The Tamil Creator Podcast (EP #78): Jey Balachandran - From Employee #7 To CTO At Doximity (800+ Person Publicly Traded Tech Company)

"Jey Balachandran is the Chief Technology Officer at Doximity, after joining 10+ years ago as Employee #7. He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss Doximity’s adoption of remote work prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, their hangouts at the U of T library, the value of University degrees in the future, being headhunted and moving to the US as a result, differences between Toronto and San Francisco with everything ranging from technology to food, splurging on a Dyson hair dryer, his go-to food spot in the Bay Area (Mission Burrito), and so much more."

Podcasts

Aug 28, 2022

Ara Ehamparam

Business Owner

Toronto, Canada

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He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss Doximity’s adoption of remote work prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, their hangouts at the U of T library, the value of University degrees in the future, being headhunted and moving to the US as a result, differences between Toronto and San Francisco with everything ranging from technology to food, splurging on a Dyson hair dryer, his go-to food spot in the Bay Area (Mission Burrito), and so much more.

"The Tamil Creator" is a podcast started by me (Ara Ehamparam) to celebrate, spotlight and learn about the brilliance among Tamil creators globally. I want you to feel like you're a fly on the wall eavesdropping on a conversation that is a combination of educational, inspirational and entertaining.

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To get more information, please visit the website at TheTamilCreator.com.

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Jey Balachandran
01:26 - Jey speaks on being born in Sri Lanka, growing up in Canada, and living in America for the last decade plus
03:46 - Being the 7th hire at Doximity and the company now having 800+ employees; Jey compares now versus then
06:10 - What Doximity is; how it enables connection with other physicians and streamlines workflows
07:46 - Was Jey’s degree useful in getting him to where he is today?
10:13 - What he looks for when making a hire
11:39 - How his skillset has evolved since joining Doximity; how he transitioned from a developer to more of a leader
13:16 - How his expectations of being CTO have matched up with reality; learning to embrace chaos on a daily basis
14:39 - How Doximity competes with other companies amidst the tech world’s skill shortage with people constantly switching jobs to maximize earning potential
17:48 - Why Jey has stayed with the same company for 11 years; an unusual trend in the tech world nowadays
19:46 - What drove his decision to leave Canada for United States
23:49 - San Francisco’s homogeneous evolution
25:05 - Things in Toronto that Jey wishes he could have in the Bay Area
25:39 - Jey’s recalls the process of Doximity became a publicly traded company and how his life changed
30:20 - Does Jey have plans to seek out entrepreneurial ventures in the short- or long-term future?
31:34 - Family not being in favour of his decision to move to San Francisco
33:45 - The biggest learning lesson Jey has experienced in the last 3-5 years; what he learned
34:45 - Advice he would give his 16-year-old self if he could jump in a time machine
35:28 - The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for by his friends and family
36:09 - Creator Confessions
44:05 - The Wrap Up