Zac Smith

What, this gray hair? No. Okay.

What, this gray hair? No. Okay.

Yeah, man. Well, let's see, 21, man. That was just the end of the mask-wearing COVID times, I think, right? I think we're just getting out of our little cages at the time.

Yeah, man. Well, let's see, 21, man. That was just the end of the mask-wearing COVID times, I think, right? I think we're just getting out of our little cages at the time.

And we're peeking out. We're like, is our shadow gone?

And we're peeking out. We're like, is our shadow gone?

Well, I would say I've always been a small company person. I've had the pleasure of building a couple of startups and being part of, I think, the biggest company I was ever at for any substantive period of time was no more than 100 people. Packet at its heyday was about 120.

Well, I would say I've always been a small company person. I've had the pleasure of building a couple of startups and being part of, I think, the biggest company I was ever at for any substantive period of time was no more than 100 people. Packet at its heyday was about 120.

So I was really used to small organizations that didn't really have advantages in terms of global scale or amount of money or you know, brand or anything else like that, but you had agility, right? So you kind of like organized around speed, organized around ability to change. And that's what I love about startups because I love to experiment.

So I was really used to small organizations that didn't really have advantages in terms of global scale or amount of money or you know, brand or anything else like that, but you had agility, right? So you kind of like organized around speed, organized around ability to change. And that's what I love about startups because I love to experiment.

I love to lean in with new ideas and I love to go fast. I'm a person of action. And when we became part of Equinix, I would say after about one year where we had a little bit of a grace period, we were off to the side and kind of got our bearings. This is a 15,000 person company that had a very different kind of culture and They were a market leader.

I love to lean in with new ideas and I love to go fast. I'm a person of action. And when we became part of Equinix, I would say after about one year where we had a little bit of a grace period, we were off to the side and kind of got our bearings. This is a 15,000 person company that had a very different kind of culture and They were a market leader.

They had decades of success doing their business. They had a lot of kind of experience and leadership there. But that comes with bureaucracy, right? It comes with more people, more checks and balances. They had a matrix structure, which I'd never heard the word of. But basically... you know, it took me a while to figure out, well, who makes a decision here?

They had decades of success doing their business. They had a lot of kind of experience and leadership there. But that comes with bureaucracy, right? It comes with more people, more checks and balances. They had a matrix structure, which I'd never heard the word of. But basically... you know, it took me a while to figure out, well, who makes a decision here?

You know, and the answer was, well, you know, everybody has to get aligned and then, you know, decisions can be made or something. Right. And so for me, that was super different. And I will admit, like at first it was very, very frustrating. And I had to take a, step back and really learn some new skills, which once I took kind of a learner's mindset or growth mindset, I really enjoyed.

You know, and the answer was, well, you know, everybody has to get aligned and then, you know, decisions can be made or something. Right. And so for me, that was super different. And I will admit, like at first it was very, very frustrating. And I had to take a, step back and really learn some new skills, which once I took kind of a learner's mindset or growth mindset, I really enjoyed.

I'm not going to say I enjoyed all the experiences of cross-functional work because it's a little bit different than my personality, but I enjoyed the learning of how to figure that out. Because you basically had to think, hey, how do you get 15,000 people at a company to march in a direction together? Right. Or to do things that might feel uncomfortable or to try new stuff.

I'm not going to say I enjoyed all the experiences of cross-functional work because it's a little bit different than my personality, but I enjoyed the learning of how to figure that out. Because you basically had to think, hey, how do you get 15,000 people at a company to march in a direction together? Right. Or to do things that might feel uncomfortable or to try new stuff.

And the answer is like not that much different than marketing that you would have to do to go convince customers to try your thing. So a lot of those skills I started to use internally and figure out how to explain and communicate things. in different channels and in different ways. And that was super powerful. I think those are skills that I'll take away with me and other things that I do.

And the answer is like not that much different than marketing that you would have to do to go convince customers to try your thing. So a lot of those skills I started to use internally and figure out how to explain and communicate things. in different channels and in different ways. And that was super powerful. I think those are skills that I'll take away with me and other things that I do.