My Journey To A Crypto Startup

I’m often asked about what it’s like to go from a big, well known company to a startup. And these days, my friends at large companies seem to be doing a lot of soul searching. So I’ll share a bit about my career journey to give you a window into how I decided to join a Series C blockchain startup with less than 200 people and what it’s really like to work here. Maybe that will help inform your choices as you think through your own career and whether a? move to a company like FalconX is right for you.??

When I started at Bloomberg 25 years ago it was a well established company of 3,500 people, but it was still scrappy and hungry like a startup. Bloomberg had found a strong product market fit, customers loved the product and services, and demand was through the roof. Job titles were nonexistent and didn’t matter. Everyone did whatever needed to be done to support our customers and build the business. I'm proud of what we accomplished in my 22 years there. As the company grew to almost 20,000 employees and business exploded I grew with it. But, I always had a desire to find that magic again – where we’re obsessively focussed on driving results like a true startup. I won’t go into great details here. Those of you who work for big companies know what I’m talking about.

?As I prepared to leave Bloomberg, I made a list of things I would value in my next employer. Some of which were an innovative environment where good ideas can come to life without red tape, autonomy for me and others, and a kind and helpful culture with a strong mission and purpose. That got me looking at smaller, private companies. I was immediately drawn to the fast paced energy of the tech startup world, but I felt anxious about the risks associated with a company too nascent and not having the support and resources I’d been so accustomed to. I have a family to think about - having a good healthcare plan and benefits along with a good salary were table stakes. I also wanted to be an equity owner, an opportunity I did not have during my time at Bloomberg. As I researched more, I narrowed my search to well funded startups with a strong balance sheet, proven product market fit and a sound business model. ? And while any startup has risk, I calibrated my personal risk reward scenario? by focusing on companies that were at least through their Series C funding. A former colleague introduced me to Henry Ward at Carta and I found my new home.

Carta was a Series F company with a $3B+ valuation and 700 people when I joined in early 2020. It was everything I was looking for on my values list. They had already figured out a lot of the basics when it came to hiring and engaging talent, but lacked some of the critical infrastructure and processes that it needed to scale. That meant we got to build a lot of things from scratch. During my 2 years at Carta we introduced job levels, compensation benchmarking and bands, an equity refresh program, a performance review and promotions process, and a generous child care stipend. We welcomed another 800 Cartans to the company.? The startup environment (and incredible executive support) allowed us to move fast and the business was eager for the structure they knew was critical to support business growth. It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears and we worked hard, but it was very rewarding and a lot of fun.?

Fast forward to a few months ago when I got the call from Raghu Yarlagdda to join him in building FalconX. I felt that rush of excitement and opportunity all over again. Having started my career as an expert in fixed income at Bloomberg, I was drawn to the opportunity to pivot into the blockchain space and work with a team that is truly shaping the future of finance and ushering in a new era. And then there’s the role itself - an executive and the leader of the People team in a business experiencing exponential growth. FalconX has a strong balance sheet, a stellar product line, the backing of an exceptional group of investors, and a desire to invest in talent.?

As I get to know the business and the teams, the energy here is electric. So is the speed. We work in a market that is 24/7 and we move as fast as our customers do. It’s all hands on deck with people pitching in to help with anything and everything to support our growth. Radical ownership is the norm, where everyone has autonomy to make decisions and execute. Collaboration is expected, and there is zero politics. The culture warm and welcoming, yet direct and focussed on driving results.

Career development & learning opportunities are abundant -? partly because of? the nature of the industry we are in and incredible organic paths a hyper-growth company like FalconX presents to its employees. You’ll be learning new things at every turn, and will definitely be doing things that go beyond your job description.

In my own case, I work with a handful of recruiters and I’m building out the rest of the People team. I find myself doing all kinds of things I've never done before, like working through immigration issues or solving a payroll problem. The learning has been exponential in a very short amount of time. As I build out my team, the work I do will evolve with it, but in the meantime I’m embracing and loving every opportunity to do some of the fundamental HR work that I never had exposure to having spent most of my career in the business. I have no doubt I’ll be a stronger HR leader, and executive, as a result of this experience.?

For those of you at big companies, l encourage you to think about a new challenge at a startup. Understand the risk-rewards and when ready give it a shot. Consider an environment where there is green field to innovate and autonomy to move fast and see your ideas come to life. Use your experience to build a company and benefit from equity ownership. And for those of you in finance, now’s the time to get in on the ground floor of the crypto market. It’s OK if you don’t know crypto, we’ll teach you.?

Life is simply too short. Now’s the time to do your life’s best work.?

?