At These 6 Growing Companies, Strong Cultures Fuel Exciting Futures

Employees from Sprig, WeaveGrid, 2K, Finix, Seesaw and Upland describe their organizations’ team members, career opportunities and potential.
Written by Olivia McClure
May 3, 2022Updated: May 3, 2022

San Francisco tech professionals have a lot of positive praise for their colleagues. Whether they consider their teammates “passionate,” “versatile” or “purposeful,” employees at growing companies across the city are grateful for their peers and excited about the road ahead. 

At product research platform Sprig, Director of Marketing Operations Matt Sturm and his peers lean on intentionality in order to foster a focus on ownership and strong communication as the company scales. In his mind, this environment encourages employees to grow alongside the organization.  

“This company challenges everyone to bring their best selves to work,” Sturm said. 

While intentionality defines employees at Sprig, passion plays a pivotal role at interactive entertainment company 2K. According to Sports Influencer Marketing Manager Constant Walker, team members are united by a shared love for their work, which fuels a sense of camaraderie.  

“It’s inspiring to be surrounded by individuals who invest in each other’s success,” he said. 

Sprig and 2K aren’t the only local companies with impressive cultures — and potential. Built In San Francisco caught up with Sturm, Walker and four local professionals at other growing companies to garner insight about their organizations’ team members, career opportunities and plans for the future. 

 

Matt Sturm
Director of Marketing Operations • Sprig

 

Sprig’s platform assists with the steps involved in product research, including concept testing, microsurveys and user video interviews.

 

What’s one word you would use to describe your colleagues?

Intentional. Everyone cares about what we’re building, regardless of their role. We have lofty ambitions, which means we must build for scale and foster long-term relationships. I feel fortunate to have found a team where every member takes ownership of their contributions. In addition to having employees located near our San Francisco headquarters, we have team members in several other cities, including Austin, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. With a distributed workforce, we must communicate intentionally. My colleagues put thought into how they speak to each other, whether that’s through Slack, Notion comments or phone calls. Internal guidelines help us maintain strong communication as we continue to scale. Two of our company values, “end with simplicity” and “be empathetic,” are made possible by this thoughtfulness. 

We handle growth with thoughtfulness and transparency.”

 

How has your skill set and career grown at Sprig? 

The past couple of years have been a learning experience. We handle growth with thoughtfulness and transparency, so every employee understands our early-stage-to-scale playbook. It’s so rewarding to see the flywheel start moving on every team. My colleagues trust my solutions, and they’re always coming up with ambitious projects that push me to continually improve our go-to-market operational framework. The company has also helped me evolve my management skills, which has been a humbling and valuable experience. I learn so much from my colleagues, manager and leadership team. I want to work here for the rest of my career, and I can’t wait to see my teammates’ professional journeys evolve. 

 


 

WeaveGrid team members out at a restaurant together
WeaveGrid

 

Kathy Li
Software Engineer • WeaveGrid

 

WeaveGrid’s software connects electric vehicles to the grid in an effort to drive rapid decarbonization. 

 

What’s one word you would use to describe your colleagues?

Mission-aligned. Our team members possess many awesome qualities, including friendliness and capability, but we’re united by our passion for decarbonizing transportation and improving the climate. That impact draws people to work here. My colleagues are also adaptable subject matter experts, integrating their cross-functional knowledge to deliver the best possible solutions. And although we’re tackling serious challenges, we still have plenty of fun. 

We’re united by our passion for decarbonizing transportation and improving the climate.”

 

Why is your industry an exciting place to work right now, and what role does WeaveGrid play in shaping its future? 

Climate tech is at a key growth stage. There is international agreement regarding the need for aggressive climate action, and we can’t reach those goals fast enough. Considering transportation accounts for 29 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, we need to enable as much vehicle electrification as possible on our existing physical grid infrastructure. Our team members leverage expertise from the energy, automotive and software sectors in order to build a scalable vehicle electrification platform. We help utility providers understand and manage load on the grid from electric vehicle charging while delivering consumer benefits and transparency. We’re working behind the scenes to make the coming electric vehicle adoption wave as smooth as possible. 

 

 

Constant Walker
Influencer Marketing Manager, Sports • 2K

 

2K creates and publishes interactive content for video game consoles, computers and mobile devices. 

 

What’s one word you would use to describe your colleagues?

Passionate. During the past two decades I’ve spent in the gaming industry, I’ve never worked alongside so many passionate people. Collaborating with smart and talented people across multiple teams motivates me to do my best work every day. It’s inspiring to be surrounded by individuals who invest in each other’s success. Our culture fosters a collective sense of ownership and emotional investment in our work. Our people are defined by transparency and camaraderie. There’s always been a focus on inclusion, which is supported by our employee resource groups, including Black@2K, which I’m involved with. It’s my duty to mentor and educate the next generation as they navigate their career journeys. 2K has always championed professional growth, which is why I’m both grateful for the time I’ve spent here and excited to see what the future holds for the company. 

Our people are defined by transparency and camaraderie.”

 

Why is your industry an exciting place to work right now, and what role does 2K play in shaping its future?

The gaming industry has always been an exciting space, and it’s been energizing to watch it merge into mainstream culture. Since 2010, I’ve had the opportunity to help cultivate the influencer space and see it evolve. It’s been a joy to work with influencers as extensions of the 2K brand and offer them a high level of access and trust. Gaming is the first true digital-born space and supports a diverse audience. It’s been exciting to watch it grow from those unique beginnings. 

 

 

Seesaw group photo with team members wearing matching company t-shirts
Seesaw

 

Maria-Ines Carrera
Technical Architect / Software Engineer • Seesaw

 

Seesaw’s platform helps teachers create learning experiences and track student progress while offering parents visibility into their children’s education. 

 

What’s one word you would use to describe your colleagues?

Versatile. We search for versatility within our tools, roadmaps and personal skills. We build simple yet flexible features that enable several workflows at once rather than creating a solution for one use case. We commit to our priorities and deadlines, yet we are constantly reevaluating and identifying opportunities to pivot when needed. When it comes to hiring talent, we look for subject matter experts who are also eager to learn new concepts and adopt different responsibilities. 

We’re excited to continue evolving our platform so we can help unlock students’ potential.”

 

Why is your industry an exciting place to work right now, and what role does Seesaw play in shaping its future? 

The right tools can help schools and workplaces weather new challenges and enhance their existing workflows to maximize collaboration and learning. Many schools began leveraging our platform due to remote learning and then realized that our technology also fosters creativity during in-person learning sessions. We’re excited to continue evolving our platform so we can help unlock students’ potential.

 

 

Srikanta Nanjappa
Director of Engineering • Finix

 

Finix’s platform enables SaaS companies and financial institutions to own and monetize payments internally.  

 

What’s one word you would use to describe your colleagues?

Passionate. We’re passionate about helping our customers, which involves understanding their unique needs. Our team is also passionate about designing and developing scalable, distributed payments platforms. We’re dedicated to creating high-quality, modular architecture that is easy to maintain and evolve. Additionally, our teammates are eager to help each other. Everyone is passionate about the quality and performance of our system and is committed to consistently delivering high-quality software. It’s inspiring to see how much time developers spend on improving our system’s performance. 

We’re passionate about helping our customers.”

 

Why is your industry an exciting place to work right now, and what role does Finix play in shaping its future? 

The payments industry impacts millions of people’s lives. It’s a trillion-dollar market that grows larger each year. The organizations for which we build payments infrastructure all face a problem called the vertical SaaS ceiling, which means their subscription-only revenue reaches a plateau and limits future growth. In anticipation of tapering growth, these companies offer financial services to their customers, which enables them to generate significantly more revenue per customer while providing a better user experience. SaaS platforms will become the financial service companies of the future, offering traditional banking products that are better suited to their customers. Finix will allow organizations to achieve this future, as we enable SaaS companies to start accepting payments immediately, using Finix as their processor, and eventually become payment facilitators. 

 

 

Upland team members in Times Square
Upland

 

Dirk Lueth
Co-Founder and Co-CEO • Uplandme, Inc.

 

Upland is building a digital realm in which people can trade virtual properties based on real-world addresses. 

 

What’s one word you would use to describe your colleagues?

Purposeful. Our team members have been very intentional in their efforts to grow their departments. While we have so much to accomplish, the team focuses on every project, whether big or small, in order to take the organization to the next level. Our mission-driven efforts will yield even more success as our efficiency grows and we strive to build the largest entrepreneurial metaverse connected to the real world.

This industry is exciting because it offers endless opportunities to innovate.”

 

Why is your industry an exciting place to work right now, and what role does Upland play in shaping its future? 

We always ask job applicants the same question: “How comfortable are you with navigating the unknown?” This industry is exciting because it offers endless opportunities to innovate. We’re keenly aware of our competition and all of the developments taking place to cultivate a Web 3.0 future, yet we’re focused on our mission. 

 

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