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Joe is a Seattle-based startup and corporate attorney, and has worked primarily with early-stage growth companies since the late 1990s. He’s also the author of the brand new book Angel Investing: Start to Finish, published by Holloway. In this interview, we discussed how he found a career that makes him happy, how you can find a career that makes you happy, and lots more. Here’s Joe’s story…

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On his career path:

• Took the bar exam in 1994, then worked for a Division 2 Court of Appeals judge in Washington state for a year
• Afterward, went to NYU for a Masters in Tax Law program
• Entered the workforce during a difficult time in the legal field, and wound up back in Seattle working as a tax consultant at Arthur Andersen
  • Was a little panicked, as his starting salary was around $30k/year and he had student loans to repay
  • Thought tax would be a good field to work in because there will always be taxes
  • Felt like if he would have stayed at Arthur Andersen he would have learned more and more about less and less, until he eventually became the national expert in some obscure field.
• Wanted to develop a broader skillset and make more money so he found a job with a law firm
  • Then he felt that what he was doing was too broad
• Eventually, the person that hired him left for a different firm less than a year after Joe started working at the firm and invited Joe to come with
  • Followed him and began working with a lawyer that was widely perceived as the “smartest person in the law firm”
    • Decided to try to stick himself to the super-smart lawyer and try to learn as much as possible from him

On transitioning from associate to partner:

• Things don’t change as much as you’d think – you still have to work every day
  • It’s kind of like winning a pie-eating contest and getting more pie
• Eventually, you can gain more autonomy

On mentorship:

• In the law, you go to school for a really long time and at the end, you still don’t know anything
• It took him years to figure out what he was doing, and the only way he thinks he was able to, was by latching on to people who were patient enough to teach him
  • Being willing to ask for help was important
    • BUT you also have to do the research, read the books, and try to do it yourself first

On relationship building:

• You want to be having the right conversations with the right people
• Find people you learn from and that bring something different to the game than you
  • One idea is instead of trying to shore up your weaknesses, double down on developing your strengths and then surround yourself with people whose strengths are your weaknesses
• Relationships bring happiness and meaning to your life
• Don’t put too much pressure on yourself – if you’re facing the right direction, all you have to do is keep going
  • “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” – Bill Gates
  • Be patient with yourself and those around you – there’s nothing wrong with being a person that takes their time with things
• If you do good things for others and try to help people, they will do good things for you and try to help you
  • Often times you don’t even have to ask at all – just help people and don’t worry about it
• Have faith that if you do some really simple, basic things it’s going to be okay

On finding a career that makes you happy:

• First, don’t worry if you don’t like your job – it happens!
• Writing & collaborative writing is great
  • Write about what you want to do and the field you want to work in
• Public speaking can also be a great tool
• You have to keep doing things and don’t give up hope
  • You’re on the battlefield and you’re a warrior and you’re not going to quit until you win
    • You’re going to win – it’s just a matter of time

Following and supporting Joe:

• Check out his book: Angel Investing: Start to Finish
• Follow him on Twitter: @JoeWallin
• Connect with him on LinkedIn

 

 

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