This is what I’ve experienced in the past 8 months:
- One month before I joined, the App was first released. Two weeks later, it rose to the top, the very top
- One week before I joined, the app was removed from one app store
- The second day after I got on board as the Strategy BP, it was removed from both app stores. And I started to conduct GTM research that was so different than I thought it to be
- One month into my tenure, we finally got back on both of our feet. By that time, we had lost 90% of our users
- The following two months, we started to build out our processes, reflect on our mistakes, and consolidate our know-how while slowly growing our business, until a corporate level reorg and re-strategizing took place
- It took me one month and a half to decide to go with this App and build credibility and trust with a whole new team. While we were busy with the reorg, some inappropriate content was growing rampant in our App
- After three months of operation and growth with smaller zigzags, a key functional leader was replaced. And then another round of team restructuring and re-strategizing…
When I left investment banking, I was pushed by boredom and driven by curiosity. Though I don’t regret the decision I made for a minute (but I do probably for a second), I do want to tell my younger self: Be careful about what you wish for.