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2024 Wrapped

Pivot

This year was a huge pivot for me. At the beginning of the year I was working on an AI startup founded by two of my friends. It was my first introduction to the world of AI, and a great learning experience. It developed my interest in applied AI - specifically, that area in between research and practical applications. Keeping up with the latest research, and then figuring out how to apply it to real-world problems.

However, by April I realised I needed a break. My partner pointed out that I had not taken a proper break since starting grad school, back in August 2008 And since then I had only worked at intense places - a PhD, Palantir, a crypto startup, and then the AI startup.

I took about 6 weeks off to reflect on what I wanted to do next.

Reflection and Experiment

One key realisation was that identifying what would drive me was not easy, especially looking forward. The last time I felt that level of narrow focus was when I chose to do my PhD - there was no doubt whatsoever in my mind that I wanted to do it. In fact there were many people who tried to talk me out of it, but I was convinced. And since finishing my PhD, I have oscillated between being driven by the impact, the people I work with, the day-to-day work, and the learning opportunities. At different times, each of these has been the primary driver.

Given this, I decided to do an experiment with two key constraints:

  1. I would explicitly not try to identify what would drive me, but instead set up transactional contracts. Tactically, this meant I would not take equity in any company I worked with. This would force me to be thoughtful about the time I spent on a project.
  2. I would work at a slower pace - 4 days a week.

Early Results

Initially I was worried that I would not be able to find enough work. But I was pleasantly surprised. I managed to land a couple of consulting gigs - one with a boutique consulting firm, and another with a startup. The consulting firm has been a great experience. I have been working with former Palantirians, and there's almost a sense of homecoming. The startup scratched the AI itch, giving me a chance to work on a real-world problem using AI.

The first couple of months went quickly - a honeymoon period of sorts. But one of the gigs ended, and I realised that I needed to be more proactive about finding work. As someone who has no idea about sales, this was a challenge. Honestly, I freaked out a bit, but then I found my own way of generating leads.

Sales

I started writing more. I wrote about my experiences at Palantir, especially the hiring process. This resonated with a lot of people, and I started getting inbound leads. Interestingly, not all were hiring related. I started working with another AI startup, a crypto startup, and a couple of hiring related projects.

So far this is the only way I have tried to generate leads, and it has worked well. I still don't feel confident that I will consistently manage to bring in business, but I will cross that bridge when I get there.

Hiring

The hiring projects have been the most non-trivial. I have worked with a few companies on their hiring, the most notable being Comand AI. The level of trust they have placed in me has been humbling. Hiring is one of the most high-stakes things an early stage startup does, and I am grateful for the opportunity to help them.

It has also pushed me out of my comfort zone. Yes, I learnt a lot about hiring at Palantir, but fully owning the end to end outcome is a different beast. Additionally, I now also have to articulate my approach and be methodical about it - forcing me to rely less on instinct.

Highlights and Conclusion

Over the course of this year, I have worked on the following tech:

  • Palantir Foundry
  • Python: to build LLM-based applications for the AI startups
  • Golang: to build tools in the crypto space for the crypto startup

And I have learnt about:

  • Golang concurrency
  • AI tools: Claude, Zed, Gemini, etc.
  • RAG architectures
  • Being a freelancer
  • Designing a hiring process

I am happy with how the year has gone. I have managed to find work, and I have enjoyed the work I have done. Interestingly, even though the experiment started off as transactional, I have found myself getting attached to the work. I have been invested in the outcomes, and I have cared about the people I have worked with. This doesn't come as a surprise - I have always needed to care about the work I do, and/or the people I work with. But it's interesting to see how this has played out with the transactional initial conditions.

I am looking forward to 2025. I am excited about the work I have lined up - specifically in the AI space, as well as the hiring work. The AI projects should give me the opportunity to learn and grow as an engineer, and the hiring work will give me the chance to learn how to build a business. I am not going to force my hand either way - we'll see how it goes.