As the U.S. emerges on the other side of the pandemic, employees are returning to offices, companies are growing their teams at a rapid rate, and ambitious projects are finally back in motion. And that means that new opportunities are on the horizon.
However, accepting a job in this business era is about more than saying yes to a paycheck or a glorified benefits package. While company culture and real-world impact are becoming increasingly important, so is believing in the product an organization offers its customers.
“I accepted my job because I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself,” Scott Sadler, a senior full-stack engineer at LiveControl, said. “I wanted to be part of something that I could believe in and advocate for.”
Built In LA caught up with four local tech pros to see what drew them to their roles at their now-hiring companies, and what passion products they’re currently tackling.
Encore is an interactive live music app that brings together artists and fans through new mobile experiences. Co-launched by Kid Cudi in 2020, the mobile-based platform aims to help artists monetize their connections with fans.
Tackling passion projects every day: “When it comes to work, I really value company culture and the opportunity to be a part of innovation and invention,” Woo said. “Before I joined, I was deciding between an offer at a public company and a role at Encore, a seed-stage startup. In my initial conversations, I met with extremely passionate CEO Jon Gray and president Ian Edelman and was fueled by their expertise and vision. Right off the bat I was inspired by the ideas that were brought to the table and how I could contribute.”
“We are a team of talented and high-spirited individuals that tenaciously work to bring the forefront of technological innovation to the doorstep of artists and fans. Encore provides team members with an incredible amount of autonomy and ownership over their work, while also creating a collaborative and supportive environment. Since joining the team, I’ve expanded both my technical and leadership skills, gained confidence and grown personally through the nature of working in a fast-paced field alongside an extremely skilled team. Every day at Encore is different, exciting and full of endless creative opportunities.”
All of us at Encore are dedicated to the mission of empowering musical artists at any stage of their career.”
Making a global impact: “What’s unique about Encore is that we are truly on the cutting edge of the ever-changing XR field – call it the ‘Wild West’ of emerging tech. We are harnessing XR technology into an entirely new, user-generated format that empowers artists to augment their virtual live performances. More specific to my role as head of XR design, I am excited about taking a complicated technology and presenting it in a way that puts high-tech creative tools into a seamless, easy-to-use format, providing artists with the ability to express their creative vision via live short-form streaming with AR capabilities.”
“All of us at Encore are dedicated to the mission of empowering musical artists at any stage of their career to monetize their fanbase while providing them with consumable and scalable XR tools. Our vision of democratizing the music industry through new technology, and bringing artists and fans closer together than ever before, is what excites me most about the future of Encore.”
LiveControl is a remote video production crew aiming to make video production simple and on-demand. The digital media company strives to help every “venue” create beautiful and engaging video affordably.
Focusing on the bigger picture: “I accepted my job at LiveControl because I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself,” Sadler said. “Certainly LiveControl has all of the benefits that one would expect from a tech startup: competitive pay, great health insurance, flexible schedule. While those benefits are important, they are ultimately just checkmarks on a list. I wanted to be part of something that I could believe in and advocate for. I wanted to be somewhere I could use my skills to make a difference, both to the company and to the customers we serve.”
I wanted to be somewhere I could use my skills to make a difference, both to the company and to the customers we serve.”
More than a job: “In the end, I chose LiveControl because I truly believe in its product – democratizing video production. It is both a brilliant idea and one that fills a relevant market need. I knew that I would be able to do what I am good at on a platform that demonstrably benefits our clients. A job is more than a paycheck. This is a group of talented, gracious and motivated individuals all working cooperatively to build something bigger than each of us.”
“It also helps that LiveControl’s product is really cool. It’s the perfect blend of hardware, software, AI and human operators.”
Mobile app Papaya Pay is designed to make paying everyday bills a slightly more enjoyable experience for its users. Users can take a photo of a bill, select a payment method, and Papaya takes care of the rest.
Curating a strong team: “I love the people I work with,” Ngo said. “Papaya has very intentionally built a team full of people who are good at their jobs, and they’re good people too. In hiring, there’s just as much emphasis on team collaboration and working style as there is on technical competency. The result is a positive, collaborative, effective and inspiring workplace.”
I’m excited to keep designing and building great product experiences.”
A customer-centric focus: “Paying bills is one of those things that everybody hates doing, and for many people, it takes a lot more time and mind space than it should. For some, it’s the most stressful activity they do all month, every month. I’m excited to keep designing and building great product experiences that can help ease some of that stress and inconvenience for bill payers in the U.S.”
AI-powered revenue acceleration platform ringDNA allows sales, support and customer success teams to improve their performance, drive increased sales opportunities and close more deals.
All about empathy and connection: “Three years ago, I was in the middle of a job hunt where I was fortunate enough to have offers from a few different companies,” Shelton said. “And I was conflicted, because all of them gave me the opportunity to solve some very interesting problems. What it really came down to in the end was the people. I woke up one morning with this gut feeling that I just really wanted to work with Howard Brown, our CEO.”
“I almost laugh now, imagining that I could have joined a different company at the time. What makes ringDNA special is that we truly want to help our customers succeed. I’ve been at companies before where it’s only about the bottom line. At ringDNA, there’s a true empathy and connection with our customers. So it’s less a vendor relationship and more a partner relationship, which is really rewarding.”
I almost laugh now, imagining that I could have joined a different company.”
Transitions on the horizon: “Over the period of time that I’ve been at ringDNA, we’ve gone from having single-point solutions to a full platform that addresses multiple communication needs for revenue teams. Looking forward, I’m excited about creating different entryways for our customers to get access to value. The B2B sales space is rapidly growing and evolving, and it’s fascinating to see the new ways that people want to use their sales stacks and make sure all our ringDNA products can work with their needs. Regardless of what combination of problems and needs customers are trying to solve for, we have the flexibility to provide exactly what they’re looking for within our platform.”
“And ultimately, that doesn’t happen without the people to drive those products on my team and on adjacent teams. I’m excited to continue building out the teams to support our products and the scale of what that’s going to open up in the marketplace.”
