The first week at Aaptiv went directly into board prep and a board meeting. I had just joined to lead product and technology. The next week my calendar had thirty recruiting calls on it.
I described the calendar to a friend as ghastly.
That was not really a complaint. I liked being busy, and there was a lot to do. Aaptiv had a motivated team, a product people could understand quickly, and a big opportunity in front of it. I was excited to get into the work.
The speed was still a little ridiculous.
I was trying to understand the product, the people, and how decisions were being made while also helping the company hire. Recruiting was not something that could wait until I had settled in. The team needed to grow, so the calls went on the calendar.
I also started reaching out to people I trusted. I wanted advice from operators who had helped companies grow before. Some conversations were about candidates. Others were about team structure, product questions, or what I should pay attention to first.
The basic problem was familiar. An early team can move fast because everybody is close to the work. The same closeness can make everything feel important. Product requests, engineering work, hiring, data, and company goals all arrive at once. Somebody still has to choose what matters most and turn it into work the team can finish.
I did not have a finished answer after a week. I had a list of things to learn and a calendar full of people who might help.
Tuesday and Thursday nights had one more item. I was taking a Python class for a few months.
I had spent my career building and operating technology companies. I was now the CTO of another one. I was also leaving work to sit in a class and practice a programming language. Those things did not feel contradictory. Technology changes, and I like learning by doing.
One night I missed drinks with a friend because the plan had fallen off my calendar and I was in class. I apologized, admitted exactly what happened, and offered to buy the next round. It was a small failure in a week organized almost entirely around the calendar.
Thirty recruiting calls was still a lot of talking. I had not built the team yet. I was only starting to learn who might belong on it and what the people already there needed from me.
That would take longer than my first two weeks.
For now, I was meeting people, asking questions, taking notes, and trying to find the few changes that could create a major gain. Then I was going to Python class.