Why I joined LaunchNotes to lead design

Hey! I’m Viv and I’ve just joined the amazing LaunchNotes crew after five years with Shopify’s world-class UX and design team.

I’m grateful to have experienced the phenomenon of a unicorn startup in hypergrowth, but as Shopify grew and my role became increasingly niched, it became harder to stay experimental. I missed having the space to embody that entrepreneurial spirit of creativity and hustle that I find so damn fun about tech.

So at my five year mark with Shopify, I decided to hit pause. I took a creative sabbatical for a full year — to experiment, play, recharge, and reflect. As a family, we hit the PLAY button on life— moved to a coastal paradise community, spent quality time with family and friends, adopted a Chiweenie named Winky (inspired by the literary classic: Harry Potter)…

And when it came time to jump back in the game, I wanted to extend that playful spirit of my sabbatical into my working life.

So I hustled in my job hunt, searching for a place where I could have a great time, doing impactful design work with a kickass crew. I’m so grateful to my friend Ross Chaldecott (founder at Kinde) for connecting Tyler and I — without you Ross, I might not have found such an amazing fit with LaunchNotes’ band of passionate Rocketeers! 🙏

After nearly a month on the team, I still wake up genuinely excited to get started every day. This is such a gift in life. I’m deeply grateful for, and humbled by, the passionate, compassionate and dedicated team that Jake and Tyler have brought together at LaunchNotes. I feel so supported by this team, and genuinely set up for success. Thank you for such a warm welcome, fellow Rocketeers.

Together, we’re starting 2023 strong — we’ve already had our first design offsite and established clear design values, targets and goals for Q1. We’re activating fresh trifecta kickoffs with the amazing Sal Sodano and Teddy Fisher — to reevaluate how we get shit done as a team, and continue big bold talks about our growing constellation of product features. This is one heck of a time to jump aboard this rocketship, and the fun is only just beginning.

🥂 My fellow Rocketeers — here’s to celebrating our wins together in a bigger, bolder 2023!

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