The astounding Neon Night-Rider and the return of the web

Recently, I read a Twitter post by @pearanalytics highlighting a blog post they wrote with a full-length thesis article from a Princeton grad on Pear Analytics. This was of particular interest to me because I temporarily worked on some Pear Analytics applications and would’ve been there full-time. Now, to clear the air on why I didn’t go, it was for a few reasons, neither of which had to do with the company, because they were very willing to negotiate with me to make an enjoyable work environment for me. So why didn’t I take it? I was called back to complete another project, which I always see as a divine message to make me realize my true desire to be an entrepreneur. At the time, I was called back to a place which was also offering me a position, which, when comparing, would’ve been overall a better fit. Nevertheless, Pear Analytics was a great learning experience, especially for an entrepreneur.

In September, I had an involuntary break from my contract with the “other company” and it had not been since the end of July that I’d been working there. So, I appealed to a fellow developer who instantly got me to get on board at Pear Analytics. Some friends and current managing partners of a company I recently started had gotten to know the CEO of Pear, Ryan Kelly,  pretty well and they gained a wealth of knowledge about the startup world just in conversion. Naturally, this was a great opportunity to get the information straight from the horse’s mouth, and I jumped on the opportunity. After looking through this article, I’ve gained more knowledge on just how to operate and what investors and most importantly customers expect from you. But on my first day there, I found that Kelly shared my view on what we simply labeled “agencies.” An agency is short for “interactive/marketing agency” that focuses on providing web-based services. In that first conversation, I learned that Kelly worked previously at Blue Clover, an agency that I not only know because a few months prior one of their executives asked for the code used for my idre.am project in 2008, but also because in 2007 they were interviewing me for a position I couldn’t take unless I wanted to move back to San Antonio (which I then didn’t).

Despite Kelly’s position at Blue Clover and Pear Analytics, I learned that he actually has an engineering background, which provides a sound left-brained look at business that emphasizes reasoning, logic, and understanding. From a former history student, someone with an analytical background has a certain level of understanding of business and products that I couldn’t get from creative or marketing professionals. It was refreshing to see that he valued talent he could observe over a grocery list of accomplishments and work. Talk to Kelly and he’ll tell you he hates resumes. Talk to me, and I’ll tell you I hate job ads with a grocery list of skillsets accompanied by a finite and specific set of years of experience. That like-minded thinking suggests that neither of us buy what the other is selling. They’ve got to prove it. And Kelly can hire without reporting to someone, whereas with large companies, you’ll have some red tape big time. Especially in this economy.

And Kelly had a truly open atmosphere for his company. He was impressed with action, and shared office space with another company, Brandstack, which was an additional source for ideas from. Despite three companies sharing one office, the environment truly felt like it was all one company. And what would a startup be without video games, alcohol, and late nights out getting to know the people you work with?

Another big thing there was the numerous people who popped in and out to advise Kelly. Some were investors, some were consultants, some customers, but all influential either in San Antonio or in the tech industry, and sometimes influential in both areas.

But if it were perfect, I’d still be there, right? So what held me back from Pear Analytics?

Back to the company culture, 10 people in a small office with another company nearby who is on friendly terms with most of the heads at each company can mean a lot of people in and out. So much so that the best way to work is either come early or stay late. Add in video games and music, and even with my headphones at full volume I could lose concentration. I usually was the earliest person in the office. And I usually can’t get anywhere before 8:30 am anymore. This is not the work environment I’d create.

Also, I’m family-oriented first, money second. Let’s face it: whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee, what you do makes you money. It doesn’t matter how much if you love doing it, but the trend in today’s company means that you won’t see your dear family much. Not the best situation for a soon-to-be-newlywed. Even as a young single professional, you need your time to wind down and socialize outside of work.

And speaking of newlywed, choosing between an established corporation and a startup when you’re about to be married is difficult because you can’t entirely rely on the possibility of something happening in your favor. If I had to choose a job and I want to return to school and need health coverage now instead of later, it’s hard to choose the small company over the large one, especially when both companies have a fairly open and fun work environment. I needed large company security with small company personality.

And finally, had I taken that position, I’d be less likely to start my own company. An entrepreneur can’t work for an entrepreneur, they can only work with. (But the entrepreneur’s company can with for the other entrepreneur.) I would’ve had a better ability to start my own company, but less time to do it. So I stayed a contractor at the big company with the possibility of hire.

In the end, I think the most valuable lesson at Pear had nothing to do with company culture. After all, culture can easily make or break a company, and it was honestly the part I didn’t like at all. It wasn’t through observing the numerous visitors who advised Kelly or the numerous tools I got from developers and the action-oriented attitude that Kelly let rub off on his employees. It was simply that I am capable. Though the people at Pear may not realize it, but they reassured me that I’m not some flighty wannabe entrepreneur whose only way to success is to use my network so they can do the dirty work while I collect the cash. No–an analytical person can flourish in business with the right attitude. Also, you don’t have to sell yourself short to succeed. You can prevail regardless of the challenges, even in the often-demeaned city of San Antonio. For that, I thank Pear Analytics for restoring my faith and pushing me to my dreams.

Tags: company culture, idream, pear analytics, ryan kelly, san antonio, startups, work-life balance

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.