Work, Work,
Work Some More
The perspective of Jared Fliesler who’s had a career from start-ups to venture capital — even before turning 30
Most of us wish there was a formula to achieve success. While this isn’t the case, Jared Fliesler, General Partner at Venture Capital firm Matrix Partners, shared his personal formula with Tradecrafters. Given that he has already achieved success at a real estate investment company, Slide (a social entertainment application publisher acquired by Google), been Google’s youngest Director of Product Management, Square’s VP of User Acquisition and Business Operations, and now at Matrix Partners — all before turning 30 — Jared has definitely earned credibility.
The Beginnings
Jared was one of ten writing food reviews on Yelp while a student at the University of San Francisco in 2003. Being a member of the “Yelp Elite” was his virtual currency, as everyone wanted to be his +1 to Yelp’s sponsored college parties.
After graduation, Jared began his career at a real estate investment company. He ran account sales for Northern California, Oregon, and Nevada, and discovered he had the same number of clients, yet half the salary, as a rep with the same role based in Los Angeles. Jared was denied a raise because he had fewer years of work experience. He realized the company’s structure valued time spent over quality and efficiency. No matter how hard he worked, he couldn’t advance quickly. This gave him no incentive to work hard, and didn’t reward his work ethic — so he decided to search for a new opportunity.
How He “Made It” in Tech
Jared’s tips for achieving success:
- Work harder than everyone else. Be the first to respond to Saturday email, cancel trips, and work late on Friday nights.
- Jared tells his partner, friends, and family that work comes first. As much as he would like to spend time with them, his work is more important.
2. Be in the office. It’s easy to come in an hour earlier and stay an hour later. You’ll stand out. Your boss will think of these moments come evaluation time.
- He mentioned that the startup culture has changed since he joined Slide (acquired by Google) in 2007. People are showing up to work later and leaving earlier. They aren’t working as hard as they used to, which is negatively impacting company pride.
3. Always ask for more work. “If you’re not drowning, you’re not working hard enough…You just have to know when to get out of the pool.” Surround yourself with people who inspire you.
4. It doesn’t matter if a company is hiring. If you want to work there, reach out to the founders and CEO. Offer to clean the floor or help in any capacity.
5. Be visible. Work on what the CEO cares about. Your job is to make your boss’s job easier.
- At Slide, Jared worked on competitive research, and sent it to his boss. It was forwarded to everyone, and then the CEO read it. People started to request meetings with him to discuss his findings. This led to him naturally assuming the role of Head of Growth.
6. Find a way to relax.
- Jared’s secret is going to the Indian Springs Resort in Calistoga for a mud bath.
7. The more that you can be the glue that sticks the growth, sales, and product teams together, the more successful you will be.
To achieve success, set clear goals and work relentlessly to achieve them. Jared’s goals clearly include excelling in his career, so he has dedicated his life to work. His career has skyrocketed, and we are left to wonder what more Jared will accomplish.
