SoGal Waterloo: Founders Chat with Helen Huang | Co.Lab

✏️ co-authored with the lovely Jaclyn and Kristy

We hosted another founder’s chat at SoGal Waterloo! This time we had a chat with Helen Huang, co-founder of Co.Lab — a program that empowers aspiring technologists to ideate and launch a real product. Co.Lab helps those who are looking to break into tech gain hands-on experience.

Helen graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Earth Science. Since graduation, she has worked at Microsoft and Github as a non-technical product manager and co-founded Co.Lab with her friend and fellow Microsoft PM, Sefunmi Osinaike.

Breaking into Tech

Helen didn’t start university with a plan to go into product management. She entered the Earth Science program with a plan to go into nursing. She had always envisioned working in labs, but ended up landing her first two co-ops in the financial sector at CNBC and Scotiabank, so she thought that finance was her calling. It wasn’t until she dated someone who ended up moving to the U.S. that her interest in tech peaked. Tech came as the natural next step because it was one of the few industries that had many opportunities for visa sponsorship in the U.S. With this goal in mind, Helen started applying to project management roles in the U.S. but was disappointed to not get any offers. She stumbled upon a posting for product management, which she thought at the time was the same as project management, and then ended up getting the offer. This kickstarted her tech journey.

As a non-technical student, Helen found it difficult to get noticed at first. She applied to over 350 jobs to land her first product management role. Even with connections from recruiters from previous co-ops, she still had trouble getting to the interview stage for many of her applications. Many of the product manager applications also required that applicants knew how to code. When Helen was feeling dejected about her prospects in tech, her friend, Sefunmi, encouraged her to apply to Microsoft. Helen and Sefunmi both worked as PMs at Microsoft and eventually founded Co.Lab together.

Finding and approaching someone to work with isn’t always easy, but Helen broke down her decision to work with Sefunmi for us. She had previous experience collaborating with him, so even though she initially wasn’t sure about taking on the Co.Lab project, she trusted him — both in his vision and in his reliability. Helen also fondly mentioned how they had similar goals and areas of interest — another good way of evaluating possible partners in crime!

Pursuing Co.Lab Full Time

Deciding to pursue Co.Lab full-time wasn’t a decision she made lightly. She wasn’t feeling as excited about how much she was learning at Microsoft anymore. “I’ve sort of stagnated.” Ultimately, though, it wasn’t a push away from Microsoft, but more of a pull towards Co.Lab. Helen talked about how excited, happy, and passionate she felt about the work she was doing at Co.Lab. What began as a project she was just helping out with quickly became something she had so many ideas about, that she couldn’t pull herself away.

“I’ve sort of stagnated.”

Changes throughout the pandemic, such as moving back home, also encouraged her to pursue her passion project. Although daunting, Helen also reminds us how changes aren’t always as permanent as they sometimes feel; she knew she could always return to product management in the industry if she wanted.

“We love risk-taking; it is entrepreneurship after all.”

Identifying an Audience

After she jumped on board with Co.Lab, she quickly realized how difficult it was to break into tech for those with non-technical backgrounds. She reflected on how much her Waterloo background gave her a leg up. Not only did she gain practical experience, but her internship journey also allowed her to build a unique community, filled with mentors and peers that helped her grow and build her confidence to shape her own story. That was a defining moment for her team — that’s when they decided to expand beyond just product managers to include designers and developers as well.

Why Co.Lab?

Helen talked about how important learning by doing is and how it was always a given for her. Her co-op experience helped her understand the process of building and shipping projects, collaborating with others, and managing timelines and team dynamics. But she had to remind herself that not everyone developed in the same ecosystem as her.

What happens if you’re looking to transition later on in your life, or if you don’t have that technical network from university? It becomes a lot harder.

Many existing career transition programs, such as boot camps, don’t paint a holistic view of what working in tech is really like. Co.Lab pairs aspiring product managers and developers together so that they can work and ship their first product under the guidance of mentors in a supportive and low stakes environment. It creates a space where aspiring PMs, developers, and designers can get practical end-to-end experience — all while they’re learning.

“Ship, ship, ship. Shipping is the best way to learn.”

Helen and Sefunmi experienced the booming product management industry but saw few bootcamp-like programs introducing newcomers to the space. While designers and developers can fly solo portfolios, growing as a product manager requires collaboration. You won’t get very far with just writing product specs! Iterating and shipping with designers and developers are key to the product management work. Helen has found clever ways to source designer and developer participants from boot camps to simulate this collaboration. Their product is validated every day by their students and their long-term achievements. One of their earliest cohort participants went on to work as a product manager at Microsoft.

That’s part of the reason why she’s so passionate about Co.Lab; she’s able to share this learning with others and serve as a touch point for many to start building that community and push others to grow.

“You can get into entrepreneurship at any stage, as long as you find passion.”

Day in the Life

Working full time while building Co.Lab had its challenges. Helen would wake up, work on Co.Lab until 12pm, and then begin her day at Microsoft with her PST-based team. When her pacific time workday was done, she switched back into full Co.Lab mode.

We caught Helen and Co.Lab right before a cohort started— which means a ton of recruiting on Co.Lab’s side. This involves partnering with boot camps to find students. Luckily, running the program is much like Helen’s daily role as a product manager. However, unlike software, education can be difficult to scale. Co.Lab can be a demanding program too — students need to work together and deliver in six weeks, unlike UWaterloo’s 16-week terms and 5 year degrees. Helen aims to design Co.Lab to bring people confidence and help participants see that their non-traditional backgrounds are also valuable. She’s always thinking of building support systems into the program.

Diversity and Inclusion

Helen focuses on diversity of thought. At the end of the day, Co.Lab’s goal is to empower people who think differently to come together and make products that will impact the world in a way anyone can identify with.

Inclusion also means a sense of belonging. Co.Lab provides a space where people of different backgrounds can feel validated and empowered. Co.Lab also provides a community that believes in individuals and their abilities to succeed.

Helen and Sefunmi also run a substack newsletter called You Belong In Tech where they share stories and tips from the lens of a non-traditional techie. They have 7000 readers who identify with those experiences. Co.Lab has a global cohort too — they’ve had participants from Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. Providing accessible education to a global audience is critical when global economic inequality is so evident in this century.

Proudest Moments

Demo day is a public showcase of cohort projects at the end of the program. Helen loves seeing the joy on everyone’s faces from shipping real products and from finding a community they can identify with. Co.Lab gives Helen a great sense of fulfillment — prior to her involvement, she didn’t have many strong passions. While she was content with her day-to-day life and hobbies, Helen wanted to be part of something bigger than herself, and Co.Lab accomplishes that.

In line with Co.Lab’s teaching methods, Helen advises that shipping is the best way for founders to learn. Find that idea that has that pull — that natural feeling of product-market fit blended with something you’re passionate about. Helen and Sefunmi worked on many different projects together, but none had the same pull for Helen as Co.Lab. Once you’ve found the one, start taking action, even if it’s just reading more or talking about the idea with your friends. Helen and Sefunmi started out with their course on product management, then developed a book, How to Product, and grew their passions to eventually bring you Co.Lab as it is today.

Helen also suggests finding time to step back and look at what you’re doing at a high level. When you’re as busy as a Waterloo student or startup founder, it’s easy to get lost in the noise of everyday life and lose sight of your original goals and visions.

“If you ship something you’re not embarrassed by, you shipped too late.”

What’s next?

That’s all for this recap! Follow Helen on twitter, instagram and LinkedIn to stay up to date with what she’s up to. Check out her startup, Co.Lab and their blog at youbelongintech.com.

🎙 SoGal Waterloo will be hosting more founder chats in the coming weeks!

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