Reflective Thoughts on My Time at Waylin Partners - Director Waylin Partners Employee Review

Joining Waylin Partners represented a significant career pivot for me, leaving behind a VP/Director-equivalent role at a traditional, large company in pursuit of something I believed would be uniquely rewarding. The start-up environment, with its promise of innovation and agility, was enticing. However, reflecting on my experience, the reality did not align with my expectations. I joined Waylin, but was laid off a few weeks after my first date. Unfortunately, the explanation that I received as that I was "not a good fit" and that "Waylin won't be needing your services anymore." My workload was considerable, often extending to 60-80 hours per week. My workload intensity, coupled with the direct payment model based on client billings, created a challenging work-life balance for me that I personally found unsustainable. It's worth noting that the people at Waylin Partners seemed to be genuinely good people, which made the decision to join seem promising at the outset. Also, you only get paid for your client billings after Waylin collects from the client. So you may be paid on the "client incentive portion" of your billings later than the period which you worked with the client. One aspect of my experience that I wish had been different relates to the company's policy on severance. Unfortunately, there was no severance offered to me, which left me in a difficult position when my employment was abruptly terminated. This, combined with the a 2-week delay in reimbursements for client-related travel, hotels, and meals, made it difficult for me to sustain myself financially for the period after which I was terminated. Looking back, I question whether the move to Waylin was worth it. The absence of severance, in particular, underscores the precarious nature of such positions in start-up environments, something I hadn't fully appreciated when making the leap from my previous, more stable role. In hindsight, if presented with the choice again, I would likely have stayed in my role at the larger, traditional company. The security and predictability of that environment, in contrast to the uncertainties I faced at Waylin, would have been the safer path.