What I Had to Unlearn From Google- In Big Tech, people can build and wield reputations over long periods of time. In startups, you speak through action alone.

| launched a startup after years of working in Big Tech. To succeed, I'd need an entirely new way to work and think.

- By Sarah Ellenbogen

I spent 14 years at Google and YouTube-long enough to watch those companies go from scrappy upstarts to careful giants. I always prided myself on being quick to act and adapt, but by the end of my time in Big Tech, these traits weren't always seen as positive. We typically spent months, even years, building out commercialization strategies-getting customer feedback and buy-in across the organization before executing. Often, managers told me to slow down.

So when I left Big Tech in 2021 to found my software company, Digiphy, I thought I was ready. In retrospect, I had no idea. I knew startups moved fast, but I didn't realize how fast. At Google, my "move fast" mentality still allowed for strategic deliberations and data-driven decisions over several months. As a startup, you operate on limited funds and tight timelines. I had to accelerate my pace and embrace even quicker decision-making with significantly less data and more immediate stakes.