Rachel Chang, MBA, PCC, CPCC, Certified Executive Coach

Employee terminations: they're a topic no one wants to discuss but that every company has to navigate. Thankfully, Melanie Naranjo and wonderful Ethena advisor (& Gusto's former People Leader) Jess Yuen are tackling this tricky topic for the next Ethena webinar. Register if you want to learn more about these topics: How to pressure test whether or not termination is the right course of action Best practices for communicating termination decisions How to minimize risk and choose the best course of action when things get tricky Critical pitfalls to avoid

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🙋🏽‍♀️ 𝙄'𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙. Networking as a concept still causes my introverted spirit to shrivel up just a little bit inside. Cultivation is much easier but leveraging my amazing web of folx remains 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱.  I contrast my job seeking experiences during two pivotal moments in my career: 🎣 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗝𝗼𝗯 When I was first trying to gain an entry point into tech, I had no network (and no connections in the tech industry) and applied to nearly 100 jobs before getting the first interview that changed the trajectory of my career. 💥 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗖 Years later when I was again at a career inflection point and felt in my bones a need for change, I resigned myself to the application slog once again. I had a network but I didn't know how to use it and I wouldn't have even considered VC. I couldn't imagine what I had no exposure to. Jerry Nemorin, my manager & CEO at the time, planted the VC seed for me. And then he went one further and recommended me to his investor. 💥 Thank you, Jerry 🙏🏽 . 👀 𝗠𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗼 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲 A series of chances. Yes, I worked my butt off, too. Timing played a big role. I committed to my growth and left roles that were no longer aligned and pursued roles that were. But I would not be here in VC collaborating on programming for startup job seekers without that referral and that is a privilege and a gift. 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 & 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 💗 Whether you are: 🤜🏽 trying to break into a new role or industry with a limited network 🤝  looking to nurture and grow your professional connections in meaningful ways 🕸 wondering how to call upon your web of connections to support you in your next career move 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙨 💪🏽   Join me on 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟱 at Initialized Capital's 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 for some tactical advice on networking and so much more. 💫 In her talk, "𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙀𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩: 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨," Eleanor Morgan, founder & ceo, of a stealth social platform for job and talent matchmaking, will share insights for how to 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵.  🏋🏽‍♀️ 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙗 🧗🏽‍♀️ This 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 is open to all SF Bay Area talent looking for their next job opportunity at an early stage startup. Sign up here 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/g_nDPjWi Space is limited. #StartupJobs #JobSupport #StartupReadiness

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This is the week! Join me on Thursday, June 6th as I chat with Dave Carhart, Strategist at Lattice, and Theodore Chestnut, Co-founder of BrightHire, for a conversation on the topic of Talent Density. I was honored to be asked to join this conversation to explore what we actually mean by talent density, and how we can concretely take steps to increase it on our teams. At a time when companies are more resource-constrained, every single hire needs to significantly contribute to your company's mission and goals, so how can you leverage every part of the employee journey (from hiring to onboarding to performance management) to increase the output of your talented team? Zapier's had a laser focus on talent density, and I'll attempt representing some of our learnings - and places where we're still learning, too! Together, we'll cover: - What does talent density mean, and why is it so important now? - How to get started with measuring talent density - Zapier’s experience putting talent density at the center of our talent strategy - An inside look at strategies leading TA teams are implementing today - Actionable tips that you can implement across the talent journey 🗓️ Thursday, June 6 at 10 am PT/1 pm ET 👉 Register via the 🔗 in the comments We look forward to seeing you there!

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🏢 Big Moves in SF Commercial Real Estate! Intuit & Capital One 🏢 Two major financial firms are making strategic relocations within San Francisco: - Capital One is reducing its office space by two-thirds, moving from 201 3rd St. to 40,000 sq. ft. at 100 California St. This deal includes significant improvements to the new location, enhancing tenant experiences with new outdoor spaces and on-site amenities. - Intuit is downsizing from 200,000 sq. ft. at 22 4th St. to 36,500 sq. ft. at 505 Howard St. The move aims to leverage San Francisco's diverse talent pool while optimizing their workspace for future growth. These moves highlight the dynamic nature of SF's commercial real estate market and the need for adaptable, strategic office solutions. At Resource, we specialize in guiding companies through such transitions, ensuring seamless relocations and optimized space utilization. 🔗 Discover more about our tailored real estate services: yourresource.com #SFRealEstate #CommercialRealEstate #CapitalOne #Intuit #OfficeRelocation #RealEstateStrategy #ResourceCRE

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It is a great privledge to be backing Stella Garber for a second time, as well as her sensational co-founders Brian Schmidt and Justin Gallagher. It’s also great to working with Index Ventures again, too. One thing I have learned in my venture career is that humans are lazy, and software that does simple things can feel like magic. Hoop uses AI to automatically harvest to do items from all of your communication channels. Today it’s single player, and in the future it will be your whole team. Read more about why we invested: https://lnkd.in/geTy-kyZ

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Very impressed with the Wevo Energy story and I share those feelings. It is never easy facing all challenges and complexities. #Podcast #StartupJourney #SolarEnergy #Entrepreneurship #WEVO #SolarEdge #Acquisition

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Early stage founders run into this all the time: So much to do and not enough resources. The best advice: 1) pause; 2) think through the what, the why, and the how. That’s how you’ll achieve your goals. In our newest episode, Bryan Karas and guest Catherine Donaldson, startup and Go-To-Market leader, dive into the Go-To-Market landscape and the common challenges that early-stage founders face at different inflection points. Are you at an inflection point? Tune in and you’ll find out. Link in the comments.

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ChatGPT, why should someone reading this invest in lifestyle benefits for their employees? Investment in employee benefits can feel really, really expensive. But do highly utilized benefits look as expensive when they reduce turnover? Or burnout? Or reverse decreased productivity? Or curb issues with quiet quitting? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." -Benjamin Franklin #lifestylebenefits #fringebenefits Fringe #benefits #employeeretention #employeesatisfaction https://lnkd.in/e2zwB9z5

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Some midweek wisdom from Y Combinator founder, Paul Graham, on why startups shouldn't stress over competitors. According to Graham, based on Y Combinator's extensive data set, few of their startups are actually killed by competitors. He compares the protection a startup has against competitors to the vastness of space, emphasising that the market is large enough for multiple players to thrive. Graham's analogy likens encountering a competitor to suddenly finding another runner in your race lane - the best course of action? “It’s sort of like if you’re running the hundred meters and suddenly a lane appears with another runner in it. What should you do? Run as fast as you can, just like you presumably were.” #Startups #Competition #Entrepreneurship #wearehiring

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Watch this episode of #TheCEOSeries with Ron Thomas where I discuss how you can shift your perspective to make sense of layoffs and, more importantly, if you’re a casualty of a layoff how you can begin to see yourself through to the other side: https://lnkd.in/g9VcBRU6

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📣 CAREER UPDATE 📣 TL;DR: Officially launching Golden Coaching and GoldHue! After 15 years in Product, I'm excited to move into executive coaching and consulting. Keeping yourself centered and your teams aligned is challenging. That's why I decided to launch into executive coaching and team up with Mackenzie Hughes to blend our superpowers ✨ coaching + operations ✨ to help Product teams demonstrate value. Unblocking and unlocking individuals and teams doesn’t have to be difficult. Research proves it. Coaching leads to a 61% increase in job performance and 77% improvement in relationships, and teams with a growth mindset are 48% more innovative. So if you are… 1. A senior leader  - Looking to level up - Needing a sounding board  - Struggling in a transition 2. An ambitious Product/Engineering leader   - Seeking buy in on investments to demonstrate ROI - Setting and aligning teams on shared goals - Wanting your team to speak the same language as your go-to-market colleagues Let's chat about how we can drive your growth and success. https://lnkd.in/gA4izbte Read more about our why: https://lnkd.in/gdzJZvD7

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Our first breakout at Kickstart Fund's CEO summit last week included two outstanding sessions.  1. Human Resources Blueprint - Navigating HR Fundamentals and Innovations for Startup Success with Kat Judd Kat highlighted the significance of treating people well, setting clear policies, and adapting HR practices to support the company's growth while maintaining legal compliance. All things Lucid does incredibly well. Cultivating a people-first culture is crucial, and it starts with leadership buy-in. Defining company values through a diverse group of employees and weaving these values into various aspects of the organization can help maintain the culture as the company grows. 2. How to Pull Out of a Stall with Curtis Anderson and Ken Davis. I liked the tips they shared on embracing intense focus during moments of crisis, maintaining transparency with your team and board (and ways they each accomplished that), making the necessary hard decisions, finding ways to unwind and manage stress, ways to engage your board in problem-solving, and staying true to your vision even in the face of adversity. These sessions provided valuable insights and practical advice for startup CEOs navigating the challenges of growing their companies. If you attended either session, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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Streamlining Payroll: The Gusto Story Meet Gusto, a revolutionary startup founded by Josh Reeves, Tomer London, and Edward Kim. Their vision? To simplify payroll, benefits, and HR for small businesses, freeing them from administrative burdens and empowering them to focus on what they do best. The Journey Since its inception in 2012, Gusto has been on a mission to transform the way small businesses manage their workforce. With a user-friendly platform and a commitment to customer satisfaction, they've quickly become a trusted partner for businesses across the nation. Innovation and Differentiation Gusto stands out for its intuitive, cloud-based platform that automates payroll, benefits, and HR tasks. By leveraging technology, they've made complex processes simple and accessible, allowing small businesses to thrive in a competitive market. Overcoming Challenges Building Gusto from the ground up wasn't without its challenges. From navigating regulatory requirements to gaining traction in a crowded market, the founders faced numerous obstacles along the way. However, their resilience and dedication to their mission propelled them forward, turning challenges into opportunities for growth. Impact and Results Gusto's impact on small businesses is undeniable. With over 100,000 businesses served and millions of employees paid, they've transformed payroll and HR management for companies of all sizes. Their platform has saved countless hours of administrative work, allowing businesses to focus on driving growth and innovation. Lessons Learned The Gusto story teaches us valuable lessons about the importance of simplicity, customer-centricity, and perseverance. By putting the needs of small businesses first and constantly innovating to meet their evolving needs, Gusto has established itself as a leader in the HR tech industry. As Gusto continues to empower small businesses and simplify workforce management, they remain committed to their mission of making payroll and HR delightful for everyone. Let's celebrate their achievements and support their ongoing efforts to drive positive change in the world of business. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on Gusto's remarkable journey! #Gusto #HRtech #SmallBusinessEmpowerment 💼🌟

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🎙️ I had a great time talking with Mike Coffey, SPHR, SHRM-SCP ✅ and Good Morning, HR about the changing world of work. 🏢 HR and other organization leaders have an opportunity to innovate their talent strategy to meet the needs of today and talent where they’re going. Upwork enables a Talent Access strategy which is the modern approach to a workforce ecosystem! #HR #HRStrategy #Talent #TalentStrategy #TalentAccess

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I was fortunate enough to attend a great Talentful and HIGHER Community event on the state of TA in New York, a few takeaway 👇 - Still some uncertainty, many teams aren't planning HC very far out - Knowing talent inside org is just as key for hiring plan and staffing, but truly getting a handle on this is still a hard nut to crack for many large orgs - There's a growing conversation about tapping into fractional talent, at least amongst growth-stage companies, one panelist noted how Hollywood movies are an interesting source of inspo on assembling great talent for a project - Talent density & QoH is a big focus, but 53% of co's don’t have a way to measure them — those that do most commonly rely on periodic reviews - Jessica Z. mentioned a really interesting take on the above, a Q posed to hiring managers: “If you could go back in time would you pay 100% of the persons salary to keep them, 50%, or cut ties altogether” - Although 87% of orgs think TA is at or under capacity, 75% of orgs aren’t planning to hire recruiters, big discussion is AI and how it impacts staffing   - Overall panel felt like AI was a copilot that’ll change roles, but people will re-skill and find new areas of focus in their roles   - DEI fallen off since 2023 (aligns to BrightHire data) but it’s still up dramatically from pre-pandemic levels, but there was a big discussion about how DEI leaders won't have impact w/out the power to make real biz change Thanks so much Talentful HIGHER Community Chris Abbass Jessica Z. for the lively discussion!

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Have you ever joined a new company and felt like it wasn't the same company you heard about during the interview process? Or, have you ever been a leader wondering just how much you can (should) share when delivering tough news? Well, if you can relate, this new episode is for you! Link to listen in the post below 👇

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Christine Deputy the former CPO at Pinterest shared one of the most unique approaches to high-potential leadership development I’ve heard: -> The CNEXT Accelerator program. 👇 Here’s a snippet of our conversation 👇 Me: Can you explain how your high-potential development program works? Christine: We partnered with many Fortune 100+ companies to build CNEXT. It allows our employees and leaders to gain exposure to leaders from different industries. Me: Why not just build something in-house? Deputy: If you're developing people within your organization, they’re limited to certain exposures—your industry, your capabilities, and your approach to development. Me: So this program broadens exposure? Deputy: Exactly. When you expose people to other industries and give them a space to network with folks who face different challenges, it gives them a chance to grow and develop in an accelerated manner. Me: How do you loop in your participants’ managers if it’s not in-house? Deputy: Senior leaders like me, who have team leaders in CNEXT, get coaching around the same subjects. That way we can have conversations with our team leaders and partner with them throughout CNEXT and beyond. *** It’s a brilliant approach: 1. Collaboration, not competition, improves the program exponentially. 2. Parallel learning by senior leaders then reinforces learning in an ongoing, practical way. And funnily enough, its the program’s willingness to collaborate with other companies that gives it a competitive edge. Collaboration is the way! #leadershipdevelopment P.S. You can read the full Forbes interview on our LEADx website or listen to the podcast episode on The Culture Code.

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I love California 💛 My great-great-grandparents were Dust Bowl farmers who moved with my grandmother from Texas to Tulare in the 1930s. They moved for the same reason everyone does—for the opportunities only California can offer. Last weekend, my family braved the 112-degree heat to visit Sutter’s Mill, where gold was first discovered in 1848. Savoring the last few weeks of my daughter being a fourth grader, we tried our hand at panning for gold. Gold was worth $20.67 an ounce in 1848. Today it’s worth over 110 times that (a 2.75% annual compounding rate—another valuable lesson for a 10-year-old). California is a place of booms and dreams. I learned that Brannan Street in San Francisco is named after Samuel Brannan, Sacramento’s first millionaire, who got rich selling the literal picks and shovels during the Gold Rush. It’s wild to think that all the startups in Soma on Brannan Street are doing the same thing 176 years later. Women who made pies for miners earned what would be $150,000 a year today. And, of course, everyone knows about Levi’s inventing the pants you needed to get rich. California became a state in 1850 because the population grew to 60,000 in just two years, thanks to the Gold Rush. California can be infuriating, irrational, and self-defeating. But for all its challenges, there’s no other place on earth that has produced as much value as the dreamers, schemers, innovators, and tool sellers of my favorite place.

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