Happy Father’s Day from Bluevine!
This year, we’re celebrating Father’s Day weekend with a special feature from the Bluevine family.
We asked some of the women on our team to share their stories about their fathers and to reflect on the question: “What was the best career advice your dad ever gave you?”
Molly Orsborn
Business Development & Partnership Manager
“My dad has had an incredibly successful career in the tech world, so whenever I am facing a big professional decision, he’s the first person I turn to for advice. A few years ago, I was trying to decide whether or not to leave an established 45,000 person company for a less established, but growing, 55 person company.
“I remember my dad telling me that there would always be hard choices and risks I’d have to weigh throughout my career. He told me to take my time and be thoughtful about a decision, and once I had decided whether or not to take the new job, I needed to own my decision, put my all into it, and not look back. He reminded me that whichever option I chose, there would be hard things along the way that would make me question whether I had made the right choice. But once a decision is made, I needed to run with and not lose focus by dwelling on what could have been.”
Katherine Li
Head of Product Marketing
“My father always taught me to mind the small stuff. If there was even one extra space in my homework, he would ask me to fix it. Even though it felt tedious at the time, now that I’m further along in my career, I understand just how important my dad’s advice was. I’ve seen that going the extra mile to be attentive to details can go a long way in making something successful.”
Ashley Caldwell
Assistant General Counsel
“There is no substitute for hard work. Talent is a gift, but to be the very best, talent must be met with hard work. You may see someone’s accomplishment and think success has come easy for that individual; however, you likely did not see the many hours of hard work that went into the preparation to make that success possible.”
Pooja Elhance
Senior Manager, Compliance
“I have always admired my father for his balanced and positive attitude towards life both on the personal and professional fronts. He always focused on solutions and making the best of any situation. I remember he spent his time and energy on things that were in his control (“circle of influence”) and worry less about what was outside his power (“circle of concern”). This invariably resulted in productive outcomes. I have learned to have a solution-oriented mindset and to be an optimistic person from my father. I look up to him and turn to him for quick pep talks to this day!”
Ana Sirbu
Chief Financial Officer
“My father is absolutely academically brilliant, so there was always a big focus in making sure that ahead of everything else, one must fully understand the facts and questions at hand, and then be able to problem solve creatively and as succinctly as possible; this is not a muscle that develops over night, but with significant practice and a deliberate approach. My father has also continuously been a strong proponent from early childhood into adulthood on making sure that any project one starts is finished, I find that persistence is often a key ingredient in life!”
