> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.antoinebuteau.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Lessons from Esther Crawford - URL: https://www.antoinebuteau.com/lessons-from-esther-crawford/ - Published: 2025-09-22T01:34:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-05T03:22:56.000Z - Description: Esther Crawford, an entrepreneur, product leader, and angel investor, has worked across startup founding and Twitter during a tumultuous period. Her experience brings work ethic and hustle culture into a broader inquiry about leadership, endurance, and personal growth. - Author: Antoine Buteau - Tags: Profile, Personal Development, Business Leaders & Executives Profiles Esther Crawford, a prominent figure in the tech industry, has shared numerous insights and lessons from her dynamic career as an entrepreneur, product leader, and angel investor. From her early days as a startup founder to her high-profile role at Twitter during a tumultuous period, Crawford's journey offers a wealth of knowledge on work, leadership, and personal growth. ![Infographic for "Lessons from Esther Crawford".](https://www.antoinebuteau.com/content/images/2026/07/lessons-from-esther-crawford-optimized.webp) ## On Work Ethic and "Hustle Culture" 1. **On intense work periods:** "When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you #SleepWhereYouWork." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Twitter (now X) post. While the original tweet is no longer available, it was widely reported. [\[1\]](https://firstcuriosity.com/technology/who-is-esther-crawford-the-twitter-loyalist-who-got-laid-off-from-elon-musk-led-twitter/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 2. **The rationale behind intense effort:** "Doing hard things requires sacrifice (time, energy, etc). I have teammates around the world who are putting in the effort to bring something new to life so it's important to me to show up for them & keep the team unblocked." - **Source:** A follow-up tweet from Esther Crawford, which is also no longer directly accessible but was cited in numerous articles. [\[2\]](https://meaww.com/who-is-esther-crawford-twitter-manager-trolled-for-pulling-all-nighters-to-launch-blue-checkmark?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 3. **A reflection on hard work after being laid off:** "The worst take you could have from watching me go all-in on Twitter 2.0 is that my optimism or hard work was a mistake." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Twitter (now X) post. 4. **On being in the "arena":** "Those who jeer & mock are necessarily on the sidelines and not in the arena. I'm deeply proud of the team for building through so much noise & chaos." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Twitter (now X) post. 5. **On the necessity of difficult periods:** "I don't regret putting in long hours or being ambitious and feel proud of how far I've come from where I started thanks in part to that type of work ethic." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 6. **Viewing challenges as a game:** "I think of life as a game and being at Twitter after the acquisition was like playing life at level 10 on a hard mode." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. ## On Entrepreneurship and Startups 1. **On the reality of startup life:** "When an acquisition announcement like this is made it often reads like an overnight success, so I'd like to take a minute to disavow readers of that very flattering but incorrect idea." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Medium article on Squad's acquisition. 2. **On finding her voice as a CEO:** "It took time for me to find my voice and confidence — but day by day, it happened." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Medium article on Squad's acquisition. 3. **The power of pivoting:** "Our product wasn't working and so we decided to give ourselves a blank slate and a fresh start, which is when the idea for Squad arrived." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Medium article on Squad's acquisition. 4. **On the acquisition process:** "Being acquired by a big company is a whole thing. Honestly, I knew very little about the process just a few months ago and wouldn't have believed how many people it takes to get a deal like this done." - **Source:** DocSend Blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 5. **On choosing an acquirer:** "We chose Twitter because we felt a strong alignment around culture-fit and what we could build together." - **Source:** DocSend Blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 6. **On the emotional journey of a founder:** "Since this was my first time running a venture-backed company everything was new and I often struggled with imposter syndrome. I worried that I didn't pattern-match with other startup CEOs in the news and at times I let that fear and anxiety get the best of me." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Medium article on Squad's acquisition. 7. **On the importance of self-honesty with investors:** After realizing her initial product was ahead of its time, she had a difficult conversation with an investor. This honesty led to greater trust. - **Source:** An article by Dr. Gena Gorlin on her conversation with Esther Crawford. [\[4\]](https://builders.genagorlin.com/p/fantastic-builders-and-where-to-find-bc7?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 8. **On taking calculated risks:** Despite being a single mother, she invested her own savings into her startup, knowing the worst-case scenario was getting a job. - **Source:** An article by Dr. Gena Gorlin on her conversation with Esther Crawford. [\[4\]](https://builders.genagorlin.com/p/fantastic-builders-and-where-to-find-bc7?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 9. **On the dangers of "stealth mode":** She advocates for launching in public to get critical feedback faster. - **Source:** "Finding Joy Every Day" podcast episode with Esther Crawford. [\[5\]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N9%5F%5FZ%5FlbTk&ref=antoinebuteau.com) ## On Leadership and Management 1. **On supporting a team during layoffs:** She advised against demonizing remaining employees, who often have to pick up more work. - **Source:** ABP Live article on her tweets after being laid off. 2. **On the nature of business relationships:** "At the end of the day businesses are not families - they're teams." - **Source:** ABP Live article on her tweets after being laid off. 3. **On seizing opportunities during transitions:** "If you're one of those people it's okay to shoot your shot. Leaders are made in these moments." - **Source:** ABP Live article on her tweets after being laid off. 4. **On her leadership style at Twitter:** "I didn't do it for praise. I did it because I believed in the team and the mission." - **Source:** The Bulletin Time. [\[6\]](https://www.thebulletintime.com/net-worth/esther-crawfords-net-worth/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 5. **On the importance of empathy in product development:** "Products that facilitate human connection and communication require a different type of social-emotional intelligence." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 6. **On navigating bureaucracy:** "You couldn't just be a builder you also needed to be a politician." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. ## On Technology and Its Impact 1. **On the mission behind her startup, Squad:** "We wanted to make tech more human." - **Source:** The Bulletin Time. [\[6\]](https://www.thebulletintime.com/net-worth/esther-crawfords-net-worth/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 2. **On joining Meta:** "I am obsessed with how humans connect through technology - and no other company has a bigger scale of impact in that space than Meta, which connects nearly 4B people (half of humanity)." - **Source:** NDTV article on her joining Meta. 3. **On the future of messaging:** "Messaging has transformed how we connect with friends, family, creators, businesses, and now even AI." - **Source:** NDTV article on her joining Meta. 4. **On the potential of technology to solve loneliness:** "We saw the problem of loneliness and wanted to use technology to help solve it." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Medium article on Squad's acquisition. 5. **On the evolution of social media:** "Consumer social is very much alive and at a fascinating juncture." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 6. **On the cost of innovation for startups:** "Weird seeing people who are supposedly champions of startups and Little Tech cheer on the introduction of a $100k for H-1Bs given it'll immediately be cost prohibitive for early-stage startups to hire from that very talented pool. Big Tech can absorb the fees, startups can't." - **Source:** Techmeme. [\[7\]](https://www.techmeme.com/250919/p15?ref=antoinebuteau.com)[\[8\]](https://www.techmeme.com/250920/p2?ref=antoinebuteau.com) ## On Personal Growth and Philosophy 1. **Her life motto:** Her Medium bio reads, "Life story: 'Nevertheless, she persisted.'" - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Medium Profile. 2. **On following curiosity:** "At every step along the way, I just followed what I was really deeply curious about." - **Source:** "She's Got Moxie" podcast episode with Esther Crawford. [\[1\]](https://firstcuriosity.com/technology/who-is-esther-crawford-the-twitter-loyalist-who-got-laid-off-from-elon-musk-led-twitter/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 3. **On her early career aspirations:** "I didn't grow up thinking I'd be in tech. I just followed what interested me." - **Source:** The Bulletin Time. [\[6\]](https://www.thebulletintime.com/net-worth/esther-crawfords-net-worth/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 4. **On dealing with layoffs:** "For those laid off, it can be jarring to suddenly have a piece of your identity taken away — especially if you were truly passionate about the problem & work." - **Source:** ABP Live article on her tweets after being laid off. 5. **On financial literacy:** "I started to realize that they thought of money so differently than I did. They thought of it as an asset that could go work for them; I just thought of it as something you earn in order to buy the things you want. Those are completely different world views." - **Source:** Frec blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 6. **On building generational wealth:** "How can I leverage the money that I'm earning to provide experiences for my family, and also have that money grow?" - **Source:** Frec blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 7. **On her background:** "I grew up on welfare, with a single mom. So I didn't really have a lot of models for financial literacy." - **Source:** Frec blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 8. **On her personal interests:** "On weekends you'll likely find me hiking, tinkering with new apps, or hanging out with my family." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Personal Website. [\[9\]](https://esthercrawford.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 9. **On being a role model:** Her success shows that women can achieve great things in the tech industry, regardless of their age or gender. - **Source:** JazzyDeals. [\[10\]](https://starcon.iweb.co.uk/2558996/esther-crawford-age/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 10. **On her personal brand:** "I'm a product builder and angel investor." - **Source:** Esther Crawford's Personal Website. [\[9\]](https://esthercrawford.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) ## On Elon Musk and Twitter 2.0 1. **A nuanced view of Elon Musk:** "Elon doesn't deserve to be venerated or vilified. He's a complicated person with an unfathomable amount of financial and geopolitical power." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 2. **On Musk's strengths and weaknesses:** "His boldness, passion and storytelling is inspiring, but his lack of process and empathy is painful." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 3. **On Musk's talent:** "Elon has an exceptional talent for tackling hard physics-based problems but products that facilitate human connection and communication require a different type of social-emotional intelligence." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 4. **On the potential of X (formerly Twitter):** "I disagree with many of his decisions and am surprised by his willingness to burn so much down, but with enough money and time, something new & innovative may emerge." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 5. **On the internal state of pre-acquisition Twitter:** "Twitter often felt siloed and bureaucratic... you couldn't just be a builder you also needed to be a politician." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 6. **On her initial optimism about the acquisition:** "I was cautiously optimistic. I saw him as the guy who built incredible and enduring companies like Tesla and SpaceX." - **Source:** YouTube video of Esther Crawford reading her blog post. 7. **On the unpredictability of working with Musk:** She has opened up about it being difficult to work under him due to his unpredictable nature. - **Source:** The Washington Times. 8. **On the decision for mass layoffs:** She supported the decision, stating, "Drastic cuts were going to be required to survive, no matter who owned the company." - **Source:** FirstCuriosity. [\[1\]](https://firstcuriosity.com/technology/who-is-esther-crawford-the-twitter-loyalist-who-got-laid-off-from-elon-musk-led-twitter/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) ## On Investing and Finance 1. **Her approach to personal investing:** She puts most of her money in index funds "because I have the belief that there's no individual who can reliably beat the market." - **Source:** Frec blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 2. **On managing her own money:** "I hated that so many advisors and services were going to take a big percentage of my money. And there's so much great technology out there for automating this stuff." - **Source:** Frec blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 3. **As an angel investor:** "Now, she writes $25k angel checks as a scout for Sequoia." - **Source:** Frec blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 4. **On trusting a new financial service:** As an entrepreneur, she knew the most important thing was to look into the team. - **Source:** Frec blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 5. **On the value of tax-loss harvesting:** "As I learned more about it, I realized it could be really useful for me down the road." - **Source:** Frec blog. [\[3\]](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) --- Learn more: 1. [Who Is Esther Crawford, The Twitter Loyalist Who Got Laid Off From Elon Musk-Led Twitter?](https://firstcuriosity.com/technology/who-is-esther-crawford-the-twitter-loyalist-who-got-laid-off-from-elon-musk-led-twitter/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 2. [Who is Esther Crawford? Twitter manager who went viral for sleeping in office trolled but KEEPS JOB - MEAWW](https://meaww.com/who-is-esther-crawford-twitter-manager-trolled-for-pulling-all-nighters-to-launch-blue-checkmark?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 3. [Why Esther, an angel investor and startup founder, uses Frec for long-term investing](https://frec.com/resources/blog/meet-esther?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 4. [The Right Kind of “Crazy” - by Dr. Gena Gorlin](https://builders.genagorlin.com/p/fantastic-builders-and-where-to-find-bc7?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 5. [Esther Crawford Overview - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N9%5F%5FZ%5FlbTk&ref=antoinebuteau.com) 6. [Esther Crawford's Net Worth 2025: The Story of a Tech Dreamer Who Dared to Lead](https://www.thebulletintime.com/net-worth/esther-crawfords-net-worth/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 7. [Sources: Apple told at least two suppliers to boost their daily output of entry-level iPhone 17 by at least 30%, after strong pre-orders last weekend (The Information) - Techmeme](https://www.techmeme.com/250919/p15?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 8. [China's market regulator opens a probe into Chengdu Kuaigou, a Kuaishou unit involved in livestream shopping, for suspected violations of e-commerce rules (Olivia Tam/Bloomberg) - Techmeme](https://www.techmeme.com/250920/p2?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 9. [Esther Crawford](https://esthercrawford.com/?ref=antoinebuteau.com) 10. [Unlocking Potential: Esther Crawford's Age As An Asset - JazzyDeals](https://starcon.iweb.co.uk/2558996/esther-crawford-age/?ref=antoinebuteau.com)