Chasing Moonshots: My Time at X’s Moonshot Factory
I found this in my drafts from August 2022 and wanted to share. Enjoy!!
I’ve been fascinated by everything about X (Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory) since I first discovered them a few years ago. I admire not only the transformational work they undertake but also their incredible mindset, which includes thinking 10x, embracing failure, and tackling the most challenging parts of a problem first.
Over the summer, I was selected to earn a spot in the first ever ‘Moonshot Camp,’ and spent time working out of Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory X to create a concept and working prototype of what could become Moonshot’s next billion dollar, world changing solution, right from within their Mountain View, California headquarters.
View our project memo [here]
My Experience @X
Although I only spent a short time at X, that time turned out to be the highlight of my 2022.
In my team of five, our goal was to build a moonshot in two weeks. X defines moonshots to be at the centre of three things: A huge problem in the world that affects millions or billions of people, a technology breakthrough, and a radical, sci-fi sounding solution that may seem impossible today.
My team worked on and developed a prototype to use multidimensional spectroscopy for early cancer diagnosis, and I think I can say that doing this project was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.
We had all done rapid problem sprints in the past before, but there was something different about this time —the combination of an endless supply of chocolate covered blueberries and mentorship from X employees raised the stakes significantly, and fueled our determination to truly deliver on this project.
Selecting a Focus Area
Through our ideation, we recognized that there’s an infinite number of problems or interesting futures that we could enable through our work, but the challenge lied in picking an area that worked with both X’s criteria of moonshots and also our skillsets and timelines.
In our hunt, we researched everything from e-waste recycling, to wireless energy transfer using zenneck waves before finally settling on early cancer detection.
When I’m thinking of problems to work on, I usually take a deductive approach where I develop an exhaustive list, and use the established criteria as guidelines to narrow the exhaustive list until I hit my goal.
Our X mentors Ashley and Sam (along with many others) were relentless with questioning every thought or idea we proposed, and asking why not? or what would happen if ______ happened? — not because it directly influenced which problem or solution we developed, but because asking these questions challenges you to think from a different perspective, and you gain unique insights — something that I personally carried throughout the rest of our process as well.
Developing the Project
Even once we had narrowed down our scope to early cancer detection using multidimensional spectroscopy, it was not a smooth ride: going from a rough idea to a fully fledged solution and prototype.
The biggest challenge, as in most cases like these, was just building a strong foundation and understanding the technology and problem in depth.
I remember spending hours and hours going through what seemed like every single link on Google, and navigating through research papers filled with words I’d never heard before.
One of my favourite days was our hackathon, where we spent 12+ hours at the office, chipping away working on our project. We had half of our team working on the prototype in the Design Kitchen, with the other half figuring out the details of our solution. I think back to how with more research, every ~45 minutes, our idea would get validated, and then invalidated again.
And even though this may sound challenging or hard or maybe even painful, I loved every minute of it. We’d come home every night, and even after 9–10 hours of work, we’d still be laughing about our days and projects before falling back into the rhythm of work the next day.
The night before our last day and final presentations, everything was done and ready to go — except our presentation. And similar to the rapid ideation part, we had all developed and done presentations in as less as 30 minutes before, but this was a technical presentation to the entire leadership at X (including CEO and CTO), and the stakes were incredibly high.
T-minus 30 minutes to the presentation, I had gotten about 47 minutes of sleep and had two (sugar-free) red bulls, but I presented our work, my team answered the questions, and we’d gotten nothing but great feedback and excitement about how proud and impressed they were with our work.
My Takeaways
Although I loved and learned so much through the experience of building my own moonshot, that’s not the biggest thing I take away. Most of all, I loved the environment, the atmosphere, and the vibes at X.
Focus on Lessons > Failure
By default, moonshots are difficult, and most will fail. But as humans, we’re innately programmed to avoid failure and are risk-averse as a result.
In the case of moonshots, it could lead to ignoring, or turning a blind eye to the datapoints that could lead your project to fail, which could “look badly on you,” but from day one, at X, they’ve wanted to incentivize a culture where failure is embraced, and the focus isn’t on the failure itself, but on the lessons that everyone learns.
Even though something may not go the way you originally plan for it to, going through the process itself leads you to learn very specific lessons that aren’t killed with the project — they stay with you in all your future endeavours.
In an AMA with Astro Teller, he asked us a question that still stays with me today: What would you do, if you knew you were going to fail, but were going to be judged on what you learned?
People are Everything
One thing that took me by surprise was the focus on people. From day one, I noticed how every single person I had a conversation with had a few things in common: they’re smart, knowledgeable, and motivated to make the world a better place, but they’re also kind, helpful, and incredibly happy and fulfilled.
It wasn’t hard to tell that everyone loves the work they do (failures and challenges included), and I learned that this is because X is extremely selective when hiring.
Senior Manager Asmau Ahmed told us about how she looks for A+ people: people who not only have the technical skills, but also have the empathy, humility, and experiences to change the world and show up their best.
Astro Teller also mentioned the types of people he looks for: people with curiosity and creativity, who’re able to collaborate with different people, remain comfortable and show resilience in face of uncertainty, and are also able to have fun and be “childish.”
Again, neither of them explicitly talked about having specific technical skills, but Astro Teller mentioned that he looks for people that not only are strong fits for the existing project, but also are versatile and are able to contribute to the next project, and the project after that effectively.
As someone who’s experienced the X atmosphere for ~2 weeks, I really can see the impacts of this mindset, because every Xer I met was wonderful.
Life after X
Looking back at the experiences I’ve had and the projects I’ve worked on over the last few years — I’ve always been more of a generalist than someone who’s specialized in a particular problem area or technology. And up until my time at X, I considered this to be a weakness.
I love the feeling of being challenged and problem solving: breaking things down to first principles and going from minimal knowledge to a level where you can not only understand the details of the field, but also develop innovative ideas and challenge the status quo.
Learning about everyone’s roles was a shift in perspective for me. As I internalized that Xers are working full time on the things I do for fun, I realized that the act of collaboratively researching, building projects, and problem-solving is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Thank yous:
First and foremost, thank you Jillia, Nabeela and Nadeem for creating this experience and making it happen — I can’t remember what I expected going into this, but my experience surpassed anything I’d ever even dreamed of. Everyone could see the hours and hours of effort everyone at X put into making this a reality, and for that I’m forever grateful.
Thank you Damian, Navid, Nadeem, and Alisha for being supportive and guiding us through everything that came our way.
Thank you Aaryan, Robert, Valmik, and Graeme for being wonderful teammates — I learned so much working with you all.
Thank you to the best sponsors we could’ve ever asked for: Sam, Ashley, and Pritish. Your questions lead me to think in ways I didn’t even know I could think.
Thank you to Eugenie, Phil, Doris, Jeannine, Hemal, Joe, Nick Foster, Vinay, Antonio, Nick Sexauer, Jim, Jeff, Ray, Kari, Catherine, Will, Jolie, AJ, Greg, Pritish, Ellie, Julie, Benoit, Gabriella, and Astro for authentically sharing your stories, thoughts, and ideas through engaging discussions and presentations.
Thank you for everyone at X for being so kind, welcoming us into your workspace, and constantly going above and beyond to truly make this experience wonderful.
Thank you to fellow TKSers for turning this into an experience I’ll never forget — laughing loudly through the walls, bougie meals, and unhinged trips to Palo Alto.
Special shoutouts:
- Ashley for her killer organization skills
- Nick Sexauer for letting us roll around the top floor of the office on wheely chairs
- The kitchen staff for keeping us very well fed
- Jolie and AJ for dressing up as dinosaurs during their session
- Jenny for taking us through what was (and probably will be) the funniest safety training of my life
- Dami for giving me last minute pitch feedback and overall being a ray of sunshine
Even months later, the echoes of laughter, the intensity of brainstorming sessions, and the excitement of every small breakthrough lingers in my mind. This experience has reshaped my perspective, and it’s a reminder that with the right people, environment, and mindset, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.
As I move forward, I carry with me not only the knowledge and skills gained but also the inspiration and the drive to keep pushing boundaries, just like we did at X.
Until our paths cross again, I’ll cherish these memories and the lessons learned, always looking back at them as a source of inspiration and motivation. Here’s to the future, to innovation, and to the endless possibilities that lie ahead. Thank you, X, for this unforgettable experience.
