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I’ve made many mistakes in picking companies to join.
For talented ppl, such mistakes can be costly.
Heres what I’d tell my younger self:
Join a company with
1) the highest caliber people you can find
2) a high growth rate
3) in a large market that is itself growing
A thread:
For talented ppl, such mistakes can be costly.
Heres what I’d tell my younger self:
Join a company with
1) the highest caliber people you can find
2) a high growth rate
3) in a large market that is itself growing
A thread:
Every year, I talk to ~50 people in my network about job changes.
Every situation is different, so there's no one-size-fits-all formula.
I don’t have all the answers.
But my overall observation is that folks, esp. the smart ones, tend to over-complicate & over-intellectualize.
Every situation is different, so there's no one-size-fits-all formula.
I don’t have all the answers.
But my overall observation is that folks, esp. the smart ones, tend to over-complicate & over-intellectualize.
I’m not surprised by that.
I was that person for a long time.
But in the vast majority of cases, I’ve observed that relying on a fancy M X N matrix of dozens of criteria for the next company to join tends to hurt more than it helps.
And I’ve personally experienced that pain.
I was that person for a long time.
But in the vast majority of cases, I’ve observed that relying on a fancy M X N matrix of dozens of criteria for the next company to join tends to hurt more than it helps.
And I’ve personally experienced that pain.
Why the 3 Main Criteria?
People: after sufficient time in the industry, you’ll conclude that ultimately it’s all about the people
Growth rate: company growth creates suitable conditions for almost everything else
Large growing market: rising tide etc., room for error recovery
People: after sufficient time in the industry, you’ll conclude that ultimately it’s all about the people
Growth rate: company growth creates suitable conditions for almost everything else
Large growing market: rising tide etc., room for error recovery
What about a worthy mission, good culture, interesting work?
For talented ppl (say top 10%), these are actually table-stakes i.e. these ppl should disqualify companies based on them, but should rarely pick a company solely based on them if the 3 Main Criteria aren’t satisfied.
For talented ppl (say top 10%), these are actually table-stakes i.e. these ppl should disqualify companies based on them, but should rarely pick a company solely based on them if the 3 Main Criteria aren’t satisfied.
And if the 3 Main Criteria are a bullseye, I’d ignore other factors such as immediate manager, current org structure, starting title, # of ppl reporting to me, current importance of my role in the org....
Yes, this sounds odd, but this is where I’ve seen ppl make major mistakes.
Yes, this sounds odd, but this is where I’ve seen ppl make major mistakes.
Why?
Remember that fast growth rate is a key criterion for us.
What happens with fast growth in a company that also has great ppl?
Things change rapidly, the changes are made rigorously, & these great ppl adapt well to the changes.
And these are exactly the outcomes you want.
Remember that fast growth rate is a key criterion for us.
What happens with fast growth in a company that also has great ppl?
Things change rapidly, the changes are made rigorously, & these great ppl adapt well to the changes.
And these are exactly the outcomes you want.
And, SO WHAT if you think your hiring manager at this company would be your peer in a parallel universe?
Odds are you’ll have a new manager anyway in a fast-growth environment, 6-12 months down the road
Why let temporary ego get in the way?
Same for immediate scope, title, etc
Odds are you’ll have a new manager anyway in a fast-growth environment, 6-12 months down the road
Why let temporary ego get in the way?
Same for immediate scope, title, etc
Over the 100s of conversations I've had, I can’t count how many blunders I've seen (including my own) because of such minor, fleeting factors
If the company very clearly meets the table-stakes & the 3 Main Criteria, I recommend ignoring almost everything else in almost all cases
If the company very clearly meets the table-stakes & the 3 Main Criteria, I recommend ignoring almost everything else in almost all cases
Like any good PM, anytime I’ve started a job search, I’ve created “the spreadsheet” with the companies I’m considering, along dozens of factors, each scored & weighed.
The spreadsheet is useful, but only up to a point.
Which brings me to my last & perhaps most important point.
The spreadsheet is useful, but only up to a point.
Which brings me to my last & perhaps most important point.
If you have the privilege of picking between a number of job offers (say >5), use the analytical factors (“the spreadsheet”) to narrow your options down to 2-3 amazing companies.
But in the end, toss the spreadsheet out the window, and listen to your gut to pick THE ONE.
But in the end, toss the spreadsheet out the window, and listen to your gut to pick THE ONE.
That’s how I picked Stripe, that’s how I picked Google.
And every time I've suppressed my gut feeling and instead favored the analytical factors to make my final choice, I have eventually regretted it.
Of course, YMMV.
I wish you all the very best!
And every time I've suppressed my gut feeling and instead favored the analytical factors to make my final choice, I have eventually regretted it.
Of course, YMMV.
I wish you all the very best!
Back to the top of this thread: https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1306640960282001408
If you enjoyed this thread, you might like this one about Title vs. Money vs. Scope and the misconceptions & mistakes to avoid when choosing between those factors https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1268372416427786240
If you're curious about some decisions that have been costly for me, check out the tweets below. They aren't clear mistakes necessarily, but I feel I could've been more thoughtful when making these decisions, including trusting my gut more than I did. https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1306421221706223616
Also, I’m clearly biased but I’ll put one tweet out here along with a link to our jobs site. Do consider applying if you want to work with great people at a high growth company in a tremendously large market that’s also growing.
The jobs site:
https://stripe.com/jobs
The tweet: https://twitter.com/patrickc/status/1306601925513629697
The jobs site:
https://stripe.com/jobs
The tweet: https://twitter.com/patrickc/status/1306601925513629697
A founder’s perspective below, but also works as an employee considering joining a company https://twitter.com/michaelglena/status/1306414427864850432
A somewhat different measure of success, for your consideration if you don't quite identify with the conventional measures such as having fancy titles, managing large orgs, becoming CEO, being famous, etc. https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1259278183410487296
