From Amazon Engineer to Startup CTO: Why João Deliberately Stepped Back Before Moving Forward

Most career advice tells ambitious professionals to always move forward and up. João Neves, co-founder and CTO of Bloop, took a radically different approach that challenges conventional wisdom about career progression.

In a fascinating conversation on the Levels Podcast, João shared why he deliberately stepped back from a leadership role at Farfetch to become an individual contributor at Amazon—and how this counterintuitive move ultimately prepared him to successfully co-found and lead a complex startup.

The Problem with Moving Up Too Fast

João's career journey began at Farfetch, one of Portugal's seven unicorns, where he joined two years before their IPO. The company's rapid growth created abundant opportunities, but also revealed an unexpected challenge.

"I felt that in a far fetch have grown too fast because after two or three years of experience overall, I was already leading other people. Most of them with a lot more experience than me as a software engineer."

Despite being promoted to engineering lead and managing a team of six engineers, João recognized something crucial: he was advancing in management faster than he was developing as a technologist.

The Deliberate Step Back

When the opportunity came to join Amazon in 2020, João made a decision that surprised many around him. He left his leadership role at Farfetch to become an individual contributor again.

"When the Amazon opportunity came up, I moved, I accept, and I solidified myself as a software engineer for two or three years before doing the transition again instead of Amazon to engineering manager and leading teams of up to 12 people."

This wasn't a step backward—it was a strategic investment in his technical foundation. João understood that leading technical teams effectively requires deep technical credibility and hands-on experience.

Why Technical Depth Matters for Leaders

The decision to strengthen his technical skills before returning to management wasn't just about personal development. It was about becoming a more effective leader. João explained his reasoning:

"While I knew and learned that that's what I really like to do to lead teams, lead people grow, help the product vision as well. I felt I was following that path too soon."

By working as an individual contributor at Amazon, João gained exposure to large-scale systems, learned from more experienced engineers, and developed the technical intuition that would prove essential when building Bloop's complex platform.

Building Credibility Through Experience

The strategy paid off when João eventually transitioned back to engineering management at Amazon, where he led teams of up to 12 people. This time, his leadership was grounded in recent hands-on experience and technical depth.

This foundation became crucial when João decided to co-found Bloop. As CTO of a platform that combines e-commerce and social media functionality, he needed to make complex technical decisions and earn the respect of a 16-person technical team.

Learning from Different Company Cultures

João's career path also exposed him to different scales and stages of company development, providing valuable perspective for startup leadership.

"So I had seen a scale up go through their IPO and being an unicorn. I had seen Big Tech. I spent five years in Amazon and I thought it was the moment to try something of my own."

At Farfetch, he experienced the intensity and opportunity of a fast-growing startup approaching IPO. At Amazon, he learned how large-scale technology companies operate, maintain quality, and manage complex systems. This combination prepared him to navigate the challenges of building a startup that needs to scale quickly.

The Value of Multiple Transitions

João's willingness to make the leadership transition twice—from engineer to manager at Farfetch, back to engineer at Amazon, then to manager again—demonstrates remarkable self-awareness and long-term thinking.

"And this was all part of the plan. So maybe it's... could be interesting for your listeners as well."

Each transition taught him something different: how to lead people, how to build complex systems, and how to combine both skills effectively.

Applying the Experience to Startup Leadership

When Francisco approached João about co-founding Bloop, João's diverse experience made him an ideal technical co-founder. He brought:

• Startup experience from Farfetch's high-growth period
• Technical depth from hands-on engineering work at Amazon
• Leadership skills developed across both environments
• Scale perspective from seeing companies at different stages

"He contacted multiple people. And like Jason mentioned in the beginning, Farfetch is one of the seven unicorns out of Portugal. And Portugal has a strong, I think it's obviously biased here, but Portugal has a really strong talent pool, especially in technology and engineering."

Lessons for Technical Professionals

João's career strategy offers several insights for engineers and technical professionals:

Technical leadership requires technical credibility: You can't effectively lead technical teams without recent hands-on experience and deep understanding of current challenges.

Strategic career steps aren't always linear: Sometimes the best path forward involves taking what appears to be a step back.

Diverse experience compounds: Exposure to different company cultures, scales, and challenges provides valuable perspective that can't be gained from staying in one environment.

Self-awareness trumps external expectations: Understanding your own developmental needs is more important than following conventional career progression timelines.

Plan beyond the next promotion: Think about what experiences will make you effective in the role you want in 5-10 years, not just the next job.

The Startup Application

For startup founders and early employees, João's approach highlights the importance of building comprehensive skills before taking on complex challenges. Bloop's technical complexity—combining e-commerce, social media, and financial systems—required a CTO with both deep technical skills and leadership experience.

João's journey shows that the most effective technical leaders often aren't those who climbed the ladder fastest, but those who took the time to build a solid foundation across multiple dimensions of expertise.

His story challenges the startup mythology that values only upward trajectory, suggesting instead that strategic lateral moves and even apparent step-backs can be the foundation for more significant long-term success.

Key Points

• João deliberately left an engineering leadership role at Farfetch to become an individual contributor at Amazon

• The decision was strategic—he felt he had been promoted to management too quickly without sufficient technical depth

• Three years as an IC at Amazon solidified his technical skills before returning to management

• The experience provided exposure to both startup (Farfetch) and big tech (Amazon) environments

• His diverse background made him an ideal technical co-founder for Bloop's complex platform

• Technical leadership requires hands-on credibility, not just management skills

• Strategic career moves aren't always linear—sometimes stepping back enables bigger leaps forward

• Self-awareness about developmental needs is more valuable than following conventional progression timelines

Listen to the full conversation with João Neves on the Levels Podcast to learn more about strategic career development and technical leadership in startups.