20 years ago, give or take, I joined a high flying #startup coming out of MIT. Millions were made and lost in a span of few years.
All on paper, off course.
This was in the late 90s near the peak of the dotcom boom. The company was cool. As a fresh grad in a first job that seemed to matter. A lot.
We were invited to their HQ after they made the offers. We were taken around Washington DC in stretch limos after dinner playing a scavenger hunt. How cool was that?
I ended up joining this company and the cool stuff continued. Our annual employee retreat was a week-long all expenses paid Caribbean cruise out of Miami. Chartered planes ferried us back and forth.
Then one day, all of a sudden the company nearly imploded because of accounting issues. Layoffs, negative press, uncertainty became the norm for a couple of years.
Somehow I soldiered on. I actually ended up spending 12 years there.
In spite of the highs and lows, what kept me going was the joy of building products. Building something that was the best of its kind.
I learned to be a product manager and have loved it ever since. Grateful for the experience and roller coaster ride as well.
Do you love what you do?