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In 2005, I founded my first company, Blue Stone International. We bootstrapped, innovated, scaled, and eventually sold nine years later for $30M. It was fun, it was a ton of work, and I learned a lot that I’m now applying at my new venture Spaulding Ridge. Our current team of 30 will double in the next two months and I’m investing in the company’s success by investing in them.

Here are my three commitments to our new team:

CHOOSE YOUR OWN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Every team member will receive an annual professional development budget to spend on any educational initiative they choose. Some are using it for a conference or to take an online course, while others are taking a crowd-sourcing approach by pooling their stipends together to bring in a speaker for the team. Regardless, they are responsible for the best allocation of these funds and to demonstrate how it will benefit them personally and our company overall. This will help create a culture of learning and growth.

PROVIDE WORLD-CLASS PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

At Spaulding Ridge, we’re leveraging our experience to offer clients a best-in-cloud approach to IT strategy and implementation. Therefore, we are utilizing the same technologies ourselves by providing our team with the best applications to do their jobs and make life easier. Our employees will be working in multiple states, as well as from the road, and our processes, systems, and platforms will be set up for mobile use to maximize efficiency, continuity, and collaboration. This will make for more productive and happy employees.

PRIORITIZE CONNECTION WITH EACH OTHER & THE WORLD

We are intentionally creating an inclusive and diverse community – not just by what we say – but through who we hire and how we allocate resources. We are prioritizing social hours and activities for our team members to get to know each other. We are listening to the research on travel and the employee experience. Our team will connect and engage with the global community through initiatives like our Women’s Leadership Retreat in Nicaragua with Ignite. These initiatives will provide meaningful engagement and alignment for our company.

These commitments are my attempt to join the movement of forward-thinking leaders who understand that business is not a zero-sum game. Our companies can provide world-class services, generate significant profit and ROI, while also being a force for good… in the lives of our employees, our clients, and the world at large. That’s my goal in the next season, and I couldn’t be more excited to do it with the growing and talented team joining me at Spaulding Ridge.

Founded in 2018, Spaulding Ridge is a top management consulting firm, dedicated to client success and helping organizations implement and adopt best-in-cloud technology to solve their most pressing challenges. We provide the office of the CFO financial clarity to Sales and Operational complexity by integrating financial and sales SaaS Platforms.

We help:
• Finance gain control ” Increasing financial effectiveness, insight and impact
• Sales increase Productivity ” Hitting quota more quickly, consistently and efficiently
• Operations increase Competitiveness ” Through productivity rates, customer service outcomes, and efficiency

Jay Laabs Headshot
Jay Laabs
CEO, Spaulding Ridge
About the Author

Jay Laabs is a noted technology and professional services entrepreneur, executive, early-stage investor, and advisor to many Fortune 500 CFOs and CIOs. Jay founded Spaulding Ridge in February 2018 after being inspired by a humanitarian trip to Nicaragua he took with his mom. Watching the women who built and ran the community center and their commitment to the good of the community drove Jay to found a company with the same principles. Under his culture-first leadership, Jay has scaled the firm to more than 500 employees globally in just over five years. These principles have led to workplace recognition from major media outlets, including Consulting Magazine, Inc., and Gartner.