relationship.
This is a list of ways I think I might be able to help; if you see something here that would be useful to you, reach out. If you ask for something not on this list, the worst thing that will happen is that I will not respond or say “no”. I certainly will not be a jerk.
Email is the best way to reach me.
Anyone
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Answer concise questions via email about topics I know about. I try to answer every concise question I get over email. If you write a two to four-paragraph email with a clear question, I will try to answer it in a timely fashion. Topics that I can answer quickly are generally anything I have written about in a blog post. If the question obliges me to perform considerable research to answer it, it is unlikely I will answer.
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Double opt-in introductions where I think the other party will want the introduction. I’m glad to provide introductions to people I know, after checking with them it’s ok, to the extent that I believe it’s an introduction they want and there is a credible reason why you have not contacted them directly. Conversely, I want to protect folks’ time and will not start the double opt-in process if I don’t have moderate confidence they would want the introduction.
Those underrepresented in tech
If you are part of a group currently underrepresented in tech, I will try to do more.
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Everything above, I will especially do for you. If you’re not sure if something is appropriate – just go ahead and send it! In the worst case I will simply not respond; more likely, it is totally fine and I will help to the extent that I can.
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Join your advisory board. I have some availability to sit on a board or three and want to focus on companies led by underrepresented founders or CEOs. If that describes your company, and you think I would have something positive to contribute as an advisor or board member, I’m interested.
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Offer management coaching. Sometimes being a manager can be brutal and you need to talk to someone. Sometimes you need another perspective for a tricky problem. I have a limited amount of bandwidth to help.
A special thanks to Will Larson and Jacob Kaplan-Moss who put up similar pages and helped inspire me to write this one.