how to take control of your career before it happens to you

Welcome back to Dear EverMore, and to a whole new year of being authentically ourselves + taking ownership of our career story!

In this episode, Courtney sat down with our cofounder and CTO, Scott Hertel, to walk through his career story — from coming up in the dot com era to becoming a 3x founder, and now part of building EverMore.

This felt especially timely as we kick off 2026. Instead of the antiquated "new year, new you," we're leaning into our "new year, be you" mindset. Scott's story is a masterclass in staying true to yourself while being intentional about where your career goes.

A few things we talk about:

• The dot com crash — tying your identity to your job is a warning sign. Instead, Scott shares advice on how to own your career instead of letting it happen to you.
• Career-as-a-product — keeping it simple, running experiments, acting on feedback, and knowing who to go to for mentorship. Scott shares ways to use the scientific method to find out what excites you and helps you grow.
• Why engineers plan everything except their careers — and why your story (the business impact you've made) matters more than the tech languages you know or what you’ve shipped.

Resources we shared:

• (article) Scott Hertel On Failure, Freedom, and Being a 3x Founder
• (book) The One Thing by Gary Keller
• (book) Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• (app) EverMore as your Career Companion

If you’re looking to take ownership of your career, navigate a transition, or want to be a better leader, EverMore is a space built for reflection, growth, and career storytelling. While we’re in our early beta, we’d love to have you try it out and invite others with your very own referral link 💚

Have a burning question you'd like answered on the pod? We'd love to give you advice! Submit your anonymous question.

Chapters

• 1:09 welcome Scott!
• 7:34 meritocracy at work