Adam Nash: "You Get What You Give"

Stayin' Alive in Tech

We kick off Season 3 with Adam Nash, the VP of Product at Dropbox, whose career includes some of the biggest companies in tech at some of their most transformative stages—from NeXT during its 1997 acquisition by Apple, then Apple under Steve Jobs, to planning products at eBay and working at LinkedIn when there were only 100+ employees and less than a million users.

Adam describes where product strategy plays out between engineers and marketers—and how he’s brought that expertise to some of the brands we know and use almost every day. Hear why LinkedIn chose not to use any profile photos at the beginning, and how Silicon Valley execs went about reinventing the way we use the web after the .com bust.

For any students or those making transitions in their careers, Adam shares his advice for how to get the most out of schooling and the professors around you and the best ways to approach your first work experiences.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
• My Book About Me by Dr. Seuss
• The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen
• And just for fun, the Office Space clip featuring the guy “with people skills”

MUSICAL INSPIRATION FOR THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY:

"You Get What You Give" by New Radicals

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Stayin' Alive in Tech is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley and the founder of Timeshare CMO, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco.

We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And check out our Spotify playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show.