1 year at Vercel

They say time flies when you’re having fun. But what do you call it when time moves at turbo speed? Whatever that feeling is, that’s how I’d describe my first year at Vercel.

It feels funny writing that I’ve only been here a year, because it genuinely feels like so much more. That’s the magic of Vercel: you hit the ground running and suddenly, you’re immersed in an environment that’s fast-paced, ambitious, and energising.

Before joining Vercel, I was a big fan of Next.js. I used it exclusively for all my projects and advocated for using it at every possible opportunity. Back in 2021, I won a mug from a community contest run by Lee which I still use! And in 2023, I gave a virtual talk at Next.js Conf.

By the time Scott and I reconnected last May for this Community role, I knew it was going to be quite the ride.

I was right!

Over the past 12 months, I’ve shipped some of my best work to date, unlocked incredible opportunities and most importantly, I’m having the time of my life doing it.

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Highlights

1. Shipping the Vercel Community

My first challenge at Vercel was to get our project shipping our new community platform over the line. We were transitioning from GitHub Discussions to a dedicated space where we fully owned and operated the community experience.

Amy had already laid down the solid foundation which made it easy for me to jump in and provide the final push: gathering feedback, shipping improvements, and rallying excitement around the launch during our internal Demo Days.

When we finally launched, it was so exciting to see a wave of community members migrate over and immediately begin engaging.

Since then, the platform has 10x our community base.

We’ve shipped UI improvements, experimented with AI, have brought our community to life with live sessions alongside our customers and users, improving our internal <> external flows, and are continuously evolving the platform into something we’re really proud of.

This isn’t just a public helpdesk, but a community experience for everyone: customers and Vercelians alike! 🫡

2. Building the Community Team

Out of all of the projects I’ve shipped or been a part of, the one I’m proudest of has to be building this Community Team.

After seven months, I moved to Team Lead and doubled the team, onboarding two of the best talents in the community space: Anshuman and Jacob.

It’s been a joy building alongside everyone in the team, to set standards in how we work, both our internal and external culture and iterate to greatness towards our mission of creating a space for our customers to become Vercel Experts.

In my last post, I shared more about how I create more leaders in the team, and this will continue to be my philosophy as we continue to grow the team, as the community does as well.

3. Attending two off-sites

Being a remote company, I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of time face-to-face with everyone at Vercel within the past 12 months. Back in September, I visited Sonoma for our GTM off-site, and in March, we were in Monterey for our company-wide off-site.

Both had so many highlights, which I go into in previous posts, but I have to say that the one I’d probably never forget is emceeing alongside Greta in front of 500~ Vercelians.

For those who have known me for a while, being an emcee or hosting in general is one of my favourite activities. I’ve been tweeting about it for years, and I do stand-up comedy sometimes. So, having opportunities open up to get on stage to do this is always such a blast.

It wasn’t just about emceeing but getting to represent my team at every opportunity and bring our customers to the forefront of company thinking was a big win.

Oh, and coming home with two Vercel Value awards was a bonus!

And finally, having the chance to travel to the US and fall in love with California… Blessed! 🫶

4. Meeting our community IRL

Flying to New York earlier this year to attend one of our Vercel Community meet-ups organised by Kap was certainly a highlight. It was the first time I really got face-to-face time with our community, customers and superfans.

I’ve had experience of meeting community from other gigs, but it really is something else for a brand as well-known as Vercel: the sheer scale and excitement were honestly so electric to witness.

In April, I hosted a meet-up in London for our Vercel Community and felt the same unmatched vibes. Since then, I’ve been bullish on keeping the same vibe in our online spaces. Mostly by funnelling people back into our dedicated community space and bridging both experiences together in truest community spirit possible.

Bottom line is: we’re building one of the best communities out there.

5. Working with the most cracked team

I think that a reason it feels like I’ve been here for longer than I actually have is truly because of the people.

I’m lucky that in a role like community, I get to work cross-functionally with everyone across the organisation. So I’m in this constant state of learning and asking silly questions with some of the smartest in the game.

A big shoutout to Matthew, Scott, Amy, Anshuman, Jacob, Sam, Kap, Alli, Riz, and Paul just to name a few. I’m so lucky to work with you all!

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I’m doing the best work of my life

Last May, I announced that I was laid off by a company I gave my all to. I was sad to part ways with the team and community I’d built brick by brick.

When these things happen, because they always will, it can be tough to get back up. Naturally, I was deflated because I wasn’t sure if I could start again. I honestly thought that this was the team and product I’d get behind, until it either went up the rocketship or sank.

The opportunity at Vercel came at the right time. When I thought I personally couldn’t do better in my role, ship better projects, build even more talented teams, I proved myself wrong every single time.

I won’t discredit my own hard work in this, because if you’ve worked with me, you know I just can’t stop. 😆

With that said, I do have to give a huge thank you to my team and Vercel for allowing me to do the best work of my life.

I’m ridiculously excited for what’s ahead, especially in the Community. We’re only just getting started.

Here’s to year two! 💜

(We’re hiring btw 😀)