Yes, folks, it's true. April 11th, almost three years after my first day as a Googler (or "Noogler"), was my last day. Did I hate it? Did something go horribly wrong? Did the company completely change? No no, nothing like that.I loved Google. It's a fantastic company, particularly for engineers. You're driving the products, it's growing quickly, and you get to solve challenging problems all the time. I learned a ton and I'm really glad I had that experience.
But, with three years at Google and four internships between Microsoft and Apple, the experience I'm missing is a startup.
With that said, let me answer some questions:
Q: So, now that you're not there, you can tell me what you were working on, right?
No, silly, that's not how NDAs work! :-) I'll let you know when it ships though.
Q: Well, what are you doing now?
At this very moment? Sitting in a hotel room in Buenos Aires. I'll be in Buenos Aires for the next three months, learning Spanish, drinking wine, eating good food, and playing around with some startup ideas. I'll be back in Seattle on August 1 and I'll eventually join a startup.
Got suggestions about what to do in Buenos Aires? Let me know!
Q: What startup will you be joining?
I'm not sure. Since I wanted to travel for a few months, I really had to do that first and then look once I get back to Seattle.
But... if you have suggestions, here's what I'm looking for:
- Project management / business role at a small company, or development for a startup
- Seattle based (or allow me to work remotely). I like Seattle and I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon.
- Ideally consumer or mobile apps, but I'm open to other ideas.
Posts
5 comments:
Hey Gayle... this is the first time I have come across your blog... and must say your writing style has really impressed me... hope you having a great time... and yes... working with a startup company is special and gives us valuable experience...
While I personally do not know you well I very much appreciate the work that you have done. Wishing you best of luck Gayle!
Gayle was one of our best CS students at University of Pennsylvania. With great talent, creativity and impressed work experiences, there is no doubt she can seek for greater accomplishment somewhere beyond Google. We are truly looking to see Gayle has another amazing step after she comes back!
Gayle, good luck finding a mobile startup in Seattle. While there are a number of well-funded startups in this space in the area, most of them aren't really going anywhere.
Whatever you do, don't go work at Pelago - it's known as a horrible place to work and their product is poor (go figure that these two go together).
You should really just find some great people who want to do a startup and get it going yourself.
Mademoiselle, let me know what kind of mobile startup you are interested in. I nearly did one 6 months ago but have since decided to lay low and squander my life away instead. Perhaps we can talk sometime at one of those SAF meets and see if you want to pursue it -- great if you can get me a ticket to the black party.
Your writing is quite good. But you didn't really explain clearly why you left Google. And I do sense that you care a little too much about other people's opinions. That alone would doom your business undertaking.
Post a Comment