“When I left Bain I reached out to a variety of folks… to explore what was out there. I kept in touch with those folks, and made a point to regularly get back in touch with people and see what they’re up to. It was after a meeting like that - we grabbed coffee and didn’t think much of it at the time, but he called me a few weeks later to let me know that Lyft was starting up in Atlanta. It was basically a lightening bolt that made me aware. It appeared and it appeared because I made contacts and maintained them."
– Sam Bond
Sam Bond is a General Manager at Lyft - a company most listeners have probably used for their app which makes it simple for you to find a ride whenever you need one. Although only four years old, Lyft has raised $2B in funding, and has nearly 6k employees listed on LinkedIn. Sam started out at Princeton University and then served as an officer in the Marine Corps for 4 years. After his service, he attended the University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business. He worked in consulting at Bain & Company as a Consultant and then Case Team Leader. He also worked at the Coca-Cola Company - first as a Director Supply Chain Strategy and then as a Group Director of Strategy and Portfolio Management.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
- An overview of the General Manager position at Lyft
- Indications that a veteran may enjoy the role of General Manager, and indications that it might not be a good fit for them
- What it's like to work at an explosively growing startup (and the pros and cons of joining a company on an exponential growth path)
- An overview of entry level positions at Coca-Cola for a newly transitioned veteran
- How Sam looks back on his journey to a role of General Manager
- And much, much more…
Links
- The ride sharing service, Lyft
Show Notes
- 2:23 - Sam's background
- 3:27 - An overview of the General Manager position at Lyft
- 7:27 - Sam's day-to-day life at Lyft
- 11:58 - Indications that a veteran may enjoy the role of General Manager, and indications that it might not be a good fit for them
- 15:00 - What it's like to work at an explosively growing startup (and the pros and cons of joining a company on an exponential growth path)
- 19:20 - Sam's decision to leave the Marine Corps
- 22:05 - Sam's view on an MBA and how essential it is to a veteran aspiring to a General Manager role
- 24:04 - How Sam decided to enter Management Consulting at Bain & Company
- 26:25 - Some of the skills that Sam learned at Bain that have helped him in his role as General Manager
- 29:45 - How Sam's lifestyle changed between a Consultant to a Case Team Leader
- 31:50 - After three years, how Sam transitioned from Bain & Company to Coca-Cola
- 34:50 - An overview of Sam's roles at Coca-Cola
- 38:20 - An overview of entry level positions at Coca-Cola for a newly transitioned veteran
- 41:10 - How Sam transitioned from Coca-Cola to Lyft
- 47:32 - How Sam looks back on his journey to a role of General Manager
- 50:00 - How leadership outside of the military differs from leadership within the military
- 52:20 - Final words of wisdom from Sam