Nithya Das is the acting General Counsel at AppNexus, a New York based company that provides an advertising technology platform that serves the largest and most innovative buyers and sellers of online advertising. Prior to joining AppNexus, Nithya was a senior associate and member of the Technology Companies Practice Group at Goodwin Procter where she represented tech companies across their lifecycle from early stage to post-IPO. In her free time, Nithya enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter and also writes a cooking blog. Follow Nithya on Twitter @nithyadas.
What lessons did you learn during your childhood that you’ve carried into your career?
My parents are both immigrants and they gave me with a strong sense of “child of immigrants who suffered for me” guilt. It taught me to take nothing for granted and to work really hard. It endowed me with a pound-the-pavement sort of tenacity that I apply daily to my life, work and play.
What did you study and how has that influenced your career?
I was a finance major and speech minor in college. I really wanted to be an English major but my parents worried I would grow up to be a starving writer (see answer above about immigrant child guilt). My finance degree is helpful in my career as a lawyer because it means I’m comfortable with financial terms and tools. And my work as a speech minor is something I use daily as a big part of my job is being able to be a clear and concise communicator who can effectively negotiate in a variety of settings.
Do you think a college degree is becoming unnecessary for individuals to advance their careers?
Yes, I think the startup industry is making it less necessary. There are still some circles where people will focus exclusively on your educational pedigree (which is such a gross word!). But even Google just admitted that much of that doesn’t matter when determining whether an individual is capable of success. My older brother is a serial entrepreneur who founded and sold a company to Lijit, taught himself multiple programming languages and just launched a new start-up, Industry. I could never teach myself all of the things he’s managed to do on his own. But that’s how he learns and the start-up technology field makes it possible to succeed based on actual ability and results rather than just a piece of paper.
As more women have entered the tech industry, what changes have you noticed?
One benefit of the women in tech conversation happening so loudly in so many places is that it makes it completely not awkward to say “Did you notice there are no women on your panel?” or “Can we strive for 50/50 representation?” Previously, it was kind of uncomfortable as a woman to raise these issues. Now, people are more aware of the issue and realize that not paying attention to gender diversity is a faux pas.
What’s the most common Startup error?
Many startups seem to think that raising money is a hallmark of success. It’s not. It’s just an event of someone giving you a shot to go out and create success.
What does “fail fast” mean to you?
“Fail fast” means being intellectually honest enough with yourself (and your team) to readily acknowledge when something isn’t working and to act quickly but thoughtfully to fix it. Move on. Don’t let problems linger no matter where they present themselves - people, product, strategy, business model, etc.
Guess who’s coming for dinner…who would be your dream dinner guest(s) and why?
Michelle Obama. We’re both women, lawyers, moms and love and care about food, cooking and healthy eating habits for kids. I think we would totally be besties!
This post was created by Raine Dalton, WIM’s editorial and community innovation intern. Raine is passionate about finding creative ways to empower women globally through tech. In addition to WIM, Raine has written, tweeted, and posted for the Global Banking Alliance for Women, WITNESS, and 90.7 WFUV News. You can find her work at www.rainedalton.com or get in touch with her through Twitter @rainedalton, or by emailing raine@wim.co.