125 Days at a Startup
This amazing journey began with my research paper that I posted on my blog seven months ago. A few months later, I came to Palo Alto for a week to work with the Pulse team. And shortly after that, I packed up my stuff and moved from Canada's old "Silicon Valley" (Ottawa) to the real Silicon Valley. Though I've only been at Pulse for four months, my first day seems like so long ago.On that first day, I was asked to take lead on expanding Pulse from its mobile-only roots to start creating Pulse's presence on the web. In previous projects, I've always had well-defined specifications for the tasks I was expected to complete. Because of such clear specifications, the solutions I produced were always complete and measurable, but not necessarily original or creative. In my current position as lead web developer, I’ve taken on a very different and much more dynamic role. Coming up with these initial specifications for projects and being involved in all phases of the development process have given me a real sense of ownership and pride that I had previously not experienced. With each release, I am sharing a piece of myself with our millions of users. A few years ago I realized that I perform best in fast-paced environments where I’m surrounded by great people. While I was in University, I did far better during my junior and senior years, when I had a ridiculous amount of assignments and tests in a short time period. Working with smart project partners also drove me to rise above and beyond. At Pulse, I feel like I am surrounded by some of the most amazing people (the same amazing people that created the first version of Pulse and brought it to where it is today). I feed off their energy and passion daily. Our two week release cycles creates a certain sense of urgency which pushes us to continually adapt and iterate in the ever-changing social news space. The past four months have been a incredible learning experience for me. I’ve learned that my hypotheses are sometimes wrong and that some things just don't work as planned. This is all part of the startup process; you try new things, analyze the data and iterate. I’ve also learned that sometimes it's good to start off fresh with a clean slate. The key is to not get discouraged and to keep pushing forward to find what works. Perfection. I've had a blast the past four months at Pulse. I feel very fortunate to be working alongside people that share my passion for a better content consumption experience on mobile devices and beyond. I am very excited to continue on this journey with our team and continue to deliver an awesome product.If you're looking for a position with a funded startup and you like what you’ve read, check out our jobs page.
