The Hardest Lesson of Them All

In the past several months, we have faced two headwinds—a tech recession and AI work substitution. The result has been a significant drop in our client hours, meaning we could no longer support all of our Odettians with enough work. We made the challenging decision to invest in the skills of the future and to prioritize our top freelancers who could get us there. We had to let go of some Odettians who had truly dedicated their hearts and souls to us, and it was heart-wrenchingc. This was one of the most punishing and challenging moments for me as a leader. While this was required for our next phase of growth, this conviction did not make it any easier to do.