Want to work in a hyperflexible workplace with unlimited vacation, subsidized lunches, and a bucket list policy that all comes with a salary that’s age- and experience-blind? Then Elite SEM may be the next job for you. The award-winning digital marketing agency is responsible for such clients as Jet.com and Etsy and made $27 million in revenue last year—a crucial business figure CEO and Founder, Ben Kirshner, shares with employees on monthly open-book policy meeting. Elite SEM has been recognized as one of the top places to work, especially for Millennials, who seek flexible work and the choice to choose their method of compensation—Elite SEM offers either a regular salary or a commission-based salary which can be tallied by everything from referring other employees to the company to taking 50% of the revenue their clients generate.  Discussing the hyperflexible workplace on this week’s ‘Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ is the CEO and Founder of Elite SEM, Ben Kirshner.

BEN KIRSHNER

“EliteSEM was inspired by some of the bad experiences I had in corporate America.”

“Treat people well and pay people well.”

“We ask our team: what makes a great life for you?”

“We had to train our people. People weren’t learning digital and social media marketing in school ten years ago.”

“I always knew I wanted to create an environment where my employees are entrepreneurs: make their own hours, design their own life.”

“The top two ways people can bring our company value are to bring us people and bring us clients. And we reward that.”

“We have a policy where we turn people’s passwords off when they’re on vacation, so they’re really on vacation.”

“We pay people the value they create, whether they’re 20 years old or 30 years old.” –

“If you take on a new client and add more work, we’re going to pay you more.”

“Our people are all A-players, and my job is to make sure they’re happy.”

EliteSEM offers a bottle of wine for employees who get recruited and an annual bonus for those who bring in new folks!

The team at EliteSEM is incentivized to have the people around them be happy!

“You can’t change someone’s personality. We have core values and that’s what we interview for.”

Ben Kirshner’s best leadership advice: read “Turn This Ship Around”

“If you manage people, and if you leave tomorrow, are your people going to be crying or celebrating?”

“Culture isn’t about the perks, it’s about how you treat people. The perks are just a byproduct.”

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SCOTTeVEST

Scott Jordan is the co-founder and CEO of Scottevest, a clothing company out of Ketchum, Idaho which specializes in garments with conduit systems and specialized compartments and pockets for holding everything from smartphones, tablets and laptops.

 

SCOTT JORDAN

“We started with a fishing vest, and redesigned to bring the pockets inside and be shaped for the items you want to carry.”

“We have to keep up with not only the trends in technology but trends in fashion.”

What are some things ScotteVest had played with inserting into clothing? Solar panels, charging ports, external batteries.

“We didn’t know at the time, but we were the first apparel brand to start on the internet.”

“I value our marriage much more than I value this business.” -Scott Jordan’s wife, on the two of them founding ScotteVest together

On a whim, Scott Jordan moved his company from Chicago to Idaho because that’s where he dreamed to live.

“It was the best and worst decision of our lives… it’s amazing but hard because our community has so few residents. Hiring has been hard.”

“I went on Shark Tank for the exposure. It’s 6 million eyeballs on television!”

“Audiences were probably very entertained. It made for great TV. But it didn’t help my business at all.”

Up next for Scottevest? More women’s clothing and more youthful clothing! And they’re bringing their business to @amazon more and more!

Join ‘Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ next Wednesday, July 12th when Randi discusses her newest adventure, pop-up family-meets-tech-experience, Sue’s Tech Kitchen, launching this month in Chattanooga, Tennessee! 

 

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