Experiences at Properity Incorporated

Usually everyone would be bopping to their own headphones, but when we shared music over the intercom, it would range from Zepplin and Floyd, to triphop, to 80's. This was often interspersed with snippets from movies like Office Space, or with recorded quotes that we'd made of humorous things we'd said....

We were up to ourselves at lunch, and we had an hour - give or take. Sometimes a majority of us would hit Ernesto's together, and sometimes individuals would chose to work through lunch. Things changed a bit when we moved the office to a new location, one with a Subway in the building. They got good business from us, and often we'd rib each other about being Jared....

It was business casual, and we had some nice golf shirts as well.

The biggest opportunity would have occurred if we had been successful with our product push. We would have grown the company, and that would have meant more profits all around, and a nice bonus due to my percentage of ownership. Given that I was running the show when our president was away - sometimes for months at a time - I was already as high as I was going to go....

I'd been working several long weeks on a component within our core product, and my wife and the president both appeared in my office. They made me sign a contract that I wouldn't work such long hours without getting both their permission.

First the person would be interviewed by myself or the president, then the other one of us would be called in to meet and greet and sit in for a few questions. The second interview was really a meeting with the rest of the crew. We were a small company, so it was very vital that everyone be able to work together....

1. I loved working with my team on a shared dream and great application. 2. Developing a solid product is a great feeling, but what makes me feel even more proud is helping the people around me develop into stronger, more confident versions of themselves. To see someone evolve from good to great and know that you've supported that process is wonderful reward. 3. The culture. From blaring music through the office over the speakerphone system to shared lunch at Ernesto's, it was little things that kept us laughing together to make long days seem short and stressful days seem easier....

After the heartbreak of downsizing The Idea Plant to just myself, I was working on a contract basis to keep existing customers going happily. A previous customer of mine had begun the company that had eventually evolved to Properity. They had some great programming staff, but needed someone who could give their sites and products a front face. For reasons that must stay buried, most of senior management was let go. The president and chief investor needed someone who could step in and take over where they had failed, someone who she could trust to work for the best interests of both her and the investors. The people I'd worked with at the company knew that I'd had some experience in managing a company and recommended me to her. The president and I had a heart to heart and found that our vision of what could make the company great was a common one. I went directly from contract to salaried VP....