Oh, crap.
My adrenaline starts to pump and the anticipation in my stomach rises so quickly that a little laughter escapes. But at 10:03 pm on Monday, the 22nd this is a bad time to laugh.
I yell to my boss Mark, “Tech Crunch just published!”
“What?” he yells back.
I run into his office, “Tech Crunch just published their post!” The rest of the sentence, that they published an hour early, an hour before they were supposed to, an hour before the embargo lifted and we were going to launch the site doesn’t need to be said. Hundreds of people are already on the site. Are we ready? I’m not ready! I thought we had an hour.
Around me, I feel like everyone is running and rushing. Mark and Brian meet instantly and make a split-second decision.
“We’re going live!” Brian exclaims. “Right now! Go! Go! Go!”
He sweeps through the office as excitement sweeps through our fingers. It’s bad that Tech Crunch published early, but their article is good. I’m shaking a little and smiling. Mashable emails me. They have to publish their article now too and I tell them it’s okay. We’re turning on the site now. We’re opening the doors. It’s starting. Alice.com is launching in beta.
The rest of the night is quick, blurry, surreal. When new press comes out, we yell, “CNET is up!” “Business Week!” “Financial Times!” and I throw the links onto Yammer. I refresh my screen every few minutes to watch the bar on the new customer graph rise. I work more than seventeen hours, my co-workers even more, and none of us really notice.
Some of the developers bring sleeping bags, the customer service girls bring a blow-up mattress, and the rest plan to sleep under their desks. At Alice, each employee is assigned an animal. I am a crane, which means, in part, that I’m particular. I want my own bed, so I drive home in the middle of the night.
The highway is completely empty, black and shiny. I own it. The asphalt, everything beneath and all the buildings lined up along on the side are mine. No other cars or people or lumbering trucks. I drive fast because I’m tired, and I want to sleep, and I want to get up and do it all over again.
Considering my co-workers only got two or three hours of sleep, I know they feel the same. The Alice team is more than dedicated, more than hard-working. This is the start-up life, our life.
There’s a lot of talk about balance. Some of the most popular authors preach zen-like attitudes, getting out of work, and lifestyles that are built on, well, not a whole lot. And then there are those who talk about sacrificing your health for your start-up, who talk in terms of not just passion, but obsession for your profession, and whose idea of fun is innumerable hours spent on a single idea.
Fighting balance across the fence is blur. And that is where I live. A life that should preclude me from having any sort of relationship with anybody or anything other than work, but in reality, betters those relationships. A place that makes me excited to be young and in love and working hard.
Peace, it seems, can not only be discovered in the quiet pauses of life, but also in the often forceful and uncertain flow that rushes against walls and norms and status quo.
36 replies on “How to decide if you have a good job”
I believe in congruence, not balance. Flow and forward momentum. That’s what it’s all about!
Congrats on the launch….
This is one of my favorite posts. Not just of YOUR posts, but, like, EVER.
Love your stuff, Rebecca. Balance is a myth – concur.
Good and funny post.
“… and the rest plan to sleep under their desks.”
I guess we all need a roof over our heads but whatever happened to sleeping under the stars? :)
The Tech Crunch article is good but brought up the issue of on-line retailers collecting sales tax. A hot button issue considering it is an added burden when there is over 7000 tax jurisdictions in this country and a question of whether or not sales tax should be collected or some other method should be employed to ‘level’ the playing field – maybe. There is an interesting interview of Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com) by C-span where he discusses this issue in the first few minutes of the video. The video is at http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/06/13/HP/A/19777/Patrick+Byrne+Overstockcom+Chairman+CEO.aspx if interested.
Best of ‘luck’ (which we mostly create for ourselves) to Alice.com !
@ nelkign – I definitely think the state of flow is a powerful thing… thanks for the comment!
@ nicoleantoinette – Well, thank you very much! I appreciate it : )
@ Bret – Thanks for the kind words.
@ Mark – Appreciate your comment. Re: sales tax. While others may not be, Alice is in compliance with the law and where the law – and enforcement – are going. That’s about all we can do : )
Great post!
I agree. When you’re doing something you love then it becomes more than work. It’s your life. Thanks for sharing your excitement.
Congratulations on blurring the work/life balance dividing line.. Most of us strive for a work/life integration – you’re well on your way to making that happen. Alice is a great service, I wish you the best of luck Rebecca (also good to see you back here posting).
“Peace, it seems, can not only be discovered in the quiet pauses of life, but also in the often forceful and uncertain flow that rushes against walls and norms and status quo.”
This one stopped me in my tracks. Thanks for your great perspective!
That ability to share it from the inside out is definitely the mark of a great job. When you don’t care about the line anymore. It’s so awesome to see in action.
@ David – Thanks so much. That’s a great succinct way to put it and is very true.
@ Matt – Do most people strive for work/life integration? I’m not so sure… it’s something I certainly enjoy, but I think everyone is different. Thanks for the comment!
@ Julie – Appreciate your kind words. That’s my favorite line in the post too : )
@ Tiffany – Thanks for your support. Having the belief in what you’re doing is pretty important and it’s fun to share with friends like you.
Beautiful post, you did a masterful job of capturing the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants and hold on for dear life aspect of working for a start-up. So glad you enjoy your job, I’ve learned a lot from the way you handle the Alice marketing!
I love the poetry you inject into your writing, even a post with a title about deciding if you like a job. Wonderfully written, Rebecca.
This is awesome! Love the energy, Alice is going to be a great service.
@ Parsing Nonsense – Ha, that’s exactly how it was. Thanks so much for your kind words, I always learn a lot from you too!
@ Amy – So you’re saying I should change the title, eh? ; ) I appreciate that esp because I think you’re a fabulous writer.
@ Tony – Yeah! Thanks : )
Great writing, Rebecca! I’ve never been at the heart of a start-up, quite like that, but your writing took me there.
I particularly love this:
“Peace, it seems, can not only be discovered in the quiet pauses of life, but also in the often forceful and uncertain flow that rushes against walls and norms and status quo.”
Any good relationship should be something that doesn’t hamper the rest of your life, but makes everything that much better. I like to think of the huge dopey grin skipping thru parking lots with woodland creatures better, but hey, to each their own! The work/life balance is tough, and the blur can make your head spin. I’m glad that for you the “balance” is instead enhancing your life, that’s what we all strive for!
Great post, as always! What’s fun from this side (being a spectator on the sidelines) watching each step of the way and see how much of the success of Alice are from things I know to be Rebecca. Each time I see people post about Alice on twitter or a blog I want to say “hey thank Rebecca, oh and be sure to say hi to her, she’s awesome”. I’m glad you are so happy, I can feel the energy in your writing! Congrats are most certainly in order.
When I first read the title I thought it is a quiz or a new method to help determine if you should keep your job or not. While reading, I felt jealous (the healthy type of jealousy I assure you) with every word and sentence,it is a blessing to have a job that you like, it is not a job anymore, it is your life. Thanx for a great post.
[…] really like Rebecca Thorman’s most recent blog post “How to decide if you have a good job.” Her description of her team’s rush to launch their new website is an excellent example of my […]
@ Kristen – Thanks so much. It’s fun to constantly be working towards new and exciting goals.
@ Elisa – Definitely. I feel very lucky to be in the situation I’m in, make no doubt about it : )
@ Elysa – Haha, well thank you! Alice is actually a much bigger team than myself so I’ll spread the thanks around to everyone!
@ rana – Thank you for the kind words. I do indeed love what I do and since I didn’t always have great jobs, I’m happy to share that they do exist!
Great story – thank you for sharing it. What an exciting time to be a part of something like this. It is also great to hear the play by play of what actually goes on behind the scenes. I checked out the site when it launched as well, but providing the human element is always a great way to get another dimension to a startup or site.
This was beautifully written. It makes me a little jealous (in a good way) that I haven’t found my right job yet.
That’s awesome! I’m glad you’re having a blast over there and you guys had a successful launch.
I’m hoping to hook up something I really like, but it’s looking like I’m going to need to bootstrap to get there.
[…] Work is supposed to just be work. No one ever really enjoys it, right? Ok, there are some weirdos out there, but for the most part we’re all supposed to hate our […]
It’s amazing how time flies when you’re having fun, eh? When a whole team/department/company is excited with anticipation for the big launch moment when it all comes out and the adrenalin is pumping and your hands and eyes and ears are furiously trying to soak it all in before it even gets to you and it just feels great.
Congrats on the launch, the site looks great and it definitely sounds like a useful service.
Rebecca,
First, a great post that captures the beautiful, chaotic, hope-filled launch. Really well done.
As for balance, there is no life-work balance. There is only life. If we are comfortable with the choices we make right now with our life, our life is in balance.
Is this right for me right now? For you, the answer is “yes.” That’s what balance — and life — is all about.
[…] “How to decide if you have a good job” is a fantastic post about start-ups, stress, and loving your life. It also give a bit of background inside into Alice.com, a novel start-up that regularly delivers all of your household necessities to your home at a discount over big box stores. […]
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[…] Rebecca is intelligent, thoughtful and an excellent writer. She constantly pumps out interesting content regarding Gen Y, the workplace, personal branding and career advancement. She works at alice.com, a promising start up, doing marketing, PR and social media. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing her and she revealed valuable insights regarding the job search and working for small businesses. My personal favorite on her blog: How to Decide if You Have a Good Job. […]
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You really captured the essence of what it’s like to work at a start-up. Days tend to blur together and you’re really just racing to the next task – but it’s a blast! Thinking on your feet and split second decision making is essential. Nicely written!
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