An Exit Interview with Nathan Smith

On Thursday, July 2 Nathan Smith had his last day as an employee with Lot Sixteen.

[left] Nathan Smith [right] Nathan surrounded by his co-workers at his send-off celebration

Nathan joined the firm about two and a half years ago during Lot Sixteen’s humble beginnings. He was the first employee to join the firm, starting off as a Communications Associate, and eventually making his way to the Director level on the Government Relations side of the house. Nathan has been instrumental to Lot Sixteen’s early success in meeting client demands and expanding the business, as well as helping to mentor younger talent as the team has grown. 

Nathan will be pursuing his Masters in Business Administration at Dartmouth University’s Tuck School of Business, beginning this fall. We thank him for all of the hard work and dedication he has brought to Lot Sixteen  and wish him well on his next adventure. 

Pat Brennan, Nathan’s colleague and long-time friend, held an exit interview with Nathan to reflect on his Lot Sixteen experience and hear his thoughts as he moves into this next chapter of life. 

P: Did you always want to go to business school? What helped you make that decision?

N: The reason I chose to pursue a business degree morphed from the idea that I knew I had to go to graduate school. I had always imagined I would pursue a Masters Degree in Public Policy since I want to eventually work in the Public Sector. However, my conversations with several senior management professionals dissuaded me from that degree, and had me thinking I’d pursue a Master’s in International Relations. It was actually Colin [Hayes, Co-Founder of Lot Sixteen] who switched up my thinking and convinced me that there was nothing better than an MBA for my career ambitions. An MBA teaches you the lay of the land. A lot of folks in government don’t understand how businesses work and are tasked with regulating these businesses. This paradox is akin to an umpire not knowing how to call a baseball game. These conversations with Colin helped me decide to go with a business degree. 

P: What are your career ambitions following graduate school? What job would you want to achieve with your MBA that you couldn't achieve without the degree?

N: Right now, I’m planning to try to get a job at a premier management consulting firm - McKinsey, BCG, or Bain because I haven’t had much private sector experience. Lot Sixteen, although private, is more public sector adjacent. We’re less accustomed to the fluctuations of the business cycle. Management Consulting will give me a chance to work in a bunch of different sectors - not just sustainability, efficiency or product design. These firms are very influential. I would love to find a position focused on sustainability, especially because there is a real business case for sustainability. The companies that commit to sustainability now, albeit tough, will be leagues beyond their competitors when Congress eventually imposes carbon taxes and other measures to force their hand on sustainability. Moreover, these jobs typically pay well and I’ll have a good deal of debt to pay off. Eventually, I’ll want to make my way back to the public sector. 

P: Why did you decide to join Lot Sixteen?

N: My first job out of college was an internship at the Signal Group (formerly McBee Strategic - where Colin and Josh first met), and I was still looking for a full-time role. The EVP there, Robert Marcus, contacted me via email and told me that a friend he worked with was going to be standing up a new company and would need a jack-of-all trades employee. Through that, I met Josh Lahey. Once I mentioned that I had been on Cal’s Rowing Team, it sold him on me. That level of commitment and responsibility on top of academics convinced Josh I’d be a solid employee. At this point, I really wanted to work in policy, and I enjoyed the nexus of communications and policy Lot Sixteen presented, and knew I’d be supporting both Josh and Colin, garnering exposure to both sides. The opportunity of joining a firm on the ground level and watching it build up was enticing. Interviewed in December and by the time I got the offer in February, I was all in. 

P: After being at Lot Sixteen for so long, what advice would you give yourself to yourself, on your first day at the Lot?

N: I have always been committed to never stop learning. There will never be a day when I’ve stopped learning. I take every project as a chance to learn, and to gain feedback, even if it’s brutal feedback. I’ve done that well from the beginning. Something I didn’t know that I’ve now learned is that we’re always in a rush to get projects done. I’ve learned the importance of taking a breath, taking some time, taking a step back. Not doing so led to me making my fair share of mistakes. You always have an extra minute to take a step back and give things an extra read. Those are the moments when you usually have your best thoughts. If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to have patience -- you can always take the time to slow down and make sure you checked all the boxes and thoroughly thought about the final deliverable. 

P: What will you miss the most about living in DC? What will you miss the most about working at the Lot?

N: These are two questions with the same answer. It all comes back to the people. An important lesson I’ve learned from my parents is that of course you want to be passionate about your work, but it really comes down to the company you keep. This is something Lot Sixteen does really well - hires great people. It’s not often that you have a company in which you like every one of your coworkers and feel you can learn something from everyone. Living in DC is intrinsically inspirational. There’s a bit of an aura around the city that is always inspirational and never wears off. A city where everything matters, with a national scope. I’ve lived near San Francisco, Denver, and Philadelphia and there are aspects I love about each of those cities, but none compare to DC in the sense of aspiration it gives off.

P: What is a fond experience or memory you will take with you from your time working at Lot Sixteen?

N: It’s hard to distill my time at Lot Sixteen down to one moment. It really wasn’t a single experience so much as it was being a part of the growth of Lot Sixteen. We started in a WeWork where Josh and I sat so close together I could hear every word of his calls. Then, we moved into our office but we were sitting in lawn chairs. Now today, we have way more employees than ever before and have moved from two clients to over twenty. Being a part of the growth of a new organization has been an unbelievable and treasured experience.