I loved the idea that by helping Marty to grow Steyer, I would be helping to expand what I came to think of as a safe harbor in an increasingly stormy gig economy for the many writers, artists, and filmmakers who (like me) need a day job to pay the bills.
Katelyn is out on vacation this week and her Co-CEO Tony Batista is busy battening down the hatches, so I’ll use this opportunity to talk about them behind their backs:
The headline? They’re doing a tough job very well.
During my tenure at Steyer, three seemingly unstoppable forces have upped the degree of difficulty every year: 1) globalization; 2) automation; and 3) related changes in the procurement practices of our enterprise clients (many of these changes end up favoring a high-volume—over a high-touch—approach to solving business problems). For a company like Steyer, which is funded via revenue not, say, venture capital, it is essential to plan carefully and hit one’s marks, month after month after month. In their first half at the helm, Tony and Katelyn have done exactly that. Such results are never a given, and with the mainstreaming of generative AI changing our business at warp speed, continuing to deliver results that make Steyer sustainable is even more remarkable. I’m super proud of all that the team has achieved so far this year.
The rub? There’s no sign of calmer waters ahead.
We continue to experience enormous pressure on our pricing even as many of our costs keep rising. This dynamic is not specific to Steyer, though there’s no question that our relatively smaller scale (80+ people) sometimes limits us in ways that larger players might not be. Our strategy in the face of that?
1) Keep trying to grow! Before the 2023 contraction in tech, we supported as many as 115 people, and we are striving to recapture the revenue that allows for that kind of hiring.
2) But also: be hyper-realistic. Given the impact of automation, we recognize that growth may look very different in the coming years. It’s possible, for example, that instead of focusing on the number of jobs we can offer, it’ll make more sense to focus even more than we have in the past on the quality of those roles: how they pay, the amount of flexibility they provide, what kind of community and camaraderie they deliver, etc. We don’t have all the answers on this yet. What I do know is that Katelyn and Tony will continue to report out along the way.
Which brings me to a question: what do you most want us/them to address? As a team, we feel just as compelled to hit our comms marks as our financial marks and the more we know about what’s on your mind, the more likely that we can do that. Please email me any time at kwalton@steyer.net.
Thanks,
Kate
P.S. Two quick announcements:
1. Speaking of community, this (open-to-all) meetup is happening online today (Wednesday, August 14th at noon PT) and it’s not too late to join! Click RSVP on the event page right now to get the link.
2. The Exec Comms practice (a new arrow in Steyer’s quiver) that I’ve been slowly spinning up this year—in large part to make sure I stay out of Katelyn and Tony’s way!—has a new product: the LinkedIn Glow-Up. You may soon see ads for this on LinkedIn but here’s a tip for Workings subscribers: while the standard package is $750, we are going to offer ten packages at $450 each, on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want me to send you our-brand-spanking-new collateral and potentially nab one of those ten spots, please email me ASAP at kwalton@steyer.net.
Photo by Katelyn Reilly, who also crocheted this beautiful blanket. Fun fact: Katelyn’s time off this week involves LOTS of knitting (she is multi-talented and loves all the fiber arts). BTW Katelyn loves hearing from other enthusiasts, so email her next week (kreilly@steyer.net) if you want to see what she made on vacation.