greg fitz

pragmatic optimist • growth & product marketing • jersey diners, urbanism, cartoons, springsteen

[jack @jack]

we're making @blocks smaller today. here's my note to the company.

####

today we're making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we're reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are being asked to leave or entering into consultation. i'll be straight about what's happening, why, and what it means for everyone.

first off, if you're one of the people affected, you'll receive your salary for 20 weeks + 1 week per year of tenure, equity vested through the end of may, 6 months of health care, your corporate devices, and $5,000 to put toward whatever you need to help you in this transition (if you’re outside the U.S. you’ll receive similar support but exact details are going to vary based on local requirements). i want you to know that before anything else. everyone will be notified today, whether you're being asked to leave, entering consultation, or asked to stay.

we're not making this decision because we're in trouble. our business is strong. gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. but something has changed. we're already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company. and that's accelerating rapidly.

i had two options: cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out, or be honest about where we are and act on it now. i chose the latter. repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead. i'd rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a slow reduction of people toward the same outcome. a smaller company also gives us the space to grow our business the right way, on our own terms, instead of constantly reacting to market pressures.

a decision at this scale carries risk. but so does standing still. we've done a full review to determine the roles and people we require to reliably grow the business from here, and we've pressure-tested those decisions from multiple angles. i accept that we may have gotten some of them wrong, and we've built in flexibility to account for that, and do the right thing for our customers.

we're not going to just disappear people from slack and email and pretend they were never here. communication channels will stay open through thursday evening (pacific) so everyone can say goodbye properly, and share whatever you wish. i'll also be hosting a live video session to thank everyone at 3:35pm pacific. i know doing it this way might feel awkward. i'd rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold.

to those of you leaving…i’m grateful for you, and i’m sorry to put you through this. you built what this company is today. that's a fact that i'll honor forever. this decision is not a reflection of what you contributed. you will be a great contributor to any organization going forward.

to those staying…i made this decision, and i'll own it. what i'm asking of you is to build with me. we're going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do. how we work, how we create, how we serve our customers. our customers will feel this shift too, and we're going to help them navigate it: towards a future where they can build their own features directly, composed of our capabilities and served through our interfaces. that's what i'm focused on now. expect a note from me tomorrow.

jack

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@MarcusT788 @ramit NYC has been gaining millionaire households and losing middle class ones, according to data from the end of 2023.

https://t.co/9Txg3AqeXS

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@GuyTalksFinance cash app for purchase -> bitkey hardware wallet for storage

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@lindsaystamp3 join us @blocks

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@sircalebhammer @ramit help him out here

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@realEstateTrent nyc ranked #60 in violent crime rate and #96 in property crime.

https://t.co/wN8jNK3WHm

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@JessicaTarlov — love you but I can’t allow the Red Bank NJ slander on raging moderates with @profgalloway

proud blue stronghold in monmouth county and has been forever

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@BarbellFi No 🙂

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@iamtherog saw the :10 or :15 cutdown of this ad so many times and was so confused that I sought out the actual :60 version that sort of explains the “suits reunion” bit up top.

still wildly presumptive of them to assume more than 1% would recognize these dudes

https://t.co/yBPRifN2hX

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@upzonenj Jersey to Brooklyn direct line would be a game changer

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@DeadBankRising people inexplicably confused about where this lot is or whether it aligns with the plan drawing— this angle might help you understand

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@NielsHoven haven’t seen it mentioned yet that the sheep is almost identical to a main character from Zootopia?

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@ramit this person and people like them— they don’t understand the inflation-adjusted return rate and at this point I’m convinced they don’t want to

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@rrhoover got one to use while marathon training so I could have music + contact during long runs while leaving phone behind. have now mostly stopped using it other than during the odd workout or sleep where I want heart rate data.

more of a distraction than help for daily use

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@moseskagan court and smith streets in cobble hill/carroll gardens to get a taste of prime brownstone Brooklyn

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@Srirachachau

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@farazamiruddin @realEstateTrent Pick a station on NJ transit or Metro North <1 hour ride from NYC and 85% of them are surrounded by walkable suburbs.

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@farazamiruddin @realEstateTrent

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@visionbyjg @nikitabier

[greg fitz @gregmfitz]

@90sManiax pokemon (98) and crystal pepsi (94) never overlapped in the US