Trajectory vs. Initial Conditions

Hi friends,

This week marks ten years since I started at Bould Design. I was the third designer at the studio. Now I'm a partner in the firm, we have a team of eighteen talented people, and I wouldn't hesitate to call us one of the pre-eminent design studios in Silicon Valley working on new technology products. Today, I'm reflecting a bit on how I almost didn't get here, and I'd like to share a story I haven't told many people.

Bould Design gave me my first "real" design job out of college, and it was a three-month internship. During that time, I was young and uncertain about the future. I lived in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and had no job security. I was looking for other opportunities in case I wasn't asked to stay once the three months were up.

I managed to land a job offer at one of the Silicon Valley tech giants. I won't drop names here, but it's one of the big ones you know. Great. Runway secured. Almost immediately after, I was also offered a full-time position at Bould Design. I had a choice to make: stay at a small, scrappy three-person studio or work for one of the biggest names in tech?

At Bould Design, I was drinking from a firehose learning about how real products are made. With just a team of three, we were designing hardware for exciting up-and-coming startups like Nest, GoPro, and Roku (all household names now). But being a twenty-two year old kid, I thought the prestige of having a big tech company on my resume was worth more than it is. My parents, being of a different generation, not-so-subtly encouraged me to take the corporate job for the stability and the set growth path. The food and gym perks were also nice.

But let's be honest. What really pulled me in was that the salary was 2x and there was an additional signing bonus, which added up to more money than I could imagine. I agonized over the decision, but eventually I took the job. Fred (Bould, of the eponymous design firm of which I'm a partner of now) and I parted on good terms, and on my way out the door he said, "If you ever need a place to park, you'll be welcome here".

On my first day at the new job I knew in my gut that I had made a huge mistake. I chocked it up to whiplash from the change of scenery, and soldiered on. Two weeks passed with me barely having anything to do. It became clear they had hired me to fill some quota and there wasn't an actual planned design work for me.

When I did get some design work to do, it was mind-numbingly dull compared to the simplest problem I was asked to solve at Bould. Life slowed to a snail's pace. Every day I would show up to my drab gray cubicle, check Facebook and read design blogs. To some people, that might sound like a great way to earn a six-figure paycheck, but to me it was torture.

My third week in, I stepped into my boss's office and delivered him a resignation letter with shaking hands and mumbled apologies. Even in my brief time there, he had proven to be a kind and caring manager. He seemed to understand that this was not the place for me. I emailed Fred, and two weeks later I was back in my old seat.

The rest, as they say, is history.

In the ten years since that day, we've built up Bould Design to be the go-to name for designing beautiful, successful technology hardware. We've scaled the team 6x and shipped countless products that have shaped the integration of technology into our everyday lives. Personally I've continued to learn a ton about the craft of design and also how to manage a team and run a successful business. We've worked with many talented designers over the years, and we've developed strong leaders in our organization. Judging from what we hear from our team, we've also built a comfortable yet challenging creative culture and a pretty nice place to work.

Looking back at it, the right choice is blindingly obvious. I was short-sighted and foolish to have made the choice based primarily on finances and imagined prestige. It's a bit cliché, but as the saying goes, "Follow your passion, and the money will come". I was passionate about what we were doing at Bould Design. I was learning at a rate I had never experienced before. Had I continued on with the tech company, my career would look a lot different now.

This early fumble shaped the advice I give any student or young professional who asks me about how to pick their first career moves. While the initial conditions (i.e. the $$, the name, the perks) at the tech company were very attractive, it was the rate of growth I should have been thinking about. If you are in the same position now, I would encourage you to consider the following: the first job or two of your career sets the trajectory. Look for mentors. Look for the firehose to drink from. Don't just look for the biggest payout or the biggest name. You have your whole career to make money and build up your resume.

Ten years down the line you won't regret it.

I'm glad I at least had the sense to admit my mistake and make a course correction.

See you next week!

Anson