Interview Story - Personal / Interesting

When I accepted a job with a start-up company, I was unprepared for the fact that everything was new, and duties might include things I never thought I would be responsible for. It really was an all hands-on deck venture, in which you might be called upon to do things outside your wheelhouse. But with a start-up, if it must be done, the manager needs to make sure it gets done. That was me.

We started off with temporary office space for three months, with 8-foot tables and folding chairs for desks, cartons for filing cabinets, and lawn furniture for a conference “circle.” And Larry brought in his crazy dog. Then, we had to move.

Our next stop was a furnished office with a nine-month lease. We kind of missed the lawn furniture but felt professional in the new office. We were starting to get remarkably busy with work, and all the while the lease was ticking away. I had to find space, fast.

I found space in a great building on a completely unfinished floor and had the corporate executives come in to sign the lease. They had a compressed time frame for the space to be built out and a very moderate budget. I had zero time for interior architects, and frankly needed to save the money and time, so I designed the space myself and hired a construction company to build it out. I ordered all the cabinets, counters, appliances (yes, I went for a dishwasher), furniture and supplies. Corporate supplied the faxes, copiers, and computers. I built custom bulletin boards for every office. The office was beautiful, very functional, and the only one in the company completed on time and under budget. We called it the “MOVERS R US” year.