Chill Labs is a boutique consultancy helping companies think strategically, solve business problems, and streamline operations utilizing Product Management, Software Engineering principles and AI. Combining a decade of experience running complex, globally distributed software products with expertise in product discovery, user research, and strategy, Chill Labs helps companies build products that users want and do so in a way that supports growth and scale. Dina Levitan, Founder and Principal at Chill Labs, based out of Seattle, WA, brings over 15 years of experience as a product and technical leader ranging from startups to companies like Google.
I had to choose between my kid and my work
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Hi Reader, My first child was born at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Those first postpartum months were isolating. Every exposure meant ten days home from daycare, and it didn't take long to feel how incompatible that was with a full-time role, and how much it strained our whole family every time someone had to drop everything and take off work. It started to feel wrong that I had to choose between being there for my kid and doing work I cared about. By then I'd been in the workforce 10 years, 7 of them at Google, so the expertise was there. What wasn't there was a way to use it that fit my life. When my last full-time role ended in late 2021, I couldn't picture going back. The office, the commute, the fixed hours. I founded Chill Labs in early 2022. If you ask me how it got going, the honest answer is that it took time. I got my start doing independent client work through Product Science Group, which showed me this way of working was possible. Partnering with others got me reps and real experience, but I wasn't building my own brand yet. That's the muscle I was missing: experimenting, building a pipeline, sharing my point of view in public. I'd assumed the work would speak for itself. It doesn't, not at the start. What I have now is this. When I'm inspired, I go all in. When it's the start of the school year, I arrange the work around being home. Choosing between my life and my business doesn't feel like an either/or anymore. I prioritize in seasons and make room for both. That's what "Automate Yourself" means to me: automate the toil so you can live your life. I know a lot of talented people who climbed the ladder, plenty of them to the top, and aren't lit up anymore. There's another way, working for yourself with the expertise you already have. The heavy lifting upfront is significant. What's on the other side is a lot more control over your own time, which matters even more for moms and anyone carrying long-term caregiving. I'd like more of you to experience that. It's why I've started coaching people in this exact spot. This October I'm opening a few 30-minute conversations: where you are, what you're weighing, whether some version of this fits your life. If that's you, pick a time here: https://calendly.com/dinalev/30min Let's Chillaborate, Dina Founder, Chill Labs PS: If it's not your season but someone came to mind while you read this, forward it their way. 💙 |
Chill Labs
Chill Labs is a boutique consultancy helping companies think strategically, solve business problems, and streamline operations utilizing Product Management, Software Engineering principles and AI. Combining a decade of experience running complex, globally distributed software products with expertise in product discovery, user research, and strategy, Chill Labs helps companies build products that users want and do so in a way that supports growth and scale. Dina Levitan, Founder and Principal at Chill Labs, based out of Seattle, WA, brings over 15 years of experience as a product and technical leader ranging from startups to companies like Google.
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