Make It Snow: From Zero to Billions

1Embed Sales and Culture Early into Your Startup

“Holy crap! What have I done?”

—Chris Degnan

THEY SAY IT’S better to have never flown first class then to have flown it and then be shuffled back to economy. That was my young life in a nutshell. I grew up in an upper-middle-class family. My father was a stockbroker when the market crashed in 1988. As I entered high school, we went from front row seats at Celtics games to a divorced family and my dad headed to prison. I had two choices—blame him for my future failures or pick myself up, get a job, and grind. I started bagging groceries at age 14 and I haven’t stopped working since. I love winning, but I also fear losing everything based on my family experience. That’s part of what drives me—fear of failure and someone taking something from me and my family.

I planned on finishing my college degree in the fall of 1997, but my roommate convinced me we should move to Seattle in the fall instead. With his help, I figured out how to take four classes during the preceding summer semester and graduate before our departure. We planned to spend six months in Seattle, but ended up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I never left. I was desperate to pay rent because eviction meant someone taking something from me. That also meant I was always on the lookout for the next best job. In seven short years, I bounced between five companies, taking jobs as a corporate recruiter, a finance trainee, an advertising sales guy, and as an entry-level sales ...