Since joining Zinnia, I’ve thought a lot about why I made the switch from corporate to startup and I can’t stop thinking about gardening. I’ve been inspired by Zinnia’s name originating from the resilient flower that can grow in almost any climate. It got me thinking that working at a corporate giant was like gardening in a stunning, well-established, public garden. While there are always more flowers to be planted and soil to nurture, the fruits of your labor are harder to see because there are so many beautiful flowers. They already have all of the plants tagged with educational facts, and people know that they likely won’t be disappointed if they decide to pay a visit, rain or shine. Whereas a startup is more akin to finding an empty plot of land and executing on a vision for what it could be - a stunning, flourishing garden, with endless opportunity.
So please step into my garden, and let me share a few reasons why I left corporate for startup, and how it’s helping me blossom.
From the ground up: I was lucky to work in an incubator within Microsoft that gave me a taste of what startup life could be like, but we always had the brand name backing our work, and the garden we planted grew at record speed. That team taught me almost everything I know and accelerated my personal growth, but I had this question in the back of my mind - could I take what I had learned and make even more of an impact at an early stage startup? Could I lend my expertise to something brand new to help it grow? I want to put my personal stamp on Zinnia’s garden, helping to grow it from the ground up, and seeing what fruit it bears. The sky is the limit.
Reap What You Sow: Growing a plant from seed to sprout to bloom is incredibly satisfying - you see the immediate impact of your work, and it turns into something beautiful (or delicious). In my experience, it is not uncommon in the corporate world for an employee to be given a task only to find out that another team is replicating your work. Alternatively, I’ve had friends who work at large corporations share stories about needing to document everything they do so that they can prove their impact when it comes time for their reviews. At a startup, everything you do has an impact - something as simple as SEO puts you on the map, you build a feature that your customers have been begging for, or your campaign connects you to thousands of previously untouched prospects. There are so many wins, so much to celebrate, and every day you know why you’re there. While the to-do list might be long, it’s satisfying, which makes it exciting.
Failure is seen as a learning opportunity: When you plant seeds in a garden, you don’t always know how they will respond to their new environment - whether the surrounding plants, climate, or soil. But with trial, error, and persistent learning, you can usually make adjustments to learn from what didn’t work last time. One thing I absolutely love about startup culture, particularly at Zinnia, is we want to fail fast, so we learn and improve every day. Our entire focus is learning - from customer feedback to what messaging resonates to what offers add value - and by learning, and sometimes failing, every day we grow.
Pulling out the weeds: Weeds are pesky, sometimes foreseen (sometimes unforeseen) surprises that can threaten everything you’ve grown. Similarly, startups are not without risk, there are weeds that could impact the health of your garden. Whether that is the state of the economy impacting a funding round or an unexpected software bug, weeds pop up. However, startups are agile and have the ability to pivot and problem solve on a dime. At corporate, even in the face of a massive issue or bug, there can be tons of red tape. I’ve personally had fire drills where I’ve had to get sign off on a decision from everyone from legal to compliance to branding before making the necessary change. At startups, while the risk is there, so is the agility to address it in the moment and get creative about your approach.
Community building: Gardens foster community - from WW2 victory gardens where people provided food for civilians and troops, to community gardens that neighbors cultivate, to educational gardens used to share the magic of plants and nature with children. Similarly, Zinnia’s mission is to help companies connect with their employees and customers through the power of events. I believe in the power of in-person connection, and also believe in a hybrid world. Offsites that enable remote teams to connect, curating memorable customer prospecting opportunities that maximize customer relationships and drive sales, and everything in between is the future of work.
I am absolutely thrilled to be part of Zinnia and help it grow from the ground up. I’m always happy to be a resource for anyone considering making the switch from corporate to startup, so if you’re considering making the leap, my door is always open.
Plan impactful offsites, effortlessly and visit GetZinnia.com.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)