Writing
I graduated from the University of Southern California this past December with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and an Electrical Engineering emphasis.
Taking a huge leap of faith, I joined a biotech startup in the Bay Area as a sales rep, under the guidance of a leadership team that’s seen what real success looks like. Our CEO sold his last biotech company for $375M, and our CCO is a Stanford-trained immunology PhD.
It’s safe to say that, as an engineer turned sales rep, I’ve learned more in the last eight months and worn more hats, so to speak, than I ever expected. Here are a few of my biggest takeaways so far:
1. Success takes ~some~ delusion.
I don’t intend to confound success with unrealistic expectations. But I’ve come to realize that, in order to make it in the startup world, you have to be relentlessly optimistic, almost to the point of delusion.
You need to hold an unshakable belief that what you’re building is so good, so necessary, that nothing can stop it. That conviction fuels everything, especially when results don’t come immediately or when the rejection emails start piling up.
Working in sales, I’ve been told “no” more times than I can count. Being confronted with that “no” in the moment can sting, but I’ve learned to reframe it: a “no” simply translates to “not the right timing.”
We even have a literal bucket named “not the right timing” in our HubSpot CRM for tracking customer deals. Sometimes it really isn’t the right timing, and simply by revisiting those past “no’s” a few months later can turn those prospects into a “yes.” But what fuels that ability to revisit those former rejections is what I coin “delusion.”
“Delusion” has fueled my ability to bounce back from setbacks, both externally, when dealing with customers, and internally, as a teammate helping to maintain momentum. It’s the mindset that keeps the needle moving, even when results haven’t caught up yet.
2. No Health, No Wealth
I grew up with an extremely health-conscious father who always preached that, regardless of what you achieved in life, if you couldn’t take care of your health, none of it mattered. For the longest time, I dismissed that worldview as a preachy dad lecture.
But working in a high-pressure environment where every minute counts, I’ve come to fully understand what he meant. I no longer treat exercise and nutrition as ways to appear fit, but as a lifestyle that sustains my energy, focus, and goals.
In fact, research shows that consistent exercise can help buffer the cognitive effects of sleep deprivation, improving alertness and reaction time even after 40 hours awake (Sauvet et al., Sleep Medicine, 2020).
While that’s not an excuse to skip rest, it’s a reminder that training our bodies pays dividends far beyond fitness; it supports performance when it matters most.
3. Stare at the weight scale, and keep moving until the numbers go in the right direction.
This is an idea that’s been emphasized by leadership at my company during difficult times, and I wholeheartedly agree with it.
Coming from a self-proclaimed optimist, this was a hard concept to swallow. While it’s crucial to maintain an enduring optimism to persevere during tough times, I also think it’s important to have a fundamental understanding of one’s current circumstances. For example, if you’re not hitting your sales goals in a quarter, don’t be afraid to confront the numbers.
If you’re not achieving your goals, it’s crucial to take a grounded approach to understanding the root cause. The optimism (point #1), should stem from the problem-solving aspect of tackling that fundamental reality, be it a missed sales goal or low impressions from an advertisement, to overcome present circumstances.
Progress only comes from the courage to measure it.
4. The fundamentals are crucial
Coming into my first role, I was inundated with marketing ideas. Maybe it comes from the action-oriented enthusiast in me, but I was eager to showcase my creativity and get to work.
I was quickly confronted with questions—why I had chosen to market a service in a certain way, or why I had made a particular design choice.
What did I realize?
I couldn’t answer those questions because I hadn’t nailed the fundamentals of the company (which takes time and effort to develop!): what our product was and what customer pain points we were addressing. I was relying on intuition, strong as it may be, which wasn’t enough to generate effective sales or marketing material.
Taking the time to learn from experts, iterate through feedback, and hold myself accountable to fill knowledge gaps has been key to mastering the fundamentals. It’s also what has enabled me to apply my creativity and critical thinking in ways that drive tangible business outcomes.
5. Action > talk
We live in a world full of promises and words. We intend to start going to the gym tomorrow or save money next month. One of the most crucial lessons I’ve learned is that it’s better to take action quickly, fail fast, and re-evaluate what caused that failure, than to wait for the “perfect” plan to start. (With caveats, of course, you don’t want to ship a bad product.)
An example? Our business team spent considerable time creating an email sequence for prospective customers, expecting strong response and click rates. We’d positioned ourselves well, narrowing down our ideal customer profile after months of research and A/B testing.
The results? Low open and click rates, even within our ideal customer profile.
Rather than letting that setback discourage us (emphasizing points #1 and #3), we iterated fast, evaluating what went wrong and refining how we positioned our value-add. The result? Significantly improved open and click rates on the next round.
It’s safe to say that many of the lessons I’ve learned aren’t novel by any means. Taking care of your health, nailing the fundamentals, and staying positive and consistent are ideas you’ll hear from countless growth leaders across industries.
If there’s anything I hope you take away, it’s that I’m not just repeating these notions; I’m living proof that they work.
As a self-proclaimed rose-tinted glasses, party-loving former sorority girl, I’ve always struggled to exemplify these habits and mindsets. But these fundamental lessons have shifted my approach to life—both professionally and personally—and yielded far greater rewards than I could have imagined.
