When it’s time to say goodbye

Almost four and a half years ago I walked into a cramped office in South Tel Aviv for a job interview. The company in question was Yotpo, a company I had heard of for the first time only a week earlier via a Facebook post. I applied and got a call to come by and have a chat with Tomer Tagrin, one of the founders of the company.

I remember that I was sweating and out of breathe when I walked in because I had just climbed five flights of stairs to get to the office. There was an elevator on the ground floor but I missed it. Not a good start.

The most special part of the interview happened just as I walked in. I noticed that in the back corner there was a makeshift meeting room with walls made of glass. Scribbled across the glass were different diagrams and text. “How cool is that, they let their employees write on the glass”, I thought. I hadn’t seen that before but it would become one of many examples that Yotpo was no ordinary company.

Sadly, after over four years the time has come for me to move on and say goodbye to this special place.

During my time at Yotpo I’ve been fortunate enough to have a front row seat at one of Israel’s fastest growing companies. I now know what it takes to build something out of nothing and I’ll be forever thankful to Tomer, Omri and Omer for taking a chance with me.

To my colleagues in Tel Aviv, NY and London. I love you all and want to thank you for all the good times. You taught me more than you’ll ever know. I’m going to miss being in the trenches with each of you while you continue to build the Yotpo empire.

To my team. By far the hardest part of making the decision to leave was knowing that I would be leaving you behind. I’m so proud of each of you and my only consolation is the fact that I know I’m leaving behind a team of superstars who can manage the challenges of the future. Thank you for everything.

I remember about a year and a half ago I told Tomer and Omri that it was my goal to be standing next to them on the podium when Tomer rings the bell the day the company goes public. I’m going to regret not being there on that day but I’ll be in the crowd congratulating a special group of superstars on an amazing achievement.

Remember to always stay hungry.

Justin