Biggest moment #1 – Moving to California
The biggest moment that I can think of… the one that really defines all of the rest is moving to California.
I never wanted to stay in North Carolina. It was never going to be a big enough pond for me. Matt Davis was already out in California, and I wanted to join him, and then the two of us were going to take over the Valley.
I was interviewing like crazy.
I got to 2nd round interviews with Mint, first round with Apple, second round with Google, and I just couldn’t close the deal. I interviewed with agencies, hedge funds, and everything in between.
I read TechCrunch religiously, and applied to every company that showed up (well, every company at Series A and lower).
I was desperate to get into the ground floor, and ride the roller coaster to the top of the Silicon Valley dream.
After 20 some odd interviews, I walked in the doors on Tennessee Street, and convinced the TokBox crew to hire me.
I don’t think I was that good… I just think they were desperate. And sometimes that’s all it takes.
Shep got a job out in San Francisco as well, and we moved out together. My parents didn’t want me to have a room mate, but I didn’t want to be alone. Having Shep was huge for me. It got me through so much that first year.
And then everything else just falls from there.