Our Vision at Plato: To Help Engineers Become Leaders, and So Much More
As a founder, I get asked a lot about my vision for the company. And while it can be easy to get wrapped up in coming up with snappy taglines for the company (one of my favorites right now is “the Stack Overflow for engineering leaders”) or talking about exciting product updates we’ve recently released, it can be a lot harder to answer the question: “What are we really trying to do here?”
Of course, the hard things are often the most important things, and that’s certainly true in this case. Because what we’re doing here is so much bigger than helping engineering leaders (which alone is incredibly important). It’s bigger than creating a platform with cool technical specs or great content. I’m no stranger to the pivot, and while I have a plan for how I want to grow the company’s product and audience in the coming years, I know the ultimate direction a company takes can be surprising.
But with a strong vision to help guide the talented team we’ve assembled, I know we’ll build something great (no matter what twists and turns come up along the way). Here’s what we’re hoping to do at Plato.
Distribute Knowledge From the Best Leaders on the Planet
Whatever problem you’re facing in your work I guarantee there are plenty of people who have dealt with it before — and found solutions. So why should you have to reinvent the wheel? Learning from others has always been a valuable way to make progress, but individuals don’t always have easy access to the right people in their workplace or network.
We want to provide that access, making the knowledge of the people who have “made it” more distributed. Furthermore, we want to make sure those people have been in your shoes, and are willing to share honest perspectives from the twists and turns along the way. When I’m seeking help, I don’t want the perspective of just any CEO — I want to talk to another entrepreneur who has been in my shoes before, so they’ve dealt with a similar problem in a similar context. Engineers trust other engineers, especially ones working in a similar industry or leading a similarly-size team. Another advantage of connecting you with someone who has been in your shoes? They know what it’s like to be facing your challenge and have a lot of empathy, making them more willing to take the time to genuinely help.
Through resources like our blog and new AMA product, employees all over the world can learn from the leaders they admire at companies like Google, Facebook, Lyft, Slack, Netflix, Spotify, and more — getting better at what they do without having to figure it all out by themselves. And those mentors get to give back to the next generation by being mentors — maximizing their time by reaching many people at once, and growing their personal brand as knowledgeable leaders.
Foster Connections to Help Everyone Rise
Of course, there’s a lot of advice on the internet, and sometimes you need something more tailored to your specific situation. There’s a nuance to what you’re working through, specific circumstances, and details that make the generic advice you might read in an article not quite right. Plus, it’s just nice to feel like you’re not alone — not the only one dealing with these challenges.
We want to make sure we’re also creating products that encourage individual connection, both with mentors and with peers. I was fortunate enough to have access to these types of relationships and conversations in my time at Y Combinator, and I know they helped me get where I am today. Now, I want to build the best platform for digital mentorship to make sure these valuable connections are accessible for everyone.
Through our current platform, members are able to have one-on-one calls with the mentors they look up to, or join in on group calls where they can have valuable discussions with their peers, working through the tough stuff together. And mentors find these relationships are helping them grow too, giving them an opportunity meditate on, and define, the lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Build Better Leaders and a Better World
We’re doing all of this with the goal of teaching the soft skills required to be a great leader, some of the hardest things to teach. It’s hard to learn those things through a book — you have to live through them and work through them with people who have been there, too.
By giving people access to a platform like Plato, they’re able to learn from the people who have had similar experiences and can truly help them — no matter where in the world they are — and then bring these lessons back to their organizations. They become better leaders and create better teams who create better products and ultimately build a better world.
We decided to start with a laser focus on engineers after seeing the narrative play out so often where an Individual Contributor is promoted to management without being equipped with the proper training to lead their team. Good engineering leadership can change the world, and it’s unreasonable to expect people to be great leaders without great mentorship.
But what we’re building is completely universal to any career. In time, I could see us becoming the best platform for mentorship and advice whether you work in engineering, product, sales, marketing, or anything in between.
With this vision behind us, I know Plato has the capacity to completely transform the careers of so many, giving them access to mentors to guide them every step of the way. Want to join us? Check out jobs, mentorship opportunities, or become a member!
Haven’t heard of Plato yet? Plato is on a mission to help engineering and product leaders learn soft skills and build better teams. We do this through our powerful mentoring platform, where new leaders connect with seasoned professionals for 1–1 sessions, AMAs, and a comprehensive knowledge base.
Our Plato Mentors have extensive experience in management, and come from top tech companies like Google, Facebook, Lyft, Slack, Netflix, and Spotify — among others.
Plato has offices in both San Francisco + Paris. Learn more or book a demo HERE.
