10 companies that I would consider working for

Someone recently asked me which companies I would work for if I were looking for a job. I'm not looking for a job, but I figured that it would be a fun exercise to think about. I spent a while coming up with a list, so I figured that I would post it here.

So here goes (in no particular order):

Zynga - They are doing ridiculously well, and focusing on a big market that is just shaping up. Seems like a company where you could have a lot of impact. The CEO is a really interesting guy and has a lot of interesting ideas (and is supposedly very approachable). If I were looking for a job at a company, this might actually be my top pick.

Facebook - Probably the most engineering-centric of the larger internet companies. Not really a startup any more, but still has lots of potential (once they better monetize their application platform).

LinkedIn - Social Networking is hot. Plus I hear that they are a good company to work for (lots of opportunities). I don't think that they will be as big as Facebook, but they cater to a crowd that's actually willing to pay them money to use the service.

Playdom - Another Facebook applications company. Probably second to Zynga

Twitter - I have no idea how big they are going to be in the long-term, but they define hot right now. They are doing lots of interesting and innovative things.

Foursquare - People use it like crack. I don't know if they are hiring, but I'm sure that they will soon. Also Gowalla, although they aren't in the bay area.

Yelp - I think that they will get acquired soon (rumor has it by Google). The business model is a bit shady, but they've created a great service and built a rabid following.

Square - Credit card processing from any mobile phone. Started by the guy who created Twitter. Could potentially be a game changer. And they are hiring.

Eventbrite - Well-done product and they actually have a pretty straightforward business strategy (unlike a lot of the companies I have mentioned). They are hiring aggressively.

Bump - They are great guys and have a lot of potential. Just took a bunch of money from Sequoia, and I believe that they are staffing up a bit. If they can figure out how to turn all of those bumps into money, they will be golden.

Stop Fighting Yourself

I just got back from a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat. This was my second retreat, and it was a much different experience from the first. Very tough, but one of the most rewarding things that I've done.

One of my biggest takeaways happened on the final day, as I was doing a last bit of deep work. Since I began practicing Vipassana, I have noticed a certain heaviness in my muscles as I meditate. After a while, I started to ignore this. But it came back during the retreat, and I realize that this heaviness was in fact tension. If I actively relaxed my muscles, the tension went away, and I became much more comfortable and peaceful. So the whole time I was making my life more difficult by unconsciously resisting the process that I was putting myself through.

I realized that we spend a lot of our time fighting ourselves. We doubt, undermine and second guess. This is wasted effort - very little is gained by doubting a decision that you have already made. It does make sense to reexamine a decision after sufficient time has passed, but this is much different from constantly worrying or reanalyzing.

Sometimes we fight ourselves by doing things that are contrary to our nature. I am at the heart a product engineer. I build cool products that people find useful. This is what makes me happy, and motivates me to work day after day. If I need to sell a product to make my business succeed, I am perfectly willing to do that. However, I will never be a sales person. I will be a product engineer who happens to also sell products. Everything that I do will start from my core skillset and motivation, and flow naturally from there. To do anything else is to deny my nature.