Cooke Career Snapshot: Key Lessons from Aaron Fulkerson's Career Journey
Aaron Fulkerson
2002 Undergraduate Transfer Scholar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
My career path has been a winding road filled with learning, growth, and unexpected turns. I'm proud to say that I am a first-generation college graduate and part of the inaugural cohort of the Cooke Transfer Scholars and in 2004 I received my BS in Applied Math Computer Science from UNC-Chapel Hill. My path started at Microsoft, where I worked briefly in Research, which led to co-founding a software company (MindTouch), eventually joining a 22,000-person company (ServiceNow), and currently leading another startup (Opaque Systems). Along the way, I've gathered valuable lessons that I hope will inspire and guide you in your own career.
The Beginning: Microsoft
My career began at Microsoft, which was a remarkable experience. I worked with brilliant people on Research that informed some of the foundational Cloud technologies used today. We had access to resources that fueled my passion for technology. This period taught me the importance of kindness in the workplace. Kindness isn't just about being nice; it's about genuinely caring for others and their success. By being kind, you build relationships that can last a lifetime, and these relationships are invaluable in your career. While I worked at Microsoft for less than a year, I still have many friendships from that time that are meaningful to me twenty years later.
Lesson One: Operate with Kindness
Kindness has always been a core value for me. It makes life more fulfilling and opens doors professionally. Twenty years of professional experience have taught me that relationships and helping others bring me the most fulfillment and joy. Also, as a side effect, being kind enables you to develop more relationships and creates a supportive network throughout your career.
Entrepreneurship: Founding MindTouch
I've always been comfortable taking risks and betting on myself. I developed this skill early because my circumstances afforded me few opportunities. I learned to "do it myself" and figure it out through trial and error, embodying the attitude common in punk culture that emerges when you've got nothing to lose. In 2005, I co-founded MindTouch with a friend from Microsoft. What started as an open-source project quickly gained traction, becoming one of the world's most popular open-source software projects within two years; today, this software still serves hundreds of millions of users (an example can be found at LibreTexts). Leading MindTouch was incredibly fulfilling. We built a product that empowered people to share knowledge and collaborate more effectively. Not only was MindTouch helping people who used the software, it also launched and advanced the careers of hundreds of MindTouchers who worked for the company.
Lesson Two: Be Proactive and Drive
Most people talk about their dreams and goals, but very few start them and even fewer stay committed to putting in the hard work to achieve their goals. It's essential to be proactive. Don't make excuses—take action. Be punk, be bold, and learn by trial and error. I've taken inspiration from the concept of Zanshin, which I learned about in the book "Zen in the Art of Archery." It's about being fully aware and committed to your actions. Be present in all aspects of your work, always strive to improve and develop your craft.
Transformative Leadership: Growing ServiceNow
After leaving MindTouch, which we sold to a larger company, I joined ServiceNow. At MindTouch, our business was in the tens of millions, and then I joined ServiceNow, where I was helping to run businesses that contributed billions to the company. After helping to triple the revenue of one business, I then led the creation of a new business and product line. This product became the fastest-growing in the company's history. However, the journey was challenging. Some people resisted the new business unit because it disrupted existing structures and change can be uncomfortable but it's the only way to grow. Despite the resistance, we stayed focused on our vision and values, which ultimately led to our success.
Lesson Three: Be Enthusiastically Interested in Others
Understanding what others care about and what motivates them is essential. This attitude, born from a genuine interest in helping others, has helped me build authentic relationships with colleagues and customers. It's not just about business; it's about creating meaningful connections. Caring to understand the customer and internal stakeholders allowed me to navigate the political landscape authentically and develop trust.
Lesson Four: Be Determined
Achieving your objectives requires not letting setbacks or failures discourage you. My time at ServiceNow was filled with numerous challenges and resistance, but staying determined helped us push through. We remained focused on our customers, vision, and values, ultimately creating products that significantly improved the industry, accelerated the careers of hundreds, probably thousands, and added billions to ServiceNow market cap.
Leading the Future of AI: Joining Opaque Systems
Now, as CEO of Opaque Systems, I am at the forefront of AI innovation. Opaque Systems is dedicated to accelerating AI adoption by ensuring data privacy, security, and sovereignty. Several world-renowned researchers launched the company from a famous computer science lab at UC Berkeley (RISElab). My role as CEO combines my passion for technology with my commitment to ethical technology adoption. Here we are tackling the trust crisis in AI with confidential data, ensuring AI can advance without compromising privacy.
As CEO of an early-stage software company, I am mostly focused on our “product-market-fit.” This means I’m spending most of my time speaking with current customers, prospective customers, and partners to determine the optimal go-to-market and product strategies. Go-to-market is a fancy way of saying that we’re figuring out the best customers to focus on and how to communicate the benefits of the technology to as narrow an audience as possible. By remaining focused we will grow the business more quickly than be being diffused across many potential buyers and use cases. The go-to-market strategy informs the product strategy, which is another fancy way of saying features we should focus on and how to design the user experience. On any given day, I spend most of my time in Zoom meetings with Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Data Officers, and Chief Information Security Officers of enterprise-scale companies in the Financial Services, High Tech, Government, and Manufacturing industries. When I’m not doing this, I’m helping to recruit new talent to the Opaque team.
Lesson Five: Have a Bold Vision and Be Disciplined
Having a bold vision is essential, but you must also follow the order of operations to achieve it. Just like in arithmetic, where you solve problems in a specific sequence (parentheses first, then exponents, followed by multiplication and division, and finally addition and subtraction) achieving your goals requires a similar approach. Furthermore, being successful at anything requires practice and repetition. Focus on the first steps and consistently do the tedious work daily. Discipline and a willingness to focus on the work that matters, even if it's not the most fun, are crucial.
Reflecting on my Journey
Looking back, each step in my career has taught me something valuable and have shaped who I am today. I encourage you to embrace kindness, be proactive, take an enthusiastic interest in others, stay determined, and have a bold vision while staying disciplined to do the tedious work.
I hope my story offers guidance and inspiration to other scholars, college students, and young professionals reading this. Remember that success isn't just about reaching your goals; it's about how you get there and the relationships you build along the way. Be kind, proactive, and curious about others; always maintain sight of your vision. Your journey is unique, and I'm excited to see where it takes you. Please contact me on LinkedIn directly with your stories, especially if this was helpful, and let me know if I can be helpful to you in your journey.
If you’re interested in writing a Cooke Career Snapshot blog, please email alumni@jkcf.org with your interest.