The Art of Knowing When to Walk Away — Mike Rome Talks Tough Career Choices
From getting fired at his first job to becoming a CMO of a 7 figure startup.
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“I went in as VP of growth, and ended up becoming CMO,” says Mike Rome. “We went from seven figures to about $55 million in five years. I couldn’t ask for anything else in my career.
But I had this itch… I think I need to leave.”
Before Mike launched Moonwater — a one-person growth studio where he offers fractional CMO, CGO, and advisory services for startups — he made the scary decision to leave a job where things were going really well.
Nothing was wrong. He was succeeding in his role, and the startup was growing well. But Mike felt like he’d learned what he set out to learn, and (more importantly) realized what he liked doing best. And this wasn’t it.
“It was wonderful, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do long term.”
“The playbooks to go from A to B, and then B to C, and then C onward are totally different,” Mike says. “Most people are afraid to admit they can’t be great at every playbook. But admitting that is a total career unlock because once you make peace with the fact that you’re no longer the best person for the job, you can ask yourself what job are you the best person for — and then you can go and bet your career on that.”
This was just one of the career pivot points Mike shared. As he says, “I've made a lot of mistakes in my career, but getting comfortable being uncomfortable wasn’t one of them.” A few of the other uncomfortable moments Mike talked about include:
Emailing — when he was young and dumb — some unsolicited advice to his two bosses, who responded by telling him not to come in anymore
Bailing out only six weeks into his stint as CGO at an early stage startup (after letting a good offer cloud his judgment)
Taking a leap of faith to launch his own business, even though his wife wasn’t working at the time
Watch or listen below 👇
Things to listen for:
[01:18] Zigging while others were zagging
[08:07] Being told “don’t come back to work” by his bosses
[12:26] Mike’s REAL growth experience
[16:16] Getting comfortable being uncomfortable has never been a challenge
[21:56] Becoming CMO at a 7 figure company and realizing it’s not the right fit
[33:52] Playing the long game and expanding his network
[36:27] Take a leap of faith (when his wife wasn’t working)
[40:15] Sumo wrestling and burrito eating contests at work
[41:29] Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, calls Mike’s phone in the middle of a work meeting
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