YouSaid · the spoken record

Jeremy Johnson

lines on the record
21
first
2017-02-24
most recent
2017-02-24
sittings or episodes
1
sources
podcast

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  1. “Five years from now, ten years is very clear. We want to mobilize 100,000 brilliant developers across the continent and change the way the world views talent, where it comes from, what it looks like, how you engage with it. Five years from now, we will have made significant strides towards that. We'll be in the thousands when it comes to developers working with companies. We will be operating in five or six additional countries beyond the two that we're currently in. We will be much more of a household name amongst the tech and engineering community. When they think about elite engineering organizations around the world, they're going to think about Mandela before they think about Africa. They're going to think about Andela as an organization that is aspirationally talented.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “The only thing right now is Google News and Hacker News. Like, those are the sort of persistent sources of information for me. I need, it's like on the perpetual part of my to-do list is to broaden that. But right now, I kind of use them as aggregators for a lot of my.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “I don't see anything that is a roadblock. What I see is it is harder to set up a fiber optic connection than it is in DC or New York. I can't call Comcast and say, can you be here between 2 and 4 on Thursday? But if you're willing to invest the time and energy to, let's say, for us, fiber optic cable come directly from the undersea cables off the coast of Africa to our campus through partner main one. Yes, it's more expensive. It took more time, but we have a better connection in Lagos than we do in New York. And so you can do it and you can do it well, but it requires a little bit more engagement.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “Most companies have some kind of core challenge around the business itself. Like on one hand, you look at their partners in the US. You've got 1.8 million open IT jobs. That isn't a core challenge. On the other side, you've got 1.1 billion people across the continent of Africa finding top 2%. 2% of a billion is still a large number. The challenge for Andela is making sure that lunch shows up on time in Lagos. Like that is immensely challenging. as shocking as it sounds. It's the little things in between that we have to handle so that the partner companies we work with don't have to think about it that ultimately enable Andela to work. And yes, there are a number of different components that are a bit more complex, but ultimately those relatively simple but really important operational components are hugely important and something that we just have to remove from the equation for our partners.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “My favorite book is Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Coneman. It is the most concise overview of how we as humans operate and how our brains function that I've ever seen.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “Fully integrated into our daily lives and it can create a full virtual experience. I think that the world will have significantly shifted already.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “I think by the time we get to that point, it will already be really, really obvious. The reason these things happen is you get proof points, you get examples. And so why was Google able to scale AdSense so quickly? Because they were able to prove the value of using their platform really, really clearly so that someone who was thinking through at XYZ large advertising firm, how should we spend money? Well, if we use Google's platform, we'll be able to show exactly what the value of our investment was. being able to see that makes it more and more feasible for large companies to think through, all right, well, now we can actually weigh the pros and cons. And this is, yes, different, but clearly the right call. And as that becomes more and more obvious, as the data becomes more and more abundant, you'll start to see people moving from just early adopters thinking about it to it becoming more than norm. By the time we get to virtual reality that really is...”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “The value of being in one place, but you're also increasing the value of being able to cast a broader net for the kind of people that you want on your team. And as those two things kind of move away from each other, the clear trend is towards a world where distributed is the norm. I mean, it's already a third of developers in the US are working in a distributed fashion, at least part-time right now. Like, it's no longer a small number of people. It's increasingly becoming something that people are just aware of. It doesn't mean people aren't scared of it. But the reality is that 10 years from now, we'll be able to create”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “It's really simple, Harry. We're moving towards a world where you're able to quantify the output of what someone on your team is producing. And the more you're able to understand what they're producing, the less you care about the physical check of seeing them every day and being next to them. And so once you're able to do that, you realize companies spend a massive amount of time, energy, and resources dealing with transportation and co-location from a standpoint that is increasingly just not necessary. And so as you're able to better quantify output, you care less about where someone is physically located and more about what's the caliber of that person. You combine that with the fact that we are able to see greater and greater returns from the best people. The best people are basically able to leverage technology to have an even bigger impact on the company they work with. And you start to see that not just is it reduced.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “I viewed it through the lens of I feel bad for a handful of friends who are probably going to struggle to maintain the kind of press momentum they have. But ultimately, the world reverts to, are you creating value? You know, at this point, I think that there's much more clarity in how people are viewing ed tech. Ultimately, I think that's a good thing for ed tech also. I think that there's education is one of the most powerful tools that you can use to change the way the world operates. But you need to understand how to really scale it and not just the idea of it. And so a little bit more clarity and comfort with the reality of what it takes, I think is actually a very good thing long term.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “The world is right that it's immensely exciting. The way that we unlock human capital and connect people around shared learning experiences is going to evolve dramatically. But I'd say there was a period of time when it was a little overhyped. And I think we're seeing a bit of a correction from that from like the 2012 through 2014 period of time.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “Yeah, the problem is that most folks in tech misunderstand education. You look at some of the bigger venture-backed, more visible ed tech stories, you'll oftentimes find an example of sort of the build it and they will come mentality, which if you're building Instagram works really well. There are enough people that want to share photos that you can aggregate a few hundred million and all of a sudden, no matter what, turn it into something that's sustainable. That is difficult in education. Unfortunately, not as easy to aggregate such a large number of people around self-improvement. Most people pursue education because they're looking for an outcome. So they're looking to change their life or their child's life in some way. As a result of that, trying to sort of create a, build it, and they will come style open education platform is really well intentioned and exciting theoretically, but in practice ends up being a bit more complicated to make sustainable and scale. It's an area where”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “We'd sort of joked about the fact that if we were to get involved, he would have to come visit at some point, but I had no idea it would actually happen. I learned about it probably a few weeks before he was going to be there. And once again, it's like, you know, this is likely in the cards. Can't talk about it yet, but he'd love to stop by. And once again, I said we can probably make time for that.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “I was a little bit nervous actually initially. One of the things that we have to constantly remind people of is that Mandela is very mission-oriented, but it's not a nonprofit. Companies that we work with around the world don't work with us because of a CSR initiative. They work with us because they care about talent. They work with us because dollar for dollar is the best investment in scaling engineering. And I was a little bit concerned that having a lead for the B who was, yes, very metrics focused, but also clearly also mission aligned and that cared about impact as well might actually complicate our conversations. The reality couldn't be further from the truth and I love being wrong in situations like this. It's a very high quality problem. And so the response from partners around the world has been almost overwhelming. I think that the round certainly helped, but what was even probably more”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “Exactly. And so he knows exactly how I navigated it. And I started off by approaching people who already knew and trusted me. Our early investors were people who I've known for years by and large who mostly said, Jeremy, this sounds insane, but if you're really passionate about it,”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “Very different from a publicity standpoint, but also by design. He's very focused and able to help bring people together around that focus. And so there are all different types.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “For me, what I respect is people that can't help themselves, they just have to do this thing. Like they have to create this change in the world. And I had the extreme privilege to be able to think of the birth of Andela through the lens of what is the change like I want to see in the world and what do I want to build and what's the engine that will create that. And that's a really fortunate thing to be able to do. Not many people get a chance to. And so I look at it through the lens of, I better not screw it up because it's probably the most fun but also hardest thing that I've ever done. When I think about people I look up to, I mean, there are obvious candidates like an Elon Musk who is constantly helping the world see that reality can look a little bit different, helping to sort of remove that veil, then there are folks like Brent Bishore, friends in Columbia, Missouri who's built the most impressive startup incubators in the country who”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “That you can look at the data for public and private companies has a meaningful impact on likelihood of success, but also growth rate.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “It is certainly different, but I think that being a co founder had done well means that you are accepting responsibility for the success of the organization, that you're going to throw yourself at it in a way that I'm going to lay down on the tracks for this, like no matter what, I'm going to find a way to make it work. Being the CEO is in some ways similar, but it is also, I look at it as being a little bit more operational as well. You need to both have the passion for it, but also need to be able to make sure that things function and that you continue scaling and layout a clear consistent plan. And so there are certainly distinctions, but I think that the co-founder role done well has a number of the attributes of what you need in a great CEO. And the CEO role done well, requires a number of the attributes that you'd think of as a co-founder. Think of how it feels when you have a company that is run by someone who is thought of as a hired gun. It takes a little bit of the soul away of the experience.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “What I expected was an ecosystem that was less developed, that was less, I'd say I got to see in the early days of sort of the New York tech evolution back in 2007, 08, when you were just starting to see tech emerge as an ecosystem. And during that period, you could really see things moving, but it also was clear just how nascent it was. And the ecosystem in Nairobi felt even more developed than that and also moving even more quickly. I just thought that was exciting to see. It kind of brought me back.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “Happy to walk through it. It was like many good things, a bit of an evolutionary process. I was invited out to give a talk in Nairobi in January of 2014. This was about two months before my previous company was going public. And I was thinking at the time, you know what, a long weekend to a place I've never been sounds great. I know almost nothing about Kenya and had never been to East or West Africa before. And so the idea of being able to spend a little bit of downtime before the chaos seemed seemed kind of like a fun idea. What I remember most vividly was just how different the reality was while there from the reality I imagined based on CNN and traditional media portrayals of Africa and the continent. At the same time, also why there was so little interaction between the US tech space and technologists across the African continent.”

    2017-02-24 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source