Happy Holidays update!

(Photo credit @cristian1)

I wanted to send a brief update on what’s been happening here at Digital Orchards and to wish all of you a safe and healthy Happy Holidays! 

#eship-journey-update

Entrepreneurship is always full of challenges, but being a solopreneur has had some unexpected twists & turns. I have fully enjoyed having a more flexible schedule and continuing to offer 1:1 support to my many motivated clients who are looking to chart a longer-term pivot into tech. The flexibility also allowed me time to run in a local political campaign that while unsuccessful, helped me to realize I’d like to stay engaged in my community. I will be joining the Board of Directors for the Center for the Arts in Homer in Jan 2022, a space for local creators, students, artists, and national musical acts to convene & engage. This is in addition to being VP for the Board of Directors for the Zonta Club of Cortland, which does important work in supporting programs for women & children in our area. Recently, I also was invited to speak to the team at Coder (a series B startup) on how to grow professionally at startups, and look forward to giving more talks like this in the new year. 

In terms of challenges to overcome: I was initially surprised to learn that I was more effective in my biz when I was working on it alongside a full-time job! (Ouch) It took me longer to realize why: (a) I missed the regular cadence of the academic calendar, and (b) I missed collaborating with a team of colleagues! So for the last few weeks, I’ve been working on connecting with & learning from other solopreneurs in order to better shore up the foundations of my business and think more about the offerings I’d like to provide. 

#announcements

So here are a few announcements that I’d like to share with you: 

1. I’m re-dedicating myself to publishing a bi-weekly newsletter for all of you – to continue sharing tech industry soundbites, career growth/job search tips, job postings, and other random items that appeal to me. Hit reply if you’d like to offer topic suggestions or have burning questions to be answered!

2. I will also start offering free weekly 30minute drop-in Office Hours ONLY to my subscribers in Q1 2022! More details to follow in the next newsletter on how to sign up. 

3. As I really like engaging with small groups, I’m planning to launch a series of short workshops in Q1 2022 on topics like revamping your resume, refreshing your LinkedIn profile, career planning, finding the right job postings, and more. Feel free to suggest your topic of interest too!

4. After testing out multiple platforms this fall, I have decided to use Walden to centralize 1:1 coaching engagements and to keep Teachable for my courses. This will help me better support my clients’ accountability in reaching their specific career and job search goals. 

I look forward to sharing more of these business updates with all of you – and thank you for continuing to support me in this journey! It means the world to me! 

#random

A dinosaur embryo has been found inside a fossilized egg. Very cool tho I hope we all remember what happens when we try to control velociraptors! (see Jurassic Park/World movies)

Do you know what region has seen a 6x increase in investment since 2017?

(Photo credit @kylejglenn)

Tech continues to provide endlessly fascinating news to mull over. Last month, we saw the name revealed for the Facebook whistleblower that leaked a trove of internal documents highlighting FB executives’ willful ignorance of research that shows their products can have damaging effects on mental health & democracy -- and that there are ways to fix this. I worked with Frances briefly at Google and was proud to see her leading an impressive campaign to shine the light on Facebook’s misinformation challenges. And then late last week, Facebook announced its Alphabet-like move to re-name the umbrella company to Meta to pay homage to its pivot towards the metaverse. Last week, Google announced great earnings, but Apple missed sales projections so Microsoft is now the most valuable company on the planet.  But enough about tech! I also wanted to announce my attempt to make change at the local level by running for my Town Board this November - check it out at lizarnoldny.com. Election day is tomorrow Tue Nov 2 - so I’ll keep you posted on the election results! 

#techsoundbite

This week, I thought I’d pivot to share what I’ve been learning recently about the tech scene in Africa. Earlier this summer, one of my former students (& current VC) Abdul Ly shared this great primer on the tech scene in Africa. I appreciated the attempt to distill a hugely complex continental ecosystem into digestible bites, highlighting topics like the changing demographics & the effects of the influx of foreign capital from the US & China. This BCG report highlights the expansion and maturation of the tech startup scene in Africa, and shows that the vast majority of tech startups do not progress beyond the Series B stage. The report makes additional recommendations on what types of support, investment, and interventions could help the startup ecosystem thrive into later stages of growth. 

Two current ‘success’ stories are Jumia and Andela. In April 2019, the continent of Africa had its first tech unicorn when e-commerce startup Jumia went public. It was founded in Nigeria by 2 ex-McKinsey consultants in 2012 as an e-commerce marketplace but has expanded into a collection of companies under the Jumia Group umbrella. And a few weeks ago, technical talent company Andela received a $200M investment from Softbank to push their valuation to $1.5B & help make them another unicorn. I met co-founder Jeremy Johnson when his first startup won a Princeton entrepreneurship competition I helped organize, and I have been following his startup progress ever since. I personally know some individuals who have had their lives changed by Andela’s programs and am excited to see its continued success. 

Did you know that investment in Africa has grown 6x since 2017? Recently, Google announced a $1B investment in the continent. Part of the money will go towards building a subsea internet cable to increase network capacity and reduce internet prices. This coincides with the Facebook-led 2Africa Consortium's efforts to build another subsea internet cable. The rest of Google’s funding will be earmarked to support nonprofits and to invest in startups. Netflix is also expanding into Africa in a unique way: by offering a free plan to Kenyans. The idea is that if Kenyans enjoy the breadth of programming available to them, they will upgrade to a paid service plan later on. 

A few challenges that are affecting growth in tech in Africa include the theft of IP addresses, the slow rate of internet penetration, and the uninformed choices of some VC funders. The IP address theft problem is a fascinating look at how individual greed can impact the opportunities for business growth on a continental scale. On the bright side, there continue to be some very cool startups coming onto the scene like this Nigerian fintech startup addressing chronic debt and this Ghanian facial recognition startup. And Fast Company’s 2020 List of Africa’s Most Innovative Companies includes others working on the problem of internet penetration to streamlining logistics & more. If you’d like to keep up on the African Tech scene, check out ​​Tech In Africa. 

Check out these 3 tips for handling job search-related stress

(Photo Credit @elisa_ventur)

A few of my current clients have been expressing that they are more stressed about their job search these days, so I wanted to share three tips on how to manage job search stress. 

1. Do something physical to release the stress from your body. 

   • I listened to a great Brene Brown podcast where the guest speakers talked about the physiological aspects of stress and that you need to complete the chemical chain reaction caused by the stress neurochemicals -- and that physical movement is what can complete the chain reaction. 

   • Get up and walk around or go exercise. Sometimes a simple 30-second shake of your arms & legs will allow your body to process the stress chemicals. Personally, I am a fan of silly dance breaks when I’m working alone at home. Two great songs for this are ‘Hey Ya’ by Outkast and ‘Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing’ by Stevie Wonder.  

2. Take a break from job searching for a set period of time! 

   • It can be for a few hours, a day, or a weekend -- but allow yourself the time to recharge your energy bank. Continuing to push forward usually only results in more stress, which can cause under-performance in interviews -- the exact opposite of what we all want!

   • Make sure to give yourself a specific timeframe for your break, so you don’t stay away from the search for too long. 

3. Talk to someone you trust. 

   • Sometimes you just need to get the stress out of your head & have someone else listen to you & validate what you’re feeling. Talking to a trusted friend, family member, colleague, or coach can help you release all those negative thoughts and gain valuable perspective on your situation. 

   • Make sure you are clear with that person on what you need. Are you seeking advice on what to do next, or simply an ear to let you vent a little? If you’re not sure, lean towards just getting the support you need in this moment (you can always then ask someone to give you advice.)

Feel free to use my YouTube ‘Dance Break Music’ playlist to build your own!