Finding a job is no easy feat. All the time and energy spent pouring over postings, writing cover letters, submitting applications, researching companies and conducting interviews is a job in and of itself.
The ideal endpoint would be to secure not just a job but the perfect job — one that reflects your interests, values and professional development goals, and where your workplace is collaborative, supportive and eager to see you succeed.
Job postings and company websites contain a lot of helpful information. Still, some things can only be learned through speaking with current employees about their lived-in experiences. This invaluable form of information-sharing bridges the gap between expectations and reality and empowers confident decision-making.
Armanii Glaspie said the marketing team’s dedication and his ability to make meaningful contributions to a growing company make his job at Fivetran special. For Teresa Yau, being a part of a smaller team where employees get the chance to work on multiple parts of a product is part of SuperTeam Games’s appeal.
Head of Product Doris Jwo identified three characteristics in her team that influenced her to stay at Writer for so long: effectiveness, supportiveness and fearless ambition. “I think a lot of teams have one or two of these things down, but it’s rare to find a team with all three,” said Jwo.
Built In San Francisco gave employees at Fivetran, Writer and SuperTeam Games the opportunity to describe why they love their companies and are excited for the future.
Fivetran automates the process of accessing and drawing data from disparate sources so companies can focus on reaching their goals.
As a tenured employee, what has been the biggest reason you’ve stayed at Fivetran so long?
The marketing team’s culture here was the driving factor in my decision to join Fivetran. From my first interaction with the team, everyone seemed so helpful and dedicated to helping me succeed — and they have all maintained that dedication. I’ve stayed at Fivetran because of the many opportunities to help shape the face of the company as it grows and works to achieve the high goals set by our leadership team.
It’s not every day that you can be a part of a company that has its sights set on an IPO and is able to work tirelessly to hit the goals that it needs to in order to get there.”
Looking to the future, what excites you most about where Fivetran is headed or, more specifically, the work you’ll do to help it get there?
It’s not every day that you can be a part of a company that has its sights set on an IPO and is able to work tirelessly to hit the goals that it needs to in order to get there. Working in product marketing allows me to speak with the customers, educate the sales team and really drive home the value that Fivetran offers. I look forward to continued growth with the company and can’t wait to see what we achieve together here!
AI company Writer creates software that helps teams align their voice, communicate effectively and hone their messaging.
As a tenured employee, what has been the biggest reason you’ve stayed at Writer so long?
I’ve been at Writer for 3 years. The biggest reason I’ve stayed this long is because of the team. I am, of course, excited about the product vision, the pain points we’re solving and the cutting-edge technologies we get to work with. But truthfully, this team could work in any space and be successful — and have fun while doing it. There are three characteristics of this team that stick out to me. I think a lot of teams have one or two of these things down, but it’s rare to find a team with all three.
Number one is incredible effectiveness. We’ve focused on hiring super-competent, dive-in-deep, roll-up-the-sleeves people. Our team is just darn good at what they do and is very quick at picking up new skills. We’ve had low turnover and we work in a space where the things we’re building haven’t been done before. Our team does a great job of learning as we go — we’re constantly picking at our own processes, tools and architecture, trying to figure out a better way to do things, whether it’s an agile process, a data tool that’s not working or a tech stack that isn’t as cutting edge as we’d like it to be.
Second is that we are relentlessly ambitious and fearless. When the team is faced with a difficult feature request or some crazy idea we’d like to try out, the first response is rarely, “I don’t think that’s possible.”
Lastly, we are here for each other. With the above two points, on another team, I’d be worried about egos and personalities conflicting. But, this hasn’t been the case with people I’ve worked with here. I think this starts from the top down. Our founders are down-to-earth people who believe in a flat organization and have genuine compassion for our employees. They also are the first to roll their sleeves up and help with a thorny problem. This is the type of culture I see every day. People never throw things over the fence or hang someone out to dry. Even when there are urgent deadlines or big fires to put out, everyone tends to be calm and collaborative. And after the dust clears, the team doesn’t point fingers, they just figure out how to do it better next time.
Customers often don’t know how to ask for the things they need because they simply don’t think it’s possible. We’re carving out new territory with our product.”
Looking to the future, what excites you most about where Writer is headed or, more specifically, the work you’ll do to help it get there?
I’m incredibly excited about the foundation we’ve set and the product vision we have ahead of us. We have a solid core product, a new market we’re tackling, and huge ambitions for owning this space and technology innovations from the bottom up.
Since launching, we’ve had the privilege to work with leaders in the content strategy space. Because we’re connected to this amazing customer base, we’re uniquely positioned to deeply understand this persona and their pain points. There’s so much here to tackle!
What excites me the most is that the ceiling genuinely feels limitless for what we can do for these folks, and we’re in a prime spot to understand it deeply. We work in a space where customers often don’t know how to ask for the things they need because they simply don’t think it’s possible. We’re carving out new territory with our product and have the opportunity to be pioneers. As a product lead, this is the sweet spot: tackling thorny problems with game-changing solutions that we quickly ship, learn from, iterate and improve.
SuperTeam Games aims to deliver cross-platform sport games different from the big franchises that gamers have become accustomed to. STG Football is the company’s first offering and brings multiplayer action infused with an NFT marketplace for real-life NFL players.
As a tenured employee, what has been the biggest reason you’ve stayed at STG so long?
I hopped aboard the SS-STG with my ex-EA crewmates because I knew it would be more than just a 3-hour tour. In fact, this voyage would be completely unlike the Titanic. We are due for an exciting adventure, sailing through glaciers with a hull held together by sheer willpower and Unity. Every day brings new challenges to solve and change lists to commit, nothing that is Unreal. When we do set our Anchorpoints and take down our Canvas sails, we’ll build a new game not from sticks and stones, but with stronger stuff like Adobe, and it will have real Substance!
The most exciting part of the short-term roadmap for STG Football is the buffet of assets we’re serving up for launch and immediately after.”
Looking to the future, what excites you most about where STG is headed or, more specifically, the work you’ll do to help it get there?
The most exciting part of the short-term roadmap for STG Football is the buffet of assets we’re serving up for launch and immediately after. Being a small team, each of us can contribute to multiple parts of the product, be it development or live ops. It’s an awesome feeling coming in to work with some of the smartest people in the industry every day. That’s why I wake up daily and put on my buffet pants to bash tickets and make a difference — because, honestly, who wants to go to work without an elastic waistband?
