According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average time an employee stays with their employer hovers at just about four years. In the startup environment, that number falls to an average of just two years.
Lucky for us, two of our Moxstars, Chief Administrative Officer Mike Arce and Director of Engineering Ben LoBrutto, just celebrated nine years with Moxe.
We sat down with them to discuss how they’ve seen things change and some of the biggest lessons they’ve learned during their tenure.
Without further ado, here are nine lessons from two employees we are so glad joined our team nine years ago:
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Sometimes not knowing something is a great opportunity to become the person who does. Pretty early on in Ben’s time at Moxe, we sold a national health plan and a notable health system on Chart Retrieval before the product was developed, and before we knew if it would work. Ben quickly moved into a 100% development role and developed Chart Retrieval with Mike Kantor (shout out for his 8.9 years at Moxe!) and the rest of the Moxe team over the course of about two months. “Sometimes you just have to buckle down and figure something out; solve the problem that needs to be solved,” Ben says.
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If you can’t outsmart a problem, outwork it. “We didn’t build Chart Retrieval in two months with a lot of sleep,” Ben says.
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No news is not necessarily good news. Recalling a few times when they heard crickets from early customers after going live, Mike says, “If you’re doing something in the integration world, and you’re not hearing anything, you need to follow up.”
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You’ve got to have fun along the way. “When you’re in the early years of a startup and you’re really tiny, it can feel like you’re sort of winging it. The camaraderie of the team is so important. Even though we’ve grown and evolved as a company since those earliest years, we have tried to keep fun at our core,” Mike says. Ben adds, “We know there are going to be times when things are crazy. It’s important to figure out how you can make the little stuff fun and foster a sense that we’ll get through challenging times together.”
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Effective leaders create an environment where problem-solvers feel like they can do just that: problem solve. “I’ve realized that one of the best things I can do as a leader is to encourage people to make the change they want to see happen. If you get a critical mass of people acting that way, it’s contagious,” Ben says.
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Just because you can solve a problem doesn’t mean you should. “It feels good to say ‘yes,’ but it doesn’t mean you always should. Or, maybe you need to say ‘yes, but not right now.’ There needs to be a balance between meeting customer needs and staying true to the strategy and roadmap,” Mike says.
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Have a growth mindset. “Think about where progress has been made and where there are opportunities to make progress. That attitude is really important in a startup environment,” Ben says.
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Foster a healthy balance between work and home. “The concept of focusing on work while at work and home while at home has taken me a while to figure out,” Ben says. While he strives to foster a healthy balance, he also acknowledges that in any startup environment, there will be times when things are a little unbalanced. “But it shouldn’t stay out of balance for too long,” he says.
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We belong. Mike notes he and many of us on the Moxe team have struggled with imposter syndrome, which is not uncommon among high achievers. “It’s important that we believe, and understand that we belong (in the market). We know our solutions are making a real difference in solving one of the biggest challenges of our time,” he says.
Mike and Ben both agree that their time at Moxe has afforded them immense opportunities for professional and personal growth.
We thank them for their dedication to our mission, solution-focused attitude, sense of humor, their work ethic, and their loyalty.
Cheers to many more!
