John Young is the co-founder and COO of Avion School, a Y Combinator-backed startup that teaches Filipinos to become remote software engineers globally. Before Avion School, he was at PDAX, a Tiger Global-backed Philippine crypto exchange.

👋🏼  How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

Avion School teaches Filipinos to become remote software engineers. I make sure that the best people are in the program and ensure that they're trained well.

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🧐  What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I spend a lot of time talking to students. I've interviewed close to a thousand students at this point. Definitely normal for startups but maybe surprising for schools. I mean, when's the last time your school really tried to figure out how you wanted to learn?

🏆  What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Going through YC! There's nothing like three months of extreme work alongside some of the smartest minds across the globe.

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🔍  What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?

Play-to-earn. It's fascinating that we live in a world where you can make a living playing games akin to Pokemon. To think that Pong was only 50 years ago. Insane!

💼  What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

Feynman once said something along the lines of "you must not fool yourself as you are the easiest person to fool." I try to remind myself this often— whether that's figuring out which students to onboard, how to teach them or which companies to pass graduates to. It is only by acknowledging we could be wrong that we move to what may be right.

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🗣  What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

Robert Caro's works and writing process.

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🎥  What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Donnie Darko is the best superhero movie in the past 20 years.

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🍨  What's your go-to ice cream flavor?

Can't go wrong with cookies and cream!