I joined a startup

It’s been a while since the last post. A lot happened since then. But I guess the most important thing is, I quit my company and joined a startup.

I started helping the company in my spare time at the end of December. The founder and I met at On Deck, and I offered him a help. I did it just because he seemed like a good person and onto something.

I genuinely just want to be a help for him and his company. I didn’t ask anything in return — even explicitly tell that I don’t need any fee for the work I do. I know free comes at its cost. So I tried hard to be the most convenient resource.

To be clear, I didn’t really plan to quit my company until he offered me a position two weeks later. I thought he wouldn’t because he knew I was working on my own product, and a lot of other things.

So the offer was completely out of the blue and I had to take some time to think about it. I tried to re-evaluate what I want to do in the short term and the long term, and what’s best for my family in the end.

It wasn’t an easy decision but I decided to join. I couldn’t stop thinking about the company even while I’m not working. I love the vision, the product and the talented people in the team.

What made me join in the end was my desire to get better at what I do. I could have much easier life by running my company. Working on my own terms has been my life goal and it was great in many measure. But the market the company is in, and the stage of the company is too perfect for me to join to maximize the impact for me, and I believe for the company.

The experiences that I am going to have — good and bad — all of them will push me to be better. I cannot be more excited to put everything I got for the company’s success.

They say that you are the average of the top five people you spend the most time with. Last year was a quest to meet people who are going to be in my top five. I am thrilled to make some changes on my list.