Untitled

One of our core values is customer-obsession. In the early days, the only thing Ben, Jake, and I did was listen to customers and build what they asked for. We had no titles, our responsibilities blended together, and the only thing that mattered was delivering value to customers. Ben and Jake didn’t have titles for the first two and a half years after we launched. They would just jump into whatever project would have the most impact for customers.

As we’ve grown, we’ve added a lot of operational complexity. Transparently, I think much of it is unnecessary. Today we spend far too much time on internal operational matters that our customers never see or benefit from. That moves us further from our mission: to power the next generation of media and the creator economy.

This makes us vulnerable as a company. Here’s what I mean — every hour we spend on internal processes is an hour we’re not spending on what matters: doing our jobs, listening to customers, building new products, and improving our service. That’s how companies start to atrophy. They slow down, decisions that should be simple become complicated, meetings are spawned to discuss other meetings… and the competition takes advantage.

Put even simpler — that means slower growth and less revenue. Less revenue means less upside for the company, fewer opportunities to invest in our people, and less value in the equity each person holds. Nothing is guaranteed. Startups have been hot one day and gone the next. In the worst case, all of the equity that we have worked so hard to earn could be worth zero.

I won’t let that happen to beehiiv.

Titles are a clear example of that overhead. Managers and leaders spend real time defining levels, debating who fits which title, normalizing titles and roles across different teams, negotiating with candidates and employees over leveling, and lining up pay with title bands. None of that time goes to customers.

The Yankees don’t put players’ names on the back of their jerseys: it’s about the name on the front, not the name on the back. As much as I hate the Yankees, I love that, and it fits who we are. It’s backed by one of our core values: ego comes second, and winning comes first.

“WE hit our Q4 goal and surpassed $40M ARR… and I played a part in that by doing X, Y, Z” is how we win together. I believe tackling hard problems and playing a part in the company’s success is more rewarding, and more fun, as a team sport than as a solo pursuit.

We’ve worked incredibly hard to build a winning culture here. It’s the most important part of my job, and ensuring that we maintain this culture in our next stage of growth is my top priority. We look for plenty of things when deciding whether a candidate is right for beehiiv. One red flag I’ve grown increasingly aware of: people who chase titles for internal jockeying and validation over the well-being and success of the greater company. That mindset holds us back.

So to get back to our roots and focus on what matters most — delivering value to customers — we’re simplifying how we operate and moving away from individual titles internally at beehiiv. That includes me and the leadership team.

I recognize that titles are important to many people and that this isn’t a small change. Titles reflect your experience, your accomplishments, and the work you’ve put in to get where you are. None of that changes. I also recognize that titles can provide a sense of progression and clarity about where you stand in your career. I want to be clear that we’re not taking away your ability to grow, advance, or be recognized for your contributions. We’re changing how we describe our roles and refer to one another internally.

Externally, you can represent your role and responsibilities in a way that reflects your work. Internally, we want to put more on what we accomplish together. At the end of the day, it’s the beehiiv name we’re all working to build. Inside beehiiv, what matters is the name on the front.

1. “How am I going to know what other people do at the company?”

When was the last time you needed help from someone on another team, opened Bamboo, pulled up the org chart, studied everyone’s titles, and then decided who to contact? Probably never.

This would be a bigger challenge at a 5,000-person corporation. But we’re a small, lean organization and plan to stay that way. Almost everyone shares what they’re working on each week at All Hands, so everyone should have a great sense of who does what.

And the reality is that most people interact with the same dozen or so people week to week. You don’t need titles to remember what those people are responsible for.

2. “Will this impact my ability to advance my career and get other jobs?”

You still own how you present yourself externally. Put whatever (reasonable) title you’d like on your LinkedIn and resume.

Speaking candidly as a hiring manager, I don’t put much weight on titles. A Staff Engineer at a Fortune 500 company and a Staff Engineer at a five-person startup have wildly different experience and scope. Titles are impossible to calibrate across companies, industries, and regions. Hiring managers care about what you contributed and where you did it.

For example, I’d be far more excited about a candidate coming from a company like Anthropic than someone with a sexier title at a failed startup. Having been part of a high-growth company says a lot about your ability to grow and contribute in one. In my experience, the company on your resume opens doors in a hiring process, not the title.

beehiiv being wildly successful is better for you as a future candidate. Being able to speak to your contributions is what sets you apart.

3. “How are others at the company going to acknowledge my growth?”

Outside of a few people in the (former) C-suite, whose titles I legally had to reference many times, I honestly couldn’t name anyone’s title at the company today. That’s not because I don’t care about you all (I do). It’s because I don’t go to people for help based on what their LinkedIn says. I go to people I know have experience in a specific area and have shown they can move quickly and get things done well. I’m confident other managers and employees work the same way.

Your growth will be on full display as you take on more responsibility, lead harder and more important projects, present more often, run external meetings with stakeholders, and do everything else that already happens naturally here. None of that shows up in a title on a resume.

I hate to break it to you, but most people here don’t know your title either.