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Om Malik has died

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71–80 of 187 posts

Re: Om Malik has died

#71
About 11 years ago, I cold-emailed Om for his guidance. I was an absolute nobody, living thousands of miles away. Not only did Om patiently explain how I should think about my career, he kept in touch over the past decade checking in on how I was doing. I left journalism last year to do something else -- coincidentally, again, following Om's footsteps -- and had been meaning to write a long email, sharing so much. I deeply regret missing the chance to have another conversation with him.

Om has been deeply impactful to my journalism career and beyond. He was way too kind and leaves a big vacuum.

Re: Om Malik has died

#72
post #9

Oh, bummer. I only met with him once - a mutual friend put me in touch with him. He was wise, gracious, and generous with his time. Bon Voyage Om.

I had a very similar single experience with Om: I was introduced completely randomly while he was at True Ventures; he couldn't have been nicer, more curious, or more genuine despite me almost certainly reading like a total waste of time.

It's both heartwarming, and bitterly sad, to see so many other posters confirm he was one of the good ones.

Re: Om Malik has died

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"the selflessly-helping side of the Valley" Never having lived in the valley, I've struggled to understand what it means. Can anyone share some examples?

There is a really tremendous streak of people helping people with no strings attached that I hadn’t found anywhere else I’ve lived. Especially but not exclusively on the engineering / product side - for a long time you could take a greyhound to Soma and have a couch to crash on and a job interview lined up without knowing anyone. Introductions are made without a second thought (extremely contrary to my east coast exp…

Does that not extend beyond tech founders? I hear that SF has one of the highest rates of homelessness...

Re: Om Malik has died

#74
Om Malik was the guy who had the biggest influence on the direction of my life, by far. It was through him I met Naval Ravikant in 2007, and then through Naval I met my co-founder that led to my startup exit in the '10s.

Luck surface area. I really owe so much to Om. I really can't imagine where I would be without that chance.

Re: Om Malik has died

#77
post #38

A tragic loss. Amongst his many other talents, Om was a wonderful photographer; you can see some of his photos at Glass: https://glass.photo/om

Thank you for sharing this. While everyone remembers his writings, encouragement, and contributions to tech/business, the photos put up by him are beautiful as well.

Re: Om Malik has died

#78
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a really tremendous streak of people helping people with no strings attached that I hadn’t found anywhere else I’ve lived. Especially but not exclusively on the engineering / product side - for a long time you could take a greyhound to Soma and have a couch to crash on and a job interview lined up without knowing anyone. Introductions are made without a second thought (extremely contrary to my east coast exp…

Does that not extend beyond tech founders? I hear that SF has one of the highest rates of homelessness...

Not even the richest person can simply cure thousands of people of addiction and set them on the right path in life. If you want to prove me wrong, surely even with non-millionaire resources, you could afford to just take in one into your home, feed them, and fix their problems. I’ll be genuinely glad to be proven wrong.

Re: Om Malik has died

#80
fondly remember meeting Om many years ago

I was so anxious I couldn't sleep the night before

then in the morning when I walked up to true ventures I was such a sleep deprived mess I worried I will just waste his time

he was a bit surprised and humored, I think, we grabbed some coffee and had a great conversation

ty for your kindness

RIP Om

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