Titles Don't Matter
Impact first, labels later
Every week, someone messages me: "I love this startup, but I'm not getting the title I want." The irony? They're optimizing for org charts when the company's survival isn't even guaranteed.
Early impact comes from fundamentals: a team worth learning from, a market worth winning, a product customers need, autonomy to execute, and compensation that matches risk1. These determine startup success. Not your title.
At Meter, my title was janitor. When product was stable but sales needed help, I switched instantly. This is what agency2 looks like in practice: no role discussions, no ego about moving 'backwards,' no attachment to labels. The freedom to solve problems became our speed advantage.
The formula is simple: Find the biggest bottleneck. Solve it completely. Give away your legos to the next owner3. Then find the next critical problem.
Great companies are built by people who solve problems, not protect titles.
While most people conflate titles with compensation and scope, I've found they can be decoupled. Despite meaningless titles, I've often been among the highest compensated (equity) employees at startups. Founders reading this - follow Gokul Rajaram's advice on giving titles.
Read the full legos post by Molly Graham - one of my all-time favorites.