Know Your Enemy: How Three Years at McKinsey Shaped My Second Startup

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” I worked as an Associate Partner at McKinsey for three years before starting Meanwhile. Folks often find that surprising. I wasn’t the only YC graduate there but there weren’t many of us. I did this for both practical and aspirational reasons. Let me get the practical reasons out of the way: I wanted to make money and provide stability to my family after having worked four jobs in three years. McKinsey is prestigious.{1} I had never worked at a traditionally recognizable company, so I wanted to derisk my resume by working somewhere with high signaling.{2} The work was more interesting than {insert name brand tech company, and the people were, on average, more curious. Let me unpack the aspirational reason I joined. ... Read full article.