003: Leveraging IPOs as a Personal Wealth Strategy

Speaker 1  0:00  
The other thing that I really look for and this has evolved over time is culture in really spending some time to dig into, like, what is the company culture, because if you can't go to work every day, and enjoy what you're doing, it's just not worth it.

Speaker 2  0:17  
Welcome to tech careers and money talk. What if you could hang out with experienced tech industry executives, ask them about career growth, equity compensation, investing financial strategies, and more, then take an insight or two to guide your own career and lifestyle. Each week on the show, Christopher Nelson shares an in depth look at how to navigate tech careers and hyper growth companies select the right companies to work for earn equity and build a passive income portfolio. Christopher is an author, tech exec and principal and co founder of Wealthward capital. His goal is to give you the information you need to grow your career, build wealth, and make an impact. Now, here's Christopher.

Christopher Nelson  1:01  
Welcome to episode three of tech careers and money talk. I'm your host, Christopher Nelson. I've been in the tech industry for 20 plus years. And after climbing my way to the C suite, working for three companies that have gone through IPO and investing my way to financial independence. I'm here to share with you everything that I've learned and interview others that have done the same. So today we're in our first interview episode, and I'm so excited to introduce everybody to Brian Weiss. Brian Weiss is also a 20 plus year technology executive in the Silicon Valley. And the amazing thing about Brian is that the last three companies he's worked for DocuSign, snowflake GitLab have all been through amazing IPOs. And it wasn't random chance. It was him working with intention, creating a process and then honing it. In today. He's the CIO of six cents. And we'll get an opportunity to see in the future. How is that performed as well. But I'm very excited for you to listen to this conversation of me interviewing Brian on what were the key factors that help him grow his career? And then how does he really think about choosing the companies to work for and how does he go work for these companies to then take them through IPOs. So I hope you enjoy. Let's get to the episode. All right, welcome to Tech careers and money talk. We're super excited today to have Brian Weiss, the CIO of six cents. six cents is a revenue AI company that helps sales teams be much more efficient. Brian has been in the technology industry for 20 plus years, you can see by the grizzled gray beer. And he's worked for some amazing public companies like coherent, but he's also taken some fast growing companies public. I'm talking DocuSign snowflake GitLab. And now he's at six cents. And today, we want to spend some time talking about how he grew his career. And then also how he selects the companies that he goes to work for. Welcome, Brian.

Speaker 1  3:02  
Christopher, thank you so much for having me. I'm glad to finally get a chance to do this with you.

Christopher Nelson  3:07  
I know, I know. Brian is a group of friends where we talk a lot about career and money and was an inspiration for some of this podcast. So we're happy to share with you today. A lot of stuff that we've learned along the way. So let's start off Brian with, you know, how did you get into tech? I think for many of us, it wasn't like a straight line. We didn't you know, grow up thinking I'm gonna go work for a tech company. How did it happen for you?

Speaker 1  3:30  
It's actually really interesting. I grew up in the bay area. So Silicon Valley kid, and my dad was an engineer, this is this is in the early? Well, 70s Actually, and then not early days when I became more of it. And the reality is that I kind of was not wanting to do it. My dad did sort of rebellious kid. And but at the end of the day, I think you just kind of get consumed by the surrounding, right. And really what an up happening is I started my career in sales, the bicycle industry, sporting goods industry, and I was in Oregon at the time. And this is in the mid 90s. And the.com Boom really started it really kind of sucked me in and I was like, wow, there's a lot of money being made in this.com era. And I was like, I gotta I gotta get a part of that. And so anyways, I didn't move back down to the barriers and it was in Oregon for a few years. And I tried to move my my sales career in the sporting goods industry into tech. And while I did get some offers because there was a lot of demand. It wasn't the companies that I was really looking for. I was really trying to find that pre IPO company and those early days. What was really interesting is there was just such a shortage in the tech world. And I think one of the things has made me a little more unique in those days was I have a sales background. I It's not so technical. It was just really a means to get into a tech company. And so I it's a funny I quit my job. And I got the Microsoft official curriculum bought myself a couple of Gateway, Gateway Yeah, towers, and then really just saw taught, self taught MCSE certification it did it three months on my own, I woke up every day just learned as much as I possibly could. So I was, I became what was affectionately called as a paper tiger or I had an MCSD certification, but literally had zero experience on like, what not to be in it. But I think what end up happening is, is the fact that I had so much sales, you know, training and background, when I did go into some interviews, I, I think it stood out a little differently. Because yeah, it was really around selling myself, and making sure that, you know, it was really about the customer and sort of like selling it. So it didn't work for every interview. But for some interviews, it really did work. And so I had to fake it till I made it a little bit in the early days, and really just sort of like crash course on like, what it meant to be in the IT industry at the time. And so anyways, I landed a couple, a couple roles in some really early startups that some people have never heard of at this point, because they all blew up during the.com Bust. But yeah, that's kind of the journey and how I got there. And I found a love for it. But I still have my sales roots in me, writer. Yeah,

Christopher Nelson  6:33  
no, that's interesting. I mean, I literally have never heard that story before. And I've, I've known you for like over 11 years. So that's, it's amazing. That's why I love doing this. But you know, so but you hit on something like I think a lot of people they do see like the the money in tech and sort of the equity play, like how did you, you know, talk a little bit about like, the early days, like, how did you start thinking about equity or thinking about the companies to work for?

Speaker 1  6:59  
Yeah, I have to tell you, I, I wish I could tell you that it was like, hey, I really thought about this equity and really like, this is going to be a path to something greater. I didn't quite know that at the time. Like, it's interesting when you get this initial set of shares and equity. But as a young professional, remember, I'm like, I'm not even in my 30s quite yet at that point, you know, late 20s. And I really didn't know, I just, you know, it's like you look at this piece of paper and you get some equity, you're like, oh, that's worth some money. You really don't quite understand. Right? Like, what to do with it or like even how to, like, leverage that at all. Yeah. And so I know, I know, we'll get into some other some other questions here coming up. But yeah, so the real answer is, I didn't know what I was doing. Right.

Christopher Nelson  7:47  
Right. And, and that's, and that's again, like, you know, why we need to have these conversations because many of us don't, you know, we walk in, you know, you get your first piece of equity. And you're like, Okay, I know, you think so many people know, this is a way to make money, like ownership in a company is good. We've all read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, or many of us have, but then it's like, okay, now I have it. Now what? But let's, yeah, let's focus on the career a little bit. So I think it's important to help people understand like, where do you think that your career started getting momentum? Because obviously, you were doing some early startup companies. But then I know you started moving towards public companies. I know you waited at some point at coherent where you spent, you know, a good chunk of your career.

Speaker 1  8:31  
Yeah. So before coherent, the startup that I was at was actually called FaceTime communications. And it was not the same as, as the what you see in Apple, but it was an early startup. And it was a really small shop. And I was really just sort of toiling away learning the craft I met, I met someone there that I admire greatly, and that he became a mentor of mine. And, you know, there was many, many rounds of layoffs when the bust happened. And really what ended up happening was, hey, I was really happy to have a job. Yeah, back in the early 2000s. Yeah, I did. And really that leader that had hired me at face time, move to coherent and said, hey, you know, I believe in you come and that, and that, really, once I got to go here, and that's why I really learned sort of the craft of like scale in leadership from a 10 perspective and management. And so he took a flyer on me, but the reality is, you know, you'll hear a theme here a lot, where it's like, you know, Wow, you got really lucky with some of these things. And it is true, but you also create your own luck. And I think the real thing that separated me at the time, was I was very customer focused, you know, having that sales mindset, and I think that's prevalent in our field now, but back in the late 90s, early 2000s, that wasn't necessarily the case. It wasn't a mindset customer first, this sort of the the stigma of, you know, techie sort of geeky people maybe that are started driving some, some solutions, especially in the startup space. Right. But anyways, so that's how I made my move because of the network. And you'll hear a lot about that. It's really the beginnings of me developing a strong persona and building a network around me to support me. And that is what that theme will follow me all the way through until now, which is something that, you know, we talked about young people, that's so important to be really, you know, specific around building your network intentional about building a network. And that's how good things happen to your brand, you're building your brand, right. And so I moved into coherent and really learned scale, because it was over a billion dollar revenue company had ups and downs as manufacturing locations around the world. And so really allowed me to learn to really learn sort of the craft of what a good IT organization and what it means to be a tech executive.

Christopher Nelson  11:10  
Well in so I mean, when when you read your resume, like you spent six, almost seven years there, is that right? I did, yeah. Yeah. But you think about it. So then, you know, you came from this diverse background, all of a sudden, you have this startup, like you understand, you know, I think when you work in startups, you start understanding the goal. So we have to scale we have to grow, we have to be able to evolve our products serve our customers well. But then it seems like you spent that time really honing your craft, and then also developing that deeper relationship with mentors. And I think taking a moment and saying like, how did you realize that this mentor was a great mentor for

Speaker 1  11:48  
you? Yeah, so I think it really just came because of the experience that that's individual had, right? And just really like, what does it mean to operate at scale? Yeah, what what does it mean to provide an excellent service, sort of a demand for excellence, not just, you know, status quo, it's like, really take it to the finish line. And of course, I have a personality that's already that way. Anyways, so it was really just around sort of honing that. But then of course, as I it's kind of funny, you're talking about how long I was at kohner, and the thing that started to itch a little bit after doing the scale, and really getting this excellence is, then I started getting back into, I need to get into the startup world, again, because this is getting a little boring, right? That's, it depends on what you want in life. But for me, that public company, steady state is really good, keeps it grounded and solid, and it allows you a great lifestyle. But it also didn't scratch the itch of building. And I just love to build. And so at the end of the day, I have really found a niche, especially now I don't know, if I would have been able to articulate that back in right days, it's taken time to really come to understand myself. But it really was, that was what I needed to do. So even though I was there for actually almost nine years, believe it or not, it was eight and something it became a little dull, and I needed to move on from that public company, steady state and do something more exciting. And honestly, you know, again, the tech boom, started, I was like, Okay, this is not going to lead to the outcome, the financial outcome that I really was hoping for,

Christopher Nelson  13:36  
that you want, right? Right, because it seems like you get a taste for that you got a taste for that early on, at the FaceTime communications, then you go in, you learn this craft, and it's so important, I think, for people to understand that learning and understanding your craft, and being able to define it, being able to mark yourself to market understand what other people at your role at that level are, how they're able to execute, and then going in building. It's a really strong platform to launch from

Speaker 1  14:07  
100% I think a lot of people let them this definitely happened to cohere. And I think a lot of people let work kind of happen to them instead of you making work happened. And it's really about, you know, be intentional. And I see this even in the startup world too, right? Where a lot of people in their young career. They're not necessarily thinking about like, what is my plan for future, right? Just like in the moment and of course, you need to be in the moment many times yes. But as you own your own career path, and to do that, you need to create space for yourself to be intentional about where you're gonna go. And then, you know, set that plan up and then make work happen that aligns to to the career path you have, right so right i Have you and I've talked a lot about this in the path past. And this really becomes, there's an element we'll touch on around career equity, as opposed to just the actual dollars and cents you get.

Christopher Nelson  15:10  
Right, right. Because I think and so let's I want to just while we're sort of wrapping up sort of this career portion is, I think, you know, because then you were at coherent, you learn these skills, and then you were able to transition very quickly with that skill set at a larger company, then you start working at startup companies, you go from director to Vice President, then you're actually owning functions as Vice President of Business Technology. And then now CIO, do you think that that, you know, going in pursuing the craft, allows you to then accelerate that growth in your career later?

Speaker 1  15:48  
100%. And that gets back to the intentionality that I have. And one of the things that was happening coherent is super nice lifestyle, you get paid really, really well. You know, there's nothing to complain about that. But it wasn't allowing me. It was I was getting blocked on my career, vibrations and journey. One of things was really interesting when I made that transition to DocuSign. A couple things. One, I was looking around, like, Okay, where can I go, that will support me. And we're in that in that journey, right. And there was lots of companies that were interested in me, but it had to be the right fit. So this gets back into picking companies a little bit, and we'll dive into this more. But as far as like making that transition, it was really about like, okay, will this will this company lead to my larger aspirations? And it may not, maybe it may be there may be a stepping stone. So it was really around. It's not just about Docusign. It's about Docusign. And what that does for the next one, and then the next one, right, and, and that was super critical. And then the other thing I really want to hone in on again, is it was because of the network that DocuSign occurred. And so you'll just see that theme over and over again, you know,

Christopher Nelson  17:14  
well, it will. And the thing is, I think it's important for people to understand is, you know, mentorships are important, but I, you know, I want to ask you like, what impact did the peer network have, right? I mean, you think about the CDP program whose CIO development program, formalized network of peers, you know, how impactful were your peers as compared to the mentors?

Speaker 1  17:38  
Math, it's really, the mentors are good for your sort of like, the sounding board. Yeah, the peers in the network, are even more important. Honestly, there really are. I mean, you need strong mentors, we also need that brand recognition and a set of individuals that you can reach out to, to solve problems together. If you try to do it on your own. It's just why reinvent the wheel. So so you're mentioning CDP. So for and I both belong to a group called Stice, which is a Bay Area executive group. And I'm still a part of it today. And it really was when I met Eric Johnson. Through that group, he was working at Informatica at the time, and I was still coherent, but it was that pure network and knowing each other, and he had a very intentional plan. And guess what, he got the CIO role at Docusign. And now he's building a team around him. And he's building that team, from his peer network. Right. So that's how it all played out. And I'll tell you getting those individuals together, it was probably some of the best working years, there really were about two years at DocuSign, where it was just awesome. And a lot of those individuals went on to be leaders in another organization. So it was almost like a little mini all star team. And again, it gets back to the network, being intentional, what you want to do in life, and creating that plan and just executing on it. So that's, that's how that jump happen. And that's how that VP title as but remember that VP title at coherent was not available because of just the top heavy, like, just not a lot of upward mobility. So it's like, okay, I need to get to these organizations that allow for career growth. So that's how it all started at the DocuSign job.

Christopher Nelson  19:39  
Yeah. And then willing to then I think it ended up then getting momentum from there, right. I think from a career perspective, you have these building blocks in place. So now you understand the role. You have intentionality of where you want to go. I mean, this is where the value of a peer group that's actually talking in stride energizing and helping like everybody is rowing the boat. You know, and I know that group very well, a lot of selfless people in the sense of, hey, we are going to be on the same team together, everyone's going to play a role and then everyone gets the chance to accelerate their career. I think that's a great opportunity.

Speaker 1  20:18  
Yeah, it's the best. And I, I want younger people to think of that. Like, if there's a lesson that can take one little nugget is like, really work on that. You just never know where the next opportunity is going to come from. That's right. But if you invest in your broad network, the more opportunities will come as compared to if you don't,

Christopher Nelson  20:39  
you know, that's right. So we're going to take a pause there. We've talked a little bit about the career and then we're going to take a pause, we're going to come back, and then we're going to really dig in with Brian on how he selects companies. We'll be right back.

Okay, welcome back from that break, it was longer for some than others. But we want to ask Brian today, since he left coherent DocuSign, snowflake GitLab. And now six cents. How does he choose the companies to work for? Brian? Yeah, I

Speaker 1  21:28  
you know, it's, it's interesting, I'm very thoughtful about the companies that choose, a choose going forward is evolved over time, right? It wasn't the same mindset today as it was back in the DocuSign days. But I really did start learning about the disruption of a technology and really strived, but the DocuSign world thinking about okay, as a platform play, and then how do I take that to choose other companies in the future. So I am not someone who wants to go to a company, that's a point solution, I want to go to a company, that's a platform solution, that is super disruptive, either doing something better than the past and snowflake as an example, you know, we have this big enterprise data warehouse that was a monolithic sort of thing on prem that was getting disrupted by a new architecture that was easy to do. And then a Git lab, the same thing they, you know, developed DevOps world, which is a bunch of point solutions in general, that it's now becoming a single platform. And those are the sorts of things that I look for, from a tech perspective. The other thing that I really look for, and this has evolved over time, is culture, in really spending some time to dig into, like, what is the company culture, because if you can't go to work every day, and enjoy what you're doing, it's just not worth it. So you have to have a joy, it needs to bring you joy. The other focus over time that I really wanted to drive is I need it, I need companies that are really customer focused. So let's tend to be sales driven organizations. And I don't want to like discount the super importance of engineering, but because of my sales roots, right, like I just tend to gravitate to that sort of thought process. So I really need companies that are really focused on the sales outcome. And of course, from an equity standpoint, like that will help. Right, right, your own equity. And then back to the career development. It's like, Okay, do I think that this company, it's not about just like me going to that company and working for bear time? It's, is this company going to accelerate my career growth in same way? And so during the interview process, you got to be very pointed about the questions, you're asking, what is my sphere of influence? You know, are you going to support me? Are you going to fund me? Is this something that I, you know, are you really going to allow me to grow. And that last one is really interesting, because I think a lot of people are happy to get an offer. And they're willing to sort of accept the role. And I think that through the interview process, if you can really dig in and ask those pointed questions, you're gonna find out a couple of things. One, are they really serious about the function that you're starting to spin up? And I know, we're thinking from a tech point of view, but that can be any any role? And then, too, if they don't answer the question the way you want, then you know, it's not a fit. And believe me, I've had many interviews where I've said, hey, it just, it just doesn't seem like a fit. And I'm like, That's okay. I'm just I'm not the candidate you're looking for. Right. And I think having those really pointed conversations is super helpful. Those are some of the things that I think about when I, of course, the money is important as well. You know, I picked these companies and just as a finer point over time, when I start to go into that process, I literally am writing down and recalibrating in my head was What are those things that I'm looking for, and prepping myself for the interview process? Back to the network, I actually grab my network, start talking about like, Hey, this is what I'm thinking about doing. And then just like help articulate that through conversations and then write it down. And I know it sounds simple, but I don't think many people do that. And I would really encourage, I don't care what role you're in. Right? Those are the things that will help you pick companies that are a fit for you, you know?

Christopher Nelson  25:32  
And so, do you think that being on the buy side of software gives you a different lens to the way that you're analyzing product product fit? Do you have sort of a, a preference to like b2b versus b2c? Definitely, I'm

Speaker 1  25:49  
more of a b2b person. And that's just my, that's just me. I think there's, there's awesome opportunities in the b2c world. And I guess I wouldn't discount it entirely. Like if something were to come, you know, I would read potentially consider it, but I definitely am, a more of a b2b individual. And I think that there's the reason I like that is, I do like to think about how the company sells to large enterprises and like, how I might be able to fit into that. So right, I have a job that I need to get done. This is a day job called running business technology or it. But at the same time, I'm also a major shareholder. So I do like the opportunities to participate and go to market activities, right, you know, run the platform in such a way that you can have a story about how we run it spirit, you know, and being able to speak with some confidence and authority around how my peer group if they're going to use it, or other companies are going to use it. So I think the b2b For me, through the lens itself, B to C, it's hard for me to speak to the community about how you should use a consumer based product. So that's for me, right? I think that there's other ways other successful individuals that are in the b2c space. So again, that's just my sort of take.

Christopher Nelson  27:11  
So what about the financials? You know, I mean, we you know, because I think many people the same way that you articulate that people don't feel comfortable, about, you know, prepping for interviews, or really tracking and refining walking away. I think a lot of people feel awkward, not asking questions, or asking questions about the financials, you know, what's your process?

Speaker 1  27:35  
And it's pretty amazing, isn't it that people are like, they want a job, they want to get paid? Well, and yet, somehow, they're uncomfortable having those conversations. And so my counsel to especially the young professionals is like, remember, they, they want you? They want you? Yes, you are something somebody that they are? They're chasing you, right? That's right. So you have you have a negotiation position, once you get to like the final two. And you should really ask for what you're worth. Right, right. I just, it just comes it just as part of the job search. So be bold on that, you know, do your research. For me, I think there's, you know, there's always trade offs in any negotiation. Right. So that's right, really figure out what's important to you, is it salary because of your lifestyle, you know, you need the dollars. For me, it's been about, you know, pre IPO shares, that's like, I'll take a cut on salary all day long for more equity. Right. So that's, that's the thing that I've always wanted out of these these roles. And then it's, it's really around, like, what are all the other fluff pieces? Honestly, I really take a look at like, what are the benefits and try to look at the entire package? The bonus structure? Do you hit your bonus? How is it actually structured? And, again, you should have those in depth conversations of someone says, Well, we have a 25% bonus. Okay, well, what does that mean? Is the company payment isn't a personal attainment? How is that done? Is it I get all of that? Are there? You know, is there going to be? Can I go above that? Can I get out of 210% of that? You know, so I think you need to ask those questions. And remember, they want if they start talking like that, they want you so like, negotiate a little bit. So I mean, there's we could spend a whole hour on the details there. But I just the part that I would say is like, don't be afraid to have those conversations. Those are expected. They are

Christopher Nelson  29:45  
they are and I think I honestly think that when people lean in and they have detailed nuanced negotiations around their compensation, you know that you're dealing with somebody who understands business, right and you want it ultimate Yeah, good business partner, and not somebody who's just, you know, doing one role, but who's actually thinking through the business? What about when you're interviewing, and you're asking about company performance and Company Financials? Well, so

Speaker 1  30:13  
as you're early in your career, you're probably not going to get quite a private company, they're not going to disclose to you probably all the details compared to going into a company as an executive. Right? So it does require a little bit of research, especially if they're not going to give you those things. But, you know, it's fair to ask questions like, Okay, what is what is the current valuation? And that some of that just should be available to you? What's the current valuation of the company? What is my strike price? What is your expected outcome going to be? You know, what, how do you view your liquidity events, whatever that may be? Right. And I think having some of those questions asked, you might not get all the information depending on your role. But you'll get indicators. And what it will do is give you a certain sense of like, Are they serious? How successful are they going to be? Are they aspirational? And really trying to figure out like, is this going to be a good outcome? And so you're looking, you're asking these questions, to figure out that good outcome. And I think this gets back to the entire package. Right? And I'll just double click on one thing you said was, when you ask these questions, they want you more, right? It's not about like, it's an uncomfortable conversation, and they don't want you they want you more because they're like, this person is incredibly serious about right making this move, and they want to make sure they're making the right move. And so it's like, yes, you're making the right move, come Come to us, let me give you more information. So I just think it's a positioning. That's an outcome that's best for actually for everybody. Yeah.

Christopher Nelson  31:54  
It too. So what about leadership? So when you are looking at a company, how important is the experience versus let's say, the innovation or the passion? You know, when you think about founder led companies, leadership is

Speaker 1  32:08  
everything? In my opinion, yeah. The valley is really small, right? So your, your separation to any individual in the valley is, is really tiny. So you need to assess the leadership, you should be doing a lot of, you know, networking you're in, in the behind the scenes of like, people, how people think about those leaders. And also be incredibly aware that there's probably the same thing that's occurring to you, actually, you know, what's happening? So your leadership and their leadership, and just have they been successful before? Are they depending on how you, everyone has their own internal style? Does that style meet your style, right? For me, it's around collaboration, it's around, you know, empowerment. It's not a big fan of micromanagement. We're all professionals, you know, again, back to customer first, and there's varying degrees of that, and it's, at the end of the day, there is a little bit of a leap of faith, because you really don't know the culture of the company until you get absorbed into that. That's right. But you can certainly do your homework and figure out like, what's the leadership? What's the culture? Does this work for me? And just feeling good about like, Okay, this fits for me, and I will be successful, because at the end of the day, they want you to be successful, and you need to be successful. Right? That's right.

Christopher Nelson  33:38  
So let's take a minute, I know that with get lab for the IPO experience, you had an opportunity to go to New York, I do think that many of us, you know, who've been through multiple IPOs, you know, love the experience, because it is one of those things that the company is rowing the boat in the same direction, we want to get to the liquidity event. It's amazing. But give everybody just a few moments. Because I know that was something that was very intentional for you. You'd been at that point through two IPOs. This was your third and you really wanted to have that moment in New York.

Speaker 1  34:08  
I did. It was certainly a bucket list item for sure. And it was awesome. I don't know any other way to explain it. It was I felt incredibly fortunate. It was awesome that the company included me in that experience. It was just it really was sort of a euphoric moment because it was a it was sort of like all this hard work to take a look at what's happened here. Yeah, it is only an event right and there it's like it's you celebrate and then life moves on and you got to continue to work but as far as the bucket list item is concerned, it was very, very cool to be at the NASDAQ experience the celebration together, see the confetti, you know, fly and have a party. It was just a good release of like, Listen all this hardware Rick does have an outcome. And get lab was an incredibly successful IPO. And they're doing great today. And it was beautiful.

Christopher Nelson  35:09  
It was, well, thank you so much for spending the time with us. You know, this is, you know, really the types of things that we want to share here is, you know, how do you really grow your career? How do you really focus on strategically working for equity, but we're not done yet. We want to go into that fire round, we have some some key questions that, you know, we want to just try and give you guys some insights into what Brian is thinking. So let's go first, what soft skill has helped your career the most,

Speaker 1  35:39  
the number one soft skill, is treating others with respect. And just really thinking about that every single day, we didn't get into all the networking components that happened in my life, but those treating others with respect, you just never know when that's gonna pay off in the back, you might not even ever know that it paid off for you, right? It's just be a good human being. She does deserve respect. That's a That's a good one.

Christopher Nelson  36:08  
So number two, you know, we know that we work so hard in technology, what do you do to recharge your batteries,

Speaker 1  36:15  
this is something I've had to really learn over time, it's so if you're an alpha type person that wants to be incredibly successful, you can really drive yourself to an unhealthy sort of physical mental state. When you take time to recharge, work out for me, it's I become a peloton. Maniac because of COVID. And everything else, it does. So it's really around, it's okay to take 30 minutes in your day, literally schedule it go work out, it will be amazing. What it will do, it will actually make you incredibly more efficient. So self care, still important. Don't, Don't devalue that value that have to do it. That's so

Christopher Nelson  37:02  
good, so important. And then what would you say was the best investment of your time that you ever made?

Speaker 1  37:10  
We talked a lot about networking, and both my opportunities to work at snowflake. And at get lab. Were based on strong networking. So that time that you spend, again, you gotta be intentional. It can't be just say, Hey, how you doing? It's gonna be like, have deep conversations, build those relationships? It's right. Just paramount. absolutely paramount.

Christopher Nelson  37:36  
That's great. And so then what was the best return on time that you've ever had?

Speaker 1  37:43  
The best return on time was that networking component? Yeah, and taking the time to build a relationship with some individuals at Docusign. That then went on to dock to snowflake? Well, we all know the biggest IPO in history. Right? And from a return on investment, like just straight up. Yeah, that was the best time and it was it again, again, came out of nowhere. So that was that was

Christopher Nelson  38:14  
that was it. And so now for the final question. You're looking back at your younger self, you see younger, impressionable, Brian Wise, what advice you're going to give him?

Speaker 1  38:26  
Yeah, one of the things that I wish I had known even earlier on was really around understand the equity play and maximizing the value out of that. Yeah, I think I kind of let the equity happen. I think this happens to a lot of young professionals, they just don't really understand what it means to get stock, how to execute on that stock and get maximize the returns. And I'm sure you're going to cover that in a future podcast. Yes. Really understanding if you're going to go into the hypergrowth startup world, really understanding what the sort of the math is, for all of that. I wish I'd known that. I've been very successful and very happy. I could have I could have even been a little more successful if I understood that.

Christopher Nelson  39:12  
Exactly. You could be on a beach in Aruba right now. You have to know it a little earlier. Well, thanks so much. I can't thank you enough for coming on. And you know, being one of the first guests on the podcast, really appreciate you. Thank you so much, Brian. Christopher.

Speaker 1  39:27  
Pleasure. You know, I'm a big fan of you. Let's keep doing it. Well, I can't wait to the next time.

Christopher Nelson  39:33  
All right, me too. Thanks. Bye.