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Why I Joined Scale

 by on September 18, 2018


In the grand scheme of things, most decisions that we make in life are fairly

inconsequential. What to eat for lunch, where to get a haircut, which route to

take to work… while there’s a small chance each choice has a dramatic impact -

maybe you meet your soulmate on the bus - it most likely won’t.


Choosing a company to join, on the other hand, is guaranteed to make an

impact. Most people spend more time with their coworkers than they do with

their friends and family. It’s an incredibly important decision, so it can be

hard to feel like you’re making the optimal choice.

choosing a company chart

most decisions chart



As a recruiter, I’m used to helping people with their career choices. Having

to make my own major career choice gave me renewed empathy for the people I

meet with. At first, I felt overwhelmed by the thousands of factors that I

could consider when evaluating an opportunity, but ultimately I zeroed in on

the three factors that were most important for me. While these factors vary

from person to person, they fit into general themes that I think anyone can

relate to.

Theme 1: The team


Why Scale? Delightful Disagreements: A drive to arrive at the right answer

without caring who came up with it



It’s oft-repeated but worth repeating: pick the right team. When joining a

startup, it’s generally important to pick the right team in the sense that you

think it will be successful and that it can drive the next “rocketship.”

However, it’s also important to pick the right team that specifically fits

you.


After my first couple conversations with people at Scale, I had a general

sense that I’d fit in well with the team. It wasn’t until several

conversations later that I realized that Scale had hit on a “most-important

factor” for me: a drive to arrive at the right answer without caring who’s

right. The team at Scale

is very accomplished, but people never boasted about their own achievements. I felt comfortable

disagreeing with anyone - whether it be in a serious conversation about which

self-driving car company is best positioned for success with the CEO, or in

light-hearted banter during a game of Overcooked with a group of Scalers.


The cool thing about working in tech is that things move so quickly and there

are so many smart people working on so many interesting problems. It’s

important to 1) gather a diverse set of reasonable and well-intentioned people

to work with and 2) create a

psychologically safe

environment where people feel comfortable disagreeing with each other because

arriving at the right answer for the team is more important than any

individual’s ego. I believe I’ve found that at Scale.

Scalers holding plushies


Theme 2: The mission


Why Scale? Expansive mission: Building the backbone of AI has both

immediate and long-term impact



Working at a fast-growing startup can be very demanding. On calls with

candidates, I’ve frequently been asked what’s kept me motivated. On a

day-to-day level, it’s the people: I didn’t want to let my team down by not

giving my best effort. On a macro level, say after a long weekend or holiday,

it’s the mission that keeps me excited to return to work.


When I chose Scale, it was important for me to form a connection with both the

people and the product. Scale’s mission is to accelerate the development of AI

as a whole. AI will transform how our society works. It’s been described as

the

fourth industrial revolution; there are few opportunities to work in such a transformative field. It’s

impossible to predict which great idea(s) or companies in the AI space will

have the greatest impact, so I believe in making it easier for everyone to

build AI.


Having previously worked at a self-driving car company, I saw first-hand just

how critical it was to have a massive quantity of high-quality labeled data,

and it was easy to see how other AI applications would depend on that as well.

I’m excited by the impact that Scale already makes in the self-driving car

industry today, and I’m even more excited by the potential we have to make an

impact on the most significant AI applications that develop down the road.


Sensor Fusion Viewer


Theme 3: The challenge


Why Scale? Growth & competition.



Now, more than ever in human history, it’s important that people continue to

develop new skills. With the popularization of the internet, it’s harder to be

content with what you already know. Chances are, there’s a wiki page or online

course being made to teach others your skill set. It’s important for us to

keep growing, and the best way to grow is to be challenged.


Different teams are faced with different challenges. For engineers and product

managers at Scale, that may be system design, optimization, or particularly

well-designed UIs. For someone on the business team, it may be understanding a

highly technical product and selling to highly technical customers.


On a universal level, everyone at Scale will be challenged due to our rate of

growth. The level of demand from our customers is staggering, and we’re

growing rapidly to keep pace. In this environment, you’re challenged on every

dimension - from teamwork & communication (new people to onboard every

week!) to problem solving to domain-specific skills.


Before accepting my offer, I asked myself - “is there a reasonable chance that

I’ll fail here?” And the answer had to be “yes”, because if there were no

chance of failure, then I wouldn’t be challenged enough.

a Scaler working



After leaving my last company, I thought I’d take at least 6 months to explore

what’s out there and make a “perfect decision.” It was hard to decide early,

but I felt that Scale had the low-ego team, expansive mission, and high-growth

challenge that I was looking for.


Scale isn’t the best fit for everyone - no company is - but if you’re

intrigued by what you’ve read here, and you think Scale may be a fit for you,

please reach out, or apply to an opening on our

jobs page.


The future of your industry starts here.