It took awhile for SkySpecs to get off the ground, but now, they're soaring.
Way back in 2012, CEO and co-founder Danny Ellis conceived of an idea using drone technology to inspect wind turbines. He and partner Tom Brady (who he met in grad school at the University of Michigan) rolled up their sleeves and started.
Now, 8 years and $30 million in funding later, this Ann Arbor-based company has positioned itself as a leader in an originally narrow niche market that is rapidly becoming mainstream and shaping the future of the planet.
"People really want to get a job where they can make a difference in the world," Ellis said. "And we're doing work in 19 countries and in 5 continents. So there's definitely a global impact that excites our employees and attracts talent which wants to have an impact. That's driving much of our culture."
The idea of forging your own pathway, while doing something good for the world has made it 'fairly easy' to hire new employees, Ellis said. SkySpecs has a large number of job openings thanks to closing a recent series C round in early 2020, and they are filling fast. As late as 2016, SkySpecs had 12 employees. Now, they're up to 70 team members, and there's no sign of slowing the company's growth.
A Culture That Under Promise And Over Delivers
You have to wear many hats if you want to thrive at SkySpecs. Leadership trusts and encourages employees to create their own roles, pursue what intrigues them, and apply unique solutions to complex problems. SkySpecs values solving hard problems, and encourages a multidisciplinary approach to do so.
"We always try to hire people who are smarter in their areas of expertise than we are, and we give them the tools and resources they need to excel. Then we get out of their way," Ellis said. "We don't want our employees to live in a box we build for them. We want them to be an integral part of crafting their own roles."
Ellis and his leadership team encourage SkySpecs' employees to set big-yet-realistic goals, and then to deliver on them. Setting big goals helps people strive for something that can really make a change, not only internally, but globally.
"We don't just want to hire people who want their first job in the tech industry. We want people who are excited to make their mark in the world."
Workplace Benefits: Company Retreats, Autonomy, Impacting the Future
Climate change is something many people take seriously. Since SkySpecs' basic business model is improving the functionality of wind farms, you can imagine that lots of people would jump at a chance to use their brains to have a stake in the future of our planet.
SkySpecs is the only all-in-one solution for automating and optimizing the operations of wind farms.
"A big benefit of working here is the impact that our employees are making," Ellis said. "We're building complete solutions for our customers, but our technology impacts everyone on Earth. People here are thrilled to know they are doing work that will affect future generations - and their own children."
Ellis said while the company doesn't encourage late night or weekend work binges, folks who work here typically show up early or stay late because they want to be there.
Of course, stepping away from the computer is important. SkySpecs takes yearly company retreats - although Ellis said as they've grown, it's harder to find places that can host their growing army.
Employees also enjoy University of Michigan football games, and do many fun things together such as Detroit Tigers games, curling outings, laser tag, and escape rooms. Poker, foosball, and euchre make their way onto the list too.
"This team has become more of a family than anything else," Ellis said. "We've all made close friendships that will last a lifetime."
