Lessons from inside Ramp, Instacart & Remote with Sophia Deng

This episode is special for me. My friend Sophia Deng has had a hell of a run as a startup operator at several of the most iconic tech companies of the last decade. But what I especially love about her is how thoughtful, opinionated, and raw she is about all the things she's learned. She's inspiring and her takes will challenge your thinking. 

We covered a bunch of stuff in this episode including:

• Why Sophia chose investment banking before pivoting to tech
• Moving to SF with nothing lined up and fighting for an entry-level job at Instacart.
• Stories, lessons, and unsung heroes from Instacart.
• Operating experiences from Instacart, Ramp, Gigster, Remote, and beyond. 
• What makes the Ramp founder's special.
• Why founders should be intentional about their company's cultural "Sun"
• Transitioning from startup operator to startup founder

And much more.

Here's the link to "The Sun" Blog Post discussed in the episode: https://sophdeng.github.io/2022/04/30/the-sun.html

To follow Sophia’s work more closely, check out the links below:

Sophia's Twitter:  https://x.com/sophdeng
Sophia's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/soph-deng/
Sophia's Podcast: Game of Life Podcast
Sophia's Website: https://sophdeng.github.io/

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YOUTUBE VIDEO:
Click here to watch a video of this episode.

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CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) Teaser
(00:01:06) About the Episode
(00:02:01) Introduction and Background
(00:03:21) Philosophy Major and Career Impact
(00:06:29) Transition to Finance and Tech
(00:09:03) Journey to Instacart
(00:12:13) Early Role at Instacart
(00:13:14) Career Transitions and Growth
(00:16:22) Gigster Experience and Learnings
(00:19:06) Joining Ramp and Company Culture
(00:23:11) The 'It Factor' in Founders
(00:25:43) Achievements at Ramp
(00:29:36) Remote Work and Operational Challenges
(00:33:02) Transitioning to Founder
(00:35:41) The Idea Maze and Founder Journey
(00:40:13) Confidence and Founder Experience
(00:46:48) The Sun Theory in Startups
(00:58:03) Reflections on Founding a Company
(01:03:55) Lessons from Startup Experience
(01:13:30) Founder Identity and Motivation
(01:25:15) Closing Thoughts and Contact Info
(01:34:42) Outro

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SOCIAL LINKS:
Website : https://www.operatorsonly.fm/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrew__rea
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrea1996/
Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzn92lHHiCAfg5RllEd-FAw

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