Conversations with Anthony Agnone

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Agnone.

Hi Anthony, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a builder at heart. A childhood love of Legos turned into engineering degrees from Georgia Tech and then an even deeper dive into the intersection of software and AI. I feel so lucky to have grown up in the Atlanta area with world-class universities and businesses around me. Through those years, I combined the value of that education with the financial benefits of commuting and the immersive experience gained from internship/co-op work programs. Georgia Tech will always hold a special place in my heart; it’s where I truly established my identity and charted the path for the rest of my life.

After getting my M.S. I spent several years at Pindrop here in Atlanta, doing applied research and delivering voice-based security to Fortune500 companies across the board. I joined Pindrop post Series C, but the startup energy there was very much alive. That office had so much ambition and excitement it was palpable. I worked there with some of the smartest minds I’ve ever come across; we pushed the limits of what audio-based technologies could do at the time, before AI was in vogue. In fact, using the term AI in those years was a surefire way to communicate that you had no idea what you were talking about; the bread and butter was data science and machine learning. I took so much from that role and branched into more software endeavors, eventually owning entire architectures end-to-end.

During that time, Covid-19 hit and the world shut down. I had recently married my wife, gotten a puppy, and moved into a townhouse. Aside from all of the stress, anxiety, and sadness the pandemic brought, we had a lot to be thankful for at the same time. We hunkered down and enjoyed that time as much as we could, given the circumstances.

As that fog started to clear, my wife and I got the itch to leave home. We had both grown up in the Atlanta area, and couldn’t shake the “what if?” thoughts about deciding to settle down too soon too fast. We scratched that itch for sure by moving across the country to San Francisco. Parts of our time there were nothing short of magical. I regularly went on heavenly bike rides around the bay, always with a coffee from Philz in hand. I worked with some great people at Pinterest doing machine learning for ads optimization. I also met more lifelong friends that I will always cherish. That time also had a lot of weird aspects; loads of people around us struggled with addiction and homelessness and a lot of petty crime happened around the city. We had our fare share too – broken car windows, property theft, greedy landlords…I will always love going back to San Francisco, but we ultimately decided to move back to Atlanta to be closer to family and move onto the next chapter of our lives. Funny enough, the apartment we chose was all but 2 blocks away from the east edge of Georgia Tech campus. A part of me loved being so close again, but it also made clear how I was not that age anymore!

We’ve been back for two years now and recently bought a home in Marietta. After taking some dips in the entrepreneurial space, I work primarily as a technical architect for Salesforce. Outside of work, I play the piano, grow vegetables in the garden, play soccer, and work on technical side projects to unwind.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
From my days in college, I’ve always loved intellectual pursuits. Facing a hard problem and finding a way to solve it gives a rush like no other. Because of that, I spent many years with supposed “struggles” actually bringing me a lot of happiness.

My tough bouts always come from when things just don’t make sense. As one example, I struggled immensely to integrate into one of my work teams. A combination of language and cultural barriers left me searching for answers to “fit in” socially and gain respect reputationally. While there were clear workplace norms being violated, conversations with peers and management led to no avail. Theoretical problems can be so fulfilling to dig into, since they have so much structure. Real world problems tend to not have the same guarantees.

Similarly, our time in San Francisco was ridden with challenges. After what truly felt like a honeymoon period of bliss, financial growth, and business opportunity, we hid many storm clouds down the stretch. I was not enjoying my main work. My side projects were not fulfilling. San Francisco’s market for my wife’s professional focus at the time was down big time. We still loved the sheer bliss of a 65 degree afternoon in Golden Gate Park, but struggled to line up the backdrop of other conditions. That time truly felt like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

All in all, I don’t regret a thing. I try to look in the rear view mirror of my life for reflection and steering. Whether or not things “happen for a reason,” they happened. How I carry myself forward is what determines the future.

The road to success is always under construction. If I have learned anything from all of my trials and tribulations, it’s that there is no formal “end game” to look forward to like a light at the end of the tunnel. The best outlook on the daily challenges in life comes from the realization that change is the only constant and your perception is your reality. Admittedly, I’m a terrible stoic; but it’s my north star.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work in all things software and artificial intelligence. Depending on the job at hand, that spans across pre-sales consulting, solution design, implementation, or retrospective analysis. In many ways, this represents a nice culmination of the progression of my roles over time. I cut my teeth for years on math and coding, leveled up into the architectural level, and put one leg into the business realm. As I branched into more experience, I didn’t leave anything behind. That has proven immensely valuable for the current AI craze we’re in. There’s just as much value in the strategic side of things as there is in getting it done technically.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
I’ve played soccer since I could reliably swing a foot, and the same for my father. From when I was 3 until I started playing for travel teams, my dad was the coach, and a good one. Other guys on my team loved him; one almost stopped playing altogether when he moved because he only wanted my dad as a coach. Having him as a coach led to us spending so much time together on and off the field. We would also play pickup together at a local park, which was a great way to play with people of many different ages and playing styles. As I venture into fatherhood, I think about how I want to balance my time spent with work and family. Reflecting on how much time he dedicated to the sport and my development in it warms me up so much. It reminds me that passion is everything. Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lifewithdata.org
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyagnone/
• Twitter: https://x.com/@anthonyagnone
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@anthonyagnone
• Other: https://anthonyagnone.substack.com/