Confluent

An engineering-focused mindset all the way to the top means silly corporate issues aren't suffered.

Our leadership likes making fun of anonymous questions about 'not important' issues, like whether we should have a dress code or not. Frankly, I love it. It's a breath of fresh air to hear things like, "Hey, maybe we should focus on doing the things that will make us successful." This isn't done in a whip-cracking way at all, but instead in a way that fosters a real desire to just do better work and create more value for all of us.

Absolutely exceptional engineering talent. It's incredible to work with not only our executives but also the stellar engineering, product, data-focused, and frankly, anyone at the firm. Pretty much everyone you meet is an expert in something.

Growing this fast is always tough, but we're still managing to do it pretty gracefully in my experience.

Stay true to the engineering-minded principles that have gotten you this far, and things should stay great.

Don't be afraid to let people go if they're really starting to lose sight of that or hold us back.