It has been one year since our team transitioned from working in our vibrant Midtown, Atlanta office to being a fully remote team. Last March, our team went from conducting in-person interviews and orientation sessions to scrambling to ensure we had enough equipment to send to new hires, and trying to navigate Zoom and what remote onboarding would look like. We had many questions and concerns about the unknown state of remote working, and we were very hesitant and apprehensive of this transition. COVID-19 certainly put our team to the test, but there was a breakthrough on the other side. Looking back over the last year, it’s almost as if the tension we felt when we were forced outside of our comfort zone helped us to grow as individuals and as an organization.
Building Our Culture Virtually
There was certainly a lot of worry about how our team dynamic and culture would change. We were afraid that the culture our team had built up to that point would crumble as we sat in front of our computer screens. However, what we found was the exact opposite.
We were able to maintain communication cross-functionally, and we continued to learn and iterate as what we thought would only be a few weeks of working from home turned into months. We hosted several virtual events such as Virtual Yoga, Sports Trivia, Karaoke, Cooking Class, School of Rock, Book Club, Virtual Ladies Lunches, and more.
One initiative that has been super successful is the weekly Friday Founder’s Lunch sessions where our founders, Sean Henry and Jacob Boudreau, meet with various team members across the organization to chat about anything top of mind, and source feedback from different teams. This is a wonderful time to find out more about how Sean and Jacob started STORD, but also to get to know them on a personal level. With transparency and candor as one of our core values, it’s important for us to create an atmosphere where our employees can meet and engage with each other while getting to know our founders. Sean and Jacob have always provided an open door policy when it comes to communication and encourage our employees to reach out regardless of their role within the organization.
Engaging in Tough Conversations
While we were focused on continuing to build a positive remote culture, we also engaged in some tough conversations. In addition to the challenges we faced as an organization during an ongoing pandemic, last year’s shootings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor led our organization to re-evaluate and unify during a time of unrest and division. We held a company-wide discussion on Juneteenth, during which we learned about the day’s history, listened to our colleagues, celebrated progress, and brainstormed how we could do better.
Establishing an ERG
After going remote, we found that our team members felt more comfortable being vulnerable and sharing their voices and opinions while in the comfort of their own homes. To continue the conversations we began during the Juneteenth event in a safe space, we started an Employee Resource Group called the JEDIs (Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion). The group’s mission is to establish Stord as a best-in-class employer by creating an environment of respect through encouraging, embracing, and celebrating each employee’s unique contributions. Our vision is to evolve the world of supply chain through tech innovation and also drive the entire technology world towards equitable processes from foundation to maturity. We’ve held various sessions and discussions to educate ourselves on a number of topics, most recently Implicit Bias and what we can do to diversify our recruitment efforts as we continue to grow our teams.
Growing Rapidly
In June, we acquired a leading transportation provider, added 20+ new team members, and had to figure out how to ensure that the culture that grew out of STORD’s headquarters was just as strong in our Springfield, MO office.
In December, we announced that we raised a $31M Series B led by Founders Fund to fuel our growth as we build the first end-to-end cloud supply chain. Over the last year, our team has grown from 40 to over 160 employees, our logistics revenue has grown nearly 500%, our software segment has grown over 900%, our shipment volume has grown more than 15,000%, and we are just getting started. Our team has some really exciting and aggressive growth goals for this next year. And although we’ve hit some tremendous milestones already, this is just the beginning.
Updated: Stord Raises a $65M Series C!
Check out our open roles: https://boards.greenhouse.io/stord13
