The J-Curve Career Path: How Taking Risks Creates Unexpected Growth

Situation

In 2008, Molly Graham was working in HR at Facebook, handling employment branding and culture work
Chamath Palihapitiya, who ran growth and mobile, approached her about joining his team to build a mobile phone
Molly had no mobile experience whatsoever and was working in a completely unrelated function (HR)
She received conflicting advice - her boss said the project would be "dead in two months," while her father and others advised against taking the risk
Despite having no relevant experience, she was intrigued by the opportunity and couldn't stop thinking about it

Molly accepted the role despite feeling completely unqualified and lacking mobile expertise
She spent the first six months "feeling like an absolute idiot," asking what she felt were "the dumbest questions" in meetings
She received the lowest performance rating of her career from Chamath during this initial period
She persisted through the discomfort, making regular trips to Taiwan to work on hardware aspects
She gradually built expertise through immersion in the mobile space, learning through direct experience
She embraced the temporary "fall" in competence as part of a larger growth trajectory

After six months, Molly began to develop genuine expertise in mobile technology
She had a breakthrough moment when she was able to explain mobile phone hardware limitations to Chamath
While the phone project itself was "a massive costly failure for Facebook," it was transformative for Molly's career
The experience taught her she was capable of things she "never could have dreamed of" if she had stayed in HR
This risk-taking approach led to subsequent opportunities in product, business development, and hardware
She developed transferable skills that no one would have reasonably hired her for initially

The J-curve versus stairs approach: Traditional careers follow a stair-step pattern with predictable promotions, while J-curve careers involve jumping off cliffs, falling temporarily, but ultimately climbing to heights beyond what the stairs could reach
Embrace the falling period: The first 6-9 months in a new, challenging role will feel like falling, but this period is essential for growth and developing new capabilities
Learn to be a "professional idiot": Being willing to ask basic questions accelerates learning and often reveals that others have the same questions
Different types of fear require different responses: Financial fear may be a valid reason to pause, but fear of failure or inadequacy is often a "flashing green light" signaling growth opportunity
Self-knowledge is the ultimate reward: Even if you fail, you learn valuable information about your capabilities and preferences
Prove it to yourself: The goal isn't to impress others but to discover what you're truly capable of achieving
Transferable skills emerge unexpectedly: Skills developed in one domain often transfer to others in surprising ways