Goodbye, Google

As I sit here to put pen to paper on this post, I’m overwhelmed by all sorts of emotions. Sadness, excitement, fear, gratitude, and so much more. The past 6.5 years have been some of the best, and some of the most trying of my work life, but one thing is for sure, it is damn hard to leave Google.

Sure, there’s the free food, the onsite amenities such as gyms, micro-kitchens, massages, and all those creature comforts that I’ve become so used to. There’s the business class international flights and nice hotels that budgets allow me to have when I travel (which I’ve been fortunate enough to do a lot of on behalf of Google). But it’s the scale of the work and the people I’ve been fortunate to do it with that I will miss the most.

I look back to where I was when I first joined Google and it seems like a lifetime ago. True story: my Google career peaked in month 3 of my short tenure when I had a project earn such high praise it was sent all the way up the chain to Larry Page. It was called the ‘Simple Homepage Test’, but we all called it the SHT test for short. That one project set the tone for the remainder of my time on the Enterprise team (now the Gsuite team) and set me up for much of the success I’ve had internally and externally since then by giving me a platform to build an optimization program on and evangelize about.

Fast forward to 4.5 years ago when I joined the Google Analytics team. I said back then that I’d landed my dream job, building educational materials and advocating on behalf of our users. To this day, I still refer to this role as my dream job. It’s been everything I talked about in that initial post, and so much more. I’ve had the opportunity to write and film 5 Google Analytics Academy courses teaching users about the very beginnings of GA all the way through the most advanced use cases and implementation tactics using Google Tag Manager. I built out multiple YouTube video series to advocate for all of our measurement suite products via Deep-dive trainings and Quick Tips. Louis Gray and I even had a digital marketing YouTube TV-style show called Measure Matters to discuss the latest and greatest in the measurement space. Most recently, I built out a series of ‘Mini-courses’ to cover Google Analytics for Firebase, Google Optimize, and Google Tag Manager and launched those alongside our longer form content on the Analytics Academy site:

This is only a subset of the material I’ve been fortunate enough to work on over the past 4.5 years. I lost count of the number of videos or amount of views all of this adds up to. It’s safe to say it’s a couple hundred videos with millions of end users who have viewed them. It’s actually crazy to write that… millions of people. But it’s true – Google Analytics, and the suite of tools we’ve built around it over the past several years, are the most widely used analytics tools in the world, on about 70% of websites worldwide. Touching even a small percentage of those users has been a humbling and very exciting experience for me that I’ll never forget.

But back to the people. I would never have accomplished all of this had it not been for so many awesome people along the way. The Academy team who helped edit and direct a lot of the course content, the video team that spent far too many hours watching me goof off, mess up, and occasionally film something passable. My advocacy partners in crime: Louis Gray, Daniel Waisberg, and Adam Singer. The GA product management team whom I was fortunate enough to spend the last 2 years embedded in – one of my favorite (and most challenging) times at Google as we had constant conversations over scalability, feasibility, benefit to Google, and ultimately, what was going to make the best product for our users. The GA engineering teams that put up with me as I learned all about the backend workings of Google Analytics and Firebase while they patiently waited for me to get it so we could move on to building cool features. Paul Muret for finding the headcount to initially bring me onto the Google Analytics team. The managers, mentors, and allies I’ve had along the way. I am so thankful for every one of these people, and will miss them dearly.

What’s next? Where do I go from here? We’ll see soon enough. For now, I’d like to take time to reflect on what a wonderful journey this chapter has been.

So with that, I’ll leave you with a few fun photos from the past several years – fond memories I’ll always cherish:

The OG ‘GA Social’ team (Kelly, me, Breen, Jocelyn)

From our first GA social event: Scotch tasting!

Deep-dive training on the Firebase Analytics launch with Fontaine and Scott

Take your Parents to Work Day – My parent’s favorite day of the year

Behind the scenes. So much time spent in this studio with my awesome video team.

The cool Google wall that served as the backdrop for so many of my earlier recordings

Another GA Social: Whiskey and a baked goods Bakeoff

GA360 Suite launch (we were taking this rocket ship to outer space! At 4am!)

Analytics Education team outing (can you call it an outing when it’s the bar essentially in our backyard??)

Filming (or rather, goofing off while attempting to film) Google Analytics for Beginners.

After finishing the Google Tag Manager Analytics Academy course. We were deliriously goofy by this point. More Cowbell! (so cute they all wore those shirts to cheer me on!)

My first Hangout on Air with Adam Singer just weeks after joining the Google Analytics team

Some of the gang at my going away happy hour in Mountain View

The Googleplex. So long from the Android desert garden! It’s been a hell of a ride!

Leave a Reply

25 Comments

  1. It’s been an honor and privilege to work with you (no matter in how small or large capacity), Krista! Educating the masses on the importance of “doing data right”, and taking the same damn photo with you and Peter all over the world. 🙂

    The Measure community will always have your back, and i really hope you’ll stick around and continue sharing your wisdom and expertise with the rest of us.

    I’m proud to call you a friend, and I’m looking forward to hearing about your new journeys, cheering you on and being there for any kind of support you need!

    Here’s to a new, exciting chapter in your life!

    Your friend and ally,

    Simo

    • Krista

      Thank you, Simo, for your constant support and friendship. You have helped me throughout the years more than you know!

      Also, that pic is awesome and we will forever make a redo whenever the three of us are together! 🙂

  2. Brian Clifton

    What a mysterious blog post to end on…! Of course we will miss you, but why the bit secret as to what is coming next? Starting a family maybe…? Whatever it is, good luck

  3. Eduardo Cereto Carvalho

    Hey Krista, sad to see you leave. I’m sure you’re going to have a lot of fun in whatever you do next. Thanks for writing such heartfelt post.

  4. Hey Krista – while it’s been a long while since we’ve crossed paths, you’ve been such a constant presence online, in forums, videos and hangouts that it doesn’t feel like that long. Thanks for the work you’ve done with the Justin, Daniel, Adam and the rest of the Education team: the stats you shared indicate that you’ve all made a dent in the universe, which is no small thing.

    The entire Cardinal Path team joins me in sending you positive vibes and wishing you the best as you embark on your next adventure. Cheers!

    Alex

  5. Melissa Smallenberger

    Thanks Krista for your passion for GA. Appreciated meeting and discussing GA with you several times in the past few years. Best of luck in the future and excited to hear about your next plans.

  6. Aislinn O'Toole

    It is sad to see you go Krista but no doubt that you will go on to do great things – after a much deserved holiday hopefully!

    A big thanks to you and the team (Daniel, Justin, Will, Adam, Louis & recently Ashish!) for sharing your passion for analytics and education in new & evolving ways – from the Academy, to YouTube, to speaking at events and podcasts too.

    I hope that your influence will still be felt in the Women in Analytics & Women in Tech circles.

    All the best,
    Aislinn

  7. Thank you for all your work and passion! You made the entry and deep dive to analytics easier to many of us. Best whishes to you and have fun at whatever you are going to do 🙂

  8. Thanks for the good work on spreading the word and knowledge about GA, Krista. Whatever your next adventure will be, I hope you will have a blast with it.

  9. Marilee Yorchak

    Thank you for your support of DAA Krista – esp. with your help in launching the Women in Analytics initiative and all that came with it, and being a SF chapter leader. I am excited to hear what your next adventure is!

  10. Karan

    Hi Krista, it’s an honor for me to meet you. Before the google analytics video, I didn’t know you. But after watching some of the google analytics videos, I found you on twitter and has been reached to your site. I just opened your site and have been shocked literally that you just left the Google. I also read your story. you had a really great past and a fabulous experience with the google. But I still can’t figure out the exact reason for leaving the google. It’s like a mystery. And really want to hear full chapter. 🙂

    And yes, congratulations on your future planning and I really like to see your future journey. Cheers 🙂

  11. Jon Mesh

    Thanks for being my partner in crime for so many of those years, Krista! Still proud that I got to be a part of your larger story. Best of luck to you in the next role!

    • Krista

      Those were some great years indeed – thanks for being such an awesome partner and helping push the envelope for how to think about and optimize for Optimize. And, of course, letting me launch a product in Amsterdam where I happened to meet my future husband – still Optimize’s most successful conversion! 🙂

  12. Oh my goodness – congratulations on this next step, Krista! It must have been hard to decide to leave Google, but _well done you_ for making such a great, lasting impact there – for *millions* of users over nearly seven years. Cheers to moving forward!!

    • Krista

      Thanks, Joanna! It was a great run. Now up and to the right! 🙂

      • Alexander

        Thank you, Dear Krista, for your time! You are really helping me with Google Analytics back a couple of years ago. Now I got a good job and become a master in this field and working in the global fashion brand.
        Krista is the best! Wish you all your the next way to the top shine and bright! 🙂
        Big UP SIS:)
        Alexander,

  13. So, after years of using Google Analytics on a bunch of client sites, as well as on my own, I finally got around to tackling the Google Analytics Academy in the past few weeks. No sooner do I arrive, but you leave. Hope that’s not related. Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed the work that you and Justin (@justincutroni) have put in to help me and I’m sure many others understand Google Analytics so much better, and wish you every success in your new venture Krista.

  14. Narishan Muniyal

    I was just watching your tutorial “Introduction to Dashboards and Shortcuts.” Please don’t go Ma’am. You will be missed a lot….. 🙂

  15. Hello Krista! I found your blog today and the first post I read is about you leaving :'( .
    I want to thank you, I am going through a career change from a Biomedical Engineer to Big Data and Data Analytics and in part it is because of your work!
    Hope everything is going well!
    Pura Vida!

    • Krista

      Thank you for your kind words, Alberto! Good luck diving into the world of data & analytics, it’s a fun, fast paced space and offers a ton of opportunity!

  16. Hello Krista,

    We will always remember you in this field, your fingerprint everywhere.
    Event silent followers (like me) will keep referring to your blog and YouTube channel.
    I’m so excited to know your next move… It looks a new great journey in Krista’s life!
    Good luck

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