SCALE
UP WITHOUT
BLOWING UP
Sash Catanzarite | @thesash | Tradesy
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Tradesy
NOW BEFORE
Who are You?
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It’s getting easier to start a startup.
2000 2015
Immature, expensive,
proprietary tech
Mature, cheap,
open-source tech
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From the outside, successful
startups look easy.
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STARTUPS ARE HARD
Source: Paul Graham’s Startup Curve
In reality, startups are really hard.
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It gets harder, not
easier as you scale.
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One-to-one
communication
doesn’t scale.
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The complexity of communication
increases exponentially as you scale.
2
People 3 4 6
5
1
Interfaces 3 6 15
10
Pe
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Keep teams small to reduce complexity.
12
24
Teams 6
Team Interfaces
Total Interfaces/indv.
6 teams of 6 rather
than one of 36 reduces
interfaces for each
individual from 630 to 24.
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• Wiki for institutional knowledge
• All-hands
• Quarterly educational sessions
• OKRs
Focus on 1-many communication.
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Organizational
structure is
designed.
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Organizational structure
shapes how decisions
are made.
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• Small, cross-functional teams
• Organized by area of focus, not
role
• Focus on ownership & autonomy
Tradesy’s Product & Engineering Org
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Web team Mobile team
Tradesy’s Product & Engineering Org
AT 10 PEOPLE
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Web Mobile
Tradesy’s Product & Engineering Org
AT 20 PEOPLE
Infrastructure Tools Data Science
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Shopping
Experience
Tradesy’s Product & Engineering Org
AT 50 PEOPLE
Infrastructure Internal
Operations
Data Science
Selling
Experience
User Growth
CONSUMER PRODUCTS OPS & BUSINESS
Business &
Monetization
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• What works today won’t work
tomorrow
• Teams split as they grow
• Learning fast is more important
than being right from the start
We’re always iterating on our structure.
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Culture is the
immune system of
an organization.
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STARTUPS ARE HARD
Culture is not:
• Beer on tap
• Ping pong tables
• Free lunches
• Unlimited vacations
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STARTUPS ARE HARD
Culture is the set of
characteristics that are
unique and different
about your organization.
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STARTUPS ARE HARD
Tradesy’s Team Values
• Autonomy
• Honesty
• Kindness
• Social Good
• Unconventional Intelligence
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STARTUPS ARE HARD
Build a strong culture:
• Articulate your values early
• Hire for culture
• Introduce & institutionalize “branded”
initiatives
• Develop and embrace rituals
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STARTUPS ARE HARD
A healthy culture protects your
team when the sh*t hits the fan.
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STARTUPS ARE HARD
A healthy culture protects your
team when the sh*t hits the fan.
(and it will)
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Because startups are
hard.
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• 1-1 communication doesn’t scale.
• Organizational structure is
designed.
• Culture is the immune system of
your organization.
3 Lessons: