July 21 will be my last day at OrderUp. After a very, very tough deliberation process, I decided that this is the time for me to embrace a new opportunity. (I’ll talk more about that in another post; I want to give OrderUp my full love here.)
Almost two years ago, the two founders of OU took a chance hiring me to run the company’s PR and comm. I had a proven track record but was new to the startup world — and wow, did I get a crash course. The first month, I was terrified that I was going to be fired any day because the pace was so quick. I worried that I couldn’t keep up.
I dug deeper. I put everything into promoting the company. I worked evenings, weekends, traveled to new markets, and chose to “embrace the crazy,” as Heather Whaling advocates.
We hired a ton of people; my favorite headline is still: OrderUp hires everybody. This team is truly remarkable. They’re some of the funniest, kindest, smartest people I’ve ever worked with. I laugh every single day. (I also eat and drink with them a lot, which is an added perk.)
After two years, I’ve learned a lot about what I want in my career and a working environment. It’s hard to imagine an office without a casual dress code, co-workers lounging in a hammock, beer in the fridge, and music playing. I know that I need autonomy and the ability to run with my ideas. It’s so important to me to be a part of building something, and I’m so grateful for the experience.
I learned how to keep really big secrets, about being a woman in tech, the importance of knowing and playing up your strengths, that I’m too old to throw down that hard, how to convince an athlete to take part in a pie-eating contest, that I should really be a life coach, and — as a wise man once told me — people invest in the team.
I’ve had one of the best teams.
RLB Ink. 