Y’all … this is simultaneously one of the hardest, and yet most exciting, posts I’ve ever had to write.
My last day at Salesloft is Sept. 29.
In October, I’ll be joining the Atlanta Tech Village team as the new Managing Director.
I know. I know! (You see what I mean???)
This was my very first day at Salesloft!
I have been struggling for several hours trying to figure out what to say here. As everyone knows, I bleed Salesloft blue (well, now green). I have spent the last seven and a half years so grateful, every day, to be a Lofter. I have learned more at Salesloft than any other job or class or webinar has ever taught me. I have made lifelong friends and built a tech family. I have played countless hours of Werewolf and tested the limits of the Salesforce security team at Dreamforce. I have had the opportunity to get on the biggest stage at our biggest conference and talk about my passion for our customers and our community. I have watched the Salesloft team grow from 11 people to more than 600, with offices in multiple cities and countries. I am so, so lucky to be a part of an incredible startup journey and an Atlanta unicorn.
But you know where we started? At ATV.
When I joined Salesloft, we were all in a little room on the fourth floor. The team had already outgrown at least one office, and expanded to more than 10 desks. (And really, it was 12 desks, because we held one for our “entrepreneur-in-residence” Lance Weatherby. Who also mixes an excellent mint julep for the Kentucky Derby, in case you were wondering.)
I’d been hanging around ATV for months already, escaping to fun startup events from my then uber-corporate day job, hoping someone would hire me.
Sometimes, you just have to play laser tag in a floor that’s about to be gutted at Atlanta Tech Village. Because why not??
And Kyle Porter did. He and Rob Forman took a chance that my entirely-unrelated-to-client-success background would pan out (I guess they thought anyone who was willing to work for the terrible hours and peanuts pay of newspapers would figure it out?), and thankfully, it worked! I joined one of many tiny-but-passionate startups in a space that was still under construction, with no idea if it would work at all.
In retrospect, that was silly. If you’ve met Rob and Kyle then you know that, together, they are an unstoppable team and were destined to succeed. They have created an amazing culture of supportive, motivated, positive-minded people who put their customers and their team first. Salesloft is a unicorn not because of some arbitrary financial valuation, but because finding that kind of true company culture is rare. I am so proud I got to help create that.
So … what am I doing leaving it? Well …
If you follow me at all, you also know how I feel about ATV (and, by extension, Atlanta Startup Village, which Jon Birdsong graciously handed off to me four years ago). I believe in the power of the serendipitous interactions and collaborations that happen in the halls and elevators of ATV. I believe that you can be friendly and supportive of others in the startup space without giving up some slice of your pie. I believe that our startup scene can and should reflect the city in which we live: diverse, innovative, visionary, and kind. I believe that you should pay it forward, even if “forward” is only a little bit more for you than someone else, and even if it happens while you’re working (and playing) hard.
Photo | Hypepotamus
I believe that a rising tide raises all ships, and that you can be nice and dream big at the same time.
And I’ve been offered the chance to take those beliefs to a whole new level. To put my money where my mouth is and hopefully make a real difference in the Atlanta startup scene. How could I say no to that??? (But, y’all, let’s be honest: When David Cummings and David Lightburn make you an offer, you say yes.)
I am incredibly saddened that my journey as a Lofter is ending. I am beyond excited that my journey as a Villager is beginning. … And as I write this, I realize that neither of those things are fully accurate. Nothing is actually ending, or beginning. They’re really two pieces of the same puzzle, two stops on the same rail line.
It’s a continuation of the same journey.
And I can’t wait to see where it goes.
We did a photo shoot with Friendly Human in their basement studio of ATV when we hit $1 million at Salesloft. At some point, we threw money in the air that we borrowed from the bank. We had to pick it all up and make sure every single dollar was accounted for, fun times! Sadly, those pics were mostly shots of money blocking everyone’s faces…. In retrospect, maybe not quiiiite what we were hoping for. Oh well, the things you learn!
Photo | Friendly Human
