Ellie Mirman's Startup Marketing Blog

A lot can change in a week. Just 5 days ago, I was happily in a role I had had for a full year (which is actually surprising for me in my 4.5-year tenure at this startup) and had no intention of changing anything. Now it's Saturday morning and I'm waking up at the crack of dawn because I can't sleep from excitement for a new role I'll be taking. Or maybe it's stress. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the two.

It was a tough decision at first to take this step, but after talking with some close friends and family about the opportunity (who were smart enough to even repeat back to me what I was saying - which was that I wanted to make this move), I realized that there was no question that I should do it.

It's been a while since I've blogged and, while I have an excuse, it's not a particularly good one. There have been a lot of changes going on at work (it's our constant state) and I've taken on a new role. Two months into the new role, I'm at a familiar point and looking back at the fun and excitement that is Beginning.

This is role number... I've-lost-count and I'm noticing some interesting patterns around taking on a new job. I've always loved the Beginning. It's fun and exciting; there are lots of new things to learn and people to meet. The Beginning is the start of a new school year - a time I've always loved - a time when there are no exams and no drama, just old friends and hope for a great year.

Only people who work harder to achieve their goals. I'm lucky in that my parents drilled this into me as I was growing up. Maybe not in these words, but they refused to believe that I couldn't do something. And it's not just because I was their darling little girl.

My parents tell me the story of how, in 4th grade, I came home from school and told my parents I was bad at math. This might sound pretty normal or familiar to you, but my parents would have none of that. It's true that my family is, in general, pretty... mathy (hey we're better at math than English - so I'll use that as an excuse to make up words). I don't really remember what spurred me saying I was no good at math, but I do certainly remember my parents then sending me to Russian math school for a year (oh yes, it exists). It was a pretty awful experience, but from that moment on, math suddenly came easy to me. It was probably partially because of the math principles I learned that year, but also partially because I learned that it wasn't a matter of my "smarts" but rather how committed I was to achieving something.

Editorial Warning: This is a bit of a letter-style rant. This may come off crazy and/or self-promotional. I have neither intention. Read on, and consider yourself warned!

I was chatting with a fellow marketer recently and we started talking about different personalities on the marketing team and how I am a very altruistic marketer. It's not the first time I've been "called out" (in a friendly way of course) for being altruistic, sometimes to a naive degree.

I don't mind it at all.

I've been reading a great leadership book for new leaders and, in addition to learning some great tips on communication and coaching, I'm also realizing (again) how unique a place HubSpot is.

When I was learning to drive, I had the problem that I drove too close to the right side of the road. Or maybe it was the left. It changed, depending on my point of comparison. Meaning, I was driving in relation to the lines on the road. This frequently resulted in me doing a little offroading or getting too close to the cars in the opposite lane.

I was listening to this recent HBR podcast on The Persuasive Power of Uncertainty. In the podcast, Zakary Tormala, associate professor of marketing at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, talks about the finding that being uncertain is surprisingly effective. It made me realize how important it is for a CEO in particular to show uncertainty with his employees.