2023 in review
2024 January
See 2022 in review to see my goals/thoughts for last year.
2023 Goals: A Review
Find clarity on what to work on.
Kevin, TK, and I started Venue in September of 2022. When I was writing my annual reflections and contemplating goals for 2023, Venue was unsurprisingly top-of-mind.
At the time, we had finished the inaugural Sequoia Arc Americas program and pivoted through a number of problem spaces, but still searching for the one we would commit to. Last year, I wrote:
Starting a company, especially VC-backed, is unfortunately rooted in realism. For any dream we might desire to pursue, there's an omnipresent reminder that it needs to be a viable business. We're looking for something at the intersection of idealism and reality (sorry, I know this is corny) – but we'll see how it goes.
Shortly after the time of writing, we committed to procurement as the problem space we were willing to invest in. For a number of different reasons, I'll refrain from publicly sharing more details, but we were acquired by Ramp to build out the procurement product in September.
✅ Wake up earlier (concretely, at or before 8:30AM).
I've been consistently waking up earlier, typically between 7:30AM – 8AM. On the weekends, I typically sleep in until 9AM.
❌ A few personal goals...
I accomplished two of my personal goals, and failed the last one by a long shot.
✅ Manage my time better.
In 2022, I wasn't thrilled with how I spent my time, namely by spending way more time watching YouTube than I would've liked.
Some thoughts on 2023
Venue → Ramp
2023 was largely defined by the trials and tribulations we went through for Venue. Working on a startup was far more stressful than I had anticipated – I remember feeling naseous on "Day 1" knowing that there wasn't any safety net to fall back upon. If we failed (as most companies do), we'd need to accept that we were directly responsible and cope with bruised egos.
With any other job, it's easier to decouple yourself from where you work, but with a start-up every criticism feels personal. When I was at Facebook, it was easy to disassociate and distance myself from the company as a whole, but with Venue, I found people were engrossed with the idea of being a founder.
We received some press in January for the acquisition and the launch of Ramp Procurement (Fortune, Techcrunch, Ramp blog post), and I'm genuinely happy to be back at Ramp. I was a full-time IC for two months before transitioning fully into people management, and at the moment I have seven direct reports. The role change was unexpected yet necessary given some turnover & performance-related changes, but it's been a massive opportunity for me to grow. I'm excited to make the most of this through 2024 and help accelerate Ramp's growth.
2024 Goals
Have better work + life balance.
I tend to obsess about work. I'd like to dedicate more focus time for non-work: this includes taking PTO, disconnecting properly on the weekends, limiting the number of hours I spend after dinner, and spending more time connecting with friends + family.
Become a better manager.
I'm lucky to have a significant responsibility and trust at Ramp. I currently manage a team of seven people, and I'd like to become the manager I wish I had earlier in my career.
There's specific areas I want to focus on:
- Being more honest around areas for improvements, and when performance is lacking.
- Explicitly calling out what's going well.
- Collaborating better cross-functionally with others in the org chart.
A few personal goals...