You had me at Hello! An Open Letter to the Founding 200 of Slalom Australia
Dear Slalom Australia
You have a lot of time to think in lockdown. Lucky for us in Melbourne, we were gifted with more of this thinking time than anyone else in the world. The ironic part about “isolation thinking” is the way it makes you reflect on connection and the times you were surrounded by those you love. You remember how much you cherished those times, and how much you’d cherish it all again when given the chance.
Reflecting back some 10 years ago to a hot summer’s day with my family at The Vineyard Club in Geyserville, California (one of my all-time favourite happy-places), I was trailing behind and keeping a close eye on my adventure-seeking and often trouble-tempting younger cousin, Henry. Not yet of skilled independent swimming age and walking dangerously close to the edge of the dock, he continuously leaned far over to reach for things in the water. I cautioned him, “careful, Henry, you’re going to fall in”. Unphased, he carried on, shrugging nonchalantly, “you’ve got me”. Not that I was particularly keen to go diving into the water fully clothed after him, he wasn’t wrong. I quite admired his fearlessness and unwavering faith in me — he didn’t know much about life at that point, but he knew enough to know I had him.
Fast forward to a morning in November 2018 in San Francisco. I am on my bus commute to work, doing my regular routine — grabbing a seat and starting to scan my emails. Something catches my eye and looks to be a cheeky company wide announcement about Slalom’s next international market expansion. Much to my surprise, I find a note from our Chief Growth Officer, Troy Johnson, with a subject line encompassing the entire intent of the email, and — sent only to me.
“Want to move to Australia?” <EOM>.
Speechless, the first response I quickly send is simply the shocked-face emoji.
Heart now racing, I follow up with what I thought was a clever next retort: “Want to send me there to check it out first? I’ve never been.”
From here, we go back and forth, trading lighthearted emoji responses to more serious considerations. Troy was looking for “a few amazing peeps to go launch Australia!!”
When we finally get on the phone the next day to discuss this idea, I bring back my request to at least visit Australia before packing up my life and moving there. “Just Google It”, he tells me. A quote that is still Troy’s favourite part of the story.
Ever the dutiful direction-taker (sarcasm), I do Google, “Australia”, and one second into that exercise, I give up.
So I think I surprised both of us the next day when I impulsively replied with a one-subject-line email: “I’m in”. With the correct emojis, of course.
Fast forward again to December 2019. Slalom is ready to launch in Australia — and I am employee #1.
I jokingly emphasise the #1 as it has become a bit of a regular debate whether our Country Managing Director, Mike Shimota, or I were Slalom Australia’s true employee #1. Although Mike’s official start day was January 1, 2020 –13 days before mine — I believe the evidence provided above now puts this debate to bed once and for all! (wink, wink).
I say goodbye to a family, team, group of friends, job, apartment and life I LOVED in San Francisco, for a new life in Melbourne.
Sight. Unseen.
Nearing 40 years old, single, a stranger to the country, and with no family or friends nearby, I prepared to make my way down-under for my next big adventure. No one does that, some told me. What if it doesn’t work out?, they cautioned. But I thought you loved San Francisco?, some asked.
It’s ok, I thought — what’s the worst that could happen? Slalom’s got me.
Landing in-country on Jan 13, 2020, I was personally retrieved at the airport by Mike and hand-delivered to my temporary corporate apartment. The first two months are an absolute blur. We make a splash officially announcing Slalom in the market. We grow our founding team of three by 400 per cent, make exciting new connections, expand our temp space, see some tennis — and I learn what good coffee truly is. Life is good!
*(record scratches)*
Enter, COVID-19.
By the time lockdown hits, an amazing 28 new people had already signed on to join the Slalom family. Heading into such unprecedented (yeah, I said it) and uncertain times, I’d be lying if I told you none of us were a wee bit nervous about the leap of faith we’d all just taken, and the future of the new Australian business we’d all just launched. However, our worries quickly dissipated.
Slalom shone its brightest through that first year of Covid and companywide, we didn’t lay anyone off. Protecting our people before profits was the only goal and after-all, Slalom had us.
For Australia, Troy had resolute faith in the future, and said it would take a lot more than Covid to stop what we’d started. Troy had us.
And personally, as stay-at-home orders commenced, I’d barely moved into a new apartment, with little more than a bed, a dining table, and a great view into a locked down world I had yet to explore. But I guess I had been right about one thing, my new Slalom Australia family had me! Fellow U.S transfer, Thea Snow helped assemble the furniture I did have. Mike showed up with a bike, giant bean bags, and heaps of books to get started. Our Slalom _Build MD, Harshu Deshpande showed up with a couch and Sydney-sider, Jacqui Lillyman sent me pet goldfish!
..but the support didn’t stop there.
Thea and Jeni Boraston had surprises delivered all day for my 40th in iso. Bhrett Brockley showed up with cardboard boyfriend Zac Efron. Simon Hedt was my one-stop bike repair shop. Mark Jeski showed me the city (within 5km). Brandon Pierce and Christine Montgomery helped me host a Canadian Thanksgiving while Matt Woodard took me to my first post covid concert. Lastly, Brooke Adams gave me the most magical Christmas break with her family on the Sunshine Coast, when I couldn’t go home to mine. I regret I cannot list all the ways in which everyone at Slalom Australia “had me” here in this letter, or it might never end. But I have to say, I am filled with immense gratitude for that being the case.
It is still hard to fathom that while being half a world away, without physical access to my family, friends, and community back home for 675 days (and counting), I can look at what we’ve built with Slalom Australia and feel that same sense of love and support that I have come to recognise and treasure over the 12+ years I’ve been with the company.
For me, Slalom has always been, and certainly continues to be my extended family — and I’m careful to use the word family to describe a group of colleagues and co-workers, so I don’t say this lightly.
I came for an adventure and while it has been completely different than anything I envisaged before arriving — it has been the most amazing adventure! Lockdown life almost broke me at times, but the reason it didn’t was because I was surrounded and supported by all of you. You had me.
Looking back on one of Troy’s first responses to that life-changing email thread, he wrote –
“If you go — you get to build the dream team. Just think — you could go build a 500M business and be one of Slalom’s legends of expansion… I know it sounds kind of crazy but if you want to chat about it — ping me. If not — all good — you are loved here in US for sure. But… I have a vibe you would look back somewhere down the road and it would be one of your most incredible experiences of all time!”
He wasn’t wrong. We’ve built a dream team, and that ‘team of dreams’ continues to grow. I think about how lucky I am to know each Aussie Slalomer and be on this incredible journey with them all, and I cherish it. Everyone at Slalom Australia has been a part of this growth to 200, and thus, part of a legacy and a legend of expansion. I hope we can look back on the time it has taken to launch and grow this special place from 1 to 200+ with awe and with pride for the part we’ve all played in it.
No doubt it is the people of Slalom that give me such unwavering faith in the company. For the ability to just know, at the end of the day, Slalom’s got me. Thank you for having me, Slalom Australia. And if you don’t know it already, I hope you too come to learn and experience the many ways in which everyone at Slalom has got each one of you, too.
Cheers, mates!
TGS
