☕Takeoff #11: Coca-Cola's invention, a gamification hack, AI criticism, hear from our learners and much more..
Welcome to Takeoff, our weekly community newsletter that’s here to remind you to take a break and take it easy every once in a while. You are doing great pal! 😎
Happy Mental Health Day to all! 🥰
We’re a little late to the party but we feel something as important as this should be celebrated every day!
"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." – Albus Dumbledore
Starting this edition with this beautiful quote from the school headmaster we all wish we had ⭐
With these positive vibes, I think we are all set to go..
💆♂️ Kind reminder: Slow down!
Sometimes it’s better not to rush. Incremental is more monumental.
Designed by Visualizevalue
📖 An interesting article for your tranquil Sunday afternoon
How AI's critics end up serving the AIs
There is no denying the fact that AI systems like ALM and Dalle-2 are superficially impressive but they have yet to yield much value in real world applications.
Read this insightful article where the writer presents a multi-pronged analysis and shares his contrary views on AI to some of the notable people in the industry.
🧐 Food for thought
Coca-Cola hasn’t just built a great product but they’ve also invented a new way to market and sell their product 🤯
⭐ What our learners have to say
Being a product guy, why did you decide to learn about SEO in-depth and what has been your key takeaways?
In the industry/domain that we are in (higher-ed), the end users spend a mammoth amount of time researching solutions/answers for their needs. Content generation/distribution can decide the velocity & the range of your growth trajectory in the initial years. From a product growth standpoint, it seemed quite inevitable that I get the fundamentals right. The course structure, the time required to invest (4 weeks with 6-8 hours a week) and a teacher like Arun who's solving these problems day in & out across industries - it seemed like a good bet.
What have been your greatest learnings from your entrepreneurial journey?
Two learnings - which sound quite obvious in hindsight - but didn't seem so when things were unfolding.
My team & I didn't realize the importance of revenue generation till it was too late. Having the initial seed fund from investors/organizations to build a product can (sometimes) lead to the startup team not focusing enough on the importance of revenue generation. It's quite possible to be lost in wanting to build the next best thing in your domain, but if you aren't generating revenue (if not profits) at the end of year first or second year - whatever the reason - the idea is not going to survive. You either pivot or close down.
Obsession with the solution that you've created isn't as important as being obsessed with the problem you are trying to solve. It's easy to want to stick to solutions you've built (which may have a product-market fit to a degree already) but having the objectivity to dismantle them for a better alternative is hard but necessary.
💫 A recent discovery we found fascinating
Recently, we came across a neat gamification hack that you can adopt in your life to dissipate anxiety from your life and it can help you complete your long pending to-do lists.
Bookmark this thread by George Mack if you are looking for time management practices.
🏢 Straight from the Airtribe HQ
How did you start your journey as a full-stack developer?
During my college days, I explored fields like machine learning, blockchain, competitive programming, and front-end/back-end development. The thing which excited me the most was the idea of building products. I started my journey by learning languages like JavaScript, React MongoDB, and MongoDB. I also participated in 3 hackathons out of which my team was runner-up in the IIITD tech ideathon and that gave me a lot of confidence at the early stage of my career.
What tips and suggestions do you have for someone who wants to make a career as a full-stack developer?
Problem-solving, problem-solving, and problem-solving!
I primarily focused on problem-solving (DSA) and programming language basics in depth. Then the backend concepts like database design, query optimization, networking, Linux OS basics, containerization, and the front end in React came into picture for wider adoption.
The thing which helped me early in my career was the internships I did. So, my suggestion will be “Do more and more internships as a fresher and try to learn as much as possible”. Apply your knowledge in building an app/website end to end for your friend or for someone who is in need, and build some side projects. If you are switching from another domain then you should start with a basic programming language, SQL, and work on improving your problem-solving skills. Networking and engaging with other developers in your group would also help you a lot.
Ideally, pick only one programming knowledge, learn the framework and just nail it!
✨ Signing off with some wisdom
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
~ Michael Jordan, NBA’s Legendary Basketball MVP
Don’t let setbacks distract you from your ambitions and goals.
Barriers and setbacks are there to make you tougher and prepare you for your long term. So, get your chin up and continue!
Alight folks! A big thankyou for being active readers of our newsletter.
It’s festive vibes all over this week! Hope you will have a great time.
We will see you next week! Cheerio!