FROM PEOPLE I’VE WORKED WITH
A little love and honesty.
I asked people I’ve worked with what they appreciated and what I could do better. Here are some of the things they shared with me.
A little encouragementWell, trust me: when I first saw you, I thought you could be a successful founder one day. You are one of very few people I’ve thought that about.
What stood outYou are one of the most confident, charismatic and articulate people I've come across. You're great at presentations and have that Steve Jobs factor in you! I'm glad you're founding your own company because you're truly built for this and will knock it out of the park I'm sure.
What stood outYou are a force of positivity in a field which tends to be nihilistic. It is incredibly refreshing and gives soul to your interactions with others.
What I do differentlyYou take feedback constructively and iteratively, assess it, and provide a comprehensive response which feels as if you’ve already reviewed that feedback well before receiving it.
Favorite memoryWhen we went to SF after finding out Cisco was buying us. I enjoyed every time our paths overlapped.
What stood out1. Turning complexity into action: You can absorb a difficult problem, get to its core quickly, and help the team move toward an implementation. 2. Knowing what matters: Your ability to separate signal from noise gives people clarity when there’s a lot going on. 3. Taking ownership: You don’t wait for directions when you can see where something needs to go. 4. Leading with care: Your passion for the team, the product, and the company is real. People can rely on both your technical judgment and your commitment to them.
What I do differently1. You bring conviction and energy into a room. When we first met, I found that intensity a little intimidating. Over time, I came to see how much of it comes from caring deeply and wanting to give your best. 2. You move from understanding a complex problem to helping others act on it remarkably quickly. You don’t keep the answer to yourself; you bring the team with you. 3. You lead without waiting for permission. The clarity and courage to do that, especially at this stage in your career, are rare. Please keep them.
What stood outSpot-on and direct conversations, leading people and moving forward, great technical skills, having a longer-term roadmap in your mind, connecting people together
What I do differentlySpot-on and direct conversations in both work and non-work chats
Favorite memoryThe virtual engineer-only social, being able to chat about our personal lives
A little encouragementYou are great. Everyone who has worked with you would agree too. Whatever decisions you have made in the past were thought through and great at the time. Whatever new challenges you face shouldn't make you feel frustrated thinking "I should've..."
Favorite memoryIt's a one-way story. My first meeting was actually a demo session from you, and I was really blown away - "man, this lady is confident, composed and clearly knows what she is doing". As a result, I didn't remember anything about that feature but it's cool.
What stood outYou have great energy to be around. You do an awesome job of breaking down complicated topics and your excitement for what you've built is felt.
What I do differentlyI think a lot of people as technical as you are very logical and can struggle to convey emotion/passion when presenting their work. You seem to be the opposite in that you are able to get in the weeds technically while also being able to passionately and clearly convey your work.
What stood outYou're really good at making the complex simple. You attentively answer questions, ask questions to meet people where they are, and care about the end result.
Favorite memoryWe launched Tokenomics! I enjoyed meeting you in person; your humor, positivity and realness stood out. I also enjoyed seeing other women of color in the space :) (we need more!).
A little encouragementRemember that you are loved and supported. Hire people who are different from you and can make up for the areas where you are weak.
What stood outYou are a PRO!!! The way you have led Distributed Tracing and more recently Tokenomics is phenomenal. Your PR reviews are also so thorough. You’re still one of the few who do some manual review too.
What I do differentlyBeing able to explain technical concepts in an approachable way
Favorite memorySeeing you get out of your comfort zone and speak at events of all shapes and sizes. Not many engineers have the courage or want to do this type of stuff!
Favorite memoryEvery day feels like a great coffee chat with you! It honestly feels like we have worked together for a decade. We have been through so many happy and rough moments, but you always handle them gracefully. Your willingness to help and lead is what has kept us moving forward. Sharing personal moments and feelings with someone like me is something I deeply respect and honor in a friendship. I have never made friends at work during my entire tenure, but you led the way for us. You definitely have an incredible amount of grit and perseverance to navigate any challenge. I am absolutely sure that whatever you lead, you will lead to success. As for the funniest moments: "Do you know I have a partner? Do you know I am married? Do you know I have a husband?" Did I ever ask you? But I did like the memorable moments: "I love matcha, I ran a marathon."
Constructive feedbackIf I said otherwise, I would just be stereotyping or judging you. Girl, leadership always comes from your own effort, discipline, commitment, grit, and perseverance, and you have it all in you. Just remember, for your future success, don't let yourself be overly influenced by those above you. Ensure your path forward doesn't put your team or colleagues in a situation where they end up sacrificing their time and effort just because someone else is driven by self-interest. Lift up your team with you. They rely on you. That’s the challenge you will always be facing.
A little encouragementRough day! Now my eyebrows are up! Don’t let anyone influence you in a way that makes your day rough. Learn to spend time alone. That’s the best gift a human being can give themselves. The concept and value of solitude have either been lost or are being eradicated from the world. Invest time and energy in yourself when you are in trouble. There is no trouble which troubles you except what you allow. If you fall down 100 times a day, what does it matter? For a committed girl/woman like you, there is no such thing as failure. If you fall 100 times, there are 100 lessons to be learned! Your value doesn't decrease based on someone else's inability to see your worth. Remember to keep dusting those boots off on days like this.
What stood outYour work ethic and networking skills are craaaazyyyyyy
What I do differentlyYour energy and just the amount of effort you put into building relationships with people
Favorite memoryAll my US trips! The gossip, the walks, and of course building Khoj
What stood outThinking hard about a problem and coming up with a well-researched plan like I remember you doing for distributed tracing and later for tokenomics.
What I do differentlyI think the quality that stands out the most is leadership by example, taking on challenging problems and driving through execution.
Favorite memoryIt was the weekend that we were working on fixing last-minute issues with ingestion to get AO ready for production deployment on O11y Cloud.
My contextI helped with a task outside my responsibilities to support the broader team.
Constructive feedbackI can't think of a good, concrete example. As general advice, I'd say focus on communication, making sure that stakeholders are informed about plans, progress, and the problems and challenges that you are tackling. In other words, visibility. I think you did well on that front at Galileo/Splunk, but it's always important to keep that in mind.
A little encouragementYou're not just capable, but you're also brave. You have the courage to take on challenges and make yourself accountable, and drive things through to the finish line. That's a rare quality. Most people are more comfortable being followers.
What stood out- Pratyusha moved complex backend projects forward to launch, including search/filter and distributed tracing (beta). - Pratyusha created customer demos, presentations, and documentation, including multi-agent and distributed tracing demos that others can use and present - Pratyusha investigated bugs in product areas, proactively surfacing issues before they became customer concerns (e.g. distributed tracing beta limitations, etc.)
What I do differentlyTends to read the room well. Confirms others are following along. Able to push back on unrealistic deadlines. Engages everyone in the conversation.
Favorite memoryReally organized from the get-go, persistent in pushing all threads forward each day
What stood outYou are extremely passionate and hardworking. You also treat people with kindness, respect and genuine engagement. And you are genuinely interested in the problems we've been working on and how to best solve them.
What I do differently1. Being interested in and passionate about things beyond the scope of what you're working on. 2. Curiosity about other people and things outside of your main avenue/lane of work 3. Genuine connection with those you work with
What I do differentlyDoesn't wait for requirements to be explained in detail; thinks ahead; combines customer empathy with technical/product curiosity.
What stood outComprehension ability and grasping power :)
What stood outBeing an adult, herding the cats and bringing some structure and sense to the work. It was really good!
What I do differentlyPassionate, responsible, and caring about the outcome?
Favorite memoryPratyusha staying cool and keeping a poker face despite all of the nonsense unfolding daily
What stood outTalking!!! Walking in and out of friendship/conversations whenever you think you can. Professionally, you are technically strong and possess the rare capability to embrace O(n^2) problems and solve them with a time complexity of O(log n). You have a good heart. I am profoundly grateful to you for dropping those WhatsApp messages to check on me. You are also good at telling stories and venturing out on vacation! I am sure you have a lot of good in you. I am sure you have heaps of good in you! Strive for the best! Good undermines your value.
What I do differentlyI just trusted your strategy and execution, your bias toward action and winning for everyone.
Favorite memoryI love your positivity! You also show mad respect for the FDEs which I appreciate.
A little encouragementFrom what I've seen, you've been able to solve really hard problems for really difficult customers. You are a beast and you will figure it out. Even if you fail in the short term, in the long term you will 100% come out better off :)
What stood out- quickly figuring out creative technical solutions by understanding the problem well
What I do differently- building rapport with people - you reached out proactively to talk to me so many times - being frank and vocal about what you want
Favorite memory- 1-1s and getting your frank thoughts - seeing you crushing it on tokenomics
What I do differently1. Transparency when assigning tasks. 2. Generous with praise and always motivating the team.
Favorite memoryCasual talk before serious discussions.
What stood outInnovative product mindset, and ability to make others care about the work. It will help when you’re selling your product.
What stood outTwo things at the top of my mind: 1) Creativity: ship things out for people regardless of how hard it could be. Always identify a way to get things done. 2) People: I love working with you. Both are critical founder traits!
What I do differentlyYou’re direct, unfiltered and vocal. Your appetite for risk-taking is what I would bow down to!!!
Favorite memoryMost memorable was when you started talking in Hindi and I was taken by surprise :D Before that I thought you were a Firang!!!
What I do differentlyI think you're more of a full-stack hacker/builder than many other engineers. You also have skills in presentations (which involve some marketing), product, etc.
Favorite memory- Seeing you around the Burlingame office! Playing cards etc. - More recently around .conf Denver and Cisco SF office. - Kudos/tacos on how you drove forward and delivered on various efforts! (e.g. Views on logstreams etc)
What stood outLed tokenomics! Crazy stuff! Originally the DRI for distributed tracing, which was one of the original projects that I took interest in.
Favorite memoryVenting about Galileo issues. Good times. Nice to know there is someone who I could commiserate with.
What stood out1. Always keeping track of everything; good time management. 2. Great communication with engineers and PMs to clarify requirements.
What I do differentlyI think you distribute your attention more effectively than most other people I’ve worked with.
Favorite memoryGeeking out on numbers
Favorite memoryWe’ve only worked together for a handful of months, but somehow it feels like years. What has stayed with me most is watching you lead through complexity: you find the signal in the noise, make it clear what matters, and bring everyone along. I don’t have one big moment in mind as much as a collection of those smaller ones.
A little encouragementRemember that you’ve already done something many people never dare to do: you took the first step. A hard day won’t erase your intelligence, your courage, or your ability to bring people together around something that matters. Things won’t always move at the pace you want, and that’s okay. Keep your goals clear, trust the strengths that got you here, and give yourself time. The Taj Mahal wasn’t built in a day. I believe you can do this. I am cheering for you and can't wait to see you succeed.
Favorite memoryThat time we played that tennis-like game on a court, and proceeded to the "after party" at a friend’s place where we were the party haha! Certainly a good time :)
A little encouragementWhat do you call a CEO with no employees? Unemployed. Remember: hire and delegate wherever and whenever you can. Our team is what makes us who we are as founders. Delegating, giving ownership and trusting others is a superpower. Treat it like one.
What stood outProduct instincts, customer understanding, anticipating future needs, GenAI ideas, hard work.
What stood outArticulate and precise in discussions
What I do differentlyYou don’t just focus on the engineering side of things: you are talented in lots of other aspects as well, such as product and people.
Favorite memory1. The hackathon video we shot together. 2. Seeing how you drove the Tokenomics effort and got it across the line. 3. Your fast POCs on filtering, agent graph, etc.
What stood out1. Competent. 2. Helpful. 3. Proactively reaching out to help others.
What stood outSuper responsive, very organized with thread management across multiple channels
Favorite memoryI've most appreciated getting to chat with you about the crazy and normal things happening at Galileo.
Constructive feedbackPush back a little more on the time pressure / urgency when you're building something new to make sure you don't overwork yourself or your team. (Or maybe don't, because let's be honest: what founder does this?)
Favorite memoryGetting the Tokenomics app up and running for the first time was a huge win after spending a lot of long hours to get it working. Greatly appreciated your dedication and expertise.
Constructive feedbackProperly allocate time and resources for stability over features ;) It doesn’t matter how many features you have if you can't load the page while everyone's trying to access it.