Refactor Labs

Refactor Labs is a modern leadership advisory firm helping outliers and organizations lead through hard pivots. We specialize in resilience and reinvention, delivering remarkable experiences that thrill participants and build their courage + capacity for change.

Services:

🧢 Executive Coaching: 1:1 + small group sessions that unlock transformational growth through extended partnership.

🛠️ Participatory Workshops: Interactive seminars designed to learn and practice crucial skills for navigating complex transitions—storytelling, emotional intelligence, experimentation and more.

🎤 Keynote Talks: High energy presentations that challenges audiences to dream bigger and act bolder in the pursuit of excellence.

Clients:

Meta
Nielsen
Pinterest
Grubhub
Contenda
Coeus Ventures
Proctor & Gamble
Harmonic Message
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Executive Coach

Lunar Accel

Board Member

Merit

Angel Investor, Mentor

Contenda

Angel Investor

13 Fund

Angel Philanthropist

Jason Shen

Write about business, technology, and culture for publications with numerous bylines in TechCrunch, Fast Company, and Vox. My posts on Medium have a combined 800k+ views.

Speak and teach at conferences and events on topics like gaming & esports, product management, entrepreneurship, talent development, and leadership. Since 2012, I've spoken on four separate continents (North Am, Europe, Asia, Australia) at places like Google, Pinterest, General Assembly, and Empower. My TED talk on the future of hiring has 4M views.

Support ambitious startup founders as an executive coach.

Resilience Expert

Facebook

Led product for public groups which connect 400M+ people everyday to the interests, people, and  communities they care most about, without barriers. Incubated a new product experience in FB Groups to millions of people.

Product Manager

Presidential Innovation Fellows Foundation

The Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program was established by the White House in 2012 to attract top innovators into government, capable of tackling issues at the convergence of technology, policy, and process.

The PIF Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization established to support and advance the PIF program, drive innovation in the US government, and connect our 100+ alumni. Board members are elected by members to 2-year terms.

The Asian American Man Study

The Asian American Man Study a national survey of the experiences and beliefs of American men of East, Southeast, and South Asian descent. Our findings have appeared in The Atlantic, NBC Asian America, Vox, and Quartz, and has reached over 100,000 people on Medium. Over 1000 Asian men have been surveyed since our founding in 2015.

Jason has shared his research and personal experience as a first-generation Asian American at Amazon, Pinterest, Proctor & Gamble, and Nielsen.

Founder

Helping unconventional founders & execs lead through hard pivots · Author: THE PATH TO PIVOT · Uncle Iroh with a side of Genie · 3x venture-backed startup founder · 1st gen immigrant · ADHD · Meta + Etsy alum

Hi, I'm Jason. I'm an executive coach to outliers & organizations facing hard pivots.

But let's talk about you for a sec. I'm guessing you've landed your fair share of funding, promotions, and industry recognition.

But somewhere along that grind, you noticed you saw the world differently than your peers and those ahead of you. You discovered that achieving inside someone else's definition of success isn't a sweet as winning on your own terms.

But at the same time, you've realized that building a company, career, and creative life that's out of the ordinary can be daunting.

I get it.

As an executive coach and the founder of a leadership advisory firm Refactor Labs, I help outliers like you lead through hard pivots in business and life. 

Having built teams, products, and companies in consumer, B2B, and marketplaces from inception to post-IPO—I've probably seen the problems you're facing.

As a three time startup founder with two exits and one very humbling failure under my belt—I know the pressure of having to manage your psychology and lead your team in pressure-cooker moments.

And as an ADHD kid transplanted from Suzhou to Silicon Valley, I've felt the sting of rejection and the struggle to find community when you don't fit in.

That's why I do what I do.

My clients are VC-backed founders, agency owners, and senior executives. Outliers who want to express their unique talents in spite of a system that tells them to just fit in. Leaders who want to transform their organizations to navigate a new reality.

I work with you to power through those hard pivots to land that next big thing.

That's what I did for Kevin.

Kevin had a growing family and a successful career as a marketing leader, but was tired of feeling tired and burned out.

Together we charted a path for him to leave his pre-IPO startup and launch a successful agency that's quickly becoming the go-to messaging agency for B2B SaaS companies while supporting his family and his health.

And for Edmar.

Edmar was the founder and former CEO one of Brazil's most successful tech companies, but when we met, he was stuck in first gear without much momentum in any direction.

Together we helped him find joy in coding again, develop genuine relationships and a community of Bay Area technologists, and shaped his vision to launch an AI venture studio.

So that's what I do. Here are some ways I can help you:

1. The Outlier Advantage Email Course (free)
2. The Path to Pivot book ($)
3. 1:1 or Group Executive Coaching ($$)
4. Keynote presentation ($$$)

Shoot me a DM to learn more and explore further.

🌱 Jason Shen

You built the thing.

You wrote the first lines of code, made the first sale, hired the first employee. You were the company.

But now you're scaling. You have a team of 5, 25, 50.

The skills that got you here, the relentless doing, the hands-on control... they are becoming the bottleneck. You feel you "should" be more strategic, but you're uneasy letting go.

You look at your title:

CEO
CTO
COO

And you wonder if you're still the right person for the job.

Your challenge isn't to become a different person. It's to find your new point of leverage.

It's to graduate from being the best "doer" to being the most effective "enabler."

What's one task you're still holding onto that you know you need to hand off to scale your impact?

Jason 🧠 Shen

The Outlier Coach · Helping venture-backed founders build conviction and win *their* game. Author of 'The Path to Pivot' & 'Weirdly Brilliant' · Retired NCAA 🏆 gymnast

I'm an independent author, journalist, and speaker.

My debut book, THE GOOD ENOUGH JOB, is about how work became the primary source of meaning and identity in Americans’ lives. It was the #1 bestselling work-life balance book of the year and has been translated into over a dozen languages. 

As a keynote speaker, I work with companies to help them avoid burnout and develop cultures of sustainable productivity. I'm grateful to have spoken at TED, Google, Airbnb, and other leading organizations. Learn more about my speaking work here: simonestolzoff.com/speaking.

As a teacher, I help professionals get clear on what they want from their careers through a course called Designing Your Next Career Step. I've taught nine cohorts of the course and helped over 150 professionals bring more intention and clarity to their career planning. Sign up to learn about the next cohort here: https://maven.com/simone-stolzoff/designing-your-next-career-step. 

As a journalist, I've written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and numerous other publications. I primarily cover issues related to work. Recent articles:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/tuvalu-islands-sea-level-rise-climate-change
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/opinion/employment-exploitation-unions.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/12/from-prison-to-silicon-valley/603406/

The best way to stay in touch is to join my free newsletter, The Article Book Club, which I've run for the past 8 years. Join 3,500+ others who care about deepening their relationship with work, culture, and themselves: https://articlebookclub.substack.com/.

taplio

The Battle

🌱 Jason Shen

Simone Stolzoff

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Performance Score🌱 Jason Shen's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

🌱 Jason Shen

Simone Stolzoff

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}🌱 Jason Shen's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance Score🌱 Jason Shen's LinkedIn Performance