Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), the global technology platform that makes Intuit QuickBooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp, today announced the availability of several new and improved e-commerce innovations for QuickBooks Online that help small businesses effortlessly manage their inventory across sales channels from one, central platform.

Intuit QuickBooks Introduces Integrated E-Commerce Management for Product-Based Businesses Using QuickBooks Online

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Her work has been published on major financial websites including Bankrate, Fox Business, Credit Karma, The Simple Dollar, and more. Israel Sebastian / Getty Images We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we ...

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Nearly 1/4 of Americans wish the holidays were canceled this year due to financial stress

Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), the global financial technology platform that makes TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, will announce its first-quarter financial results for fiscal year 2024 on November 28, following the close of market. The company's first quarter ends on October 31.

Intuit to Announce First-Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Results on Nov. 28

Intuit Inc. INTU, the global financial technology platform that makes TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, will announce its first-quarter financial results for fiscal year 2024 on November 28, following the close of market. The company's ...

Terms apply to offers listed on this page. Experian Smart Money can help consumers with little-to-no credit history gain fair and affordable access to credit. The account takes one of Experian's most successful features — Experian Boost — and embeds it ...

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Credit Karma

creditkarma

Ash Coleman, Head of DEI at Credit Karma, talks about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Work

I've written several articles here on HackerNoon about the concept of Karma. I’ve always thought of Karma as a type of currency, deriving it from the functioning of monetary systems. A few days ago, I applied for the World Grant program, and while filling out the forms, I was reminded of an approach that I will present in more detail in this article. The Gamification of Helping Others Gamification is a very powerful motivating force. Many people run kilometers or learn a language just to earn a few digital badges. The idea almost suggests itself: what if we tried to gamify helping others? If we could encourage people, even just a little, to do good for others, it would make the world a much better place. The idea isn't entirely new. In 2009, Philip Rosedale (CTO of SecondLife) launched a startup called LoveMachine Inc., where, among other things, developers could 'send love' to each other. If someone wanted to express their gratitude to a colleague, they could send them love, which was like a badge that was publicly visible on the developer's profile. This was, of course, a very simple way of gamifying acts of kindness, but it was very inspiring to me at the time (the company has since shut down, so it’s only accessible via the Internet Archive). My other major inspiration is the protagonist of Charles Stross's novel Accelerando, Manfred Macx, who lived a prosperous life entirely without money, essentially based on favors. Is this really possible? Could one live without money, relying solely on mutual favors?" Economy of Favors In fact, the favor economy is the most natural form of economy. Doing favors is so fundamental that we don’t even consider it a business transaction, though that’s essentially what it is. When we do a favor for a friend, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect that in a similar situation, they would do the same for us. If favor-giving is always one-sided, we eventually feel taken advantage of, and the friendship often deteriorates. While this isn’t as precisely measurable as money, we subconsciously keep a 'cognitive ledger' of favors. About 2 million years ago, our ancestors lived in small communities and got along just fine without money. People would go hunting together, and if someone returned empty-handed from gathering, others would help them. In return, if someone else needed help, the community would support them. The economy of favors, therefore, works very well in small communities, but it has a significant limitation: it requires personal acquaintance. When the participants in a business transaction don’t know each other, or the transaction involves multiple people, the process becomes entirely untraceable, and the 'cognitive ledger' no longer works. This is why barter trade was established and, eventually, money. I have an entire article on the history of money. For those interested in a more detailed exploration of how money developed and what it really is, it might be worth a read. https://hackernoon.com/a-brief-history-of-money-from-the-economy-of-favors-to-bitcoin?embedable=true Karma: The Modernized Version of the Economy of Favors If we want to build an economy with a different dynamic, we need to return to the roots. In this sense, Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are not true alternatives to the current monetary system. They are speculative assets, much like national currencies, with the difference being that they aren’t issued by any one country. If we want to change the dynamics of the economy, we need to go further back in time to the concept of the economy of favors. As I mentioned earlier, the limitation of the economy of favors stems from the limitations of the 'cognitive ledger.' Favor transactions only work between people who know each other well personally. This is a significant limitation. If we could replace the 'cognitive ledger' with a global ledger, it would remove this barrier. Fortunately, we already have such a technology: the blockchain. By definition, the blockchain is a global ledger operated and owned by the community. It cannot be censored or tampered with. It is the perfect tool to extend the reach of the economy of favors from a small local community to the entire world. How does Karma work? Since I've already written a very detailed article on how Karma works from a technological perspective, here I’ll only provide a brief overview, highlighting the parts that are new to the concept. https://hackernoon.com/karma-an-erc20-compatible-alternative-money-on-the-ethereum-blockchain?embedable=true From a technological perspective, Karma is an ERC20 token, so it works with any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Sending Karma to anyone is as simple as sending any other ERC20 token. One major difference from other ERC20 tokens is that Karma never runs out. In this sense, it’s not like money; it’s more like love. Although Karma never runs out, it’s still not wise to spend it limitlessly, because all outgoing and incoming Karma transactions are public. This visibility shows how much kindness someone has offered to others and how much they’ve received in return. If someone has a lot of 'outgoing' Karma but little 'incoming' Karma, it means they’ve received more favors than they’ve given, which could negatively impact how others perceive them. Ideally, there should be a balance between 'incoming' and 'outgoing' Karma. The truly exciting feature of Karma is that transactions form a directed weighted graph, where cycles can emerge. Let’s say we pick up a hitchhiker (let's call him Tom) and give him a ride, for which he sends us Karma in gratitude. A few months later, Tom finds a lost kitten and, based on the tag on its collar, returns it to its owner, Alice, who gives Tom Karma as a thank-you. At her workplace, Alice helps her colleague John solve a problem, and John, in turn, gives her Karma in appreciation. Years later, we get a flat tire and don’t have a jack. Fortunately, another driver stops to help us—it's John. We send him Karma in gratitude, and the circle is complete. Imagine seeing in the app how the help we gave Tom years ago when we gave him a ride, eventually made its way back to us. This is where the name 'Karma' comes from. The philosophy of Karma, in short, is: do good things, and good things will happen to you. The Karma system visualizes this process and simultaneously incentivizes users to do good for others. Since Karma is not tied to the monetary system, it’s entirely up to us how much Karma we reward for a favor. As a general guideline, we might say that one hour of work is worth 100 Karma. However, if someone does us a big favor, we could give them 200 Karma for just 10 minutes of work, or if we feel it was a small favor, we could give only 50 Karma for an hour of work. It’s completely up to us how we value a fellow person’s favor. The basic requirement for the system to function is that each person can only have one profile, thus preventing Sybil attacks. If this condition is not met, anyone could create a new profile if their incoming and outgoing Karma balance is off, or use fake profiles to send Karma to themselves, misleading others. The perfect solution to this problem is WorldID, which provides a unique identifier linked to an iris, ensuring that each person can only have one WorldID. I’ve written a detailed article on how WorldID works. https://hackernoon.com/a-brief-introduction-of-worldcoin-proof-of-unique-humanness-on-blockchain?embedable=true Alongside WorldID, other elements of the World ecosystem provide an ideal foundation for Karma. WorldChain, World’s own Optimism-based L2 solution, is a perfect choice for running the system. On this chain, people with validated WorldIDs can execute transactions for free. The World App includes a built-in wallet necessary for ERC20 transactions, and the visual UI can be made accessible through a Mini App. So, is Karma money or not? One of the great lessons of the Bitcoin revolution, for me, is that money is whatever we consider it to be. If a group accepts something as money, then it is money. Money is nothing more than a social contract. In this sense, Karma can also function as money. Let’s look at an example of how Karma could replace money. If we want to get somewhere by car, we could call an Uber and pay the driver. However, we could also find someone who’s heading in the same direction and ask them to give us a ride in exchange for Karma. A whole 'favor-based Uber' service could be built on this idea. Similarly, a 'favor-based Airbnb' and other services are also conceivable. In small local communities, Karma could even fully replace money. Since all Karma transactions are permanently and publicly visible on each person’s profile, and everyone can only have one profile, Karma accounting becomes a very serious matter. We can think of it as a kind of credit system where the collateral is our unique profile and reputation. In some cases, this could even be a more substantial guarantee than a person’s wealth. Summary Although Karma can be derived from the monetary system, the goal has always been to create something better. Something that can’t be speculated on, accumulated, or increase social inequality. That’s what Karma is— a system that gamifies helping others and encourages people to do good for one another. If the concept proves even slightly workable and fulfills its promise, then it has been worth pursuing. Through Karma, perhaps the world can become a slightly better place... I've written several articles here on HackerNoon about the concept of Karma. I’ve always thought of Karma as a type of currency, deriving it from the functioning of monetary systems. A few days ago, I applied for the World Grant program , and while filling out the forms, I was reminded of an approach that I will present in more detail in this article. World Grant program The Gamification of Helping Others Gamification is a very powerful motivating force. Many people run kilometers or learn a language just to earn a few digital badges. The idea almost suggests itself: what if we tried to gamify helping others? If we could encourage people, even just a little, to do good for others, it would make the world a much better place. The idea isn't entirely new. In 2009, Philip Rosedale (CTO of SecondLife) launched a startup called LoveMachine Inc., where, among other things, developers could 'send love' to each other. If someone wanted to express their gratitude to a colleague, they could send them love, which was like a badge that was publicly visible on the developer's profile. This was, of course, a very simple way of gamifying acts of kindness, but it was very inspiring to me at the time (the company has since shut down, so it’s only accessible via the Internet Archive). My other major inspiration is the protagonist of Charles Stross's novel Accelerando , Manfred Macx, who lived a prosperous life entirely without money, essentially based on favors. Is this really possible? Could one live without money, relying solely on mutual favors?" Accelerando Accelerando Economy of Favors In fact, the favor economy is the most natural form of economy. Doing favors is so fundamental that we don’t even consider it a business transaction, though that’s essentially what it is. When we do a favor for a friend, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect that in a similar situation, they would do the same for us. If favor-giving is always one-sided, we eventually feel taken advantage of, and the friendship often deteriorates. While this isn’t as precisely measurable as money, we subconsciously keep a 'cognitive ledger' of favors. About 2 million years ago, our ancestors lived in small communities and got along just fine without money. People would go hunting together, and if someone returned empty-handed from gathering, others would help them. In return, if someone else needed help, the community would support them. The economy of favors, therefore, works very well in small communities, but it has a significant limitation: it requires personal acquaintance. When the participants in a business transaction don’t know each other, or the transaction involves multiple people, the process becomes entirely untraceable, and the 'cognitive ledger' no longer works. This is why barter trade was established and, eventually, money. I have an entire article on the history of money. For those interested in a more detailed exploration of how money developed and what it really is, it might be worth a read. https://hackernoon.com/a-brief-history-of-money-from-the-economy-of-favors-to-bitcoin?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/a-brief-history-of-money-from-the-economy-of-favors-to-bitcoin?embedable=true Karma: The Modernized Version of the Economy of Favors If we want to build an economy with a different dynamic, we need to return to the roots. In this sense, Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are not true alternatives to the current monetary system. They are speculative assets, much like national currencies, with the difference being that they aren’t issued by any one country. If we want to change the dynamics of the economy, we need to go further back in time to the concept of the economy of favors. As I mentioned earlier, the limitation of the economy of favors stems from the limitations of the 'cognitive ledger.' Favor transactions only work between people who know each other well personally. This is a significant limitation. If we could replace the 'cognitive ledger' with a global ledger, it would remove this barrier. Fortunately, we already have such a technology: the blockchain. By definition, the blockchain is a global ledger operated and owned by the community. It cannot be censored or tampered with. It is the perfect tool to extend the reach of the economy of favors from a small local community to the entire world. How does Karma work? Since I've already written a very detailed article on how Karma works from a technological perspective, here I’ll only provide a brief overview, highlighting the parts that are new to the concept. https://hackernoon.com/karma-an-erc20-compatible-alternative-money-on-the-ethereum-blockchain?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/karma-an-erc20-compatible-alternative-money-on-the-ethereum-blockchain?embedable=true From a technological perspective, Karma is an ERC20 token, so it works with any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Sending Karma to anyone is as simple as sending any other ERC20 token. ERC20 One major difference from other ERC20 tokens is that Karma never runs out. In this sense, it’s not like money; it’s more like love . it’s not like money; it’s more like love Although Karma never runs out, it’s still not wise to spend it limitlessly, because all outgoing and incoming Karma transactions are public. This visibility shows how much kindness someone has offered to others and how much they’ve received in return. If someone has a lot of 'outgoing' Karma but little 'incoming' Karma, it means they’ve received more favors than they’ve given, which could negatively impact how others perceive them. Ideally, there should be a balance between 'incoming' and 'outgoing' Karma. The truly exciting feature of Karma is that transactions form a directed weighted graph, where cycles can emerge. Let’s say we pick up a hitchhiker (let's call him Tom) and give him a ride, for which he sends us Karma in gratitude. A few months later, Tom finds a lost kitten and, based on the tag on its collar, returns it to its owner, Alice, who gives Tom Karma as a thank-you. At her workplace, Alice helps her colleague John solve a problem, and John, in turn, gives her Karma in appreciation. Years later, we get a flat tire and don’t have a jack. Fortunately, another driver stops to help us—it's John. We send him Karma in gratitude, and the circle is complete. Imagine seeing in the app how the help we gave Tom years ago when we gave him a ride, eventually made its way back to us. This is where the name 'Karma' comes from. The philosophy of Karma, in short, is: do good things, and good things will happen to you. The Karma system visualizes this process and simultaneously incentivizes users to do good for others. The philosophy of Karma, in short, is: do good things, and good things will happen to you. The Karma system visualizes this process and simultaneously incentivizes users to do good for others. Since Karma is not tied to the monetary system, it’s entirely up to us how much Karma we reward for a favor. As a general guideline, we might say that one hour of work is worth 100 Karma. However, if someone does us a big favor, we could give them 200 Karma for just 10 minutes of work, or if we feel it was a small favor, we could give only 50 Karma for an hour of work. It’s completely up to us how we value a fellow person’s favor. The basic requirement for the system to function is that each person can only have one profile, thus preventing Sybil attacks . If this condition is not met, anyone could create a new profile if their incoming and outgoing Karma balance is off, or use fake profiles to send Karma to themselves, misleading others. The perfect solution to this problem is WorldID , which provides a unique identifier linked to an iris, ensuring that each person can only have one WorldID. I’ve written a detailed article on how WorldID works. Sybil attacks WorldID https://hackernoon.com/a-brief-introduction-of-worldcoin-proof-of-unique-humanness-on-blockchain?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/a-brief-introduction-of-worldcoin-proof-of-unique-humanness-on-blockchain?embedable=true Alongside WorldID, other elements of the World ecosystem provide an ideal foundation for Karma. WorldChain, World’s own Optimism-based L2 solution, is a perfect choice for running the system. On this chain, people with validated WorldIDs can execute transactions for free. The World App includes a built-in wallet necessary for ERC20 transactions, and the visual UI can be made accessible through a Mini App. So, is Karma money or not? One of the great lessons of the Bitcoin revolution, for me, is that money is whatever we consider it to be. If a group accepts something as money, then it is money. Money is nothing more than a social contract. In this sense, Karma can also function as money. Let’s look at an example of how Karma could replace money. If we want to get somewhere by car, we could call an Uber and pay the driver. However, we could also find someone who’s heading in the same direction and ask them to give us a ride in exchange for Karma. A whole 'favor-based Uber' service could be built on this idea. Similarly, a 'favor-based Airbnb' and other services are also conceivable. In small local communities, Karma could even fully replace money. Since all Karma transactions are permanently and publicly visible on each person’s profile, and everyone can only have one profile, Karma accounting becomes a very serious matter. We can think of it as a kind of credit system where the collateral is our unique profile and reputation. In some cases, this could even be a more substantial guarantee than a person’s wealth. Summary Although Karma can be derived from the monetary system, the goal has always been to create something better. Something that can’t be speculated on, accumulated, or increase social inequality. That’s what Karma is— a system that gamifies helping others and encourages people to do good for one another. If the concept proves even slightly workable and fulfills its promise, then it has been worth pursuing. Through Karma, perhaps the world can become a slightly better place...

Karma: Love on the Blockchain and the Gamification of Helping Others

কর্ম: ব্লকচেইনে ভালবাসা এবং অন্যদের সাহায্য করার গ্যামিফিকেশন

Karma: El amor en la blockchain y la gamificación de la ayuda a los demás

Karma: o amor na cadea de bloques e a gamificación de axudar aos demais

קארמה: אהבה בבלוקצ'יין וההתלהבות של עזרה לזולת

カルマ: ブロックチェーン上の愛と他者を助けるゲーム化

Karma: Liefde op de Blockchain en de Gamification van het Helpen van Anderen

کرما: په بلاکچین کې مینه او د نورو سره مرسته کول

Karma: Dragoste pe blockchain și gamificarea ajutorării altora

Karma: Urukundo kuri Blockchain no Gukina Gufasha Abandi

Karma: Dashuria në Blockchain dhe Gamification për të ndihmuar të tjerët

Карма: Љубав на блокчејну и гамификација помоћи другима

Karma: Tình yêu trên Blockchain và trò chơi giúp đỡ người khác

"In today's digital age, security compliance is not just a necessity but a cornerstone of trust," says Akshay Sekar Chandrasekaran, a leading compliance engineering expert at Intuit. He provides insights at a crucial time when cybersecurity threats and regulatory complexities are at an all-time high. Akshay directly enhances Intuit's security environment with his initiatives, setting a high bar for digital security across the industry. The Imperative of Compliance in a Digital World Immense pressure forces businesses to fortify their defenses while adhering to increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. Intuit, a global financial software company, faces these challenges head-on and uses professionals like Akshay Sekar Chandrasekaran to enhance its security posture. Akshay integrates advanced automation and machine learning into compliance engineering, streamlining processes and reducing human error with his innovative methodologies. "We’ve reinforced a system that automates compliance checks across many layers, significantly reducing the risk of non-compliance and potential breaches," Akshay explains. "This has been a game-changer for us, allowing for continuous monitoring and swift responses to potential threats." Intuit Assist: A Revolution in Financial Guidance Intuit Assist, a distinctive artificial intelligence (AI)-a powered platform offering personalized financial guidance to over 100 million subscribers, is central to Intuit's innovative course of action. Akshay’s role in the development of Intuit Assist was crucial via the achievement of compliance certifications along with the development of new security controls, policies, and standards, which paved the way for an advanced assistant. The system handles 810 million AI-driven interactions and 25 million natural language conversations annually. Intuit Assist provides real-time data to offer customized guidance that adapts to each user's unique financial scenario, setting itself apart. Unlike conventional financial tools that basically react to user inputs, Intuit Assist takes a proactive stance, anticipating needs based on a deep understanding of each user's financial journey. By seamlessly integrating across Intuit products such as Quickbooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and MailChimp, it democratizes financial decision-making for individuals and businesses. Compliance certifications served as a cornerstone to the integration of the assistant across Intuit products whilst also allowing data sharing between Intuit and its financial partners. "Automation in compliance improves accuracy, but it also enhances our ability to predict and prevent security incidents," says Akshay Sekar. "Foresight is a superpower that only AI can supply for now." Automating Compliance: A Technological Leap Akshay leads the compliance automation framework at Intuit, utilizing automation and artificial intelligence to perform real-time audits and generate comprehensive, easy-to-interpret reports. This innovation has streamlined the auditing process, reducing the time required from weeks to mere hours. This allows Intuit to maintain compliance with global security compliance standards such as ISO 27001, PCI, SOC2, and SOX  more efficiently, freeing up resources to focus on proactive security measures. In 2023, Intuit's automated systems flagged potential vulnerabilities in third-party integrations, allowing immediate mitigation before any exploit could occur. A Vision for Sustainable Security As the digital terrain shapeshifts, strategies employed to secure it must also change. Akshay envisions a future where compliance engineering is fully integrated into enterprise operations and advances with AI and machine learning. This integration will enable security frameworks to be more dynamic and responsive and adapt to new threats in real-time. "The future of compliance engineering lies in its ability to scale with the changing digital environment," Akshay reflects. "Our goal is to create a resilient infrastructure that not only meets today's standards but anticipates and prepares for tomorrow's challenges." Akshay Sekar Chandrasekaran exemplifies the critical role of compliance engineering in modern enterprise security through his work at Intuit. He has bolstered Intuit's defenses and set a new industry benchmark through his use of automation and AI. "Ultimately, our mission is to build trust through security," concludes Akshay Sekar Chandrasekaran. "We can establish a safer digital future for everyone by staying ahead of regulatory demands and emerging threats." This piece was published as part of HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. For more details, please click here. "In today's digital age, security compliance is not just a necessity but a cornerstone of trust," says Akshay Sekar Chandrasekaran, a leading compliance engineering expert at Intuit. He provides insights at a crucial time when cybersecurity threats and regulatory complexities are at an all-time high. "In today's digital age, security compliance is not just a necessity but a cornerstone of trust," Akshay directly enhances Intuit's security environment with his initiatives, setting a high bar for digital security across the industry. The Imperative of Compliance in a Digital World The Imperative of Compliance in a Digital World Immense pressure forces businesses to fortify their defenses while adhering to increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. Intuit, a global financial software company, faces these challenges head-on and uses professionals like Akshay Sekar Chandrasekaran to enhance its security posture. Akshay integrates advanced automation and machine learning into compliance engineering, streamlining processes and reducing human error with his innovative methodologies. "We’ve reinforced a system that automates compliance checks across many layers, significantly reducing the risk of non-compliance and potential breaches," Akshay explains. "This has been a game-changer for us, allowing for continuous monitoring and swift responses to potential threats." "We’ve reinforced a system that automates compliance checks across many layers, significantly reducing the risk of non-compliance and potential breaches," "This has been a game-changer for us, allowing for continuous monitoring and swift responses to potential threats." Intuit Assist: A Revolution in Financial Guidance Intuit Assist: A Revolution in Financial Guidance Intuit Assist, a distinctive artificial intelligence (AI)-a powered platform offering personalized financial guidance to over 100 million subscribers, is central to Intuit's innovative course of action. Akshay’s role in the development of Intuit Assist was crucial via the achievement of compliance certifications along with the development of new security controls, policies, and standards, which paved the way for an advanced assistant . The system handles 810 million AI-driven interactions and 25 million natural language conversations annually. advanced assistant advanced assistant Intuit Assist provides real-time data to offer customized guidance that adapts to each user's unique financial scenario, setting itself apart. Unlike conventional financial tools that basically react to user inputs, Intuit Assist takes a proactive stance, anticipating needs based on a deep understanding of each user's financial journey. By seamlessly integrating across Intuit products such as Quickbooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and MailChimp, it democratizes financial decision-making for individuals and businesses. Compliance certifications served as a cornerstone to the integration of the assistant across Intuit products whilst also allowing data sharing between Intuit and its financial partners. "Automation in compliance improves accuracy, but it also enhances our ability to predict and prevent security incidents," says Akshay Sekar. "Foresight is a superpower that only AI can supply for now." "Automation in compliance improves accuracy, but it also enhances our ability to predict and prevent security incidents," "Foresight is a superpower that only AI can supply for now." Automating Compliance: A Technological Leap Automating Compliance: A Technological Leap Akshay leads the compliance automation framework at Intuit, utilizing automation and artificial intelligence to perform real-time audits and generate comprehensive, easy-to-interpret reports. This innovation has streamlined the auditing process, reducing the time required from weeks to mere hours. This allows Intuit to maintain compliance with global security compliance standards such as ISO 27001, PCI, SOC2, and SOX  more efficiently, freeing up resources to focus on proactive security measures. In 2023, Intuit's automated systems flagged potential vulnerabilities in third-party integrations, allowing immediate mitigation before any exploit could occur. A Vision for Sustainable Security A Vision for Sustainable Security As the digital terrain shapeshifts, strategies employed to secure it must also change. Akshay envisions a future where compliance engineering is fully integrated into enterprise operations and advances with AI and machine learning. This integration will enable security frameworks to be more dynamic and responsive and adapt to new threats in real-time. "The future of compliance engineering lies in its ability to scale with the changing digital environment," Akshay reflects. "Our goal is to create a resilient infrastructure that not only meets today's standards but anticipates and prepares for tomorrow's challenges." "The future of compliance engineering lies in its ability to scale with the changing digital environment," "Our goal is to create a resilient infrastructure that not only meets today's standards but anticipates and prepares for tomorrow's challenges." Akshay Sekar Chandrasekaran exemplifies the critical role of compliance engineering in modern enterprise security through his work at Intuit. He has bolstered Intuit's defenses and set a new industry benchmark through his use of automation and AI. "Ultimately, our mission is to build trust through security," concludes Akshay Seka r Chandrasekaran. "We can establish a safer digital future for everyone by staying ahead of regulatory demands and emerging threats." "Ultimately, our mission is to build trust through security," r "We can establish a safer digital future for everyone by staying ahead of regulatory demands and emerging threats." This piece was published as part of HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. For more details, please click here. This piece was published as part of HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. For more details, please click here . here here

Compliance Engineering Expert Elevates Enterprise Security at Intuit

কমপ্লায়েন্স ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং বিশেষজ্ঞ Intuit এ এন্টারপ্রাইজ নিরাপত্তা উন্নত করে

Compliance-Engineering-Experte verbessert Unternehmenssicherheit bei Intuit

Experto en ingeniería de cumplimiento eleva la seguridad empresarial en Intuit

Un expert en ingénierie de conformité élève la sécurité de l'entreprise chez Intuit

अनुपालन इंजीनियरिंग विशेषज्ञ ने इंट्यूट में उद्यम सुरक्षा को उन्नत किया

コンプライアンス エンジニアリングの専門家が Intuit のエンタープライズ セキュリティを向上

규정 준수 엔지니어링 전문가, Intuit의 기업 보안 강화

Especialista em engenharia de conformidade eleva segurança empresarial na Intuit

Эксперт по обеспечению соответствия требованиям повышает безопасность предприятия в Intuit

Uyumluluk Mühendisliği Uzmanı Intuit'te Kurumsal Güvenliği Artırıyor

Chuyên gia kỹ thuật tuân thủ nâng cao bảo mật doanh nghiệp tại Intuit

合规工程专家提升 Intuit 的企业安全性

As you begin a new job, where do you put your focus: building relationships or delivering results? The question itself creates a false dichotomy. Relationships and results are not mutually exclusive. Many of the best-performing companies and teams deliver exceptional results of relationships. Of course, good relationships go by other names in the corporate world: strong culture, , and high-trust work environments. because high-performance teams is an executive product leader, having led product teams at multiple tech companies, from Credit Karma to Twilio to Digital Ocean. She credits much of her success to shifting her focus from results-first to people-first at a crucial point in her career. Jodi Alperstein Shift to People First In the first years of your career, it’s appropriate to focus on results. It’s also a natural transition from academics, where your grade is determined based on the results you deliver via homework, tests, and projects. Alperstein recognized her bias towards execution-driven results and made a deliberate shift. She explains, “ .” Earlier in my executive career, I was too in the weeds, too detailed in terms of execution for a strategic leader. I was overly oriented towards accountability and results. It's not that I didn't care about people. I did, but I wasn't necessarily people-first. I was more focused on results first and people second A turning point for Alperstein was when her team gave her feedback that her communication style around accountability could come across as too direct or even abrasive. She took the feedback seriously. “ I adjusted my approach a little bit with the group to focus more on their needs and the relationships, and we still achieved our goals. And it was a much more enjoyable experience for all of us. Then I went to the next job, and I applied this approach of being in service of and supportive to the people on my team as my primary objective, and that allowed me to quickly build trust, relationships, and appreciation from them - which set us up to achieve results together from the start.” It’s Not a Tradeoff Alperstein learned that you can deliver great results while putting relationships first. That’s a balance many people don’t believe. Elon Musk famously says you can’t have both empathy and results. That mentality sets up a tradeoff that’s widely accepted as truth. Alperstein is unwilling to accept that such a trade-off exists. She believes in prioritizing people, but at the same time, she’s not willing to accept a lower performance standard. In her words, “ .” You can't just have good relationships and not do a good job. You have to be able to do those things in concert with one another Misunderstanding Empathy Doing both in concert – being a people-first leader focused on results – requires a shift in perspective. It’s not “one or the other”, and it’s not “one at a time”. Leaders unlock real value when they learn to be people first holding others accountable. while “ ” Alperstein explains. Doing both at the same time is what leads to exceptional business results. It doesn't mean you're a pushover and don't hold people accountable for their work. You just do it in a more empathetic way, The Dividends of a High Trust Culture Business results are the product of people’s work, and to deliver exceptional results requires effective communication and coordination among teams. Trust and relationships are the foundation for high-quality communication. “ ” Alperstein says. In fact, is one of the most important benefits of a high-trust culture. Without it, rather than deal with them. Even worse, more than 10% of people ultimately quit their jobs rather than deal with the conflict. When you have developed a relationship with people, you can be honest and direct with them when they are not meeting expectations in some particular way, navigating conflict and disagreement 89% of people let conflicts escalate As Alperstein explains, “ ” If you don't have trust and you haven't built a strong relationship, then constructive feedback can be perceived as creating a toxic environment. How to Excel as a Leader Constructive feedback down the organization is important, but communication is equally important going up the organization. When communication flows easily, the leader provides clear direction and priorities to the team, and the team communicates status, obstacles, and requests to the leader. Once again, trust is an essential element that is multi-directional. Reflecting on her style as a leader, Alperstein credits her “ ” ability to create trust with people on my team and empower them so they can do incredible work. Being able to unlock their ability to deliver value and grow in their careers is what leadership is about. A strong team is going to come up with things that are beyond your wildest dreams. A lot of that performance is rooted in relationship and mutual trust. A Barrier to Execution What about companies that aren’t delivering? When facing execution challenges, leadership often blames the team and considers layoffs, reorgs, or other personnel changes. While there may be genuine delivery issues, Alperstein recognizes – like – that execution issues often begin with the leadership. other successful leaders “ ” I see some companies zigzagging all over the place, trying to chase the market and not stick with a strategy. And when their Product team doesn’t deliver anything meaningful, the executives wonder why and blame the Product team when it's really an issue of an executive team that can't stay focused. And this leads to serious trust issues - the employees don’t trust their leaders, and the leaders don’t trust their team. It’s very difficult to execute in an environment like that. Getting more efficient A high-trust environment supports solving the execution issue. “ ” You have to be able to receive information from your team and help them figure out how to get more efficient. They often know what the problems are, and even how to solve them;  however, they might not think they have the authority to do so. Having an open and honest two-way dialogue will help ensure you can unblock the challenges that the team is struggling with. “ .” That requires trust. I'm a big believer in learning at all levels and feedback from all directions. Not just top down, but bottom up in order to make better decisions A Strong Culture Culture is not what’s written on the wall. It is a description of the repeated behaviors and values of a workgroup. If you want a high-performance culture, follow Alperstein’s model of building a people-first organization, emphasizing trust and relationships. They are the foundation of teamwork, communication, feedback, learning, and ultimately performance.

Relationships and Results: The Key to Unlocking Both Simultaneously With Jodi Alperstein

Congrats on raising new financing for Masa Finance. How much money did you raise? And what are the terms of the deal? On May 4, we announced a $3.5 million in pre-seed funding. We offered equity through a SAFE in the sponsoring company and tokens in the DAO which is launching when the protocol goes live later in the year. Who participated in the round? And how will these investors help the business grow beyond the money? The round comes from both traditional and web3-focused VCs. Investors include Unshackled Ventures, executives from GoldenTree Asset Management (a $46bn credit-focused fund), Flori Ventures (Celo-focused fund), GSR, Decentranet, Intersect VC, Lateral Capital, Peer VC, Alves Ventures, and several angel investors in the fintech/blockchain space including Louis Beryl (founder of Earnest), Gustavo Menezes (24hr of Le Mans Driver for Peugeot Sport), and Jacob Riglin; a high-profile NFT artist who will be launching future NFT-collateralized loan products. What does your company offer today? And what do you think it will provide in the future? Masa Finance provides a simple user experience through which people can link, manage, and track traditional and cryptocurrency accounts to create a non-fungible credit report - allowing access to credit through fully on-chain services. You can think of the user experience as credit karma for DeFi in the first version of the app. Underpinning this, Masa’s credit protocol comprises a decentralized credit bureau, a private transaction layer, and an embedded lending protocol consisting of a non-fungible credit report, composable credit primitives, smart contracts, and liquidity pools, enabling developers to launch sophisticated credit products in DeFi to match the existing centralized credit paradigm. At launch, Masa supports over 10,000 data sources across 78 countries through traditional financial data integrations with Credit Bureaus, Banks, and Fintechs; aggregated together with global cryptocurrency coverage through exchange integrations, Masa unlocks a market of 2.97B people through its credit infrastructure. We have several partners ready to provide liquidity and loan products within the app; including , , and . Masa will be the first DeFi platform to offer uncollateralized loans through  partners in the US, Canada, and sub-Saharan-Africa. Goldfinch Blackcopper EQ Exchange What differentiates your product and/or offering from competitors? Masa’s mission is to bring the next billion people to DeFi by bringing data from off-chain financial data and cryptocurrency accounts together on-chain. The platform offers a seamless user experience through which anyone can link, manage, and track their CeFi and DeFi accounts. By giving users the ability to create and leverage a new decentralized NFT credit report, Masa can create a decentralized credit score and unlock access to uncollateralized loans and other tailor-made financial products through fully on-chain DeFi services. In laymen’s terms, how do you plan on spending the money? We are focusing on expanding our senior team by finding the highest performing people who want to work in a decentralized organization (DAO) - this includes roles across engineering, growth, and operations. Given the scale of the vision we have, finding highly experienced engineers is critical. We have just hired a Head of People Operations to drive culture, recruiting, and performance across the organization. With the pre-seed behind us, and with our first partners going live we are raising a Seed Round to expand, and launch the DAO and the protocol's production release. Alongside this, we will conduct a public token sale and scale NFT credit reports and node operators If you want to work for a high-performing distributed team check out our open roles here (link). What’s exciting about your traction to date? And how do you plan on measuring growth going forward? Masa is building on Celo and Ethereum, has 36,000 people signed up to the platform, 8 partners going live in the Masa App, and 2,100+ node operators on its live testnet that supports zero-knowledge private transactions and private smart contracts. Masa has seen double-digit growth each month as we’ve started rolling out our platform into different markets. The first credit products launching on the protocol include a credit builder loan, uncollateralized loans, and an SME line of credit through its app in June. We are focusing on two main drivers for growth and adoption of the platform; the number of NFT credit reports, and the number of partners providing loans through the Masa App. These two components drive private transaction volume to the private zero-knowledge layer which we expect to see continued growth in node operators from the current number live on the testnet. What are your revenue expectations over the next three years? The Masa platform drives protocol revenues through transaction fees on the private transaction layer, fees on loans originated through the platform (the majority of which goes to funding providers), and referral fees for partner loans issued through the Masa App. These fees are shared with validators and node operators who stake tokens to verify and relay private transactions - a percentage of these fees also accumulate in the DAO treasury. As a DAO we are focused on driving adoption of the protocol layer that enables private transactions,increasing the value of the token which is staked by validators and the DAO treasury. Our ambition is to be a globally adopted layer 1 private transaction layer for the entire DeFi credit ecosystem - this means growing to be a multi-billion dollar protocol that drives value for validators and node operators. At launch Masa will have a significant DAO treasury that will secure the long-term growth of the protocol. The north star metric we use to measure  adoption is the number of users who have created NFT credit reports on the platform by connecting off-chain data sources on-chain. What is your TAM (Total Addressable Market)? And what is your strategy to acquire the maximum share of this market? 95% of all lending in DeFi is collateralized with a high barrier to entry. Existing DeFI lenders are building for a world that doesn’t yet. With our data partnerships and integration we support over 10,000 data sources in 78 countries which addresses a market of 2.97B people. We are on track to create 5 million NFT credit reports over the next 18 months and onboarding over 100 lenders to the platform. Long term we want to be the ubiquitous decentralized credit layer for DeFi which means onboarding billions of users globally. In your funding raising pitch deck, what is your favorite slide? My favorite slide addresses our go-to-market for the next 18 months and our ambition in taking on a massive market. It not only demonstrates how incredibly huge the credit market is but it also shows how massive Masa will be by bringing a small bite of the global credit pie to DeFi. If we want to take DeFi mainstream the lowest hanging fruit to me is offering open access to credit services. We are very early on in the growth of DeFi, there are only 4.6M active users. Masa has the opportunity to double the number of users of DeFI wallets over the next 18 months alone by providing them with an NFT credit report. At 5m NFT credit profiles this represents a strong step forward in our mission to bring the next billion people to DeFi. What problem are you solving? And Why is now the time for your company to solve this? 3.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to credit-building services. DeFi is creating an alternate universe of finance, commerce, investment, and sources of capital for DeFi lenders to serve more customers.  DeFi innovation will profoundly transform the global economy and disrupt industries. It is starting to reshape the way people borrow and save and is remaking banking as we know it. DeFi lending has a profound role to play in this transformation. Key benefits of DeFi include greater security, speed, lower costs, a wide range of services - giving more choice, and the ability to unlock financial freedom through crypto holdings. In addition to these accessibility problems developers have no middleware connecting traditional Finance with DeFI AND they can’t access encrypted (private) financial data for smart contracts. We solve for both. What are the potential risks to the business? i.e. technology, regulatory, incumbents, legal, etc. There are several hurdles to the mass adoption of DeFi. These include: Scalability – A sustainable DeFi ecosystem will likely consist of interoperable blockchains. Gas Fees – The issue of gas fees needs to be addressed to enable financial inclusion. We are building on Celo which is both mobile friendly and has low gas fees. Institutional Adoption – Mass institutional adoption will likely follow widespread consumer adoption. Utility – Most DeFi platforms in the space are building for a future that does not exist yet. We need a platform now that can serve and integrate core centralized banking systems and bridge them to DeFi. To overcome these obstacles, we need to educate consumers and institutions on the benefits of DeFi. Currently, there are many, particularly in developed countries, who are comfortable with the status quo. These mainstream users who do not have an immediate incentive to learn about new and complex protocols and the disruptive technology enabling it. We need them on board in order to accelerate mass adoption of DeFi and ultimately achieve financial inclusion. What intellectual and digital property does the company own? Or intend to build/own? i.e. patents, patents pending, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, domains, bored apes, etc. We are planning to open source all aspects of the protocol over time - this process will be governed by members of the DAO and will be done under the philosophy of progressive decentralization. Why should we think Masa could grow to the moon?! There is an undeniable need to extend credit to billions of underserved individuals around the world. Without fair access to credit people cannot build leverage and increase their personal wealth. The fundamentals of wealth creation hinge upon access to credit. The current system does not serve the many, it serves the few. As a credit invisible person in the US - having immigrated here and only having 5 years of credit history I know how big the barriers are for accessing credit if you are not born into the system. Masa will succeed because we are enabling a more equitable future that provides access to financial services to an underserved global population, one of the most overlooked segments by traditional finance. Unlocking this market segment and aligning incentives through DeFi will drive massive growth of our platform. We will be the credit bureau (credit DAO) of the future, owned by all participants - not one central entity.

Q&A with Brendan Playford, Founder of Masa Finance

Photo by on Miguel Bruna Unsplash The HackerNoon editorial team has launched this interview series with to celebrate their achievements and share their struggles. women in tech We need more women in technology, and by sharing stories, we can encourage many girls to follow their dreams. ! Share your story today Tell us about yourself! My name is Alexa, I am Ukrainian. I am the Co-Founder & CEO at Moeco.io and WTech Berlin curator. I am a global business executive and entrepreneur with over 12 years of experience in the digital transformation between industry and technology. I am the one who builds the bridge between deep tech and its application in the real world, looking for the best use cases in various industries. Why did you choose this field in the first place? I have always been excited about how technology is transforming the way we live and always wanted to be a part of it. Even though I don't have an engineering degree, I’ve spent a lot of time understanding it and finding ways to explain it to non-tech people and this is how I gained the skill of selling tech solutions for enterprises. I have always worked with tech founders (real nerds!) and helped them to find the best way to apply their knowledge and package their ideas for business applications. So far, I have helped several startups to find their products’ market fit and get their first clients, and co-founded Moeco.io to apply this experience to my startup this time. What tech are you most excited/passionate about right now and why? I am excited about the data and how it can be used daily to help people make better decisions by sourcing, analyzing, and turning the data into actionable insights. The sourcing part is the most exciting for me right now as the real-time data flow from our sensors enables our customers to understand the conditions of the goods in transit. This is all due to the most recent connectivity options that have only been available in the last few years. The cost of hardware and connectivity slowly reduces every year, which allows us to source the data in the most cost-efficient way for our customers. Our plan for the near future is to be able to fully automate all the processes in logistics with the help of real-time data flow and eliminate all the risks and manual operations in the supply chain. 5G expansion will make it even faster than we thought. What tech are you most worried about right now and why? I am most worried about my Ukrainian colleagues. There are plenty of great tech projects and bright minds in Ukraine such as 3DLOOK, Readdle, Petcube, Grammarly, Ajax, etc. Due to the war, we must adapt, relocate teams, and open hubs in other countries. Luckily, Ukrainians are cool beans, we are resilient and will come back stronger. That is why you will hear more and more Ukrainian names from all around the world in the upcoming year. What are your hobbies and interests outside of tech? I practice yoga and meditation and am a certified yoga teacher. Additionally, I ran the San Francisco half marathon and created a female-focused health and wellness community called SupergirlsSF. When I moved to Berlin, I became the ambassador of Wtech - a community of Ukrainian and global female entrepreneurs, so I devote a lot of my free time to events, mentorship, and helping Ukrainian founders and entrepreneurs to expand globally. Let's talk about breaking the glass ceiling. What were the biggest challenges you faced as a woman in tech, and how did you deal with them? This is the most common question I have been asked in the last 10 years and I think the answer to that question was being taken seriously in my career. I first started as an executive assistant at a media-tech startup, and I have always been treated as “the girl who sends emails and brings coffee” until I once expressed my opinion on the project we were doing. Then and there I was heard and treated seriously because I was always thinking more than I was required. I think that the expectations from women in tech are quite low in modern society, but more and more women are proving that we can do so much more than people would expect. I think standing up, expressing your point of view, and taking action to make a change in this world is what a lot of modern women dare to do just as you read these lines right now, so please expect more and more female-led companies in the near future. Any questionable misogynistic story/situation you faced/handled, and you want to share with the HackerNoon Fam? The recent experience I had in Saudi Arabia showed me that the world is changing the right side up. Even 5 years ago it would have been hard to imagine a female founder pitching her project to the Tech Accelerator in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in front of nearly 200 investors at the time of Ramadan. It was not easy to get a visa for a woman, even if she had a business partner/client there. Now Saudi’s government is opening the doors for female tech founders, welcoming and integrating them into their economy, making the 2030 vision of a “digital country” a reality. This is a very impressive change that happened very recently and that is a good example of how the governments of different countries should approach their improvement. What was the biggest setback/failure that you faced, and how did you manage it? The deepest and biggest insight of all time for me is that the wrong hiring process can ruin the business. Even hiring one person who has different values could dramatically shift the way a company develops and the direction in which it goes. I think aligning the vision and constantly checking in with the team is the only way to build the company right. If the values and vision are not aligned, the company will be falling apart slowly but surely. One cannot build a company on their own; everyone was always telling me that the people are the key, but I want to make a statement from my experience now: “Each individual is the key and the company has to have the right set of keys to open up the door into the unified dream.” What's your biggest achievement that you're really proud of? I think building the company is an achievement on its own, but having a diverse and distributed team is definitely a highlight. I am proud of the people I was able to bring to the team and I am proud to keep it up even during the time of war in my country, as it is not that easy these days. I think that the creation of a team diversity protocol together with the 5G Open Innovation Lab and the successful implementation of the diversity program in Moeco is the key to success. Creating diversity in teams makes the company more sustainable and stronger during shaky times. It makes the organization operate as a single organism with different functions and capabilities to get to a single goal faster, more efficiently, and have some fun along the way. Don't forget about that part! In your opinion, why do we see this huge gender gap in the tech industry, and how can we reduce it? I think it has a lot to do with the leadership aspect. It was always common for men to lead and most of the time women were just following. Some really good examples like Cisco, Goop, 23andme, Bumble, Eventbrite, Glossier, RentTheRunway, and CreditKarma have changed the perception of women’s leadership and created role models for females to follow. Now we can see more and more companies founded or co-founded by women and the better performance statistics these companies show investors and the whole world. I think it’s a great example of how the mindset can be shifted dramatically in such a short timeframe. Who is your tech idol? Why? Whitney Wolfe Herd started her successful career in dating apps when she was a . co-founder and vice president of marketing at Tinder When she filed a lawsuit against her boss for sexual harassment, she was forced to leave the company. After Tinder, Herd decided to compete against her former employer and create a new dating app. With financial help from Badoo founder Andrey Andreev, Herd created Bumble, which allows women to make the first move after matching. Today, Herd remains the CEO of Bumble, which is valued at . $1 billion and has 35 million users Do you have any advice for aspiring girls who want to join the field? Fears will always be there until you tap into them and decide to change them. We all have fears of not being good enough and in the tech world, females were always considered as “not technical enough”, “not smart enough”, and “not very good at taking the lead”, so it became even easier to just stick with the common ideas and not to take any steps towards changing it. Changing the world starts with changing yourself and getting rid of all the obstacles on this path are, primarily, our own fears and insecurities. Be brave and curious, always get to the core of things and be able to transform yourself on the go. “Build the place on the flight” is the best description of the field you are joining. If you are ready for that, take the step and don't wait for the invitation;  it is already there for you, waiting for you to accept the new reality, the new you.

Power Plays for Women in Tech: Fears Will Be There Until You Tap Into Them and Decide to Change Them

Juegos de poder para las mujeres en la tecnología: los miedos estarán ahí hasta que los aproveche y decida cambiarlos

Le pouvoir joue pour les femmes dans la technologie : les peurs seront là jusqu'à ce que vous les exploitiez et décidiez de les changer

टेक में महिलाओं के लिए पावर प्ले: डर तब तक रहेगा जब तक आप उन पर टैप नहीं करेंगे और उन्हें बदलने का फैसला नहीं करेंगे

技術業界の女性のパワープレイ: 恐れは、あなたがそれらを利用して変更することを決定するまでそこにあります

Jogadas de poder para mulheres na tecnologia: os medos estarão lá até você tocá-los e decidir mudá-los

Quyền lực dành cho phụ nữ trong ngành công nghệ: Nỗi sợ hãi sẽ có cho đến khi bạn chạm vào họ và quyết định thay đổi họ

科技界女性的权力游戏：恐惧会一直存在，直到你深入了解她们并决定改变她们

Russia is increasingly isolated politically and economically, and countries are not the only parties choosing to flex their economic might. Recently, some major companies have implemented their own forms of economic sanctions. But this begs the question: Are these companies’ actions a sign they are too big for their own good? Nearly half of professionals in the U.S. (45%) say they do not support the recent bans of Russian state media companies by major social media companies, according to a on the Blind. More than one in four respondents (27%) said they only supported “censorship” if required by a court or legal order. recent user-initiated poll professional social network Earlier this week, internet giants, including Google-owned YouTube, Meta-owned Facebook, and TikTok, blocked channels and profiles connected to the Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik in Europe amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In the same poll on Blind, the remaining 28% of respondents said they supported companies deciding to “censor” as they see fit. “Businesses are free to refuse content that they disagree with, especially when that content is government produced,” said a verified Credit Karma professional. “I do not support government compelled speech.” The professional at the company described the recent corporate actions as “non-government private actors making decisions for their own property.” The user continued: “It’s called liberty.” financial-technology Others expressed concern with the exercise of what some call the outsized geopolitical influence of companies sanctioning another country as a government might. “Big tech flexing their power into politics is such a dangerous and recent thing we have to accept,” - verified Workday professional The growing list of companies sanctioning Russia At least two dozen major private companies and organizations have stopped business or limited access to their goods or services in Russia. Some of the global companies include: Airbnb Apple Airbus Boeing BP Daimler Truck Disney EA Sports Equinor ExxonMobil FedEx Ford GM Harley-Davidson HSBC International Olympic Committee and other major sports governing bodies, including FIFA Maersk Mastercard Meta Microsoft Netflix PayPal Reddit Shell Snap Societe Generale TikTok Twitter UPS Visa Volvo WarnerMedia The wide breadth of the companies involved, including many large U.S. , has also led to criticism from some technologists as evidence of a “big tech monopoly.” technology companies “All my thoughts and prayers are with [the] people of Ukraine,” a verified Airbnb professional said on Blind. “But this censoring is not going to help them [Ukrainians] and sets a wrong precedent for future cases,” citing the actions taken by Facebook, Google, Mastercard, Netflix, PayPal-owned Venmo and Visa. In the end, the issue may be a problem of our own collective doing. “I’d say they are intentionally performative,” an anonymous verified professional said on Blind, referring to the many companies’ decisions to sanction Russia. “Tech companies should not be the judge of anything or step into politics, but everyone expects [from] them some kind of social responsibility to do the right thing. This means they have to do something to make the crowd not mad.” The bottom line The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has extended beyond the borders of Europe, and companies increasingly have a say. The professional social network Blind found that some U.S. tech giants’ recent decisions to sanction Russia have drawn the concern of some technologists about the influence these companies command. Also published on Teamblind's blog

Do Some Tech Companies Have Too Much Influence? - Lessons From the Russia-Ukraine Conflict 

¿Algunas empresas tecnológicas tienen demasiada influencia? - Lecciones del conflicto Rusia-Ucrania

Certaines entreprises technologiques ont-elles trop d'influence ? - Les leçons du conflit russo-ukrainien

क्या कुछ टेक कंपनियों का बहुत अधिक प्रभाव है? - रूस-यूक्रेन संघर्ष से सबक

一部のテクノロジー企業は影響力が強すぎますか? - ロシア・ウクライナ紛争からの教訓

Algumas empresas de tecnologia têm muita influência? - Lições do conflito Rússia-Ucrânia

Một số công ty công nghệ có ảnh hưởng quá nhiều không? - Bài học từ xung đột Nga-Ukraine

一些科技公司的影响力是否太大？ - 俄罗斯-乌克兰冲突的教训

As the world becomes increasingly digital, nearly every company is looking for to code—no matter the industry. The phenomenon has been great news for software engineers and programmers who can now command high salaries for their hot, in-demand talent. software engineers Perhaps it is no surprise that software engineers in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to Silicon Valley and its many tech giants, can command an even higher premium with their pay packages. According to the more than 5 million verified professionals on the professional social network Blind, these are the top 17 best-paying cities for software engineers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Blind considered the annual base pay and the total compensation package, including the annual salary and any stock-based compensation or bonuses a company might offer. 1. Los Gatos, California n: $500,449 Average Total Compensatio : $475,000 Median Total Compensation : $470,015 Average Salary : $451,000 Median Salary Los Gatos is the best-paying city for software engineers in the U.S., according to Blind. The small town is home to Netflix, which prefers to hire more senior or experienced professionals and pays accordingly. The video-streaming giant typically pays large salaries and gives few employees stock-based compensation. 2. Menlo Park, California : $328,423 Average Total Compensation : $297,000 Median Total Compensation : $167,004 Average Salary : $165,000 Median Salary Menlo Park might be home to only 34,000 people, but its population can swell in size with tech workers during the workweek. Menlo Park is home to the headquarters of Meta, the owner of Facebook and one of the highest-paying technology companies. Google and Roblox were also founded in the city. 3. Cupertino, California n: $279,391 Average Total Compensatio : $255,850 Median Total Compensation : $165,753 Average Salary : $165,000 Median Salary Cupertino is home to Apple and its futuristic Apple Park corporate campus. Software engineers at Apple have enjoyed large paychecks recently, as the iPhone maker briefly topped a jaw-dropping $3 trillion market cap early in 2022. 4. San Bruno, California : $278,368 Average Total Compensation : $225,900 Median Total Compensation : $161,269 Average Salary : $149,500 Median Salary YouTube moved its headquarters to San Bruno in 2007 and has become the city’s largest employer. The Google-owned video streaming service employs more than 2,000 professionals. 5. Mountain View, California : $275,181 Average Total Compensation : $242,000 Median Total Compensation : $160,790 Average Salary : $156,000 Median Salary Mountain View is synonymous with Silicon Valley. Long before startups were birthed in San Francisco Bay Area garages, the city was home to silicon semiconductor producers, which gave the region its name. Of course, the city is now well-known as the headquarters of Google, but other tech companies with prominent presences include 23andMe, Intuit, Mozilla and Synopsys. 6. Oakland, California : $266,869 Average Total Compensation : $197,750 Median Total Compensation : $192,240 Average Salary : $168,750 Median Salary Oakland has become a hub for many financial-technology companies. Credit Karma moved its headquarters from San Francisco to downtown Oakland in 2020. Block and Marqeta also have major offices in “The Town.” 7. San Francisco, California : $265,050 Average Total Compensation : $225,000 Median Total Compensation : $165,042 Average Salary : $160,200 Median Salary San Francisco might be the crown jewel of the technology industry, as the home of too many tech startups and companies to count. The city by the bay is home to Airbnb, DoorDash, Lyft, Twitter, Uber and more, but its top employer is . The cloud giant employs more than 9,000 employees, and its headquarters has made a permanent contribution to the downtown skyline. Salesforce 8. Sunnyvale, California : $260,048 Average Total Compensation : $238,000 Median Total Compensation : $160,499 Average Salary : $160,000 Median Salary Sunnyvale maintains its Silicon Valley roots as home to the chip-maker AMD and advanced technology and networking companies, including Juniper Networks, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn and NetApp. 9. Palo Alto, California : $234,739 Average Total Compensation : $200,000 Median Total Compensation : $157,488 Average Salary : $154,000 Median Salary The tony city of Palo Alto is one of the major cities of Silicon Valley. Cloudera and VMware are some of the largest technology companies based in the city. 10. San Mateo, California : $234,066 Average Total Compensation : $187,875 Median Total Compensation : $158,629 Average Salary : $155,500 Median Salary Companies that call San Mateo home include Coupa, Roblox and Snowflake. Before being acquired by Zendesk, Momentive, which was founded as SurveyMonkey, was headquartered in the city. 11. Pleasanton, California : $225,058 Average Total Compensation : $202,000 Median Total Compensation : $150,887 Average Salary : $150,000 Median Salary Pleasanton is home to many business parks, but the suburb’s top employer is the HR-technology giant Workday. 12. Foster City, California : $220,293 Average Total Compensation : $190,000 Median Total Compensation : $158,319 Average Salary : $148,500 Median Salary Foster City is the headquarters site of the biopharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences and the enterprise software company Zuora, among other companies. 13. Fremont, California : $218,913 Average Total Compensation : $180,000 Median Total Compensation : $144,638 Average Salary : $142,500 Median Salary Notable companies with headquarters in Fremont include Corsair, Synnex and more, although the city’s No. 1 employer is Tesla. 14. Santa Clara, California : $214,168 Average Total Compensation : $197,000 Median Total Compensation : $153,885 Average Salary : $150,000 Median Salary AMD, Intel, NVIDIA and Palo Alto Networks are some of the most well-known tech companies headquartered in Santa Clara. 15. San Jose, California n: $210,801 Average Total Compensatio : $183,000 Median Total Compensation : $153,390 Average Salary : $145,000 Median Salary The largest city by population in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose is home to Adobe, Cisco, eBay, PayPal, Zoom and more. 16. Redwood City, California : $207,955 Average Total Compensation : $190,000 Median Total Compensation : $156,248 Average Salary : $151,000 Median Salary Redwood City is the headquarters location for several global technology companies, such as Box, Carbon, Electronic Arts and Informatica. 17. Milpitas, California : $188,146 Average Total Compensation : $165,750 Median Total Compensation : $154,073 Average Salary : $138,000 Median Salary Some of the top employers in Milpitas are tech employers, including Cisco, FireEye, SanDisk and more. Methodology Blind analyzed the base salaries and total compensation of software engineers in the San Francisco Bay Area on its platform. Cities were ranked by the average total compensation, including annual base salary and, if applicable, stock-based compensation and cash bonuses. All data is self-reported by verified professionals on the professional social network Blind. Also published on Teamblind's blog

17 Highest-Paying Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area for Software Engineers

Las 17 ciudades que mejor pagan en el área de la bahía de San Francisco para ingenieros de software

17 villes les mieux rémunérées de la région de la baie de San Francisco pour les ingénieurs logiciels

सॉफ्टवेयर इंजीनियरों के लिए सैन फ्रांसिस्को खाड़ी क्षेत्र में 17 उच्चतम-भुगतान वाले शहर

ソフトウェア エンジニアにとって、サンフランシスコ ベイエリアで最も給料の高い 17 の都市

17 cidades mais bem pagas na área da baía de São Francisco para engenheiros de software

17 thành phố trả lương cao nhất trong khu vực vịnh San Francisco cho các kỹ sư phần mềm

旧金山湾区软件工程师薪酬最高的 17 个城市

As many companies increase pay to attract talent in today’s hot job market, some workers are finding themselves left behind. Verified professionals at Amazon have reported external hires are receiving increasingly high offers on the professional social network Blind. A at Amazon had their total pay, which includes a base salary and stock-based compensation, increased to $180,000 after earning a promotion to “software development engineer II.” But instead of celebrating, the coder was dismayed to find someone hired in the same role, which might require as little as two or three years of experience, can earn as much as $300,000. software engineer Companies typically set for each position or job function to account for different experience levels, skills, job markets and performance-driven raises over time. So, how can new workers out-earn established or even long-time employees? salary ranges Why new hires make more money than older employees Over time, workers who have been in a job may earn less than new hires in the same position, a phenomenon called wage or pay compression. Pay compression can happen in competitive labor markets. Employers often need to increase pay to hire experienced or in-demand workers when the need for workers outstrips the supply of available talent. At the same time, raises for current staffers may not have kept up. The disparity can also happen when companies use out-of-date data to set pay. Alternatively, inconsistent or shifting salary range schemes might also be to blame. What to do when a coworker makes more money than you Workers looking to earn a higher salary could benefit by searching for a new position elsewhere. About one in two professionals (49%) said they would quit and find a new job, or switch to a different team if possible, if they found out a than they did, according to a recent user-initiated poll of 2,756 verified professionals on the professional social network Blind. new graduate made more money New offers are driven by the current market, and employers often cannot give existing employees a raise to match, a verified Apple professional explained in response to the poll. “But if it doesn’t happen by the next review cycle, you need to bring it up and leave if they don’t adjust because that only means a new employee is more valuable than you are,” advised the same Apple worker. The other half of survey respondents said they would attempt to negotiate their salary with their boss. “Most people understand when it comes to compensation,” a professional at a financial services company said, referring to managers. Before discussing pay or attempting to negotiate a raise at work, staffers should equip themselves with what fair earnings might be. Employees should be well-prepared before their formal ask, which could also include “testing the waters” first. The same financial services professional recommended raise-seekers to “discuss the compensation lightly and test waters” with their manager or lead. “For example: ‘Do you think we made a big impact with X feature? I’ve been thinking about asking for a raise and wanted to start compiling my achievements for my review.’” The supervisor’s response can signal whether the raise-request may be successful. A verified Credit Karma professional approved of the approach, adding it “doesn’t hurt to start a conversation with your manager.” The bottom line Companies have recently found it difficult to recruit new employees and are hiking pay to attract new talent. The result is existing workers may find themselves underpaid compared to external hires. In a competitive job market, it can pay for professionals seeking raises to find a job elsewhere instead of negotiating their salary with their current employer. According to Blind, half of the professionals surveyed said they would quit if they found out a recent graduate earned more money than they did. Methodology In a user-created poll on Blind, 2,756 verified professionals responded yes or no to the question “Would you negotiate salary with your boss if you found out a fresh grad makes more than you?” between Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, 2021. Respondents who answered no said they would quit for a new job or switch to a different team at the company. Also Published on Teamblind's blog.

How to Deal with a Coworker Making More Money Than You 

Here we go again. An increase in cases due to a new highly has thrown a wrench into most employers’ . COVID-19 contagious coronavirus variant return-to-office plans Only one week into 2022, central business districts remain barren, despite many employers’ previously announced expectations that workers come back to the office to start the new year. More than seven out of 10 professionals in the U.S. (71%) said their company had postponed its return-to-office plans because of the omicron variant of COVID-19, according to a new survey of 3,167 verified professionals in the U.S. from the Blind. professional social network The remaining 29% reported no such changes at their workplaces. Return to office: Which companies have pushed back their plans? Blind found that most tech companies moved their return-to-office dates, perhaps unsurprisingly, as many of them embraced flexible work policies. Survey responses from verified professionals at , Cisco, Credit Karma, Cruise, DocuSign, eBay, Expedia, , Intel, Lyft, MathWorks, Microsoft, Oracle, Peloton, Pinterest, Roblox, SAP, Twilio and Uber confirmed the delayed office reopenings, some of them indefinitely. Apple Google A few companies have pushed back their plans by as little as one month, even amid the uncertainty caused by the omicron variant. “Already pushed back a month,” said a verified Credit Karma professional, referring to the personal finance company’s new mid-February return date in a discussion of return-to-office plans. In contrast, many financial services companies, generally loathe in allowing work from home, have also held off on bringing employees back. American Express, Bloomberg, Charles Schwab, Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, Visa and Wells Fargo have altered their return to the office. “RTO was originally scheduled for now, but they finally caved at the last minute and pushed it back because of omicron,” said a verified Charles Schwab professional. “So stupid that they are forcing us back at all.” How are employers responding to the omicron variant? More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, some employers have not yet honed their workplace policies. Fewer than one in three professionals in the U.S. (31%) said their company requires employees who work in the office to get tested for COVID-19 at least once a week, according to Blind. The other 69% reported no such rule at their companies. The results indicate many employers may be waiting to implement President Biden’s vaccine mandate, which also gives workers the option to be tested for the coronavirus weekly. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the mandate. A majority of verified professionals at Apple, Bloomberg, Broadcom, Cruise, Goldman Sachs, Micron Technology, Roblox, Salesforce and Wayfair confirmed their companies require COVID-19 testing to work in the office in Blind’s survey. While many companies have taken steps to verify their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, Blind found few companies have yet to require a “booster” shot. About one in four U.S. professionals (24%) said their company had announced a requirement to get a booster COVID-19 vaccine, according to the survey from Blind, compared to the 76% who said no such policy exists. Bloomberg, Broadcom, Credit Karma and Goldman Sachs are some of the employers with a COVID-19 booster requirement for employees. The bottom line The coronavirus pandemic continues to test the mettle of employers. The omicron variant has forced many companies to rethink and push back return-to-office plans. A large majority of U.S. employers have asked their workforces to continue to work from home for another month or longer, with some companies giving up on setting a return date entirely, according to a new survey from Blind. Methodology Blind conducted an online survey of 3,167 verified professionals in the U.S. on its platform from Jan. 4 to 5, 2022, to understand how employers responded to the COVID-19 omicron variant. Also published on the Teamblind blog.

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