A portion of the 1890s gutters fell in and water started leaking into the living room.
I had moved temporarily to Poughkeepsie as COVID spread through New York. The old Victorian gave us more room and fewer people nearby. It also remained an old Victorian.
New York had ordered nonessential businesses to close their in-person operations. Emergency repairs were allowed, but ordinary construction was heavily restricted. I could not just schedule the normal crew and wait for the rain to stop.
The weekend became tarps, ladders, and trying to keep more water from coming through the bay windows. I described myself as “pretty frantic across the rainy days working on the house.” That was accurate.
This happened in the middle of a job decision.
I had sent professional references to Equinox Media just before the gutters failed. I was close to an offer to become its Chief Product Officer, but I had not decided whether I would take it. The business was interesting, I liked the team, and it kept me in fitness. Equinox Media had just launched its Variis digital fitness platform as the entire fitness industry was being rearranged.
The recruiter followed up after I missed a weekend call with the CEO. My explanation was not polished: the gutters fell in, the living room leaked, contractors were unavailable, and I had spent the weekend trying to keep the house dry. I promised to reconnect during the week.
The conversation continued. I got a verbal offer, then the formal paperwork. My first reply was “Fantastic!” followed immediately by a note that I needed to read everything and ask a few questions about the equity.
By then I had split with Aaptiv. I was excited about the Equinox Media role and still had not decided. I also really wanted to start something of my own. Apply was becoming a real project, but I did not yet know whether its finances could support the company I wanted to build.
The choice was not between a good option and a bad one. I had a serious product role in a field I loved, an early company I wanted to test, and a house wrapped in black plastic during a pandemic.
The formal offer was open. I had not signed it yet.