A few years ago, my co-founders and I all had internships of our own. While we all worked for separate companies, we shared the same experience. From the time we accepted our offers, until the day we joined in the summer, we barely heard anything from the companies we were joining. This left us feeling unprepared for our first day and questioning if we still had our jobs. We started Abode so that there is no longer an excuse for companies to provide experiences like this to candidates and new hires.

The hardest thing for me is how much I have to context switch throughout the day. From sales, to product, to fundraising, to HR, back to sales – it can be exhausting. However, it’s also why I love what I do.

This is the best advice I got when my co-founders and I started our first company and I pass it on as much as I can. Be a cockroach. Cockroaches don’t die easily; they’re flexible, they’re resilient and they do whatever it takes to stay alive. That’s how you have to think about your company. Being a founder is one of the most stressful things you can go through, but the longer you stay alive the more knowledge you gain and the more likely you are to achieve your goals.

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Signing a Fortune 25 company as a customer.

As first-time founders, our goal in raising this round was to surround ourselves with people who already have been through everything that we’re going to experience – both as investors and operators. Not only that, but we wanted a group of investors that would voice their opinions and keep us honest when we may be headed down the wrong path. The Bonfire team brings all of the above to the table.

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. Taught me everything I know about how to sell.