Scaling Teams at Sanity, Github, and Google đ˘ â with Rachel Potvin
Jun 7, 2024
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Rachel Potvin, SVP of Engineering at Sanity, shares insights on scaling teams, healthy engineering culture, startup planning, and the differences between big tech and startups. She discusses her experiences at Google, GitHub, and Sanity, highlighting the challenges and lessons learned throughout her career journey.
Rachel's career transition reflects varied company experiences and challenges faced.
Rachel's move to GitHub for broader scope led to innovation and growth.
Deep dives
Fast Iterations for End User Experiences
Sanity's live content API allows quick changes to end user experiences, demonstrating the team's agility and flexibility. Unlike the bureaucratic layers in many tech firms, Sanity fosters a culture of quick approval and implementation, enhancing their competitive edge.
Journey Across Tech Companies
Rachel Potvin, senior VP of engineering at Sanity, shares her professional journey transitioning from Google and GitHub to her current role. This transition reflects experiences in varying generations of companies and the diverse challenges and successes encountered.
Transitioning From Google to GitHub
Rachel's move from Google to GitHub was motivated by the opportunity to work on a broader developer productivity scope. The acquisition discussions with Google Cloud prompted her to seek new challenges outside Google, leading her to GitHub.
Highlights from Rachel's Time at GitHub
During Rachel's tenure at GitHub, she oversaw substantial team growth, acquisitions, and product advancements, fostering a culture of innovation and product development. The emphasis on building a healthy engineering organization and fostering a strong engineering culture led to significant accomplishments.
Leaving GitHub for New Challenges at Sanity
Rachel's departure from GitHub reflects a shift due to reduced enjoyment in her role as the company grew. The decision to join Sanity, a growth-stage startup, stemmed from the desire to embark on a new entrepreneurial journey, work closely with a talented team, and leverage her vast experience to contribute meaningfully to an agile and focused environment.
Today's guest is Rachel Potvin.
Rachel is SVP of Engineering at Sanity, ex-VP of Engineering at Github, and previously worked at Google and Ubisoft. She has had an incredible career journey and is a world renowned speaker.
With Rachel we talked about her journey across what feels like different generations of companies. We talked about scaling teams, challenges, lessons learned and the great work she's doing at Sanity right now.
Here is what we talked about:
(01:37) Introduction
(02:39) Rachel's journey at Google
(08:06) From Google to GitHub
(14:29) Building healthy engineering culture
(18:56) GitHub growth & hiring
(21:44) Rachel's career at Sanity
(26:21) Being a VP in Big tech
(29:36) The road to "Sanity"
(28:17) Startup planning
(39:22) The fun factor
(40:51) Adapting your experience to a new journey
(47:13) Startup focus vs Big tech focus
(49:13) Top-down strategy is good
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For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, or appearing as a guest, email: luca@refactoring.club