Taking Risks as an Intrapreneur
At the beginning of this year, I made the tough decision of leaving a job I loved, a team I loved, family and friends I love, to pursue my dream of making it in New York.
A risky decision some might say…
After 8 years, I made the decision to step down as CEO of Fishburners.
After jumping off the fast-moving train, I had time to stop. And think. And reflect. Something I honestly haven’t done properly since I first started at Fishburners.
Working in the fast-paced world of startups, I was always looking ahead. What new hurdle are we going to overcome, what new product are we going to launch, what new location are we going to expand to, what new team roles do we need to fill… I was forever in ‘what’s next’ mode.
Sure, I would look back on our data, work out what worked and make changes. But I never really looked back on what I had achieved and how I had grown so much in such a short period of time.
In particular, I never really acknowledged or gave myself credit for the risks I took. I always praised the startup founders for risks they were taking, but never realized that I was taking a risk too. Sure, I wasn’t putting hard money on the table. But, I was putting in countless hours of sweat equity into an organization that I actually didn’t have any certainty on where it could end up.
Back in 2013, I made a life-changing decision. One I don’t think I appreciated as much as I do now.
I had been at Fishburners for two years (starting as their first employee) and was already incredibly proud of the community we had built. We had around 100 startups in our offices, making us the largest startup space in Australia.
I had been working as the full-time office manager while finishing my university degree at UTS. The Managing Director at the time asked what I was going to do when I finished university and invited me to stay on at Fishburners. I explained to him that I had done a Bachelor in Business, majoring in management consulting and it felt wrong not to explore that option. But I was extremely conflicted. I had a degree in what I thought I was ‘meant’ to do, but now had this job offer in a company I loved but didn’t know its future.
My boss saw I was conflicted and booked me in to see a professional careers counselor. He told me there was no pressure on what I decided, but he wanted me to discover and follow whatever path would be best for me.
I visited the careers counselor and explained my dilemma. After about two hours talking about my options, weighing the pros and cons, she said to me ‘well you have two options. You can either go down the safe road, get an entry-level job in management consulting, probably work for 20–30 years and eventually get to a senior position. Or you can try your luck at Fishburners. Help grow the community, the team and the organization. But remember, it’s a startup and it’s likely to fail. So there is a chance you could work the hardest you ever have and still have to go back to management consulting anyway.’
I asked, what would happen if it didn’t fail? She said ‘well you could grow into being the next CEO’.
I went back to the office and saw my boss. He asked, ‘well, what’s your decision?’. I said ‘when you hire the next CEO, I want it to be me’.
With that goal in mind, I stayed at Fishburners for another six years, taking each new role as the company grew and hiring the next person to take my old one. I went from the office manager to community manager to marketing manager. I then took on COO, where I managed seven office expansions in three different cities and then the time came where I was offered to be CEO.
The road was steep and rocky, I never felt secure, I didn’t know what to expect in the following six months, BUT, I absolutely loved every minute of it and am so grateful that I took the ‘uncertain’ road six years ago.
Oprah says ‘one of life’s biggest risks, is never taking a risk’. It’s honestly so true. If I didn’t take a risk, I would never have had this incredible opportunity to contribute to the success and growth of the Australian startup ecosystem and so many of the individual startups within it. I am truly grateful and proud.
Today, Fishburners has over 850 entrepreneurs who are contributing over $50M per year to the Australian economy. Innovation is the future of the Australian economy and I have been so privileged to have contributed to this mission.
There are now hundreds of coworking spaces for startups in Australia, but I’m proud that Fishburners remains at the center and makes starting a startup possible for everyone regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation or location.
Who would have thought a female 27-year-old would be leading Australia’s largest startup community?
Today, my risk has once again paid dividends. I live in my dream city (NYC) and have joined an incredible team who are changing the way people work (Qwick.com).
So like I will continue to do myself, I encourage you to continue taking risks, challenge assumptions and question the status quo. Like me, you’ll be amazed at where it will lead you.
