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#ScaleStrategy: Growing sales from one to many

How Nudge.ai CEO and co-founder Paul Teshima is using hard-earned lessons from the past to transform his startup sales team into a scaling one.

Published

5 years ago

on

Steve Woods, Paul Teshima
Nudge.ai was co-founded in 2014 by former Eloqua executives, Steve Woods (left) and Paul Teshima
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#ScaleStrategy is produced by DX Journal and OneEleven. This editorial series delivers insights, advice, and practical recommendations to innovative and disruptive entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.  Read the in-depth Q&A with Teshima here.

“One of the most important aspects of scaleups is figuring out how to transition sales – from a founder to a larger sales team. It’s also one of the hardest,” says Paul Teshima, CEO and co-founder of Nudge.ai, a relationship intelligence platform that helps sales teams to access new accounts, analyze deal risk, and measure account health.

And, he knows what he’s talking about.

Teshima is a Canadian-born serial entrepreneur and a rare breed too. His previous company, Eloqua, achieved unicorn status.

As part of Eloqua’s executive team, Teshima grew the company to more than $100 million in revenue over 13 years, through two economic crises, its IPO and its eventual acquisition by Oracle for US$957 million in 2012.

Today, from Nudge.ai’s office in OneEleven, Teshima and his co-founder Steve Woods (also a co-founder at Eloqua), are hoping to scale up again. Since launching in 2014, the company has grown to 22 employees, several major enterprise clients and over 20,000 B2B users on the platform. And they were recently featured in the Wall Street Journal on how AI is changing sales. It’s no surprise they’re gaining momentum given the growing need for digital relationship management support. After all, Google, Salesforce, Microsoft, Cisco, and more tech giants are moving into the space.

As Nudge.ai builds out a sales team, Teshima is leaning on lessons from his past and learning new ones about who, how and when to hire, what founders forget about when training newbies, and the art of cracking an enterprise deal. 

From One to Many

When it comes to the first few sales hires, Teshima believes they should be entrepreneurial. His approach to building a high-performance sales team is what he calls a classic best practice: hire people in pairs so that you can start removing variables. For example, if both salespeople are having trouble, it may mean that it’s not the right time to transition. If one is successful and the other is not, then it could mean you didn’t hire someone with the right skills.

Nudge.ai is in the process of transitioning its founder-oriented sales team to a larger group. “We’ve got some salespeople working on that delicate transition period now,” he says. “I can tell you that I’m already overestimating how much I think they know because I take my knowledge for granted. I mean, of course they don’t know what I know, it’s in my brain still.”

As a company scales, Teshima urges founders to pause and appreciate how much they know about the business, and how quickly they can make decisions at the drop of a hat in a deal cycle. Those skills are not always things salespeople can do right away.

“It’s really important to simplify,” he says. “Understand what can be translated to a salesperson that he or she can then repeat over and over again.”

To support their success, Teshima focuses on being as methodical as possible throughout on-boarding and training. In addition, he brought someone in to help simplify the sales process to determine what can be scalable.  

Hiring Sales People

Should you hire a Director of Sales or build the team from the bottom up? Teshima says it depends on where you sit on the revenue curve as well as the capital and talent that’s available to you at the time.

He definitely sees the value of of hiring a Director of Sales first who can “carry the bag” and help to scale that initial phase, but also agrees with the approach of hiring a hands-off VP to go build up the entire team.

“Both require early evidence of some form of scale. You have some sort of process that defines how the sales process works today and also key metrics about it,” he says.

Teshima acknowledges that finding sales talent can be a challenge. “Are there less seasoned salespeople in Canada who have gone from $0 to $100 million than in the Valley? Yes. Do we need to solve that problem? Absolutely. But you are seeing a lot of seasoned people coming back and as that continues you’re going to see those people train others to get to the next scaling point,” he says.

Closing Enterprise Deals

Enterprise deals are coveted targets for scaleups for the revenue, for the credibility, and for the learning that they offer.

“The hardest part of closing an enterprise deal is finding it,” says Teshima. “Getting involved in the sales cycle itself is challenging because decision-makers are so inundated with a barrage of outbound outreach. These buyers shut down and avoid dealing with 20 or 30 vendors.”

He says that if you’re going to play in the enterprise space, you should understand what you’re getting into. First, it’s difficult to get in. Secondarily, startups can’t wait out a 44-month sales cycle knowing the deal may not close. “You can, but you’ll be losing a lot of sleep,” he says.

Teshima’s scaleup strategy is to show pocketed value right out of the gate. “Lock them in and then go from division to division quickly. And do it more cost-effectively than the competitor. Try that approach versus just the top down approach.”

When it comes to offering freebies or deals to close a deal quickly, Teshima believes low-paid pilots can be risky.

“Enterprises today actually have slush funds to experiment with technology where they didn’t before,” he says. “You could be in a small little pilot where they throw money at you and you wouldn’t even know if it’s a real deal or if they’re throwing real resources behind it. It is absolutely true that if they put some skin in the game, you’ll have a more successful pilot. You need to be pretty disciplined about qualifying, and if you invest in the cycles then put a price on it.”

What about when enterprise customers who scaleback during the renewal process?

Teshima says he hasn’t experienced this yet at Nudge.ai, but in the earlier days at Eloqua, there were times when customers pulled back.

“It’s only a death cycle if you don’t learn from it for the other existing customers. You should never forget that customers can always come back and champions can always move jobs. You always want to do right in those situations because you never know when you’re going meet them next in the ecosystem,” he says.

Channel Partners Sales

In B2B sales, channel partners can be a tempting avenue to explore. While there are good synergies on the tech side – on the cloud and services side – it can be more challenging to have channel partners depending on the nature of the product, says Teshima. In fact, he warns against channel partners in the early scaling stage.

“If you think training your first salesperson is hard, try training channel partners on your product when they have 20 competing products to sell and they’re making a small margin on your product,” he says. “You can get lucky and find one strategic partner and go big, but more often than not, you’re going to find that they’ll get all excited, get trained, and not sell anything. Even if they do close something, it may not even be the right fit,” he says.

Instead, Teshima recommends, clearly establishing that you can directly sell your product in a repeated way before you think about channel partners.

Scaling a sales team isn’t easy. And it won’t happen overnight.

“My one piece of advice is that it’s never one thing,” he says. “It’s a million little things you need to do every day. That’ll make you more successful than trying to figure out the one thing that will help you hit the jackpot.”

Want more? Read the in-depth Q&A with Paul Teshima for more insights on scaling sales. 

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Fintech: a projected $1.5 trillion industry still in its “early stages,” says new report

A look at insights from BCG’s 2023 “Future of Fintech” report.

Published

3 days ago

on

June 5, 2023

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Most people reading this probably have a few bank accounts and credit cards — yet over 80% of the world remains “underbanked” or “unbanked.”

Fintech continues to fill access gaps for the underbanked and convenience gaps for the average consumer. Still, the relatively new industry saw a stark valuation drop and loss of investment this past year. Experts at BDC described this as only a “necessary, short-term correction.”

Meaning?

Fintech is still on its way to becoming a $1.5 trillion industry by 2030, especially in the Asia-Pacific market, according to a new Global Fintech report from BCG.

Here are more highlights from the report.

Shift from real-time payments to B2B2X & B2B

Fintechs like Wise and Xero make it easy to pay partners, family members, and businesses overseas. Similarly, neobanks like Brazil’s Nubanks help create access to banking across underbanked populations. For the most part, fintech’s most recent emphasis has been on one-time payments and personal banking.

But BCG predicts a shift to the business and customer experience side of the equation:

  • B2B: Business to business
  • B2BX:
    • B2B2C, helping businesses serve other customers
    • B2B2B, helping businesses serve other businesses

The unique B2B2X market has a predicted 25% CAGR (C annual growth rate), fuelled by growth in financial infrastructure.

This new focus will support businesses struggling to access financing and credit.

Customer acquisition is both the top challenge and priority

Fintechs overpower traditional banking counterparts in automation, convenience, and access. That’s why banks see drastically lower customer satisfaction metrics compared to fintech. 

Net promoter score is the likelihood of consumers recommending a product. For traditional financial services, NPS is a meager 23/100, while fintech NPS can reach as high as 90.

But customer acquisition still poses the biggest challenge to CEOs interviewed and biggest priority. New fintechs will have to couple customer acquisition challenges with scaling and growth to compete in the bustling market.

Banking licenses an obstacle to scaling for spread businesses (banks, neobanks, lenders)

Financing is a top concern for newer spread businesses, since it’s not as easy for them to access low-cost funds to operate.

BCG sees bank licenses as a vehicle for better funding access. This will prove vital to compete amidst traditional banks catching onto tech and open banking.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) to “outpace” US and Canada as the world’s largest fintech market

If you think young American professionals are tech-savvy, you might be forgetting about the increasing tech-focused population in the Asia-Pacific.

China, Indonesia, and India fuel the fintech market with the simultaneous largest fintechs and the largest population of underbanked people.

The result? APAC’s fintech market has a projected CAGR of 27% (compared to 17% for the US).Read BCG’s full report.

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Business

100 least popular jobs in America

Published

6 days ago

on

June 2, 2023

By

Stacker searched for the least popular jobs in America. It found them in Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
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Pinpointing which jobs are the country’s least popular can tell you something about the direction an economy is going.

That’s because industries that once thrived might have lost ground to technological or other advances and have few job openings. Others with many opportunities for employment might be growing.

Of course, jobs can be unpopular or uncommon for many reasons. On the TV show “Dirty Jobs,” host Mike Rowe is seen farming deer for urine and relocating beavers—clearly, employment that’s not for everyone.

Other jobs might require years of education or training or be limited to certain geographical areas.

Stacker ranked the 100 least popular jobs in America, based on their total employment and using May 2022 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Only detailed job categories were included in the analysis. Every position’s number of total workers in the United States is listed alongside its average annual wage and average hourly wage.

Read on to see if you hold one of the least popular jobs in the country.

A woman pulls out documents in a file cabinet.

Stokkete // Shutterstock

#100. Archivists

– Total nationwide employment: 7,230
– Median hourly wage: $28.19
– Median annual wage: $58,640

Heavy machinery workers in a discussion.

Kzenon // Shutterstock

#99. Helpers–extraction workers

– Total nationwide employment: 6,910
– Median hourly wage: $20.73
– Median annual wage: $43,110

A worker uses a welding torch on a piece of metal.

Glen Jones // Shutterstock

#98. Layout workers, metal and plastic

– Total nationwide employment: 6,890
– Median hourly wage: $28.01
– Median annual wage: $58,260

Railroad workers check the track for repairs.

APChanel // Shutterstock

#97. Signal and track switch repairers

– Total nationwide employment: 6,880
– Median hourly wage: $39.09
– Median annual wage: $81,300

Two colleagues look at a statistical analysis.

Golubovy // Shutterstock

#96. Statistical assistants

– Total nationwide employment: 6,710
– Median hourly wage: $23.50
– Median annual wage: $48,880

A worker dyes some fabric blue.

Brian Goodman // Shutterstock

#95. Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders

– Total nationwide employment: 6,640
– Median hourly wage: $15.71
– Median annual wage: $32,680

A man on a treadmill is monitored by a doctor.

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

#94. Exercise physiologists

– Total nationwide employment: 6,580
– Median hourly wage: $24.69
– Median annual wage: $51,350

A woman at a desk works on a computer.

GOLFX // Shutterstock

#93. Desktop publishers

– Total nationwide employment: 6,560
– Median hourly wage: $23.04
– Median annual wage: $47,910

A California Fish & Wildlife badge on the side of a car.

ZikG // Shutterstock

#92. Fish and game wardens

– Total nationwide employment: 6,530
– Median hourly wage: $28.61
– Median annual wage: $59,500

Workers bore a hole in a metal piece.

Pixel B // Shutterstock

#91. Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

– Total nationwide employment: 6,470
– Median hourly wage: $20.41
– Median annual wage: $42,450

Two men work on an architectural model of a house.

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

#89. Architecture teachers, postsecondary

– Total nationwide employment: 6,420
– Median hourly wage: Not available
– Median annual wage: $93,220

A technician works on a furnace blower fan.

Canva

#89. Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders

– Total nationwide employment: 6,420
– Median hourly wage: $20.62
– Median annual wage: $42,890

A man uses a tool to tune a piano.

Canva

#88. Musical instrument repairers and tuners

– Total nationwide employment: 6,330
– Median hourly wage: $18.34
– Median annual wage: $38,150

A patient waits for a dental procedure.

Canva

#87. Orthodontists

– Total nationwide employment: 6,310
– Median hourly wage: $83.83
– Median annual wage: $174,360

Workers at an oil drilling site.

LaKirr // Shutterstock

#86. Extraction workers, all other

– Total nationwide employment: 6,290
– Median hourly wage: $24.81
– Median annual wage: $51,600

A hydrologist takes a water sample.

Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock

#85. Hydrologists

– Total nationwide employment: 6,270
– Median hourly wage: $41.34
– Median annual wage: $85,990

A farm worker checks on cows eating food.

Syda Productions // Shutterstock

#84. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

– Total nationwide employment: 6,250
– Median hourly wage: $36.42
– Median annual wage: $75,760

Researchers examine a tide pool.

I. Noyan Yilmaz // // Shutterstock

#83. Environmental science teachers, postsecondary

– Total nationwide employment: 6,240
– Median hourly wage: Not available
– Median annual wage: $83,040

An agricultural worker in a wheat field.

Canva

#82. Agricultural workers, all other

– Total nationwide employment: 6,100
– Median hourly wage: $17.17
– Median annual wage: $35,720

A forest worker looks at a tree while holding a chainsaw.

Canva

#81. Forest and conservation workers

– Total nationwide employment: 6,080
– Median hourly wage: $15.51
– Median annual wage: $32,270

Molten metal being poured into a casting.

Max Mark Agnor // Shutterstock

#80. Pourers and casters, metal

– Total nationwide employment: 6,070
– Median hourly wage: $21.67
– Median annual wage: $45,070

A worker getting gear checked for radioactivity.

Krysja // Shutterstock

#79. Nuclear technicians

– Total nationwide employment: 5,880
– Median hourly wage: $48.28
– Median annual wage: $100,420

Workers installing clay tiles on a roof.

Canva

#78. Helpers–roofers

– Total nationwide employment: 5,790
– Median hourly wage: $17.80
– Median annual wage: $37,020

Colorful costumes on hangars.

Linda Zupanc // Shutterstock

#77. Costume attendants

– Total nationwide employment: 5,730
– Median hourly wage: $23.30
– Median annual wage: $48,470

Three people on large stairway outside a building.

Desizned // Shutterstock

#76. Political scientists

– Total nationwide employment: 5,660
– Median hourly wage: $61.55
– Median annual wage: $128,020

A DJ uses a digital turntable.

viktoriia varvashchenko // Shutterstock

#75. Disc jockeys, except radio

– Total nationwide employment: 5,640
– Median hourly wage: $21.34
– Median annual wage: Not available

A woman with a headset in front of a computer.

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

#74. Nuclear power reactor operators

– Total nationwide employment: 5,450
– Median hourly wage: $55.71
– Median annual wage: $115,870

A ballet instructor works with students.

Canva

#73. Choreographers

– Total nationwide employment: 5,400
– Median hourly wage: $24.52
– Median annual wage: $50,990

Photography equipment on a wood table.

Canva

#72. Photographic process workers and processing machine operators

– Total nationwide employment: 5,380
– Median hourly wage: $17.44
– Median annual wage: $36,280

A woman sharpens a tool.

Canva

#71. Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners

– Total nationwide employment: 5,320
– Median hourly wage: $20.16
– Median annual wage: $41,940

A patient in a chair getting dental work.

Canva

#70. Dentists, all other specialists

– Total nationwide employment: 5,250
– Median hourly wage: $102.28
– Median annual wage: $212,740

A wheel loader works in a mine.

Canva

#69. Loading and moving machine operators, underground mining

– Total nationwide employment: 5,210
– Median hourly wage: $30.73
– Median annual wage: $63,920

A proofreader works on documents.

Canva

#68. Proofreaders and copy markers

– Total nationwide employment: 5,120
– Median hourly wage: $21.83
– Median annual wage: $45,410

A woman writes in a notebook.

Canva

#67. Correspondence clerks

– Total nationwide employment: 4,970
– Median hourly wage: $18.61
– Median annual wage: $38,700

A teacher helps a student with a laptop.

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

#65. Anthropology and archeology teachers, postsecondary

– Total nationwide employment: 4,930
– Median hourly wage: Not available
– Median annual wage: $85,000

A man gives a ticket to an entertainment attendant.

ALPA PROD // Shutterstock

#65. Entertainment attendants and related workers, all other

– Total nationwide employment: 4,930
– Median hourly wage: $13.11
– Median annual wage: $27,260

A view of the casino floor at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

HannaTor // Shutterstock

#64. Gambling managers

– Total nationwide employment: 4,800
– Median hourly wage: $38.80
– Median annual wage: $80,710

A craft artist works on a piece of jewelry.

Robilad Co // Shutterstock

#63. Craft artists

– Total nationwide employment: 4,760
– Median hourly wage: $18.34
– Median annual wage: $38,150

Part of a building is imploded by explosives.

Fortish // Shutterstock

#62. Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters

– Total nationwide employment: 4,710
– Median hourly wage: $27.24
– Median annual wage: $56,670

A logging worker cuts up a tree.

Yulyazolotko // Shutterstock

#61. Fallers

– Total nationwide employment: 4,530
– Median hourly wage: $23.64
– Median annual wage: $49,160

A librarian helps a customer.

Canva

#60. Library science teachers, postsecondary

– Total nationwide employment: 4,330
– Median hourly wage: Not available
– Median annual wage: $76,370

An oral surgeon works on a patient.

Canva

#59. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons

– Total nationwide employment: 4,290
– Median hourly wage: #
– Median annual wage: #

A sander being used on a wood floor.

Canva

#58. Floor sanders and finishers

– Total nationwide employment: 4,270
– Median hourly wage: $22.14
– Median annual wage: $46,060

A woman on a headset talking with a customer.

Canva

#57. Telephone operators

– Total nationwide employment: 4,030
– Median hourly wage: $18.43
– Median annual wage: $38,330

A casket sits with flowers on it.

NKM999 // Shutterstock

#55. Embalmers

– Total nationwide employment: 3,950
– Median hourly wage: $23.99
– Median annual wage: $49,910

A log grader at work in a log yard.

TFoxFoto // Shutterstock

#55. Log graders and scalers

– Total nationwide employment: 3,950
– Median hourly wage: $20.37
– Median annual wage: $42,370

A rock splitter works at a quarry.

Canva

#54. Rock splitters, quarry

– Total nationwide employment: 3,910
– Median hourly wage: $22.12
– Median annual wage: $46,010

A commercial diver works on a project.

Aniwat phromrungsee // Shutterstock

#53. Commercial divers

– Total nationwide employment: 3,860
– Median hourly wage: $32.84
– Median annual wage: $68,300

A woman works on a math problem.

Erickson Stock // Shutterstock

#52. Mathematical science occupations, all other

– Total nationwide employment: 3,840
– Median hourly wage: $34.47
– Median annual wage: $71,700

A gas compressor operator checks the system.

Canva

#51. Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators

– Total nationwide employment: 3,740
– Median hourly wage: $28.84
– Median annual wage: $59,990

A therapy aid works with a child.

Canva

#50. Occupational therapy aides

– Total nationwide employment: 3,710
– Median hourly wage: $17.82
– Median annual wage: $37,060

A marine worker looks through binoculars.

Denys Yelmanov // Shutterstock

#49. Bridge and lock tenders

– Total nationwide employment: 3,690
– Median hourly wage: $22.73
– Median annual wage: $47,280

A flat bed hauler carries a manufactured home.

indykb // Shutterstock

#48. Manufactured building and mobile home installers

– Total nationwide employment: 3,630
– Median hourly wage: $17.70
– Median annual wage: $36,820

A pile of logs await processing.

Canva

#47. Logging workers, all other

– Total nationwide employment: 3,490
– Median hourly wage: $22.65
– Median annual wage: $47,110

A piece of fabric being sewed by hand.

Canva

#46. Sewers, hand

– Total nationwide employment: 3,440
– Median hourly wage: $15.16
– Median annual wage: $31,530

A parked transit police vehicle.

JL IMAGES // Shutterstock

#45. Transit and railroad police

– Total nationwide employment: 3,370
– Median hourly wage: $33.25
– Median annual wage: $69,150

Two people discuss a model of a car.

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

#44. Model makers, metal and plastic

– Total nationwide employment: 3,350
– Median hourly wage: $27.70
– Median annual wage: $57,620

A geography teacher points to Africa on a map.

GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock

#43. Geography teachers, postsecondary

– Total nationwide employment: 3,340
– Median hourly wage: Not available
– Median annual wage: $81,920

A heavy machine drives a pile at a construction site.

Canva

#42. Pile driver operators

– Total nationwide employment: 3,290
– Median hourly wage: $30.92
– Median annual wage: $64,310

A fertility doctor consults with a couple.

Canva

#41. Genetic counselors

– Total nationwide employment: 3,220
– Median hourly wage: $43.26
– Median annual wage: $89,990

A dosimetrist gives radiation treatment to a patient.

Mark_Kostich // Shutterstock

#40. Medical dosimetrists

– Total nationwide employment: 3,190
– Median hourly wage: $62.01
– Median annual wage: $128,970

A woman with a laptop sits in front of a bookcase.

Agenturfotografin // Shutterstock

#39. Historians

– Total nationwide employment: 3,120
– Median hourly wage: $31.03
– Median annual wage: $64,540

A motorboat operator steers his watercraft.

Dmitry Dven // Shutterstock

#38. Motorboat operators

– Total nationwide employment: 3,110
– Median hourly wage: $19.92
– Median annual wage: $41,430

An apparel patternmaker measures some fabric.

Sergii Kovalov // Shutterstock

#37. Fabric and apparel patternmakers

– Total nationwide employment: 3,070
– Median hourly wage: $29.00
– Median annual wage: $60,320

An overhead view of a professional meeting.

Canva

#36. Sociologists

– Total nationwide employment: 2,980
– Median hourly wage: $47.40
– Median annual wage: $98,590

A makeup artist gets a performer ready.

Kokulina // Shutterstock

#35. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance

– Total nationwide employment: 2,970
– Median hourly wage: $46.33
– Median annual wage: $96,370

A worker repairs a shoe.

Olaf Speier // Shutterstock

#34. Shoe machine operators and tenders

– Total nationwide employment: 2,960
– Median hourly wage: $15.89
– Median annual wage: $33,060

Decorative urns sit on display.

SimonTheSorcerer // Shutterstock

#33. Crematory operators

– Total nationwide employment: 2,930
– Median hourly wage: $19.40
– Median annual wage: $40,360

A hydrologic technician writes in a notebook.

Photodiem // Shutterstock

#32. Hydrologic technicians

– Total nationwide employment: 2,920
– Median hourly wage: $28.06
– Median annual wage: $58,360

A rail worker walks on rail station platform.

APChanel // Shutterstock

#31. Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers

– Total nationwide employment: 2,680
– Median hourly wage: $27.09
– Median annual wage: $56,340

Farmers in a conversation near some cows.

Pressmaster // Shutterstock

#30. Animal scientists

– Total nationwide employment: 2,520
– Median hourly wage: $33.36
– Median annual wage: $69,390

A worker guides a hoist and winch operator.

Canva

#29. Hoist and winch operators

– Total nationwide employment: 2,440
– Median hourly wage: $28.34
– Median annual wage: $58,950

A man teaches a class with students.

Canva

#28. Family and consumer sciences teachers, postsecondary

– Total nationwide employment: 2,420
– Median hourly wage: Not available
– Median annual wage: $76,440

Workers clear limbs and debris in the forest.

NancyS // Shutterstock

#27. Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists

– Total nationwide employment: 2,290
– Median hourly wage: $23.13
– Median annual wage: $48,110

Workers operate heavy machinery in a mine.

Peruphotart // Shutterstock

#26. Underground mining machine operators, all other

– Total nationwide employment: 2,270
– Median hourly wage: $30.86
– Median annual wage: $64,180

A worker fixes a stretch of rail.

Canva

#25. Rail transportation workers, all other

– Total nationwide employment: 2,240
– Median hourly wage: $20.33
– Median annual wage: $42,280

A worker pours molten metal into a cast.

Funtay // Shutterstock

#24. Patternmakers, metal and plastic

– Total nationwide employment: 2,230
– Median hourly wage: $26.43
– Median annual wage: $54,970

Two men hanging wallpaper.

Canva

#23. Paperhangers

– Total nationwide employment: 2,220
– Median hourly wage: $21.60
– Median annual wage: $44,930

A man sets up a high-powered telescope.

abriendomundo // Shutterstock

#22. Astronomers

– Total nationwide employment: 2,160
– Median hourly wage: $61.70
– Median annual wage: $128,330

A worker repairs a digital camera.

Sergey Ryzhov // Shutterstock

#21. Camera and photographic equipment repairers

– Total nationwide employment: 2,120
– Median hourly wage: $21.18
– Median annual wage: $44,060

Parts of a math problem appear on a piece of paper.

Kenishirotie //Shutterstock

#19. Mathematicians

– Total nationwide employment: 2,070
– Median hourly wage: $53.90
– Median annual wage: $112,110

A model with a hat poses for a photo.

Canva

#19. Models

– Total nationwide employment: 2,070
– Median hourly wage: $20.73
– Median annual wage: $43,130

A projectionist at work in a theater.

Canva

#18. Motion picture projectionists

– Total nationwide employment: 1,900
– Median hourly wage: $16.04
– Median annual wage: $33,360

A wristwatch being fixed.

Canva

#17. Watch and clock repairers

– Total nationwide employment: 1,880
– Median hourly wage: $23.25
– Median annual wage: $48,370

A heavy machine attaches large bolts the ceiling of a mine.

Causeway // Shutterstock

#16. Roof bolters, mining

– Total nationwide employment: 1,700
– Median hourly wage: $28.95
– Median annual wage: $60,210

An agricultural worker checks soil makeup.

Budimir Jevtic // Shutterstock

#15. Agricultural engineers

– Total nationwide employment: 1,500
– Median hourly wage: $40.03
– Median annual wage: $83,260

Workers polish a floor.

Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock

#14. Terrazzo workers and finishers

– Total nationwide employment: 1,460
– Median hourly wage: $25.16
– Median annual wage: $52,330

A man looks at a rock in a desolate landscape.

Adwo // Shutterstock

#13. Geographers

– Total nationwide employment: 1,360
– Median hourly wage: $42.74
– Median annual wage: $88,900

Workers listen to a coworker at a meeting.

fizkes // Shutterstock

#12. Industrial-organizational psychologists

– Total nationwide employment: 1,280
– Median hourly wage: $66.96
– Median annual wage: $139,280

Students examine soil and plant life.

Robert Kneschke // Shutterstock

#10. Forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary

– Total nationwide employment: 1,270
– Median hourly wage: Not available
– Median annual wage: $96,500

A worker feeds milk to a baby goat.

goodluz // Shutterstock

#10. Animal breeders

– Total nationwide employment: 1,270
– Median hourly wage: $21.79
– Median annual wage: $45,320

A woman with a headset sits in front of a computer.

Canva

#9. Communications equipment operators, all other

– Total nationwide employment: 1,240
– Median hourly wage: $22.20
– Median annual wage: $46,180

Heavy machinery doing dredging work in a river.

motodan // Shutterstock

#8. Dredge operators

– Total nationwide employment: 940
– Median hourly wage: $22.64
– Median annual wage: $47,090

A pediatric surgeon at work.

beerkoff // Shutterstock

#7. Pediatric surgeons

– Total nationwide employment: 780
– Median hourly wage: #
– Median annual wage: #

A worker makes a model out of wood.

Canva

#6. Model makers, wood

– Total nationwide employment: 720
– Median hourly wage: $22.57
– Median annual wage: $46,940

A chef prepares a dish to serve.

carlesmiro // Shutterstock

#5. Cooks, private household

– Total nationwide employment: 610
– Median hourly wage: $18.54
– Median annual wage: $38,570

Heated refractory material at foundry.

Canva

#4. Refractory materials repairers, except brick masons

– Total nationwide employment: 580
– Median hourly wage: $24.30
– Median annual wage: $50,550

Farm laborers working in a field.

Canva

#3. Farm labor contractors

– Total nationwide employment: 550
– Median hourly wage: $23.72
– Median annual wage: $49,330

A man assembles a timing device.

PRESSLAB // Shutterstock

#2. Timing device assemblers and adjusters

– Total nationwide employment: 370
– Median hourly wage: $20.33
– Median annual wage: $42,290

A worker makes a measurement on a piece of wood.

Dusan Petkovic // Shutterstock

#1. Patternmakers, wood

– Total nationwide employment: 330
– Median hourly wage: $21.29
– Median annual wage: $44,290

 

Data reporting by Paxtyn Merten. Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. 

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How to build company culture in a scale-up

Culture is no small thing, and according to Virtual Gurus founder and CEO Bobbie Racette, communication — and even getting uncomfortable — is key.

Published

1 week ago

on

May 31, 2023

By

Bobbie Racette
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Anyone can type out a vision, mission statement, and outline some core values. But Bobbie Racette, the founder and CEO of Virtual Gurus, took things one step further: she made sure it was posted at the entrance to the company’s office with messages of inclusion and acceptance. 

She says those messages are a central part of the company culture, which she sees as a shared belief in acceptance that unites the approximately 50 people working in the company’s headquarters.

But even with such a visible statement, she struggled to maintain a company-wide focus as the start-up grew and expanded. 

“Even though the pandemic was still 300 percent, year over growth, we broke internally,” said Racette. “Because our culture was just a mess.”

For Racette, it required her to realize she couldn’t just instill that culture and stress its importance to her leadership team, hoping it would trickle down. She couldn’t just put it on a wall. She had to model those beliefs and bring them directly to all of her employees. 

And she had to listen. 

So, what really is culture?

The struggle of building and maintaining culture through rapid growth isn’t rare. The start-up world is littered with companies that lost their way. 

Culture is no small thing. It’s the foundation of a business and helps guide decisions — from the big to the mundane. If the focus is sharp and the will is there, it will help guide who is hired and how they fit into the larger team. 

It’s not about what the office looks like, or free lunches and abundant snacks — the sort of perk-heavy, laid-back office that has come to be associated with tech startups. The atmosphere of a place is not the core of what it means to work there.

Finding and nurturing that core is particularly important for Racette and Virtual Gurus, which provides companies with remote workers on everything from social media to accounting, and focuses on providing employment for underrepresented communities. 

“I realized I had to pull back some of the perks and then push the values and I had to essentially retrain everybody to think, ‘wait, if I’m gonna get the perks, I gotta live with the mission, vision, and values, not the other way around,’” said Racette.

The culture she wanted at the company prioritizes inclusiveness, but also innovation, agility, and positivity. Racette realized it was critical to screen out those who didn’t buy in or could be toxic to the kind of workplace she needed for her company. 

Virtual Gurus’ purpose, goal, mission, and values

“I truly believe that in order to get comfortable, you have to get uncomfortable first. So our entire company had to go through an uncomfortable moment,” she said.

And those values she’s so determined to nurture are personal and hard-earned. 

“I have lived through the barriers of being an Indigenous woman, a queer Indigenous woman, who has tattoos and… can’t get a job,” she said at the recent mesh conference in Calgary. 

How do you maintain culture through growth or scale-up?

When Racette started the company in 2016, maintaining that culture was easy.

She was the only employee. 

Then came funding rounds and growth. More employees in the office, but also more and more virtual assistants — over 1,000 at last count — spread across North America. 

“You can run a company all day long, but when you’re scaling, you have to pivot left, right, and center all the time,” Racette told mesh conference attendees.

“And so when you pivot, you have to take your whole company and pivot with you, and when you’re doing that you have to keep the culture during that.”

Screening out those elements toxic to the culture at Virtual Gurus was an important step. Research has shown that toxic culture is a big driver of what’s been dubbed “the Great Resignation.”

Racette also followed the advice from organizations and other businesses when it comes to managing growth and culture — from hiring to setting targets and ensuring she is accountable for both change and cultural stability. 

Communication, she said in a recent interview, was key. 

“I send out weekly CEO updates by email, and then we’ll have all-hands meetings twice a month, and I host those,” said Racette. “So I’m very communicative about why and how the culture is changing.”

Central to that communication is allowing staff to offer feedback, listening closely to what they’re saying — and not being afraid of criticism. She now does what she calls a daily “lion hunt,” going through the office and checking in with employees.

She also says there has been an increased focus on all of the virtual assistants who form the backbone of the company, but who can’t be there in person for her walks around the office. The company has created a virtual hub to maintain those connections, providing incentives and perks, while also emphasizing the importance of the company values and mission. 

“We don’t just treat them like a number,” Racette said. 

But like those words written at the entrance to the company office, it takes more than spelling it out and carrying on. 

“You can talk about it all day long, it’s actioning it,” said Racette. “And that’s one thing I’ve noticed with us is we were talking about the culture, but we weren’t actually actioning it.”

And, of course, incentives work too. Racette says employee bonuses worth four to eight percent of their salary now hinge on whether they follow the company values.

How has work culture changed over time?

Contemporary workplaces, and certainly startups, are a different beast than the offices of old. They are nimble and often more flexible. And unlike many formal offices, there’s no dress code at Virtual Gurus.

But it’s also about how company’s measure and value work — something that can have a profound impact on culture. 

“I think it’s changed from being activity and action-driven to being more outcomes-focused,” said Racette. 

At her office, employees aren’t judged for showing up late, or engaging in more activities that don’t necessarily lead to the right kind of results. If it takes five hours for someone to do all their work, then so be it. 

Racette wants her staff to be accepting of those around them, and to be adaptable in the face of constant change. In order to get there, it only makes sense to put that same faith in her employees, leading down to nurture that all-important culture. 

“You can’t fix your culture or have a good culture unless people have a psychologically safe space to work,” she said.

Stepping off an elevator and seeing a wall plastered with good intentions is one thing, but walking into an office where employees are all committed to goals based on those shared values is another, more successful thing altogether. 

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