Cristina Cordova: joining Stripe as employee #27, investing at First Round Capital, to becoming COO at Linear
Apr 24, 2024
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Cristina Cordova, COO at Linear and tech investor, shares insights on her journey from partnerships at Stripe to leading at Linear. She discusses navigating tech, advocating for a developer-centric approach, understanding company culture in startups, and aligning individual output with company vision.
Christina Cordova's journey highlights the impact of unexpected opportunities and seizing them to transition into the tech industry.
Insights from Cordova's time at Stripe emphasize the significance of understanding tech products, advocating for customers, and building strong relationships for success.
Deep dives
Discovering the Tech World at Stanford
Christina Cordova recounts her start in tech, tracing back to a college internship involving a mobile gaming company, Tapulous. Despite initially envisioning a career in journalism or law, her friend's internship experience sparked her interest in technology, leading her to secure a technology job and set a high bar for impacting future job roles.
Encounter with Stripe at a Palo Alto Barbecue
Christina's introduction to Stripe occurred serendipitously at a barbecue hosted by a friend from Y Combinator. A conversation with Patrick Collison, Stripe's CEO, revealed Stripe's focus on simplifying online payments for developers. This chance encounter and subsequent discussions paved the way for her eventual employment at Stripe.
Navigating the Unique Interview Process at Stripe
Christina sheds light on her interview experience at Stripe, highlighting the unconventional nature stemming from the company's evolving focus and early-stage dynamics. Meeting with various team members emphasized the emphasis on partnership roles and the significance of articulating value in a nascent yet influential company like Stripe.
Lessons in Success at Startups from Stripe
Drawing from her tenure at Stripe, Christina shares valuable advice on thriving in startup environments. Emphasizing the need to navigate the intricacies of tech-driven companies and aligning with the team's language and objectives, she stresses the importance of understanding products thoroughly and advocating for customers, highlighting the impact of hard work and building relationships in fostering success.
Cristina Cordova is the Chief Operating Officer at Linear, a purpose-built system for managing software development. She's also an investor and advisor to technology startups. Prior to Linear, she spent her career helping build technology companies from the earliest stages. She spent more than seven years at Stripe building its partnerships organization from the ground up and leading a business unit building new financial services products for early-stage companies. She also led platform, partnerships and self-serve growth at Notion and invested in early stage startups as a partner at First Round Capital.
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