Great team! - Recensione dipendente - Program Manager presso Alley

I spent five years at Alley and recently left at the end of February to pursue other career opportunities. My time at Alley is something I will always be grateful for and it gave me the chance to grow at a fast pace very early on in my career. I'm appreciative for Alley's CEO, Jason, who has been supportive in helping his employees thrive and actively thinking about how Alley can create value for its community. While Alley certainly experienced large amounts of growing pains during my five-year tenure (what growing company doesn't), those challenging periods taught me so much. Overall, my five year experience was incredibly positive. I'm proud knowing that the new team cares just as much about the business as the founding team members did when the business started. Change is natural and as a founder or early employee, you are just trying to do the best with what you have at the time. Not everyone will agree with your decisions, especially as the founder, but growing a company isn't for everyone. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to be be apart of the team that helped build Alley and am excited to see how it continues to expand and creating value and accessibility for entrepreneurs.

Growing pains are a natural part of scaling a business. Things weren't always easy, but building something great never is. I had the unique opportunity to be apart of Alley through all major life cycles (pre-investment, post-investment, team growth, major partnerships, etc) and each of those periods brought on a certain set of challenges and issues. But, I do believe that building a company isn't for everyone and experiencing challenge is what you sign up for. While it's important for me to be critical, I will never have negative feelings towards my time at Alley because all of the ups and downs helped the business get to where it is now and helped me grow, both personally and professionally. Success is not a linear journey.

I'm wrapping up my first month with Alley and couldn't be more excited to be working with such a vibrant team and organization. I've NEVER worked with a more creative, caring, and dedicated group of people who deeply care about each other's success and the success of the members in the space (we're a cowroking company.) Ever. And I've worked with some companies known for taking great care of people. There is also tremendous opportunity for growth. The team is small (though growing) and not one person hasn't had the opportunity to push the boundaries of their job and skills, gaining experience and street cred' along the way. And that work is recognized by leadership. Finally, what incredible access to a community of cutting edge entrepreneurs, creatives, and companies at large. I've rarely seen such a concentration of all the people I want to work with, go hear lead a workshop on ANYTHING, and have dinner with under one roof.

Alley is at that amazing point of having outgrown its "start up" shoes and is working hard to build the systems that will support it's continued growth. This culture is great for people who enjoy thinking outside the box, being given a lot of trust and autonomy to solve big problems, and where everyone is giving 110% to build something greater than themselves. This isn't for everyone. Sometimes there isn't a lot of structure because they trust you to build it. I've certainly heard stories of people not vibing with this highly demanding flow. Fair enough, but if you've got the spirit, it pays back in spades.