Working at Relay feels like, for lack of a better analogy, a bunch of product mercenaries with a shared goal: learning while doing. While we tackle client work and build top-class products we’re also learning every step of the way because learning to grow is why we started Relay in the first place.

Billable client work (the meat and potatoes)

The most important aspect of the agency side of Relay is trading dollars for hours and making really great products. We have so much to learn from the domain experts we work with and also from each other, and there’s no better way to learn than just rolling up our sleeves and doing it. Our teammates are expected to be able to contribute right off the bat in either the design or engineering domains. Whether you’re pushing pixels in Figma or putting fingers to the keyboard in VS Code we want you working directly with clients and producing tangible artifacts. Don’t worry though, we’re not exactly throwing you into the deep end. While you’ll be expected to contribute right away, lots of processes, frameworks, and support systems have been put in place so that you have the context and confidence to do what you do best.

<aside> 💡 What distinguishes full-time vs. part-time here?

Great question. It’s super simple: part-time folks are expected to contribute anywhere between 5-15 hours of billable work per week depending on availability. On the other hand, full-time folks are expected to contribute 24-35 hrs of billable work per week depending on bandwidth needs. The distinction lies in what each party is beholden to. Part-time folks usually have a primary, full-time job that drives their availability, while full-time folks cater their availability to the needs of clients (of course, within reason).

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Goal setting & Internal growth (the seasoning for the meat and potatoes)

On top of executing on client work, our team members also participate in personalized goal setting and developmental learning. Every quarter we set personal goals on a publicized goal board in our team Notion. These goals usually roll up and work towards a larger more nebulous vision (ex: “Becoming a product unicorn that can execute on an idea from end-to-end”). The purpose of the publicizing of goals is two-fold: 1) to speak it into existence and make it tangible for yourself and 2) for you to get an accountability partner. This partner is ideally either already familiar with the skills you’re working on or has a similar goal and the two of you are expected to work together to create structure to help you meet your goal within three months. The medium that you use to execute on these goals is completely up to you. It could be anything from client work to a personal project, as long as it’ll motivate and excite you.

Whether folks stay at Relay forever or go on to do amazing things that better align with their passions, we want team members to look back at their time at Relay and say, “That’s where everything clicked.” If it’s someday working for MAANG, great. If it’s starting your own SaaS company, amazing. We just wanted you to feel well-equipped to tackle whatever’s next.

<aside> 💡 What distinguishes full-time vs. part-time here?

Another good question. While everyone participates in individual goal setting, full-time folks have a bit more investment in the company as an entity, so the founding partners make an effort to include them in company-wide goal setting and process creation.

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Cadences

This is an example of how we put into practice the two large pieces above

• Individual — most of our teammates have their own personal systems, but this is generally how we imagine you jumping into the flow of things.
  • Check Brad Browning’s trademark weekly Relay Monday Digest to get a high-level overview of client work and meetings
  • Check client-specific Slack channels that are relevant to you for any blockers or outstanding items (they usually look like #[insert client name]-gig)
  • Check your Slack DMs to see if anyone needs anything directly from you or is trying to schedule some time to meet
  • Set up recurring 1:1s with your accountability partner to help you progress on your individual goals
• Team — each client we have will have a dedicated team with a product lead (although members may jump around as needed). Since each engagement is unique, be sure to defer to your product lead for the cadence they’ve set:
  • Add relevant meetings (one-off and recurring) to your calendar
  • Attend syncs or synchronous work sessions that you’ve been invited to (usually once-per-week, sometimes daily)
  • Check in to see if anyone is being blocked or needs your help
• Company — there aren’t many company-wide meetings so we try to maximize our time together
  • We have one all-hands meeting per week on Friday at noon where we go over everything relevant to everyone at the company from financial snapshots, to headcount changes, to our sales pipeline, to Relay Chapters (our company-wide goal system).