For these three leaders, company perks surpass unlimited vacation and involve more opportunities for personal growth.
[ibimage==27058==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-left]
Techstars
Julie Penner, the newest addition to the Techstars Boulder team, is a veteran when it comes to tech jobs. She’s worked with tech during her roles at companies like Graphicly and Liberty Media - but none compete with the freedom and the novelty of her current role as Program Manager of Techstars Boulder.
“There’s more work than anyone can get done, so we function according to ‘proceed until apprehended,’” Penner said. “We’d rather deal with the follow-up than not have anything get done.”
And that is exactly what type of action that Penner likes - fast-paced. Penner considers her busiest days a perk compared to corporate life: “We sprint for months then we’re able to take a break and go on a long trip.” Not to mention, she’s able to travel to work-related events, which means hopping on planes to attend events like the Techstars ‘Do More Faster Party’ in Austin during SXSW or jetsetting to NYC for Demo Day.
As for enlightenment, Penner gets the inside scoop on budding companies and technologies: “I have a beat on all the coolest technology coming up from around the country because we share applications across locations and see the classes before they’re public,” said Penner.
On the senior level, Penner gets to work with some of the most inspirational entrepreneurs in the country. She works day-to-day with mentors such as Matt Bumberg of Return Path and Howard Diamond of Mobile Day. “I get to talk to some really awesome people. It’s not like a sales call - we’re a bridge to contacts who are usually time-strapped. A lot of people want to get involved with Techstars and are eager to give back,” Penner said.
Penner is leading the upcoming Techstars Boulder class. Applications are currently open, the early deadline is April 13 and final deadline is May 4.
[ibimage==27061==Medium==none==self==ibimage_align-left]
The Unreasonable Group
The Unreasonable Group is known for challenging traditional thinking and methods, as well as shooting for goals that many would deem unattainable. Will Butler, co-founder of Unreasonable Adventures (one of UG's comapnies) and VP of Partnerships, knows that education is essential to happiness, growth and progress. That’s why the group, which is the for-profit holding company that works in conjunction with the Unreasonable Institute, set up an account to encourage team members to expand their talent and skills. UG provides up to $500 a month as a ‘learning fund,’ which can be used towards anything geared towards self-improvement.
“This month I'm training with Justen Sjong, one of the most famous climbing coaches of all time, to focus specifically on endurance,” said Butler. “Next month I'm paying a friend who works in video editing to teach me Adobe Premiere.”
With Unreasonable Group is set on “leveraging profit to solve BFPs.” Besides having his hands into the infinite amount of projects that the group undertakes, he also gets to work with an inspirational team on tackling world problems and see tangible results. And the Boulder-based group is ever-expanding and transforming, often including global entrepreneurs and mentors from places such as Ghana. This means he’s directly in contacts with those entrepreneurs who have participated in the program in the past, which equates to unlimited inspiration for daily life. Now that’s a perk.
[ibimage==27059==Medium==none==self==ibimage_align-left]
Artifact Uprising
As the Brand Marketing Coordinator for Artifact Uprising, Laura Schmalstieg is able to interact and engage with people who love her company’s tangible products for digital photos. The company’s mission to cultivate storytelling puts Schmalstieg on the front lines with some of the world’s most interesting places and faces - with adventures taking her from Seattle, Washington to behind-the-scenes with pro surfers like Chris Burkard.
She is able to engage the company on projects and international campaigns that work to expose new vantage points of seeing the world. Recently, Artifact Uprising partnered the Great North Collective, a community of Canadian artists and photographers, to release a photo book on the Canadian landscape.
On top of that, Schmalstieg organizes rad events that support local creatives (in March they threw an event at Galvanize with Ark Life) and supplement site content with snapshots from her voyages: “I’ll take photos on a lot of my personal trips, like to Washington, Moab or Canada. I can always source content and our customers are so diverse they can identify with that. It’s inspiring to see how people respond to the posts.”
This month, Schmalstieg gets just one more reason to love her job: Artifact Uprising is introducing a new perk called ‘The April Experiment,” which calls for a 6-hour work day across the company.
“We are a creative company and are always looking for ways to foster the innovation so necessary to our brand. With the understanding that the best ideas often happen outside the office, our founders have decided to test out 6 hour work days, making room for two hours of creativity each day. The hope is that what’s good for our team is good for our customers too.”
Does your job come with atypical perks? Email Carlin at [email protected]
 (1).png)
