After several years working at a large corporation, I said goodbye to the typical bureaucratic structure and values. It was 2005, and Articulate was in its infancy. I’m proud to say I was the first woman to work here.
The company I left was part of a stagnant industry, so I couldn’t see a long-term future there. On the other side of things, I had no idea what I was getting myself into at Articulate. There was no Glassdoor or LinkedIn to consult. I had only the rave reviews of the friend who brought me in to trust. So, I took a leap of faith. I knew by joining Articulate, I could be part of something cutting-edge and groundbreaking—something with a lasting impact.
Everything about Articulate was different. It was my first startup environment, and remote work was a rare concept at that time. Although it took some adjusting, the culture built on fast-paced execution and autonomous decision-making was refreshing. I loved it.
We had about 10 or so employees, and it was a mix of developers, sales, and support. We were spread across the U.S., from California to New York. Like Articulate, e-learning was a new notion at the time–but gaining steam. My coworkers and I wore many hats and developed solutions from the ground up. It was energizing to accomplish so much so fast, working with other “doers” who just wanted to advance the company and get things done.
Not only was the technology we were selling advanced for the time, but our own internal operations were forward-thinking. They still are today. It’s really exciting to be a part of that innovation.
As I fast-forward 13 years, it’s funny to see how far we’ve come. It’s remarkable that we got so much done without tools like Google Docs, Trello, and Slack. Early on, I’d meet up with coworkers and exchange USB sticks to share information! To say that I’ve seen the business mature significantly over the years is an understatement.
When people ask me how long I’ve been at Articulate, I’m sometimes embarrassed to admit it’s been 13 years. Loyalty and longevity aren’t necessarily virtues in the tech industry, and I always worry I sound like a dinosaur for having stuck around for so long. But I’ve never felt the need to move on. I’m just grateful that I’ve been able to evolve as the company has, and that I can still bring value.
That speaks volumes about this company and the folks who work here. There’s no problem we haven’t been able to solve without leveraging our core values: autonomy, productivity, and respect. At the heart of it all, though, are the people at Articulate. We all subscribe to these tenets and it’s the people who keep me here.
Today, we’re operating with so many more resources, but we still have that same eagerness we had the day I started. We’re just a more robust group of folks getting things done.
