Marketing in Real Life

Over the past few months I’ve built my team at Privy from a one-man show to a group of four that I am extremely proud of and excited to come work with every day. In that process, I talked to a lot of people, lots of whom I liked a lot—even if they weren’t the right fit for this company at this time. (Both of those matter.) Between that experience and my own job searches in the last few years, I’ve been thinking a lot about where the process goes right and where it goes wrong. Along the way, I’ve put together a few takeaways worth sharing for anyone in a similar position. While I haven’t always followed these rules, I certainly try. 1. This company and this time matter. There are lots of really smart people who could be a great hire in a vacuum. But as companies grow and change, so does the skill set needed to be successful. For example, early stage companies need doers who can think but can’t afford people who are unwilling to roll up their sleeves every day (at least for a w...

"It's not your call." Those are four words that as a leader in a company you really hope you don't have to say. They are hierarchical and demeaning. They imply that one person is less important than another. They also mean that something in the process has broken down.  Sadly, when an issue can not be amicably resolved that's what we are left with.  "It's not your call" is a symptom of a bigger problem that needs addressing. And that's everyone's problem to solve.