The Garage and The Startup’s Bankruptcy
I once worked for a startup that bloomed and flourished, only to meet its end a year after.
It’s my first solid team with a very kind and lovable boss (I made her my role model in terms of fairness and kindness in workplace), so it’s not a fond memory to me. But I feel that this experience is really great for both my personal and professional development — so I guess I could share a bit about what happened in that moment and what I have learned from it.
The Garage You All Talking About
“Amanda, did you know that there are many famous companies that started in garages?” ask my then-boss, the marketing director slash founder, Mrs. A.
Mrs. A’s smiling, her eyes sparkling with dreams. This was 2 months after I joined the company. We are just moving to our new office in Central Jakarta after finally saying goodbye to our old office that’s located at — wait for it — Mrs. A’s house garage in Kemang.
“I just heard that from you, Miss,” I don’t see why I should lie, so I tell the truth.
“Yes, they said that big companies like Apple and Google started from a small garage.”
She giggles, smiling again. Everyone could see that this is important for her. She picked a quite great location for our new office: 3rd floor, along a major road at the side of the latte-colored river. The new office consisted of 1 big meeting room, 1 pantry, 1 small kitchen, 2 bathrooms, 1 executive room with transparent glass wall, and a big working area enough for 30 people. We even had lockers for our belongings.
“I would like for you to make an article about our journey.”
Oh, so that’s where this is going— I nod, scribbling something in my notebook.
“We finally moved to a new place, but we will always remember our garage.”
And Then There Were 6
“We are really sorry to say that we cannot continue to pay you, guys.”
The meeting room that day was used for the all-hands meeting. It’s packed. Some of my colleagues are standing at the corner. Sounds murmuring from all sides. Protests and anxieties are filling the air.
“This would be the last day for all of you, except for several people.”
Mrs. A’s starting to mention all the names that will not working for her anymore, one-by-one. My name is not on the list. Later she will tell my team that she’s keeping just enough people to help the company pitches for a new investor. She reduces from almost 25 people to only 8 people: 3 IT, 2 operational, and 3 marketing and design — including me.
That’s before 2 of the chosen people prefer to resign themselves. Too angry to stay.
So that leaves us with 6.
The Almond Cookie Clique
I could still remember the empty chairs, the unused space, the hollow feelings. Lights are used when necessary, that means dingy corners here and there. My teammate and my best friend (until today) said that he saw a female ghost in the bathroom. I think he’s depressed. I found him secretly crying when we have to say goodbye to our youngest teammate, the junior graphic designer.
The executive members: CEO, COO, CMO, and CTO rarely came to the office. Maybe because everything feels too mellow to digest.
At one point, maybe 1 month after the shocking announcement, the only guy from the IT division told us that he wants to sell almond cookies. Her wife made the cookies herself at home and he asks us for advice on how to sell the cookies. My best friend, the graphic designer, made the logo, I gave advice on where to sell it. The older-sister-vibes girl from the operational division promised to promote the product.
The IT guy brought us the sweet almond cookie the next day. All six of us, ate almond cookies together in an almost dark office. The six people left to keep the ship from sinking, only have each other.
It was sweet, but I kinda missed the full team. I missed all of the people that filled my days for the last 11 months.
Should We Stay in the Garage?
The weird thing is, I couldn’t remember my last day at the office. Did Mrs. A talk to me in person? What did she say?
But I remember standing outside the office at the 3rd floor. Waiting for the elevator door to open. My best friend, the graphic designer lead, told me this, “We should have stayed in the garage.”
It’s not the first time he brought up the topic. There’s a rumor that all of this undesirable ending was brought by the decision to move into the new, expensive office a year before. Just after we got our first round of fund from the investor.
To stay or to move on from the garage? I don’t think anyone of us has a say in it. I saw how Mrs. A’s eyes sparkling when she told me about how famous companies started from the garages and I also saw how her eyes dimmed when she had to reduce the number of employees. Maintaining a company is more complicated than choosing to stay in the garage or not.
I’m just glad that I was allowed to tag along the ride. Once upon a time, I was also part of someone’s dream, and I learned so much from that experience:
One, Mrs. A’s gentle-yet-straight way of talking to her subordinates.
Two, how to move on after suffering a terrible heartbreak from a startup bankruptcy: find a new job or make a new business out there, don’t be scared of another loss because,
Three, all businesses have a risk of failing. Sometimes caused by internal reasons, sometimes external. You can only do your best by making a thorough move, step by step.
Mistake stays a mistake if you don’t make a lesson out of it.
