16.2s
often so glamorized and i just want to you know help take off those rose-colored glasses and just to give you some insight on what it's really like working at a hyper growth company all the lows and all the highs and hopefully share some helpful tips that will help you in your journey the second one being notion
19.4s
you know help take off those
20.9s
rose-colored glasses and
23.0s
just to give you some insight on what
25.0s
it's really like working at a hyper
26.9s
growth company
28.2s
all the lows and all the highs and
30.3s
hopefully share some helpful tips that
32.9s
will help you in your journey
40.0s
the second one being notion
41.9s
which i joined about a year and a half ago i was employee number 26 um joining the community team and fast forward to now i'm now program manager working on the api and also the assist and self-serve team and just to give you some team and just to give you some perspective
43.6s
ago i was employee number 26
46.3s
um joining the community team and fast
48.6s
forward to now
49.6s
i'm now program manager working on the
51.5s
api and also the assist and self-serve
54.7s
team and just to give you some
56.2s
team and just to give you some perspective
57.0s
i joined when the company was like 20 to 30 people and a year and a half later we are now close to a hundred employees always that honeymoon phase but i would say that for startups it is particularly steep because when you join you're like oh new stuff new people new products
58.9s
30 people and a year and a half later
61.4s
we are now close to a hundred employees
71.9s
always that
72.9s
honeymoon phase but i would say that for
75.4s
startups it is particularly
77.6s
steep because when you join you're like
79.8s
oh new stuff new people new products
81.9s
but soon you will be like wait a minute is this the job that i signed up for and i saw on the jd and the answer will probably be no because what you have to realize or what i realize is that when a company is so small and you're growing so quickly
86.1s
is this the job that i signed up for and
88.2s
i saw on the jd
89.7s
and the answer will probably be no
92.5s
because what you have to realize or what
94.6s
i realize is that
96.0s
when a company is so small and you're
98.2s
growing so quickly
99.8s
the needs of the business will be rapidly changing one month to the next and that's why the jd's are purposely like pretty vague on what you would be doing and there is no like 30 60 90 road map for your job or your career on like this is what you can expect to learn and this is how
102.3s
rapidly changing
103.8s
one month to the next and that's why the
106.4s
jd's are purposely
107.8s
like pretty vague on what you would be
109.6s
doing and there
111.3s
is no like 30 60 90 road map for your
115.7s
job or your career on like this is what
118.2s
you can expect to learn and this is how
119.8s
you can grow in your career there's none of that grow in your career there's none of that and it can be overwhelming and really confusing at times another thing that makes the beginning feel a bit steep is that in any like startup job description there's that phrase like you will wear
120.5s
grow in your career there's none of that
123.4s
grow in your career there's none of that and
124.4s
it can be overwhelming and really
126.9s
confusing at times
128.3s
another thing that makes the beginning
130.1s
feel a bit steep is that
132.2s
in any like startup job description
134.6s
there's that phrase like you will wear
136.7s
many hats and there is pros and cons to this right the pros are that if you're early in your career you get to try out a bunch of things across functions and kind of be a generalist and figure out what you really like but the con is that you find yourself doing everything and wondering if you're
140.0s
this right
140.7s
the pros are that if you're early in
143.3s
your career
144.3s
you get to try out a bunch of things
146.6s
across functions
147.8s
and kind of be a generalist and figure
149.9s
out what you really like
151.7s
but the con is that you find yourself
155.0s
doing everything and wondering if you're
157.6s
doing a good job at any of them and i've definitely felt that because at startups you typically don't get a lot of mentorship and there's very little direction so i would definitely take that into account if like you yourself are wondering what i like working at a startup or a more established company
159.8s
and i've definitely felt that because at
161.9s
startups you typically don't get a lot
164.1s
of mentorship
165.0s
and there's very little direction
168.1s
so i would definitely take that into
170.2s
account if like you yourself
172.2s
are wondering what i like working at a
174.8s
startup or a more established company
177.3s
and if you do know yourself that you want more direction and intentional mentorship then i would definitely go for the bigger company but there is definitely pros to working at such a nimble small startup because there are no rules there's very little process and you have the opportunity to solve a lot of interesting problems my
179.7s
want more direction
181.0s
and intentional mentorship then i would
183.4s
definitely go for the bigger company
185.5s
but there is definitely pros to
189.1s
working at such a nimble small startup
191.9s
because there are no rules there's
193.6s
very little process and you have the
195.6s
opportunity to
197.1s
solve a lot of interesting problems my
199.6s
tip on how to navigate that beginning tip on how to navigate that beginning stage and find your footing is to find opportunities in the chaos because i guarantee you there is a lot of them even for me a month into me joining notion i remember feeling very like anxious on like
201.8s
tip on how to navigate that beginning stage
202.5s
and find your footing is to find
205.0s
opportunities in the chaos
206.8s
because i guarantee you there is a lot
208.9s
of them
209.8s
even for me a month into
213.0s
me joining notion i remember feeling
215.0s
very like anxious on like
217.1s
did i join the right company what am i even doing and then i just had an honest conversation with my then manager and i asked him like hey what would you be doing if you had the bandwidth right now and he threw out a project and i was like okay i'm gonna own that and see how far
219.7s
even doing
220.9s
and then i just had an honest
222.6s
conversation with my then manager
224.6s
and i asked him like hey what would you
227.4s
be doing
228.6s
if you had the bandwidth right now and
231.6s
he threw out a project and i was like
234.6s
okay i'm gonna own that and see how far
236.5s
i can take phase and the next phase i like to call is the pressure cooker and i call it the pressure cooker because when you join a super small and nimble company you are definitely the underdog in the market you know compare notions like the microsoft and atlassians of the world and even though we've grown
245.4s
phase and the next phase i like to call
247.8s
is the pressure cooker and i call it the
250.5s
pressure cooker because
252.2s
when you join a super small and nimble
254.4s
company you are definitely the underdog
257.0s
in the market
257.9s
you know compare notions like the
259.5s
microsoft and atlassians of the world
262.0s
and even though we've grown
263.8s
and even though we've grown substantially since i joined it's still helpful to really maintain that underdog mindset because it creates a level of urgency like you never know when someone's gonna take your lunch so this is the typical environment that a hyper growth company has and mix that in with like feeling
265.2s
since i joined it's still helpful to
268.2s
really maintain that underdog mindset
270.3s
because it creates a level of
272.2s
urgency like you never know when
273.9s
someone's gonna take your lunch
275.7s
so this is the typical environment that
278.3s
a hyper growth company
279.7s
has and mix that in with like feeling
282.6s
like you want to prove yourself like feeling like you want to find your footing and like make your mark and make impact blah blah blah and then it's very easy to reach burnout and i want to mention this thing about startup perks i know that perks really add to why the startup life is very glamorized and hey
284.4s
feeling like you want to find your
286.0s
footing and like make your mark and make
287.9s
impact blah blah blah and
291.0s
then it's very easy to reach burnout
294.5s
and i want to mention this thing about
296.2s
startup perks
298.3s
i know that perks really add to why the
301.0s
startup life is very glamorized and hey
303.3s
i'm all for it the free food drinks and i'm all for it the free food drinks and whatever you know i've never had freshman 15 back in college but i've got like notion 15 i would like eat lunch eat dinner there and when you're getting free dinner at your company you're usually working through the night
306.4s
i'm all for it the free food drinks and whatever
307.0s
you know i've never had freshman 15 back
309.0s
in college but i've got like
310.8s
notion 15 i would like eat lunch eat
314.0s
dinner there
314.9s
and when you're getting free dinner at
317.0s
your company
318.0s
you're usually working through the night
320.1s
i did that a lot when it wasn't super necessary so my second tip on navigating this whole my second tip on navigating this whole like burnout phase is don't be the cause of you burning out and honestly speaking those company perks are there so that you don't need to think about anything
321.7s
when it wasn't super necessary so
325.0s
my second tip on navigating this whole
328.3s
my second tip on navigating this whole like
328.9s
burnout phase is don't be the cause of
332.6s
you burning out
333.7s
and honestly speaking those company
336.2s
perks are there so that you don't need
337.6s
to think about anything
338.8s
except for work and i really had to find that balance of like how to maintain this like urgency like speed mindset with like taking care of myself and like setting good boundaries so kind of being aware of that and so kind of being aware of that and readjusting is what i found to be super critical for
341.4s
that balance of like
343.1s
how to maintain this like urgency like
345.5s
speed mindset
346.9s
with like taking care of myself and like
349.3s
setting good boundaries
350.6s
so kind of being aware of that and
353.0s
so kind of being aware of that and readjusting
354.6s
is what i found to be super critical for
357.6s
my emotional well-being but also on how i can sustainably show up at work so remember when i mentioned that pressure cooker metaphor this is when the meal is ready to be served and hopefully it's delicious this is a huge hopefully it's delicious this is a huge reason why i love working at startups no matter
360.0s
i can sustainably show up
361.8s
at work
367.8s
so remember when i mentioned that
369.4s
pressure cooker metaphor
371.6s
this is when the meal is ready to be
374.0s
served and
374.8s
hopefully it's delicious this is a huge
377.4s
hopefully it's delicious this is a huge reason
377.9s
why i love working at startups no matter
380.6s
how chaotic and ambiguous as it can be is because you have so much ownership and responsibility over projects that you don't really even have the traditional experience for and you wouldn't otherwise get to do that at a much larger company for example like remember when i mentioned a month in i asked auction this year oh
383.1s
is because you have so much ownership
386.0s
and responsibility
387.8s
over projects that you don't really even
390.1s
have the
390.9s
traditional experience for and you
394.2s
wouldn't otherwise get to do that
396.0s
at a much larger company for example
398.6s
like remember when i mentioned
400.3s
a month in i asked auction this year oh
402.7s
like hey give me a problem to solve and that problem was to fix our and that problem was to fix our discounts and credit system as i started working on it i just saw a huge opportunity in the startup ecosystem that like notion should be the go-to tool for all startups out there
404.9s
and that problem was to fix our
407.4s
and that problem was to fix our discounts
408.0s
and credit system as i started working
410.3s
on it i just saw a huge
411.7s
opportunity in the startup ecosystem
413.9s
that like notion should be the go-to
415.8s
tool for all startups out there
417.9s
and with the help of like really talented cross-functional partners we were able to launch it and it was super smooth and fast forward to now the program has grown so big and is a key part of how we're expanding into other markets like dublin and japan and etc but to be honest with you i really
419.4s
talented cross-functional partners
422.0s
we were able to launch it and it was
423.8s
super smooth and
425.5s
fast forward to now the program has
427.7s
grown so big
428.7s
and is a key part of how we're expanding
432.3s
into other markets like dublin and japan
434.6s
and etc
435.6s
but to be honest with you i really
438.5s
but to be honest with you i really couldn't celebrate that win and i think i was celebrate that win and i think i was just so focused on making sure the launch was smooth and successful that i couldn't really enjoy at all so my tip here is to enjoy the process and make sure you celebrate your wins
439.2s
celebrate that win and i think i was
442.5s
celebrate that win and i think i was just
442.8s
so focused on making sure the launch was
445.7s
smooth and successful
447.7s
that i couldn't really enjoy at all so
450.4s
my tip here is to
452.0s
enjoy the process and make sure you
454.2s
celebrate your wins
455.8s
along the way and if you're anything like me i have a tendency to get very tunnel visioned into what i need what goal i need to achieve and i kind of forget what's in my peripheral and even though that can be very effective it actually can be kind of toxic and even when you reach that pinnacle or
458.4s
like me
459.1s
i have a tendency to get very tunnel
461.9s
visioned into
463.3s
what i need what goal i need to achieve
465.6s
and i kind of forget
467.2s
what's in my peripheral and even though
469.9s
that can be very effective
471.4s
it actually can be kind of toxic
474.7s
and even when you reach that pinnacle or
476.9s
goal you're never really as happy as you think you will be so that's when i really learned like okay these highs and opportunities are incredible but what's the point if i'm not having fun and really enjoying it of giving away your legos and that phrase give away your legos was popularized by molly graham
479.4s
think you will be
480.6s
so that's when i really learned like
482.3s
okay these highs and opportunities are
484.5s
incredible but what's the point if i'm
486.6s
not having fun
487.7s
and really enjoying it
498.0s
of giving away your legos
500.2s
and that phrase give away your legos was
502.6s
popularized by molly graham
504.3s
and she's kind of like the go-to person on what it's like working at a hyper growth company and kind of normalizing the experiences that people normalizing the experiences that people usually feel when they go through that and she uses legos to explain what it's like when a company is scaling so let's say you're building like a
506.6s
on what it's
508.0s
like working at a hyper growth company
510.8s
and kind of
511.4s
normalizing the experiences that people
514.6s
normalizing the experiences that people usually
515.3s
feel when they go through that and she
517.0s
uses legos to explain
519.2s
what it's like when a company is scaling
521.8s
so let's say you're building like a
523.4s
super complex lego tower and everyone's in it everyone has like 10 different legos and jobs that they're working at and it's amazing but pretty soon you have like oh my gosh i have too many legos to even work with and you need more people and that's when the company starts growing 2x 3x within
525.5s
and everyone's in it everyone has like
527.8s
10 different
528.7s
legos and jobs that they're working at
530.6s
and it's amazing
532.4s
but pretty soon you have like oh my gosh
535.0s
i have too many legos to even work with
537.0s
and you need more people
538.7s
and that's when the company starts
540.2s
growing 2x 3x within
542.9s
really short periods of time and that is not really natural and it's very uncomfortable when it happens and she says this great thing that you want to make sure that you're scaling as quickly as your company is and in order to do that you actually have to give away your job and i thought that was a super
545.4s
not really
546.2s
natural and it's very uncomfortable when
549.5s
it happens
550.6s
and she says this great thing that you
552.8s
want to make sure that you're scaling as
555.1s
quickly as your company is and in order
557.5s
to do that you actually have to give
559.3s
away your job
560.7s
and i thought that was a super
562.0s
interesting way to put it at a scaling company your job literally changes like every three to six months and i can tell you i've had so many different jobs at notion that doesn't reflect in my like official job titles i've experienced this like giving away my legos um pretty recently where i mentioned the startup program and
564.0s
company your job
565.1s
literally changes like every three to
567.1s
six months and i can tell you i've had
569.8s
so many different jobs at notion that
572.8s
doesn't reflect in my like official
575.0s
job titles i've experienced this like
577.8s
giving away my legos
579.4s
um pretty recently where i mentioned the
582.0s
startup program and
583.4s
i was itching for a new problem to solve and i also needed a lot of help so i ended up like recruiting like a new colleague to like train him up and like share ownership of that and to eventually kind of pass over the ownership over to him when i gave it to him i
585.7s
and i also needed a lot of help
587.8s
so i ended up like recruiting like a new
589.8s
colleague to like train him up
591.4s
and like share ownership of that and to
593.8s
eventually kind of pass over
596.1s
the ownership over to him when i gave it
598.8s
to him i
600.1s
honestly felt feelings of regret and honestly felt feelings of regret and like fear like oh no i gave away something really good and it's like has a lot of potential and it's growing and i just had to really reel that in and remind myself like jenny there are and remind myself like jenny there are like
603.1s
honestly felt feelings of regret and like
603.4s
fear like oh no i gave away something
605.8s
really good
606.7s
and it's like has a lot of potential and
608.6s
it's growing
609.9s
and i just had to really reel that in
613.4s
and remind myself like jenny there are
616.3s
and remind myself like jenny there are like
617.0s
two three piles of new legos in front of you that you can pick and choose from and like build something new so that you can grow and learn different so that you can grow and learn different things so don't worry about the old legos like he's doing a great job and like
619.5s
you that you can pick and choose from
621.4s
and like build something new
623.3s
so that you can grow and learn different
625.9s
so that you can grow and learn different things
626.6s
so don't worry about the old legos like
629.6s
he's doing a great job and like
631.5s
just focus on your new ones in other words i would say that my tip would be words i would say that my tip would be to regulate your emotions and recognize that it's totally normal just be aware of how you're feeling because you want to make note on how that's manifesting into your behavior
633.4s
words i would say that my tip would be
635.5s
words i would say that my tip would be to
635.9s
regulate your emotions and recognize
638.6s
that it's
639.4s
totally normal just be aware of how
642.8s
you're feeling
643.8s
because you want to make note on how
645.6s
that's manifesting into your behavior
656.6s
to 20 to 20 to 50 to 50 to beyond can look like very different companies and i joined as like employee number 26 and as we started inching towards 50 you start to lose that feeling of like feeling very lose that feeling of like feeling very tight-knit and like being able to sit across the
657.4s
to 20 to 50 to 50 to beyond
660.4s
can look like very different companies
663.0s
and i joined as like employee number 26
666.1s
and as we started inching towards 50 you
668.9s
start to
669.4s
lose that feeling of like feeling very
671.8s
lose that feeling of like feeling very tight-knit
672.7s
and like being able to sit across the
675.0s
same table over lunch like that's not a thing anymore and now we're up to like 100 people and now it totally feels like a different company yet again and it can feel really odd there's a lot more process than you're used to there are more cooks in the kitchen and you have to be more
677.4s
thing anymore
678.5s
and now we're up to like 100 people
682.0s
and now it totally feels like a
684.0s
different company yet again
685.8s
and it can feel really odd there's a lot
688.9s
more process than you're used to
691.2s
there are more cooks in the kitchen and
693.5s
you have to be more
694.8s
thoughtful and careful about not wanting to step on anyone's toes but on the flip side there's also toes but on the flip side there's also great things about scaling where you feel like you're almost like growing up where now we have a formal hr and like a legit recruiting company and amazing new leaders that have
697.5s
to step on anyone's
698.8s
toes but on the flip side there's also
701.7s
toes but on the flip side there's also great
702.0s
things about scaling where you feel like
704.1s
you're almost like growing up
705.7s
where now we have a formal hr and like a
708.4s
legit recruiting company
710.1s
and amazing new leaders that have
712.6s
recently joined our executive team and the tip i have for how to endure the scaling is just to keep in mind that like everyone is just figuring it out like everyone is just figuring it out like you even the founders kind of put things into perspective that like yes this is hard but also scaling this
714.2s
executive team and the tip i have for
717.2s
how to endure the scaling is just to
719.4s
keep in mind that like
721.0s
everyone is just figuring it out like
723.6s
everyone is just figuring it out like you
724.4s
even the founders kind of put things
727.0s
into perspective that like yes
729.6s
this is hard but also scaling this
733.1s
this is hard but also scaling this quickly is a privilege like it means that our company is doing incredibly well and being a part of this rocket ship and being a part of this rocket ship company can really transform your career can really transform your career Music of ups and downs
733.7s
is a privilege like it means that our
736.7s
company is doing incredibly well
739.1s
and being a part of this rocket ship
741.9s
and being a part of this rocket ship company
742.8s
can really transform your career
745.7s
can really transform your career Music
753.4s
of ups and downs
754.8s
and where you kind of want to be at is kind of this like more stable like up and down wave the first r is regulate as in regulating your emotions because there will always be ups and there will always be downs but what you can control is how you but what you can control is how you react
757.1s
kind of this like
758.2s
more stable like up and down wave
761.5s
the first r is regulate as in regulating
765.0s
your emotions
766.2s
because there will always be ups and
768.6s
there will always be downs
770.6s
but what you can control is how you
773.6s
but what you can control is how you react
774.4s
to those ups and downs and i would definitely say in the beginning i would just ride those highs and ride those lows and it was too volatile and it kind of overtakes your life and you don't want that like you want good boundaries and the second r is reflect when you're at a company that's moving
776.7s
definitely say
777.7s
in the beginning i would just ride those
780.5s
highs and ride those lows and it was too
783.0s
volatile and it kind of
784.6s
overtakes your life and you don't want
786.6s
that like you want good boundaries
789.3s
and the second r is reflect
792.7s
when you're at a company that's moving
795.4s
when you're at a company that's moving so quickly and change is happening so fast it's hard to keep track of like where you're really at internally and my now manager who's amazing by the way shout out to kate uh recommended to me to start like a work diary and whenever you're feeling these highs and lows write
795.8s
quickly and change is happening so fast
798.6s
it's hard to keep track of like
800.9s
where you're really at internally and my
804.3s
now manager who's amazing by the way
806.7s
shout out to kate
807.9s
uh recommended to me to start like a
810.3s
work diary
811.7s
and whenever you're feeling these highs
813.4s
and lows write
815.2s
what's happening and why you feel those things and keep track of like are you learning what gives you energy are you learning what gives you energy and it really helps give you perspective when like you're in a low and you look back on that work diary and it just helps to
817.5s
things and keep track of like
819.4s
are you learning what gives you energy
822.0s
are you learning what gives you energy and
822.4s
it really helps give you perspective
825.0s
when like you're in a low
826.8s
and you look back on that work diary and
829.2s
it just helps to
830.3s
keep track of like are you learning at the way you want to are you growing at the rate that you want to and if you're not why is that okay and the third r is to why is that okay and the third r is to relax chances are if you're working at a tech
832.5s
the way you want to
833.5s
are you growing at the rate that you
835.1s
want to and if you're not
837.1s
why is that okay and the third r is to
840.8s
why is that okay and the third r is to relax
842.1s
chances are if you're working at a tech
844.2s
company you are not trying to find the cure for cancer so just chill out enjoy the ride you're in for an incredible journey and for those who are thinking about joining a startup i hope this gives like a more realistic picture on what it will look like and if you have any more questions like
846.6s
cure for cancer
847.9s
so just chill out enjoy the ride you're
850.5s
in for an
851.0s
incredible journey and for those who are
853.8s
thinking about joining a startup
855.4s
i hope this gives like a more realistic
858.2s
picture on what it will look like
860.7s
and if you have any more questions like
863.2s
leave a comment down below and i'm happy to answer it but thanks so much for watching see you in the next one
865.1s
to answer it
866.2s
but thanks so much for watching see you
868.1s
in the next one
