About the Blog and Me - Max's Two Cents

About the Blog

This is a personal blog that I started back in 2009. I mostly write about business strategy, marketing and growth, technology, and startups. But also about books or whatever I find interesting. I also experimented with email newsletters.

Why do I blog? To get better at writing (and thinking) and to meet like-minded people.

Professional Background

I’m Max. I’m a tech founder. We’re building a team-based and culture-centric talent acquisition platform.

In the past, I helped tech companies grow faster via strategic marketing, product launches, and market research.

I was at PandaDoc (a hyper-growth Series-B SaaS startup in San Francisco), Adobe, Mozilla, and HP Enterprise. I’ve also earned an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Interests

I’m a techno-optimist who believes in the power of meaningful innovative products to solve real-world problems.

I’m fascinated by the idea of maximizing human potential. This is probably why I’m particularly interested in these spaces:

Tools for creators and entrepreneurs, e.g.:
- Design tools
- No-code tools
- Web publishing
- Music production
- E-commerce
The future of work, e.g.:
- Project management
- Collaboration and communication
- Research and customer feedback
- Recruiting
Tools for thought, e.g.:
- Reading and note-taking
- Learning and memorizing
Education, e.g.:
- Courses
- Platforms
Health, fitness, and life extension

I believe in entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, personal development, progress, innovation, science, cosmopolitanism, and rationality.

I’m interested in and want to learn more about product development, technology, music, life extension, cognitive science, neuroscience, economics, finance, design, software engineering, and meditation.

I enjoy working on meaningful projects, learning, exercising, and spending time with friends — having deep conversations and laughing out loud.

I’m originally from Russia. I moved to and fell in love with the SF Bay Area in 2013.