In 2014, Google rejected me. Best thing that ever happened.

They flew me to the Bay Area for final interviews.

I was hopeful.

Five interviews later: rejected.

I was devastated.

Thought that chapter was closed forever.

So I joined a startup called Kevy as the 4th engineer.

Became Director of Engineering. Then CTO.

2016: I acquired the company.

For the next three years, I wore every hat: CEO, sales, product, customer support. Crafting my pitch based on who I was speaking to—B2B sales required it.

Technical depth. Sales ability. Grit to solve messy problems. I didn't realize I was building the exact skills Google would later need.

2019: While running Kevy, I applied to Google again.

This time I got the offer.

The role: Customer Engineering. In 2014, that role didn't even exist. And Google wasn't scaling engineering teams in Atlanta yet.

Three years as a Customer Engineer.

2022: Google's Atlanta engineering team was scaling. They needed a Software Engineering Manager. Three more interviews. I got it.

2014: Rejected as a Software Engineer. By 2022, I ended up leading them.

In 2014, three things weren't aligned:

The role didn't exist. The Atlanta office wasn't scaling yet. I wasn't ready.

By 2019, all three aligned. And by 2022, I was leading a Google engineering team I once wanted to join.

Your path is not a straight line. There will be starts, stops, rejections, and in my case, detours.

Timing matters.

Sometimes the "no" is preparing you for the perfect "yes."

What rejection later became your biggest opportunity?

Originally posted on LinkedIn with #CareerJourney #Rejection #Google