What Now? Lessons from Startup Life
It’s been over a year since we posted here, and for good reason. Last summer our freelance journey ended (or was put on pause, more on that later). Tom took a job helping to grow an awesome startup. And I followed my preoccupation with solving brand problems to an agency that lets me make serious political AND goofy brand content.
Still, after a year back in the old routine, there are a few startup habits we just can’t shake.
I’ll figure it out: The DIY-ness of freelance life carries over when you go full time. When faced with something I don’t know how to do, I’ll dive into it, relishing the process of figuring it out. For my company, this is a double-edged sword: there are other people who can tackle it faster than I can figure it out, but my new understanding ensures my company doesn’t rely on a few people with deep institutional knowledge to function smoothly.
LOL career: Careers don’t really exist unless you want them to. At least, that’s what I told a bunch of interns at a learning session last week. While most of my colleagues followed a linear path into advertising, my job history is purposely all over the place. Yet, I never have trouble in job interviews figuring out how that story fits together, because the through line is me. The curiosity that led me from project to project still drives me, even in a job where I don’t always choose what I work on. Learning to follow my instincts rather than strategizing a five year plan was super liberating, and I was glad to be able to say it to young people terrified of making the wrong move.
If you add value, you have power: I used to feel like my company had all the power. That if I lost a job, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. So I didn’t ask for the things I wanted to make past jobs what I wanted them to be. Freelancing helped to flip that script. I know what I’m worth. I know what’s important to me. I know when I’m adding value and when I’m phoning it in. And I’m not afraid to quit or be fired if those things don’t match up with my current gig.
You can’t leave it behind: We still work nonstop. It’s a curse.












