Story: Leaving Stripe
CoRecursive: Coding Stories
Deep Dive
Why did Jon de la Motte initially fail his first Stripe interview?
Jon de la Motte initially failed his first Stripe interview because he was over-prepared and focused too much on demonstrating high craftsmanship, which led him to perform poorly on the actual interview question.
Why did Jon decide to take the riskier route of joining the new JS Infra team at Stripe?
Jon decided to take the riskier route of joining the new JS Infra team at Stripe because he wanted to try something challenging and different, even though it was more difficult and risky.
What was the major project that Jon worked on that significantly improved his team's performance?
Jon worked on migrating the company's largest JavaScript codebase to a new bundler called Metro, which reduced the development startup time from 15 minutes to 30 seconds, a massive win for the team.
Why did Jon receive a 'partially meets expectations' performance review despite his successful project?
Jon received a 'partially meets expectations' performance review because he struggled with project management and bringing other team members into the project, even though he had a successful project.
What personal crisis did Jon face that led him to seek therapy?
Jon faced a personal crisis when his wife threatened to leave him and take the kids, which led him to seek therapy to address his issues and improve their relationship.
How did therapy help Jon overcome his math anxiety?
Therapy helped Jon overcome his math anxiety by uncovering the root cause—shame and fear from his childhood—and allowing him to relearn and understand math without those emotional barriers.
Why did Jon decide to leave Stripe?
Jon decided to leave Stripe because he was struggling with burnout and realized that his deep-seated issues with work and his father were affecting his mental health and performance.
What did Jon learn about himself through his journey at Stripe and in therapy?
Jon learned that his identity and performance were deeply tied to childhood traumas and family expectations, and that by addressing these issues, he could find a more authentic and fulfilling life.
- Jon's initial motivation was driven by family legacy and professional aspirations.
- He initially prioritized demonstrating high-quality code over problem-solving during interviews.
- He learned that solving the problem quickly is more important than perfect code in tech interviews.
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