Stephane Kasriel
@skasriel
Followers
23,482
Following
2,365
Media
211
Statuses
3,748
Leading Commerce & FinTech at @Meta . Previously CEO @Upwork , early @PayPal and co-founder of a few tech companies.
San Francisco, CA
Joined May 2007
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Some product news: across the company, we're looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus. We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. 🧵[1/5]
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At
@Upwork
we removed college degree requirements from our employee job descriptions. If college
#education
becomes unaffordable for most & companies continue to require degrees, we’ll perpetuate a system by which companies only hire from a small & privileged group of grads.
Four-year universities no longer meet all companies’ needs.
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It’s Creator Week at
@Meta
, and we’re announcing a bunch of new tools to help creators build their businesses — including a way to make and sell digital collectibles (NFTs) right on
@Instagram
! ✨ We’ll start testing this w/ select creators soon. 🧵[1/6]
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Big news on our efforts to offer people the ability to pay small businesses on
@WhatsApp
in 🇧🇷: the central bank has just granted authorization to launch. We’ve prioritized an open model & are testing now w/ several partners. Look fwd to bringing this to Brazil soon!
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With immense gratitude to our community and team, I am handing over the reins as Upwork CEO to my successor
@hydnbrwn
. We've worked together for 7+ years, crafting the company’s strategy together. The Board has unanimously appointed Hayden to lead Upwork:
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We’re rolling this out on
@0xPolygon
blockchain to start.💜 We’re also expanding the types of collectibles you can display on Instagram to include videos & adding support for
@solana
and Phantom. Plus new integrations with
@OpenSea
and
@Arweaveteam
! [2/6]
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Who says distributed teams can't scale and VCs won't fund them?
After
@automattic
@InVisionApp
@basecamp
@Upwork
@zapier
, now
@gitlab
demonstrates how it's done.
It's a huge competitive advantage!
Tech's newest unicorn has employees in 45 countries
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First: a big Thank You to the partners who joined us on this journey and who're doing great work in a dynamic space. Proud of the relationships we built. And look forward to supporting the many NFT creators who continue using Instagram and Facebook to amplify their work. [2/5]
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The answer is D! ✅ On
@WhatsApp
in 🇮🇳, sending money is as easy as sending a message. Fun to see this feature mentioned on Indian TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati with
@SrBachchan
.
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An exciting week at
@Meta
as we start testing digital collectibles on
@Instagram
and they’re coming soon to
@FacebookApp
. I want to share more on how we are thinking about fintech in the
#metaverse
and why we’re expanding our efforts to support greater
#web3
compatibility. 🧵1/7
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Let me be clear: creating opportunities for creators and businesses to connect with their fans and monetize remains a priority, and we're going to focus on areas where we can make impact at scale, such as messaging and monetization opps for Reels. [4/5]
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Today is bittersweet, sad to see
@davidmarcus
leave
@Meta
, grateful for his leadership and belief in me as the new Head of Novi.
Personal news: after a fulfilling seven years at Meta, I’ve made the difficult decision to step down and leave the company at the end of this year. (1/7)
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Kudos to
@Starbucks
for integrating digital collectibles (NFTs) into their loyalty program via
@0xPolygon
! ☕⭐⛓️
Excited to see how more companies will integrate web3 tech into consumer experiences.
@Fwiz
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And we’ll continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future. We’re streamlining payments w/ Meta Pay, making checkout & payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta. [5/5]
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I am an immigrant. I am a father. But more than that, I am a human being who can't stand idly by while any government, my own or otherwise, rips children from families to score cheap political points. This ghastly policy choice is inhumane and must end.
#KeepFamiliesTogether
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Last day in our Mountain View office where we had been for a decade!
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These guys (
@dhh
and
@jasonfried
) have been running a distributed company (Basecamp) for two decades. They even wrote a book about it (Remote). For anyone who is struggling with their new remote work life, you should consider attending.
Next week, Tuesday the 17th around noon central time,
@dhh
and I will be hosting a livestream “How to Work Remotely Q&A”. We’ll go for an hour, two, or three - whatever it takes to answer every question people have. Mark your calendars. Will tweet a link before the show.
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We often hear that people use WhatsApp to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and Novi enables people to do that securely, instantly and with no fees. Payments will appear directly in people’s chat.
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In a knowledge economy, the world will be organized by longitude and not by latitude. Time zones matter a lot more than natural resources or climate. Huge opportunity for Central & South America with US, but also for Africa with Europe.
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Companies need to stop requiring work to be done onsite when it can be done remotely. Stop building big offices. Start offering delocation packages (we do at Upwork) and empowering people to live where they want and
#wfh
.
@ModeledBehavior
and I spoke to
@CNBC
about
#remotework
.
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We learned a ton that we’ll be able to apply to products we’re continuing to build to support creators, people, and businesses on our apps, both today and in the metaverse. [3/5]
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Today we’re rolling out the ability for people to checkout using Facebook Pay directly on the websites of their favorite businesses, starting with
@Shopify
merchants in the 🇺🇸.
This makes it easier for people to shop, using the seamless & secure experience available on our apps!
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As Mark announced earlier this week, Facebook Pay is now Meta Pay, rolling out in the 🇺🇸 first and globally over time. Meta Pay is still the easy and secure way to shop, send money & donate to causes across our technologies. 🧵 [1/6]
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My kids are unlikely to follow the same educational path I did. I’m certain they’ll be preparing themselves for a very different job market. As my youngest is in kindergarten & my oldest just started high school, here are my thoughts for them.
@FastCompany
@upwork
#futureofwork
5 things I’m telling my kids to prepare them for the future
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Today, we’re starting to test Split Payments, giving people an easy way to share the cost of bills and expenses. Expect to see it in
@Messenger
in 🇺🇸 on iOS and Android soon. 📱
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Tens of millions of people play fantasy sports = huge opportunity for exposure to some of the best integrations for NFTs. I'm here for it! 🏀
@NBA
@TheNBPA
@Sorare
Get ready to
#OwnYourGame
.
The
@NBA
and
@TheNBPA
join
@Sorare
for the first officially licensed NFT Fantasy Basketball Game, launching this Fall!
Sign up today at
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The thread that contains all the threads that contain all the tweets about all the lists and the links about how to become a great PM. About 100h worth of reading and 1000h of self reflection...
To get better at product work
1. Create a habit of deep work
2. Build more user empathy
3. Become a domain expert
4. Understand good design
5. Spec out your skill stack
6. Get more even keeled
7. Learn negotiations
8. Know stats basics
9. Enhance listening
10. Improve writing
📈
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People often ask me how they can get started with remote work when their teams are traditionally colocated.
One way:
1. Ask them to work from anywhere but the office for a week.
2. Identity what breaks.
3. Fix it.
4. Do it again.
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Using Novi doesn’t change the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages and calls, which are always end-to-end encrypted. Learn more at .
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Bravo
@ticketmaster
&
@flow_blockchain
@dapperlabs
. Such a cool partnership and should help make NFTs more mainstream and relatable. Excited to see how artists and athletes enhance fan experiences as a result of this offering.
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📢As Mark announced, starting today, people in 🇧🇷will be able to pay local small businesses right within their
@WhatsApp
chat.
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Even the FT says it. The remote work movement is becoming mainstream. For the benefit of workers, companies and society as a whole.
San Francisco is an attractive place to work, but, with the high cost of living, it’s not necessarily a nice place to live. Could working ‘100% remote’ be the answer?
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@merci
Too many founders (and investors?) think that product market fit is a one-time event. You get it and then it gets easy. My experience is it’s more like concentric circles:
Early version of product has great fit with small number of customers in the inner circle.
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If we really want to build a sustainable future, we need to incorporate
#remotework
into urban planning. My thoughts on why in this article on Quartz.
“By eliminating the need for people to congregate in one of a very limited pool of locales to access good jobs, cities are less likely to face demands for housing that exceed what they are able or willing to build.” -
@skasriel
@qz
#FutureOfWork
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A big day for the
@WhatsApp
and F2 teams! But more importantly, the beginning of a great journey in providing digital payments to millions of consumers and businesses in India.
Starting today, people across India will be able to send money through WhatsApp 💸 This secure payments experience makes transferring money just as easy as sending a message.
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Meta Pay 🤝 J.P. Morgan Payments
🚨Big news: We’re partnering with
@jpmorgan
to expand Meta Pay as a checkout option to their network of merchants! Now people will be able to use Meta Pay as an easy, secure way to pay in even more places while shopping online.🚀🛒💻📱
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Busting a few myths with data... Top freelancers are very satisfied and don't want to go back to a traditional full-time job.
New
@Upwork
@freelancersu
research:
➡️ Freelancing is a real, meaningful career alternative for ambitious professionals
➡️ Top freelancers earn a very satisfactory income
➡️ Benefits of a freelance career are compelling
See why:
@jon_younger
@Forbes
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Important point: the current forced “remote work for everyone” isn’t how remote-first companies operate. We hope that companies won’t arrive to the (incorrect) conclusion that “remote was a failed experiment” and don’t go back to their old ways once the pandemic is behind us.
It may be worth noting: Buffer has been fully remote for almost 10 years, and..
Our worlds feel turned upside down as a result of the pandemic, too. This is not normal remote working!
We know remote, and eager to help others, but also adapting to the new reality ourselves.
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Congratulations to my fellow
@EY_EOYUS
Entrepreneur of the Year Northern CA regional winners:
@Joseph_DeSimone
@Carbon
,
@douglasmerritt
@splunk
,
@clase_azul
,
@onemedical
,
@shotspotter
,
@ThirdLove
&
@rothys
. I look forward to cheering on our region together at finals!
#EOYNORCAL
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We’re still very early in the Novi pilot journey, so we made the decision to test this new entry point in one country to start and will look to extend it once we’ve heard from people what they think of this new experience.
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Incredibly excited to announce the launch of The Upwork Foundation!
The Upwork Foundation Initiative is a new program that supports Upwork's mission to create economic opportunities so people have better lives. Learn more:
#GivingTuesday
#Pledge1
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It only took 10 years for VCs to switch from telling startups to put hire everyone in SF to telling them to hire (almost) everywhere else.
Scaling In Lower Cost Locations - AVC
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We’ve changed our product group name to Meta Financial Technologies. When
@Meta
rebranded, it wasn’t just about embracing a new name. It was about embracing our vision for the future. So it’s only fitting we embrace a new name for our fintech work as we build for the metaverse.
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@lopez4schools
Get out of your ivory tower. Nobody supports you. No one. Not even your Mayor. It’s time to either listen to parents and do your job ; or to resign and let more competent people do the job you seem completely unable to do.
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By introducing NFTs natively on Instagram, we hope to achieve this and facilitate new forms of connection between billions of people & their favorite creators. I wrote more about why we’re betting on blockchain to help grow the creator economy here👇 [6/6]
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Olá!
Excited that Brazil's Central Bank just approved Facebook Financial's application to operate P2P Payments on WhatsApp.
This product can do so much to accelerate digital payments & increase financial inclusion for millions of Brazilians!
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It only took 20 years for Twitter VCs (
@Jason
,
@benedictevans
,
@fredwilson
and others) to get to the conclusion that
@dhh
,
@photomatt
+ founders of
@Upwork
have been describing since the very beginning. Not complaining - it’s great that everyone is now pushing for Remote Work.
My recession thesis:
A/close to 100% of companies will embrace remote work after this because...
B/100% of founders & management teams just learned how to manage remote work & quickly found that...
C/Some workers are crushing it & others are, well, “not crushing it” so...
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Since we introduced the Novi pilot just six weeks ago, we’ve been able to test and learn which features and functionality are most important to people, and focus our efforts on making those even better.
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@chesaboudin
The only epic fail is you, and your policies. Great stories, sound amazing, don’t work in practice. SF has gotten exponentially worse since you’ve been at it. Time for you to resign and let someone who knows what they’re doing clean up your mess?
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First fully distributed publicly traded company?
Just a few years ago at
@Upwork
, we couldn’t convince VCs to let their portfolio companies hire remote team members. Bad for culture, no possible exits, ...
Remote-first companies are the new normal.
How times have changed!
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It’s here! Today, Split Payments on
@Messenger
is available for everyone in the 🇺🇸.
Now, you can split rent, dinner, and other expenses right where you chat 📱
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LOL
@photomatt
, so true... if I had a penny for each time in the last decade a VC told me that they would never invest in a distributed company (bad for productivity, for culture, for exit potential, talent outside the Bay Area hasn’t seen scale, ...)
"The Silicon Valley investors who viewed remote work and the distributed company as a net negative, and penalized companies that didn’t have a physical presence in their backyard, are now “work from home” gurus."
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The Diem journey has been an ambitious and challenging one to date. And one worth fighting for. 1.7 billion people are still unbanked around the globe and many more underserved.
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As Mark announced, people in the US can now make purchases on
@Instagram
right in a chat thread. This new feature makes it easier to shop and buy your favorite products with Meta Pay – no need to switch apps! 🛍💬
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.
@Amazon
's
#HQ2
finalists announced today are all prosperous urban hubs. This should have us worried. My thoughts in
@fastcompany
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Welcome to the
@Upwork
team Adam!
After five fun and rewarding years, I have ended my tenure at Moody’s Analytics. Starting this week, I’m excited to join Upwork as Chief Economist!
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You know Distributed Work is a real movement when even Google is joining the fray. About time!
Google asked 5,600 employees about remote work. This is what they learned
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Exciting news from
@Messenger
today!
Coming soon: you’ll be able to use a new “/pay” shortcut to send or receive money right where you chat -- even more quickly 💬. Perfect for paying a friend back securely and without fees📱
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It took a while, but the "paradox of place" is finally starting to unwind: when people can work from anywhere, they increasingly choose not to live in unaffordable, congested, polluted "super star" cities.
Opportunity of the century for mid-tier cities and even for rural areas
Some of the people I talked to for this story kept their high coastal salaries, but by moving to places with lower costs of living, they effectively gave themselves big raises.
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Thank you
@KellyCNBC
@CNBCTheExchange
for a good conversation about this important topic. Large companies are increasingly leveraging platforms like
@Upwork
to access highly skilled professionals, here is why.
57 million Americans are currently freelancing for work amid the tightest job market in 50 years...which industries are in highest demand?
@skasriel
@Upwork
@KellyCNBC
@CNBCTheExchange
#thefreelanceeconomy
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*This* is how you do remote work. If you’re on Zoom all day long, you’re missing out. Remote work is about deep work, focused time, the maker schedule, async work. Replace Calendar, Slack and Zoom with Google Docs, Confluence, Loom and - yes - email.
One of the major perks of running an async-first organization is that we do very few meetings.
This is my weekly schedule — it has only 3 team-related meetings. I have the whole Tuesday allocated for deep work such as writing, thinking, or coding.
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Thank you to Gov. Newsom for this honor. I look forward to being a voice for CA freelancers & entrepreneurs and working to build an inclusive future with
@GavinNewsom
,
@JulieSuCA
,
@Lenny_Mendonca
as well as my fellow members & Californians.
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On top of those blockchain-related updates, we’re also expanding access to Instagram subscriptions, introducing gifting on Instagram Reels and adding new ways for people to support creators using Facebook Stars. [3/6]
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Honored to take the helm as Elance-oDesk's CEO.
http://t.co/4VEJhaoqzr
An important announcement to the oDesk community from Elance-oDesk CEO Fabio Rosati.
http://t.co/eXlh6YRtjT
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Congrats
@andreasklinger
for convincing
@AngelList
to become a true Remote First company. Many more will follow.
@Upwork
@basecamp
@automattic
@gitlab
@mozilla
@buffer
@zapier
and so many others.
🚨🌎 UPDATE: NOW OPEN TO REMOTE CANDIDATES 🙀
Who says lobbying and me nagging doesn't work. 😉
The Talent team is open to placing this role remote.
US Timezones - USA base preferred.
cc
@davguij
@amix3k
@jimbandic
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Not surprised to see today's decision by Amazon to not build an NYC
#HQ2
location. Finally, they're making a wise move though their hand was forced by reality. We must reimagine where and how work gets done. Perpetuating the cycle of big corporate offices in big cities is futile.
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Blockchain has a role in this because it can enable entirely new business models for creators that give them more control over their work and audiences, and how they monetize. But for this tech to truly boost economic opportunity for creators, it needs to be easier to use. [5/6]
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$UPWK announces fourth quarter & full year financial results!
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With
#HQ2
, Amazon could have redefined what the office looks like for an entire generation—& brought prosperity & options to places that need it most. Instead, they threw their own city beauty pageant & we all come out losers. My latest in
@venturebeat
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$BTC. That’s all.
Probably nothing. Let’s keep printing and spending so efficiently.
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@scottbelsky
+ Consistently declining worker mobility
+ quality of life
+ Increase in location-agnostic jobs, powered by technology (broadband, cloud tools, video conf)
+ Generational shift (digital natives much more comfortable with remote work)
Oh, and
@Upwork
, maybe, a little bit?
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Proud of the team's work to deliver this
#innovation
that will make it easier for businesses to engage agencies via Upwork
We’re pleased to announce enhanced agency experiences — You can now engage an agency in just 3 clicks! Find your next agency on Upwork:
#WorkWithoutLimits
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Sending payments on
@WhatsApp
just got even easier in 🇧🇷 and 🇮🇳 ! Starting today, we’re making a Pay button available for use directly in people’s contact cards. The new feature makes it more intuitive for people to send money to family, friends, and loved ones.
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Hearing from freelancers makes our daily efforts at
@Upwork
worthwhile. "Living in Flint, Michigan, jobs are limited. With 2 children, moving or commuting multiple hours isn’t an option. With Upwork, location is a thing of the past.”
@RichmondConcept
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And congrats to
@AdeccoGroup
and
@AlainDehaze
for making a big bet into adult reskilling, a key pillar of the future of work that
@wef
has been advocating.
Congrats
@jakeschwartz
,
@adampritzker
,
@brimer
and
@bhargreaves
! Great journey and another successful startup story for NYC.
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Hey
@JeffBezos
, Pizzas on me if you cancel
#Amazon
#HQ2
and build smaller offices instead. Here’s why…
@venturebeat
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Quite the thread... As always, lots of strong opinions on why distributed teams are the best / worst... And fundamentally the answer is: when done well, remote teams work great. The key is to adopt a remote-first norm and hire people who are able to make it work.
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Another unicorn becomes distributed:
@stripe
. Congrats
@patrickc
on making a bold move - it will help your company attract truly the best talent + will help lots of great folks find work at your amazing company.
#remotework
We’ve decided that Stripe’s fifth engineering hub will be Remote:
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Couldn't agree more. Cities who are competing for Amazon HQ2 and the like are fighting yesterday's battle and risk losing tomorrow's war: it's about attracting talent (in particular, highly skilled freelancers), not about giving subsidies to attract employers.
Instead of courting Amazon’s HQ2,
#cities
should court
#freelancers
& independent workers — & truly prepare for the
#futureofwork
. My latest op-ed in
@QuartzAtWork
:
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A very meaningful article about veterans who have found that the traditional labor market is not a fit and turned to freelancing and remote work.
Remote companies value the skills veterans offer — and are seeking candidates right now
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Thank you
@Nasdaq
for being great partners (& customers!) and thank you to one of my favorite customers, Cathleen Nilsson from
@SamsungUS
Tune In: Nasdaq’s Jeff Thomas sits down with
@Upwork
CEO
@skasriel
, ClearyRated CEO Eric Gregg, and Samsung’s Cathleen Nilson to discuss the impact of flexible talent in the workforce!
#futureofwork
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@DuckDuckGo
😁You realize the irony of buying a personalized ad on Twitter to denounce the use of personal data to create targeted advertising - advertising that helps small businesses grow and helps free products continue to operate. Right???
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📣 Today Mark shared that we’re rolling out digital collectibles on
@Instagram
to 100 additional countries! Using this feature, creators and collectors can showcase their NFTs on their feeds. 🧵[1/5]
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Instead of putting 50k employees in one city, it would be much more desirable if Amazon distributed its workforce amongst “mini-headquarters,” ideally in smaller cities that are struggling currently. My latest in
@fastcompany
#Amazon
#HQ2
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LOL.
"We only hire the best of the best... As long as they live within commuting distance and come to our office every day".
Right.
Reminder for "classical" management trying to retain talent:
- "Can I work remotely?"
- "No"
- "Can I work remotely?"
- "No"
- "Can I work remotely?"
- "No"
- "Can I work remotely?"
- "No"
Quits and works for another company... remotely.
#truestory
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