For Derrick
In 2018, I had a very vivid dream that Derrick was trying to hire a hitman to kill me. In the dream, I was working and he accidentally forwarded me an email chain (which in retrospect, very sloppy) with said hitman who was in Raleigh but having a lot of trouble finding my apartment. I could tell from the messages, that this was all very frustrating for Dream Derrick.
At the time, I was a year and a half, maybe two years into my time at Vanilla, so it was all very intense. I remember in the dream that I told Laura about the plot (this was before Vanilla had an HR department) and she did not seem to care and said that I could tell @Tim if I wanted.
I've always worked remotely but by that time in 2018, I had been in enough Team Awesome meetings and to Montreal at least twice, so I knew that Derrick was actually super nice and would definitely-probably never hire a Craigslist assassin to take me out.
Now, after a solid decade of building up Vanilla, he's about to take off on a new professional adventure.
Derrick, I've learned a lot from you over the last five or six years (what is time?). I am both devastated to see you go and psyched to see you dive into new exciting opportunities. You've seen this company from it's infancy to taking on colossal clients like Oracle and finally to it's current partnership with Higher Logic. Vanilla would not be what it is without the work you put in over the last 10+ years.
We will all miss your expertise when we needed help, your friendliness when it was time to put work to the side and the very distinct (slightly ominous) way that you say 'Curious.'
Wishing you the absolute best!
Comments
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Derrick, you'll forever be stickers on my laptop. Who could ever forget this gem? Seriously, tho, I know you'll kick ass in your new gig. See you around the bend!
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@Andrew_D what a fantastic tribute to @Derrick. It's an end of the era for sure. Derrick started only a couple of months before me - I think April 2013. There we were in a small office on McGill, over a "tanning salon" for models, and huge dog leaving a mess in the hallway.
As Vanilla grew, we quickly ran out of space, and soon Derrick and I were sharing a desk. I think at one point, three of us were sharing one of those black tables.
Eventually we got another floor, and we just kept growing, until we ended up on St-Jacques, still near our fave haunt of Victoria Pub.
The years really flew by and Derrick is a big part of Vanilla's success. I know where-ever you go you'll absolutely kill it.
I wish you all the success you deserve. Thanks for being such an amazing person to work with and friend.
Best of luck in your new adventures o/
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I concur that Derrick definitely-probably would not hire an assassin to "take you out". Your paranoid sub-conscious twisted the more likely scenario that if Derrick ever made it to Raleigh he would have "taken you out" for a drink. That's the kind of guy Derrick is.
I'm going to miss you, too, Derrick. You are rare specimen of a person who brings people together, who exhibits great grace under pressure, and who is able to be very "business" without giving up your humanity.
I can't wait to see the impact you will have in your professional and personal life in the future. You absolutely have to stay in touch!
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We will miss you @Derrick!
You were such a great manager, I can't imagine getting through the first few months of learning Vanilla without your calm and motivating presence. Thank you for all of your patience and positivity, never getting fed up with my million questions and concerns.
Good luck with your new job, and see you at the next après golf BBQ!
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Dear Derz of the Derzy Shore,
If it weren't for you I wouldn't have made that switch from my old job to Vanilla over 5 years ago. Obviously that's had a tremendous impact on my professional life and I often say joining Vanilla was probably one of the better decisions I've made.
I recall us being somewhat nervous about how it would effect our friendship with you being the boss but I think we made it work for those 2 years as best as people reasonably could. Maybe it's not that weird - I imagine a lot of the CSMs who worked for you would have no problem calling you a friend as well and that's probably why you've been a great manager.
Always reasonable, easy going and calm even hand when everything around working at a startup with 25 people or so when I joined was pretty crazy and we were flying by the seat of our pants. Cheers to the best wedding MC, the slurmiest hands and most of all a great friend. Best of luck at your new gig!
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Derzy,
I can clearly remember the first few times we spoke about this job, and the first time we actually met to discuss it. We met at the Java-U down the street from our office on McGill and you were very skeptical about our ragtag group (don't blame you, our office was above a depanneur...) . Luckily for us, you allowed your arm to be twisted and very soon you were checking of Vanilla "firsts" left, right and center. First CSM, first employee with a "Live Laugh Love" tattoo, all the good stuff.
One of our first (THE first?) Vanilla game evenings. What was that strange robot game called?
As our first CSM, you not only shaped the idea of customer experience at Vanilla, you blazed the trail for everyone that came after you. You encountered all the problems first, solved them, and got to bask in that sweet sweet glory (known to some as "renewal commission") when your plans succeeded. Our customers came to value your support and guidance, and you represented and guarded their interests at all times.
In hindsight it's clear that much of what formed Vanilla's core culture came from things that began with you in some way or another. You were there when we assembled the first ping pong table, and when a certain someone crashed through the drywall while "playing" on it...
I have no idea what's going on here, but those are some sweet shades man.
Speaking of traditions, I think it's fair to say that every TV hung on a wall in a Vanilla office is there in part because of you. Almost all the decals on the walls and a sizeable majority of the furniture (IKEA should have a rewards program) exist thanks to your blood sweat and hipster tears. You developed a reputation as someone that we could all rely on to pitch in and help whenever something needed to be done, regardless of whether it was part of your responsibilities.
Casually lecturing the CEO: "NFTs are the future, I can't help it if you don't get it... boomer"
Derrick, you've been someone that made Vanilla better every day through your diligent work, fantastic attitude, friendly smile, and freakishly accurate rubber band shots. I'm so glad that you were part of this amazing journey and I'm excited for you to start another one. Wherever you're going, they're lucky to have you.
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@Derrick Thank you for letting me join "the club"!
I still remember when you interviewed me, I wasn't sure if I made it or not because you are just one of the nicest that one could ever be as an interviewer. I thought you are just being nice because you will eventually tell me that I didn't make it. It turns out you are genuinely nice ?
I've mentioned this to you many times when I knew you were leaving, it will never be the same without you.
No doubt you'll do great where you're going.
Don't be a stranger ❤️
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DUNK!
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We talked about this on our final 1-on-1 this week already but I wouldn't be where I am today in life without you. That fateful interview during a much milder and calmer time in October 2018 changed my life.
I left my then girlfriend (now wife) sitting in the passenger seat of my illegally parked manual car which she couldn't drive, right in front of the office while we chatted for over the scheduled time.
By the time I had driven 3.5hrs back home to Ontario you had sent over the offer and the rest is as we know it.
You've supported me unconditionally through the easy customers and the hard customers that took 1.5 years to launch with weekly 9/10pm calls. You helped me grow professionally and personally and I will forever be grateful for that.
You've been the best leader I have had in my professional career, and I wish you nothing but the best.
Thank you.
Richard
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Still has few thing to learn about bull riding though ?
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Thank you all for these kind words. I am truly touched by all this.
@Andrew_D thanks for putting this together. I think this might be enough to call off that hitman. Although these pictures are making me relive the slow death of my hair...
This has been an amazing 9 years for me and I'm proud of everything we have accomplished together. Vanilla has been the highlight of my professional career, but it's the people that have made this a really special place to work. We've all grown a lot together and hopefully made some fun memories along the way.
I'm not sure what else to say. For once in my life I think I'm at a loss for words.
Thank you all! I hope our paths cross again soon.
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