Hey, Iโm Daniel, and I usually go by Olshansky
I live by a few mantras:
- Figure out what you want-to do instead of what you want-to want-to do. Now do it.
- Learn your limit, push yourself to the limit, up your limit. Rinse and repeat.
- Live in a way such that your future self inspires your present self.
- Experience is building a toolbox, expertise is mastering each tool, and leadership is knowing which tool to use when.
- Strive to create generational impact while staying kind to the people around you.
Where am I from?
Born in ๐ท๐บ Moscow, grew up in ๐ฎ๐ฑ, and spent my formative years in ๐จ๐ฆ before moving to the ๐บ๐ธ to pursue my career.
I’m not a nomad, but I do move around a lot, so I’d classify my nationality as a North American Russian Jew.
That said, I connect with people and ideas rather than geographies or backgrounds.
What drives me?
Iโm a lifelong learner ๐งโ๐ with a goal of creating a generational brand with global impacts.
Founders and generational companies inspire me to do my best work, and I need to do the same for future generations.
How do we do it? Technological innovation, hard work, operational excellence, while cultivating environments that push and enable individuals to do their best work.
Where did I work?
I’ve worked across social, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, crypto, and large-scale systems.
None of it has (yet) moved the needle on a global scale, but Iโm proud of the work and the teams Iโve been part of.
- 2010 - 2014: University of Toronto; Engineering Science; Nฮจ 1T4
- 2014 - 2015: Twitter; I worked on ๐ฑ and shipped things like Gif Search. I learnt how big corporations operate and what it means to design systems.
- 2016 - 2020: Magic Leap; I helped build a shareable digital world for cross-reality experiences. I learnt how to navigate politics, what too much premature money can do, and how to innovate on the technical front.
- 2020 - 2022: Waymo; I built data science infrastructure for the Planner Eval team. I built intuition around AI, ML, evals and how the smartest people in the world think.
- 2021 - 2022: GetSoils; I built a construction soil marketplace. I learnt how hard it is to sell to old industries.
- 2022 - Present: Grove & Pocket Network; I led a small team and a large ecosystem in the R&D of a blockchain that enables decentralized access to data and API discovery. I learnt that EQ is much more important than IQ when it comes to leadership.
What do I value?
I believe in mind-body connection. Training, reflection, writing, buildingโthese are all forms of the same pursuit. I hold myself and others to high standards, sometimes too high. My weaknesses are clear to me: I burn out, Iโm impatient, and I can struggle with EQ. But I try to balance that by being kind, even when Iโm not โnice.โ
The things that bother me most: laziness, incompetence, lack of appreciation, lack of humility.
Who inspires me?
My biggest inspiration is Rahul Goel, founder of NordSpace.
If I could spend a month working with anyone, it would be Tobias Lรผtke, CEO of Shopify. If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be Peter Thiel.
Other people I learn from and who inspire me regularly:
- Dharmesh Shah โ CTO of Shopify
- John Carmack โ legendary programmer and game developer
- Andrej Karpathy โ AI researcher
- Vitalik Buterin โ founder of Ethereum
- Mitchell Hashimoto โ creator of HashiCorp
- Simon Willison โ co-creator of Django, thoughtful builder
- Stephen Wolfram โ founder of Wolfram Research
- Edward Thorp โ mathematician, investor, and blackjack pioneer
- Richard Feynman โ physicist, teacher, storyteller
I donโt put any of these people on a pedestalโtheyโre human, flawed, but deeply impactful. I study them because theyโve carved unique paths, thought differently, and created enduring value.
What do I do in my spare time?
- Go to the gym focusing on movement ๐๐ฝ๐คธ๐ช
- Spend time outdoors on short hikes and lakesides ๐ฅพ๐ฒโฐ๐๐
- Reading and writing ๐โ๏ธ
- Tinkering and experiments ๐ค๐จโ๐ป
- Calls and walks ๐๐ถ
- Long dinner conversations ๐ฝ๐ฃ
- Periodically networking at events ๐ค
- Watching Movies & TV shows
What do I want to do more of:
- Take part in improv classes ๐ญ
- Go to comedy clubs ๐ค
- Work on new physical skills ๐คน
- Podcasting ๐
- Reflecting ๐
- Meditating ๐ง
- Executing on my next big idea โก
Links & Resources
Interesting Content
- Presentations & Talks โ A YouTube playlist of all my talks and presentations
- Publications & Research โ My Google Scholar profile
- Snipd Podcast โ A collection of short-form podcast episodes
Writing
Social
- Reddit โ r/u/Olshansk
- LinkedIn โ Professional profile
- Telegram โ Direct messaging
- Instagram โ Visual updates
- Strava โ Fitness activities and runs
- CV โ Professional resume
Reach Out
I don’t like meetings. I love voice notes. I’m also down to do an adhoc call.
Send me a voice note on WhatsApp or an email to olshansky.daniel@gmail.com.