#MeetTheTeam Monday
Jan Bieniek has an academic background from Fordham University in New York, earning a double Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. Prior to joining MOC, he worked at the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, a startup accelerator in NYC, where he gained direct exposure to the startup and venture capital landscape. Following this experience, Jan co-founded a project that combined blockchain technology with healthcare applications for medical IoT devices. At MOC, Jan is primarily focused on the discovery and assessment of technological fields such as blockchain, machine learning, and AI.
Janek, welcome on board. You joined the analyst team. Please tell me more about what you will be doing at MOC.
Well, it depends on who asks….
Sometimes, I joke to myself that I am the unofficial CTO at MOC. We’re pushing hard to be at the forefront of the data-driven VC movement, and one of my tasks is to always look for new tools and technology that could automate and make our processes more efficient. I regularly talk to founders building in this space and brainstorm with my colleagues to find the areas where we could improve the most. To a rather technical person like myself, it’s a very rewarding part of the job.
However, I joined MOC as an Analyst, so I spend most of my time sourcing deals, meeting with founders, and providing support throughout the whole investment process.
Since you said you are a technical person, are you a team “handwritten to-do list” or task management app?
I totally got hooked on Kanban boards after I first discovered them. There’s just something super satisfying about physically moving a task from ‘to do’ to ‘done’ — way more gratifying than just crossing off something on a piece of paper. The tricky part is getting into the habit of writing down tasks as soon as they pop into my head, but keeping my task manager app open all the time definitely helps. I’ve also got all my boards synced up across my devices, so I can stay on top of things no matter where I am.
However, I must confess that I’ve kept a small whiteboard in my room since college, where I handwrite my big goals. There’s something about putting pen to board that makes these commitments feel more solid, like I’m really promising myself I’ll get them done. I also like to have them visible from my work area to constantly remind myself what I want to achieve.
And when it comes to technological gadgets, which ones do you appreciate the most?
I’d say smartwatches, for sure. My Apple Watch does way more than just tell time. It tracks my workouts, sleep, overall activity, heart rate — you name it, all that without me having to do anything extra in my day. Maybe I’m a bit biased as someone who loves data, but I really like checking all the stats at the end of the day. It also keeps me on track with staying active and getting enough sleep, which are key to staying healthy. Plus, I find the notification centre and quick actions super useful. They let me leave my phone behind without worrying about missing anything important. It’s pretty awesome.
Let’s shift away a bit from technology. Is there any book that made a huge impression on you?
“Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell is definitely a book that completely redefined my definition of success. Like everyone else, I would always ‘secretly’ compare myself to others, especially in fields where I wanted to succeed the most. This book allowed me to gain an additional, much broader perspective on what affects the final outcome of my actions and made me appreciate the process more than the result. I highly recommend this reading to every ambitious person from any field. It’s also a great source of curiosities, my favourite one being how one’s date of birth affects the probability of achieving athletic success.
I hear about technology and books, but how do you like to spend your free time apart from that?
I’ve been into football for as long as I can remember — literally since I could walk. It has always been my favourite thing. Whenever there’s a chance to play, I never think twice. I’ve tried to get into running or hitting the gym more often, but honestly, it’s nowhere near as fun and satisfying. Plus, after two knee surgeries and missing months of playing, I’ve come to appreciate the game even more. Nothing beats being back on the pitch.
