Anyone who has seen the Broadway hit, “Rent,” has contemplated the question of “How do you measure a year?” It may be in daylights, or sunsets, midnights, or cups of coffee. For Kipsu’s recent Entrepreneurship Leadership Rotational Program (ELRP) graduates, they’d probably say something along the lines of measuring a year in rotations - three to be exact - on different teams at Kipsu...Oh...and cups of coffee.
Anyone who has seen the Broadway hit, “Rent,” has contemplated the question of “How do you measure a year?” It may be in daylights, or sunsets, midnights, or cups of coffee. For Kipsu’s recent Entrepreneurship Leadership Rotational Program (ELRP) graduates, they’d probably say something along the lines of measuring a year in rotations - three to be exact - on different teams at Kipsu...Oh...and cups of coffee.
This is Kipsu’s second year of the program, or what’s internally referred to as the “Beta Cohort”, following the success experienced with the brave, “where no recent grad has gone before” Alpha group. The program allows recent grads to spend four months on each of Kipsu’s three largest teams: Engineering, Sales and Marketing, and Customer Success. In four months, the analyst is challenged to onboard, learn the intricacies and culture of that department, contribute to individual and team goals, and function as someone who is a full-time member of that team.
At the end of four months, just when comfort is setting in with day-to-day responsibilities, he or she is uprooted and moved to another department to start the onboarding process all over again. Discombobulating, yes, but grit, adaptability, a hunger to learn, and open-mindedness helped the most recent cohort excel in their roles. They discovered a newfound appreciation and 360 degree view of a business and how all the moving parts work together to create a well-oiled machine.
On the topic of machines, one of the analysts, a Mechanical Engineer major named Josh Peine, jumped at the unique opportunity, “I loved the promise of cross functionality and the ability to see Kipsu from every perspective. Taking on a brand new role every four months seemed to be a great practice for getting comfortable in a state of constant learning while building on unique insights from the previous rotation.”
Rebecca Kline who majored in Anthropology and minored in French, was excited to exercise her passion for people, “I wasn’t entirely sure what my career post-graduation would look like, but I knew I wanted it to involve working directly with people, both my coworkers and customers, on a daily basis. The rotational program gave me the opportunity to try on different teams and find the one that fit best.”
The four analysts completely immersed and invested themselves into their team and role, despite the impending rotation on the horizon. They contributed to projects, goals, and team culture. Dongmin Park, a Computer and Political Science major, said the relationships she was able to build on each team was one of her favorite aspects of the program, “By being in three drastically different departments, I got to work with incredible Kipsuvians across the company. I was amazed during each rotation by how smart, caring, and driven the people here at Kipsu are. I am so thankful for all the support, knowledge, and laughs I got to share with everyone.”
Kipsu’s human-focused approach to customer service in the technology realm resonated with Jack Cunningham’s entrepreneurial spirit as a major in the field. “I have a passion for human-centered design and problem solving. Being born into a family of entrepreneurs and watching generations do the same, I was bred to question problems and act to solve them. I wanted to be able to have an impact and simply hit the ground running. I was really excited to be put in a position where I could have my hand in many pots.”
After a grueling, information and experience packed year, each analyst has landed in their permanent position at Kipsu. Dongmin is joining the Engineering team, “I’m excited to work on features that will be used by our customers and improving our product! I can’t wait to work closely with our hilarious, super smart engineers.”
Josh and Jack are teaming up and actually helping to form the Product Analyst team, establishing a team of three, joining Alpha Cohort seasoned analyst, Cara Christiansen. “This role excites me as I will have the opportunity to help steer our product’s growth and development in order to elevate our customers through the use of our product,” Jack explains. Josh adds, “I’m excited to use the insights I’ve gained during my rotation time on each team to help build a product that serves our customers well and makes sense for each of our teams.”
Rebecca is jumping onto the Customer Success team, specifically in their Onboarding efforts. “I’ve loved my Customer Success rotation and Onboarding will allow me to interact with customers on a daily basis while incorporating teaching and support.”
Kipsu plans on continuing the Entrepreneurship Leadership Rotational Program each year, expanding the opportunity to six analysts for the Gamma Cohort for the 2019-2020 year. Individuals interested in the Kipsu ELRP endeavor should consult the Kipsu Career page at the beginning of December 2019, apply, and buckle up for the ride upon graduation. 525,600 minutes is a lot of time to get some amazing, well-rounded experience, create strong relationships with coworkers, contribute to a rapidly growing company, and find your measurement of a year, and beyond.
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