“What if this bad thing happens? The answer is: I will handle it.” 💪
At Nomad Summit 2020 in Chiang Mai, I met Alex Salinsky, a Silicon Valley technologist with the heart of a teacher, who runs Tech and Startups to help tech leaders grow. 🎙️
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- 🧑💻 Helping tech leaders reach the next level
- 🧑🏫 Silicon Valley with a teacher’s heart
- 🔄 Why elastic teams work
- 📚 Two books that beat his fear
- 🤝 How nomads can beat loneliness
🎥 Watch the full episode:
🧑💻 Helping Tech Leaders Reach the Next Level
Tech and Startups had just started a conference series. The first, on December 2nd, covered leading technology teams. A remote conference in March would cover what tech leaders need to know about marketing and sales, the area every engineer gets frustrated with when sales commits them to work. 🧑💻
The goal: give strong technologists, from freelancers to senior architects, the skills for the next level, like a VP of engineering eyeing the CTO role. A typical client is a growing CEO who used to keep everything in his head and now has nine balls in the air instead of three or four. Alex brings in processes for communication, prioritization and team management. For a team management view, read Mads Singers’s interview. 🔗
🧑🏫 Silicon Valley With a Teacher’s Heart
Alex spent almost 10 years in Silicon Valley at companies big and small, working with design thinking, agile and international teams in India, the Philippines, Ukraine and Colombia. 🧑🏫
Before that, he taught middle school for three years with Teach for America. That’s when he realized he’s “a technologist with the heart of a teacher”. He prefers techy conferences: he spent a month in Colombia going only to tech events, volunteered at a major UX conference in Medellín, and attended the Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco.
🔄 Why Elastic Teams Work
His team is elastic. At any time he has one or two virtual assistants, plus a trusted network he pulls in as clients need: developer organizations in India and Colombia, a social media manager and a project manager. 🔄
When clients don’t need them, they live their lives without him. Teaching growing tech leaders to access that elasticity is a core part of his work. For a team-building story, read Navneet Kaushal’s agency lessons. 🔗
📚 Two Books That Beat His Fear
Around 2018, Alex started letting go of full-time work to travel, but he was heavily afraid to give up the security of salary, insurance and promotions, and lost sleep over it. Two books helped. 📚
No More Mr. Nice Guy, with around 46 exercises, is about relationships and the need to please. His big lesson: when you ask, “What if this bad thing happens?”, answer, “I will handle it.” The second, What If You’re Doing It Right?, is a 30-something-day guide that flips the question to the positive. For another mindset story, read Annie Ma’s interview. 🔗
🤝 How Nomads Can Beat Loneliness
Community matters. He stays in one place for a month or more, joins digital nomad Facebook groups and sets up co-working sessions: work for 45 minutes, chat for 15, repeat. That builds a community of accountability, people who know what you’re doing and care. He even added virtual co-working to the mastermind he runs for tech leaders. 🤝
“There’s always something to do on Saturday night.” But Tuesday through Thursday, when you’re on your own, is real life, and that’s when you need intention about where your community will be. For a nomad’s view, read Julia Jerg’s interview. 🔗
📝 Key Takeaways From the Alex Salinsky Interview
- 🧑💻 Tech leaders must learn marketing and sales
- 📋 Growing CEOs need processes, not memory
- 🔄 Use elastic teams that scale with demand
- 📚 Answer fear with “I will handle it”
- 🤝 Build accountability through co-working
❓ FAQs About Alex Salinsky
Who is Alex Salinsky?
A Silicon Valley technologist and former Teach for America teacher who runs Tech and Startups to help tech leaders grow.
What is an elastic team?
A small core team plus a trusted network of specialists brought in only when clients need them.
Which books does Alex Salinsky recommend?
No More Mr. Nice Guy and What If You’re Doing It Right?
🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love
- Branden Schmidt On How To Flip Websites To Make Money
- Jabez Reuben’s Inspiring Entrepreneurial Journey: Life Lessons and Insights 🤩
- Entreprenuership Journey Shared By Siddhant Satija Founder of Aduncle
- How To Grow A 7-Figure SEO Agency That Runs Itself by Rafid Nassir 🚀
How do you stay connected while working remotely? Tell me in the comments. 💬
🔔 Subscribe & Follow Jitendra Vaswani Everywhere
🎧 Subscribe to Inside A Hustler’s Brain on YouTube and Follow Jitendra Vaswani on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, everywhere. 🙌
Jitendra Vaswani is a well-known expert in SEO and AI-driven digital marketing. He has spoken at international events and founded Digiexe, a digital marketing agency, and AffiliateBooster, WordPress plugin designed specifically for affiliate marketers. With over 10 years of experience, Jitendra has helped many businesses succeed online. His bestselling book, Inside A Hustler’s Brain: In Pursuit of Financial Freedom, with over 20,000 copies sold globally, underscores his influence and commitment to empowering digital marketers.