Technical Sourcer at Gusto — Now Hiring Software Engineers!
Program Advisor/ Alumni Relations at Flockjay — Now Accepting Tech Fellows!
Owner at Legacy Loading Trucking Logistics — Now Hiring O/Os!
Podcaster * (Coming Soon) at Mud and Ashes
Matriarch at Family :heart: (Mother and Grandmother)
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Humble and Hungry
Where do I begin? I guess with an introduction.
Hi! I am Elise, a motivated, black woman, that wants to effect change in her life, the lives of those surrounding her, and her communities at large.
That’s a freaking loaded intro, I must say, but it is all true. I’ve only ever wanted the best for everyone I’ve come in contact with or even heard about through the “grapevine”, be it word of mouth, social media, or print news.
The problem was, I wanted so much for others that I had no reserve for myself. Actually, I didn’t think my worth was high enough to go after the things I thought I really wanted… so I put that energy into others. And years later, although other’s accomplishments bring me a great sense of joy, I had been missing something… my own sense of accomplishment.
Fulfilling, yet empty.
For much of my adult life, this was a vicious cycle. I’d get energy when someone needed help and I was able to, in some way, impart an integral cog in their machine. To see them excel was invigorating. Then I would think, I need to do this for myself. At some point, I felt I could not, and would fall back into that abyss of emptiness.
In 2017, I was working for a company that I thought I would scale with and have a long career with. I made a concerted effort to learn as much as I could as fast as I could about the industry and what my location needed from a revenue-building and people standpoint. My efforts were being recognized in words and even in “promotions”, yet the financial recognition was nowhere in sight. I evaluated my performance and contributions to the business, researched the market, and presented a viable case as to why I deserved a substantial raise. I was met with a condescending, patriarchal response, with no further negotiations, that in the past would have sent me back to that place of emptiness and worthlessness. However, this time, I thought, it’s never going to get better…so Elise, what are you going to do?
The only recourse I knew was to re-enroll into college. So in Jan 2019, I did. I changed my major to Health Care Professionals (it was previously Human Resources) and signed up for four accelerated classes while working a full-time and part-time job. I figured a career in nursing would be the most expedient route to financial freedom. I was 39 and HAD to make a change, immediately. Being under-employed my entire life, I was so far behind that I would likely have to be working at 85 just to survive at the rate I was going.
I was doing well in school. But I knew that my road was still long and arduous. In April of 2019, I was introduced to Flockjay, an Advanced Tech Sales Technique Bootcamp whose mission was to get under-represented groups to access the tech industry through education via a 12-week live, virtual course. These classes were four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, from 5 pm PT — 8 pm PT. ( I was on the East coast, so 8 pm ET — 11 pm ET for me) It sounded like a cool idea, but I had to be at work at 4 am to open our location and my school workload was intense. I was going to defer until sometime in the future to look at the program again. I just had too much going on!
After a sleepless night of tossing around different scenarios that could put me on the path to the freedom I so desired, I realized that nothing was really going to change in my life in the immediate future and I was on a potential train to that abyss of emptiness. So I decided to at least apply to the program that touted they only accepted the top 5% of applicants.
Well, I’ll be darned… I got accepted.
The excitement that I had when others accomplished something, I felt it for myself, for the first time in a LONG while. Our first fireside chat, was with a VP at a popular social media giant and I was GEEKED!
However, two weeks in, I felt that I did not belong among the other students, who had more business acumen, knowledge of the tech industry, and intriguing work experience. I decided to drop out of the course. It was a Tuesday.
On April 25, 2019, The CEO, Shaan, attended every class… one day he Dm’d me in the chat, asking if I was okay. I guess he saw the trepidation on my face. (WHAT… HE “SEES” ME?!!) I played it cool and responded, “Yes”. Then immediately, I thought, what the heck Elise, be honest. So, I inboxed him and said, “I’m accustomed to being on it…I find that my insecurities are in not knowing the terminology and not being robotic”. Shaan’s response was: “I know sometimes it can be disorienting and the speed can move a bit fast. We’re here for all backgrounds and here for you. SO much of this is the confidence that it will fall into place, and it will :). We’re also here to work with you…IF it’s any reassurance, we’ve had Uber drivers, shipping clerks, veterans, and everyone in between now starting their new tech jobs :) We can do this, together!”
When I tell you that this conversation led to weekly meetings with Lead Instructor Kelly, and from there, I seemed to gain that confidence that Shaan mentioned, because for the first time in my work life, I felt like I was more than a number and that my future mattered to someone else. (Maybe, I can unpack this in my podcast, one day)
A few weeks later, I was introduced to Gusto, a People Platform provider for small businesses. I KNEW I would work for Gusto. If it wasn’t after graduation, eventually I would work there. The problem that Gusto solves was close to my heart, as my father has owned his business for over 35 years and I personally have helped with the issues from the payroll providers.
I began to gain more energy in the evenings, staying up until 1 am to complete my assignments, although I had to be at work at 4 am. Then the interviews began coming in. WHEW! I was overjoyed with the fact that I was having 2–3 interviews with 2–3 companies each week. I used each interview to prepare for the day Gusto would call me, not knowing if they would… but remaining humble and hungry. My mom asked, “Elise, what if you get hired someplace else?” I replied, “That’s a good question, mom. I will take that job and WHEN Gusto calls, I’ll go to Gusto!”
As I built my network on LinkedIn, every post I made was about Flockjay and reposting everything Gusto posted. I connected with as many Gusties (Gusto employees) that would accept my invitation. I tried to make sure that I always was intentional and thoughtful about what I posted. I wanted to be the embodiment of my core values, which happened to be the core values of the company. On June 19th, I received my “Hi from Gusto, Elise!” email and began the interview process. On June 25th, I received the take-home assignment.
As graduation drew near, (July 3, 2019) I had not heard anything further from Gusto and was in the midst of interviewing with other tech elites. It was July 8th that I had the final round of interviews. July 16, 2019, I received my Offer Call and was an inconsolable, crying blob! LOL
My recruiter, the hiring managers, and Kelly were all on the Zoom call, celebrating…ME!
This is when the trajectory of my life made the pivot from emptiness to fulfillment.
I was told that the next sales orientation would be in Nov, unless I wanted to try for the Aug cohort. I chose August. So on July 17th, I submitted my 2-week resignation notice, began to pack my belongings and the belongings of my then 13 yr old daughter in preparation to relocate across the country from Atlanta to Denver on July 31st. My lease was not over until March 2020. So I maintained that apartment for my older children (20 and 21 at the time) and my 1 yr old grand twins, with the agreement that my adult children would manage the apartment. I left my vehicle and the rest of my family to upgrade our lives. My mom asked, “Elise, what if you don’t like it out there? What if it doesn’t work for you?” ( HUH… the unintentional negativity was surmounting) I replied, “Well mom, that’s a great question. I’ll give it two years, and if it doesn’t pan out, then I’ll find something else or move back.” But I had no intentions of ever moving back to Atlanta… back to the emptiness. I had a refreshed lease on life and was determined to only elevate myself.
My youngest daughter and I, moved to Denver, on a Southwest flight, utilizing the 2 bags fly free benefit. With our carry-on and personal items, we had a total of 8 items. The skycap was like “Dang, are you moving, lol?!” When I replied, “YEP!” He seemed slightly impressed and wished us good luck. We lived in an Airbnb for a month until I found a suitable apartment. A 745 sqft one-bedroom apartment at $1700! (Mind-Blown) My three-bedroom apartment in Atlanta was 1500 sq ft and only $925 a month! Life was definitely different.
Gusto is definitely a unicorn. I could have only dreamed that there was a company that probably cares more about humanity than the bottom dollar… don’t get me wrong, revenue is the lifeblood of every business and Gusto is no different in that manner. However, their values and motivations are what sets them apart.
Since Aug 2019, I have worked on a Sales team, the newly formed Customer Success team, and now the Invite team as a Technical Sourcer.
The past 21 months I have grown from an under-employed, under-appreciated, overworked, over-stressed employee to a fairly compensated, greatly appreciated and recognized, employee with great work/life opportunities that is not only allowed to grow professionally and personally, but highly encouraged by all levels of leadership.
In addition, I work part-time at Flockjay, hoping to make an impact on other Tech Fellows in the same way Shaan and Kelly made an impact on me.
This is only the beginning.
I will remain humbled, yet hungry for the next level of excellence!