Building a company often starts with big bold bets and sweeping visions and missions. But I believe that getting the little things right matters and is ultimately what enables companies to build the strong teams that can execute efficiently over the long term and turn lofty visions into reality.
I got my first taste of startups as an intern on team GroupMe (a First Round-backed company) in 2011 — a company smack-dab at the intersection of young NY internet startups riding the mobile and social media trends at the time. I got to experience firsthand what it felt like to be on a high-performing and high-trust team, and how much that shaped our unique and genuinely fun culture. I’ve gone deep on startups and their cultures ever since. With each new company that’s founded, an opportunity exists to bring people together around a mission and build something special.
I saw more about how much culture mattered to a business when I joined Uber – from the earliest startup days to the verb that it is today. Uber is a technology company, but it was our operational excellence, people, and values that enabled us to transform that initial idea into a globally scaled business. From building internal support tools to scaling road operations for self-driving cars, I got to work on many so many real-world problems and connect the dots between what was happening on the road, what our code was doing in the app, and how we handled all the space between.
Along the way, I’ve been an early hire at a handful of other startups – always in roles focused on operations and constantly in the details building processes, contexts, and cultures that support the mission and enable people to do their best work. As First Round’s VP of Operations & Enablement, I’m excited to bring that same ethos to the work we do here as we find exceptional founders and support them along the path of building from 0-1 and beyond.
On a personal note – though I was born & raised in New York, I’ve happily been living in San Francisco since 2014. When I’m not at the computer, I enjoy riding bikes, drinking coffee, and reading articles about people, health, technology, design, transportation, cities, and privacy.
