In our Company Spotlight series, we feature businesses in southern California that go above and beyond to create a positive work environment for their employees. These organizations know that work/life balance and wellness programs are what draw the best employees to join their company, be their best, and stick around. Know about a business that fits the bill? We’d love to hear about it!
Today, I’d like to tell you about Hookit and why it is one of the best companies to work for in San Diego.
Originally known as Sponsorhouse, the company was founded by Scott Tilton and RJ Kraus an hour upstate from New York City.
Early on however, these adventurous entrepreneurs made the wise decision to relocate to southern California and are currently based out of San Diego, leading the field of sponsorship analytics and insights for sports.
Hookit began as an online platform for amateur athletes some 15 years ago
Before the advent of Facebook!
But they’ve since gone professional and global.
The company actively tracks nearly 500,000 sports entities across the largest social and digital platforms, empowering athletes, teams, leagues, and federations to prove and increase their value to sponsors.
It uses algorithms to find hashtags and shares, while also applying vision software to measure logos and other brand information in photos or videos.
This is all to provide real-time, verified data and insights.
Before Hookit, the methods for measuring sponsorship value were terribly outdated
“Sponsorship decisions were still widely driven by television,” Tilton explains, “when two thirds of the audience was actually on social and digital.”
Before Hookit, “the industry was looking at television and impression based advertising models, while we now live in a world of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data. People have come to expect real-time results to optimize and maximize on the fly.”
Hookit has been ahead of the game since their inception, and are at the forefront of measuring sponsorship return in today’s digital era.
It is no wonder that a company like Hookit is growing exponentially
They recently finished a 16 million dollar growth round, bringing in 30 new employees since August 2017 and continue to be eager to find the most talented folks in San Diego to join their team.
By the end of the year, they’ll likely add another 25 employees, bringing them up to a 75-80 person organization.
Because of their growth, they very recently relocated from Solana Beach to a very cool and larger office in Sorrento Valley, San Diego.
Tilton says there’s no shortage of tech talent here in town (and it’s growing), but their employee search has also brought in people from the Bay Area.
Hookit draws great talent for three main reasons:
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It’s a cool and interesting company,
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They treat their employees well, and
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San Diego is a great place to live.
On the last point, not only are we talking about the weather, but you have to recognize that the cost of living down here is significantly less than the Bay Area (even with the sunshine tax).
Company culture is critical at Hookit
The founders’ goal is that the jobs they offer will be looked back on as the BEST an employee has ever had.
To make this happen, team members have to enjoy what they’re working on, who they’re doing it with, and where they do it.
To this end, the company does monthly culture check ins to make sure they’re staying true to their roots.
The vibe is cool at Hookit, and they plan to keep it that way.
New hires are interviewed across all the teams to ensure they’re retaining the characteristics important to the organization: ability to learn, intelligence, good energy, but also an interest in teamwork, innovation, and integrity.
With the rate this company is growing, they need to ensure they’re maintaining that company culture with each new hire.
Tilton knows that work/life balance is critical to maintaining energy levels, sharp thinking, and a high level of production.
If work takes over, it can “ruin your aura.”
Everyone at Hookit is incredibly hard working, but they also know how to play hard.
Employees enjoy unlimited PTO, and no one is given a hard time about taking a day off of work after putting in a 12-hour shift on a project.
Having an office near the beach also means that people surf at lunch and workout on the beach.
Their office features bike racks, surfboard racks, and everyone has a gym membership.
Employees are encouraged to be active and have fun
Company outings aren’t your typical Christmas party at a restaurant – you’re more likely to find these employees at paintball or trampoline dodgeball outings.
Tilton says these benefits have paid off.
They don’t specifically track the ROI on wellness measures; they just encourage it and give employees the opportunity.
It was within the last 4-5 years that wellness programs were stepped up at Hookit, and they’ve seen dramatic improvement.
Employees are pumped to come into work every day, and the unlimited PTO is not abused.
It all comes back to company culture. You create the work environment you want.
When employees are happy, they love coming in, and it builds teamwork.
It’s all about that vibe.
Author: Christine Mathias
Hi, I’m Christine Mathias, licensed attorney and owner of Stretchtopia. With over ten years of legal experience, I use my skills to help businesses and nonprofits thrive. Using my experience running a workplace yoga organization, I am excited to help other yoga business owners tackle their legal issues and other organizational, financial, and marketing obstacles.
