First 90 Days: A Reflection on My First 90 Days at Henry Meds
As I wrap up my first three months at Henry Meds, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what I've learned, the challenges I've faced, and what I hope to achieve in the coming months. It's been an incredible experience so far as a Senior Frontend Software Engineer, and though working at a fast-growing startup has its unique challenges, the opportunities have been just as rewarding.
The Growth of Henry Meds
In just a short period, Henry Meds has grown from a small 30-person startup to a company of over 600 employees. Our user base has exploded, particularly due to the growing demand for weight loss medications in America. This trend has not only driven business expansion but also the scaling of our internal teams—most notably our engineering and customer care divisions. Today, our engineering team has grown to 60-70 people spread across various positions and specialties.
With this growth, however, comes a host of challenges. More people should mean more resources and more oversight, but, ironically, we're still facing some of the same issues we encountered when the company was much smaller.
Challenges in a Fast-Growing Startup
The biggest challenge I've noticed so far is the speed at which we are moving. The need to get features and fixes out quickly often outweighs the need for thorough due diligence. While we have more eyes on the code, there’s still a tendency to rush releases, which can result in scrappy, temporary fixes. This rush sometimes leads to small, lingering issues that require constant patchwork, creating technical debt that will need to be addressed sooner or later.
Another challenge has been the long chain of command. With the company growing so quickly, decisions often need to pass through multiple layers of approval, which slows down the entire process. This is particularly frustrating when the company is remote, and collaboration can already be a challenge. Sometimes, in smaller teams, people hesitate to make the final call, leading to more delays.
The fact that we are often working in silos exacerbates the problem. While we do have meetings, they’re not always well-structured, and there’s rarely enough time for in-depth collaboration. This is something I hope we can improve as we continue to scale.
Autonomy and Forging My Own Path
One of the things I value most about working at Henry Meds is the flexibility and autonomy that come with a remote-first environment. I have the freedom to manage my working hours and decide when to ship code. I’m empowered to create, make decisions, and voice my opinions on projects, which has been a breath of fresh air compared to some previous roles where processes were far more rigid.
However, with this autonomy comes the need to forge your own path. If you want to move forward or get promoted, it’s up to you to push for it. You need to be proactive in advocating for yourself, your ideas, and your career. If you don’t, you might find yourself overlooked. For me, this has been a valuable lesson in not waiting for opportunities but creating them.
Major Milestones: Refactoring the Engagement Platform
One of my proudest accomplishments so far has been working on a team of three engineers to refactor our team’s app, the Engagement Platform. This was no small feat—it involved untangling a lot of legacy code and rewriting logic without breaking existing functionality. Anyone who has dealt with legacy systems knows how challenging it can be to refactor without inadvertently introducing new bugs. In fact, much of the process involved copying and pasting code only to discover that certain bugs had existed for far longer than we realized.
Even after launch, we’re still working through some of these issues, but it’s been a rewarding experience nonetheless. The refactor has given me valuable insights into the complexities of dealing with older codebases and how to improve processes moving forward.
Tackling Customer Issues and Improving User Experience
Another critical area where I’ve spent considerable time is troubleshooting common customer issues. Many of the problems we encounter stem from account mismatches, database syncing errors, and general user mistakes like signing up with different emails. Learning how to address these issues effectively has been a great way to familiarize myself with our systems from both a technical and customer-facing perspective.
Looking ahead, I’m excited to build features that will enhance our user experience and hopefully reduce these types of recurring issues.
The Road Ahead: Focus on the Customer Journey
As I move into my next phase at Henry Meds, my focus will shift to improving the customer journey. I’m eager to build a feature that will have a meaningful impact on how users interact with our product on a daily basis. I also hope to measure this impact through hard data, which will allow us to iterate and make continuous improvements based on real-world usage.
In terms of personal growth, my goal by the end of the year is to start moving toward the managerial path. There’s still so much I can learn before taking on the full responsibility of managing a team, but I’m looking forward to gaining those skills and preparing for that transition in the future.
Final Thoughts
Overall, my experience at Henry Meds has been both challenging and rewarding. Startups can be chaotic, especially when they’re growing as quickly as we are, but the opportunities for impact are enormous. I’m looking forward to seeing where the next three months take me and how I can continue to contribute to both the product and the team.
Thanks for reading! If you’re interested in learning more about my work at Henry Meds or if you have any questions about scaling a product, feel free to reach out!