The Work Item - Real Talk on Tech's Toughest Career Choices

This is the last episode for 2024. To make it special, it’s a supercut of all the unconventional advice from every single guest that was on the show this year - Kent C. Dodds [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/going-solo-kent-c-dodds/], Jerod Santo [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/give-people-what-they-came-for-jerod-santo/], Rob Walling [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/put-the-passion-aside-rob-walling/], Adrienne Tacke [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/q-and-a-adrienne-tacke/], David Khourshid [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/starting-startup-pandemic-david-khourshid/], Saron Yitbarek [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/cash-money-with-saron-yitbarek/], Rachel Andrew [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/write-about-things-you-learned-rachel-andrew/], Katie Fujihara [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/i-left-hawaii-startups-katie-fujihara/], Lena Reinhard [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/how-to-get-promoted-tech-lena-reinhard/], Miriam Suzanne [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/web-development-is-theatre-miriam-suzanne/], Kirupa Chinnathambi [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/make-hobby-a-career-kirupa/], Craig Hewitt [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/stop-building-landing-pages-craig-hewitt/], Jennifer Wong [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/dont-take-the-easy-path-jennifer-wong/], Jason Lengstorf [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/tools-do-not-matter-jason-lengstorf/], Michael Kennedy [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/building-a-business-from-python-expertise-michael-kennedy/], and Asia Orangio [https://theworkitem.com/episodes/growth-strategies-with-asia-orangio-demandmaven/]. This turned out so well, that I will be definitely re-visiting the format in the new year. I hope you have a successful and adventure-packed 2025, with plenty of room for career growth. See you next year! The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky [https://den.dev]. FEEDBACK If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

Today, I’m thrilled to be joined by Asia Orangio, the brain behind DemandMaven, a growth agency dedicated to helping SaaS companies and their founders reach new heights. Asia’s unique approach blends data-driven strategies with deep empathy for customers, making her a sought-after expert - from bootstrapped businesses to some of the most established companies. Whether you’re a startup founder or a seasoned marketer, I promise you that her insights will challenge your thinking and inspire quite a few new ideas. In this conversation, Asia shares her journey from marketer to founder, unraveling the lessons she’s learned while scaling SaaS companies and guiding others to do the same. We’ll explore her philosophy on growth, the common mistakes founders make when trying to identify their growth levers, and the power of understanding your audience on a deeper level. This really ended up being a masterclass in sustainable growth and customer-first business foundations. You can find Asia on the following sites: * 🌎 Website [https://www.asiaorangio.com/about/] * 🦅 DemandMaven [https://demandmaven.io] * 🦋 Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/asiaorangio.bsky.social] Asia also recommended the following folks to check out: * Lenny Rachitsky [https://www.lennyrachitsky.com/] * John Cutler [https://cutlefish.substack.com/] * Jason Cohen [https://longform.asmartbear.com/jason-cohen/] The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky [https://den.dev]. Music by Wataboi [https://pixabay.com/users/wataboi-12344345/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=1165] from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1165]. FEEDBACK If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

If you are listening to this show, you have likely heard of a programming language called Python. And if you are a Python developer, you’ve likely heard of a podcast dedicated to this programming language - Talk Python To Me [https://talkpython.fm/]. It was started by none other than Michael Kennedy, a Python Software Foundation fellow [https://www.python.org/psf/fellows/] who managed to turn his expertise into a viable bootstrapped business. In this show, we talk about ways to plan a training business from scratch, what tactics worked best to grow a podcast audience, and how to make sure that you have a viable idea before you quit your day job. You can find Michael on the following sites: * 🌎 Website [https://mkennedy.codes/] * 😺 GitHub [https://github.com/mikeckennedy] * 🐘 Mastodon [https://fosstodon.org/@mkennedy] * 💼 LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkennedy/] * 🎥 Video [https://www.youtube.com/@mikeckennedy] * 📚 Talk Python Training [https://training.talkpython.fm/courses/all] * 🎙️ Talk Python To Me Podcast [https://talkpython.fm/] The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky [https://den.dev]. Music by Wataboi [https://pixabay.com/users/wataboi-12344345/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=1165] from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1165]. FEEDBACK If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

If you’ve been immersed in the tech world for some time, you probably have heard one specific YouTube channel mentioned more than once - Learn With Jason [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnty0z0pNRDgnuoirYXnC5A]. It’s a project started by Jason Lengstorf, a former VP of developer experience at a web tooling startup (he was a head of developer relations prior to that too), that is aimed at helping everyone navigate the always changing landscape of developer tools and frameworks. Which, by the way, according to Jason do not matter. In this show, we dive deep in Jason’s career path and focus on the less known aspects of climbing the career ladder - things like amassing political capital by doing great work, building visibility by meaningful means that can help cement your reputation, and being able to address business problems as a mechanism to build trust in your own leadership abilities. You can find Jason on the following sites: * 📽️ Learn With Jason (YouTube) [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnty0z0pNRDgnuoirYXnC5A] * 🏫 Learn With Jason (Website) [https://www.learnwithjason.dev/] * 🕸️ Jason Lengstorf’s Website [https://jason.energy] * 🦋 BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/jason.energy] The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky [https://den.dev]. Music by Wataboi [https://pixabay.com/users/wataboi-12344345/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=1165] from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1165]. FEEDBACK If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

Jennifer Wong is a seasoned engineering manager who started her journey in civil engineering. The fast pace of the tech industry drew her in, and she stuck with it for years since making that call. In this episode, I chat with Jennifer about her transition from a non-traditional career path into software, reasons to take on management instead of being an individual contributor, and why taking the road less traveled in terms of career progression might just be the recipe for long-term growth and success. You can find Jennifer on the following sites: * 😺 GitHub [https://github.com/jennz0r] * 💼 LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferewong/] The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky [https://den.dev]. Music by Wataboi [https://pixabay.com/users/wataboi-12344345/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=1165] from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1165]. FEEDBACK If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!