A fond farewell: reflections on building the Analytics dream team @ Blue Apron

Today, I announced to my team that I am leaving Blue Apron. While I’ve been contemplating this change for some time now, it was still heart-wrenching to deliver the news. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to keep my composure, so I prepared written remarks in advance. For those interested in my reflections on building the team, my parting words are below.

I’ve been writing this down in my head for a few days now, but only half of me believes that the day has arrived. I’m leaving Blue Apron. Next Friday will be my last day.

Believe it or not, there have been 23 full- and part-time members of the Analytics team over the past 3 years. Every single one of you has educated me, challenged me, and improved me. While there are many things I’ll miss about Blue Apron — but let’s be honest, not the bathrooms at 40 W 23rd St—there’s no question in my mind that what I’ll miss the most is our team.

I’m not a big fan of calling a team “a family” because it implies over-looking people’s faults — and, you know, unconditional love. I like you all, but do I love you all? IDK. Jury’s out. But I also don’t love the lack of emotion in Netflix’s “professional sports team” metaphor, because it’s transactional and doesn’t reflect the intangibles of working at mission-driven start-up. So I’ve been thinking a lot lately about one last metaphor — a metaphor for our team that describes how we managed to stay so close while leaning into the grind and striving for excellence.

As I’m sure you know, I used to be a spin instructor (yes, there’s a video and no, I won’t show it to you), and I got a Peloton recently. So the idea of a “peloton” is salient for me, and I think it’s a fitting metaphor for our team. For those of you that don’t know, a peloton is a pack of cyclists who are clustered strategically together. Everyone goes faster by riding close together. But, it’s super complicated. As Wikipedia puts it,

“Exploitation of this potential energy saving leads to very complex cooperative and competitive interactions between riders and teams in race tactics.”

In other words, it’s super complicated AND there are winners and losers determined by the intricate machinations of individuals and teams. My point is this: a well-coordinated group advances further faster, like we have.

Even though not every one here has met the members of the Analytics Peloton, I wanted to thank everyone for their contributions. Specifically, I want to thank…

{Note: to respect privacy of all team members, I’ve replaced names w/ initials}

• MM, for her tireless work ethic, lack of ego, and brave opinions. She was an amazing hire that I can take no credit for, and set the tone for our team before it even existed.
• VP, for being effortlessly cool yet shockingly humble. His individualism showed the team that it was cool to be yourself, and ok to be different.
• BR, for being the heart of our team who ensured that no member was left behind. Some of you may not know this, but in the early days, Brian kept a tracker for the Muscle Man trophy. He wanted to make sure that everyone on the team was getting recognized. I hope you keep the tradition going.
• HL, for being both brilliant and a hustler. And hustle he did.
• LW, for building bridges instead of walls and being the glue that holds us together. Also, for being “the funniest member of the team” (debatable, but I’ll allow it).
• RR, for taking individualism to a whole new level, and for parlaying her passion for math into a tool that made data useful and accessible to artists.
• MK, for, quite simply, being my mini-me.
• VG, for her giving spirit, lack of ego, and providing comic relief to the group. Also, for her occasional teary outbursts over office snacks.
• AK, for setting the bar high for the business value that can be provided by interns (even if they don’t accept your job offer a year later)
• DV, for voluntarily introducing himself as “Intern DV”
• MW, for being one of the most intense and driven people I have ever met, but also one of the most altruistic and kind-hearted.
• PLS, for explaining to me that France is a “leisurely country,” and using his “leisurely” vibes to calm even the most fraught relationships.
• JL, for living her life with principle, loving dogs just as much as me, and telling me “her-roe” like King Jong Il in Team America:World Police — a reference which she almost certainly will not understand, and absolutely should not look up.
• EK, for thinking more quickly and speaking more eloquently about business than I ever could. And, for his occasional tutelage in Hebrew and “how to be an adult” as well as his excellent impressions.
• SM, for Arts and Crafts time, privacy pom-poms, being a purple gusher full of goo, and Making Box Hats Great Again. MBHGA?
• MK II, for explaining to me in great detail what asbestos is (thanks, buddy!), and for embracing what is undoubtedly a very different team from his prior co-workers.
• VB, for helping with “que-ries” and mentoring the team.
• GY, for tolerating our incessant requests to teach us hip hop dance moves, and for explaining to me that being an “Instagram poet” is an actual vocation.
• BB, for cleaning up Simon Data, being Paul’s BFF, attending our team events, and acknowledging the truth — which is that, obviously, our team was the best client she ever had.
• LY, for starting off with the sweetest smile around and then literally allowing us to surround her with more smiles.
• TM, for leaning in to our weirdness, and allowing us to take a team photo with him in a box.
• MR, for his incisive insights into our team, company, and the world — and for taking me to get really good tacos. Hopefully one day, you will serve me one out of a truck — even if it means I have to go to Florida.

You’ll note that there is one person that is missing from this list, and that is PJM. It’s not an exaggeration to say that PJM is a daily inspiration to me. We are very different people, but working side by side with her makes me want to be a better person. More articulate. More collegial. More patient. There could truly be no better person to take on the mantle as Head of Analytics, and I am absolutely certain the team is in good hands.

Finally, I want to thank Ilia for founding the company, and giving me a free hand. While data analytics is rapidly changing , our team is still unorthodox. There must have been some real head-scratchers when job offers crossed his desk: “Hmm…an analyst from gas and oil. And a French computer scientist! Makes sense.”

I want to thank Ilia for his sponsorship of our team, and for understanding that diversity of thought is what makes a sum greater than its parts, especially for an intelligence function. We wouldn’t have been able to build this group without the support of a co-founder who believed in the mission and vision of the team. And while I won’t be here any more, he will be — standing behind you all.

Building this team has been the single accomplishment I’m most proud of in my career, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity. Some of it was hard work, and some of it was blind luck.

It’s scary to set out on my own. Even if my new venture is successful, it will be a long time before I have the momentum (and cash) to build a team like ours again. But I know I won’t be alone. You, and the lessons you taught me, will be with me and instilled in the values that I hope to share at my new company:

• Work hard.
• Be better.
• Embrace difference.
• Stick together.

I know that I am violating the fourth principle, but I hope you’ll let it slide. It has been an honor to work with you all, and I’ll miss you very much.