- Melody McFeasel, co-founder and CEO of Observable, spent 14 years at Google, rising to the position of vice president.
- He says it's a myth that jobs at big tech companies are hard and startup founders have to be hard workers.
- As the CEO of his company, he can travel and spend more time with his son.
This essay is based on an interview with Melody McFassell, who founded a data platform startup in 2019 and former president of engineering at Google. Edited for length and clarity.
I joined Google in 2004 as technical director. It was the most fun job for someone like me who likes to make software that people use. At Google, I work on the research, data tools, and systems that Google uses to create data center networks.
Growing up on a farm, I never imagined that I would be helping build some of the most powerful systems in the world.
I have developed my career at Google over many years. And suddenly (though not suddenly, as more than 14 years have passed), I became the VP of Engineering at Google Cloud, leading a mid-sized organization.
I used to fly all over the world talking to clients. CIOs and CTOs from financial institutions around the world come to me for advice on how to build their systems. It was amazing. I meet and speak with people I've helped and teams I lead who impact key areas of Google's business.
However, in the last few years I was there, I had moments where I wanted to create something new. At Google, I've learned how to measure things to know what's working and what's not, and I've seen a new realm of working with and interacting with data that isn't being handled. I set out to build a platform that would empower people to tell stories with data, whether it be Stitch Fix, biopharma companies or educators.
But I see no way of incorporating that idea into my work at Google. One thing: I don't have time.
I chose to develop my career and responsibilities at Google.
I am a single mother, and because I prioritize my schedule with my daughter, I will fly to Munich for a business meeting and then fly home for a two day trip. I used to turn my phone off at night with my daughter, but then come back online for work. I spent hours going to meetings and working on my days off.
I recently told one of my closest friends. "Melody, you're always looking for the hard stuff." Early in 2019, after years of thinking about this data platform idea, I knew I had to do the next thing. Having said that, I'd look at all the pieces if I could.
So in April 2019, a year before the pandemic started, I left Google and started my startup, Observable, a data collaboration platform that helps anyone tell stories with data. Since then, I've raised two rounds of funding, Series A and Series B, and focused on developing platforms to help more people work with data from around the world.
I've built a large team of about 40 employees and a community of nearly half a million people who are committed to viewing user-generated data stories every month.
If you asked me what was the hardest part of being a CEO, I'd say trying to figure out the difference between my responsibilities at Google and dealing with the unknown myself. And then an organization was created in an epidemic. talk about experimenting with fire.
But one thing I'm really thankful for is having a lot of people helping and helping out. Theresa Gow of Acrew (one of my investors) really encouraged me.
"Go Melody," he told me. "Just do it. Keep on doing it, keep on your mission every day. Don't give up."
For everyday life, I set my own schedule and I don't always travel. I am more with my son. He knew almost everyone at Observable by name and knew how different my work life was from my old life.
These days, instead of being stressed, I am more grateful. I'm doing the things I love and building an inclusive team and environment that is the model we want the world to see.
And I can go my own way and do it in a way that suits the people that I want, which is to be ambitious and have the biggest impact on as many people as possible.
My teenage daughter recently told me this. “Before you were like a tough businessman, you had a regime in which you always worked.
“Now you look like a business hippie. You can relax and we have a better relationship because you are less stressed. You just want to help people."