Shooting the Moon with BambooHR

Today, not only do I get to announce I am joining BambooHR, but I also get to do what I love and go to work with 500 new colleagues who have built something extraordinary together. After planning this announcement for quite some time, I couldn’t be more excited. Talking about big ideas is fun, but doing remarkable work is much more rewarding and I am ready for all that lies ahead for BambooHR.

Founded in 2008 by Ben Peterson and Ryan Sanders, BambooHR was built in the heart of Silicon Slopes. When I first met Ben and Ryan, I quickly witnessed a passion that many great founders have for their businesses. What sets them apart is their underlying sense of humility and gratitude, a commitment to offering excellent products, a mission to delight customers, and an uncommon approach to building a financial foundation that enables the company to last.

The mission of the company is to “set people free to do great work” and Bamboo is already doing so with over a million people using its technology platform every day. BambooHR is changing an industry through its dedicated people and award-winning products and learning great things along the way. As a founder-owned and led company, the way Ben and Ryan have chosen to grow and scale BambooHR places the company into rarified air. They just do things differently and call it the Bamboo way. It’s truly unique and worth protecting.

The concept of “shooting the moon,” which I learned when I was a kid best reflects my feelings about joining BambooHR. My dad and uncles taught me to play Hearts, a card game where a point is earned with each heart-faced card in your hand, or 13 points are awarded upon taking the queen of spades. The one exception is “shooting the moon,” when you go all-in to collect 13 hearts and the queen of spades. I like math, and it tells you this move is unlikely. Which is why I celebrated like I’d won the jackpot the first time I successfully shot the moon. I quickly learned that your probability of winning dramatically increases the more you understand the strategy behind the game you’re playing.

This has proven true in my professional life as well. At Adobe, I was fortunate to spend the last decade creating and working to further a strategy that redefined an industry with a team of talented people I truly respect and admire. My passion for people and company culture was ignited working closely with many inspiring people both inside the business as well as with world-class customers and partners. All of us had the absolute determination to delight customers through meaningful and deliberate experiences. This period of disruption allowed us to drive breakthroughs and innovations within Adobe and with our customers to redefine the future of the customer experience (CX) and the marketing world at large. Making the decision to leave was one of the hardest things I’ve done. I’m really proud of what we accomplished. But I’m most proud of how we did these things and who we took the journey together with. And did we ever “shoot the moon” at Adobe; together we made software history and I loved every minute of it.

This experience of putting customer experience at the center of every business is why I feel so strongly about BambooHR. We are at a similar inflection point with employees and the experience they now expect as they interact with brands and companies.

Organizations that invest in and scale meaningful employee experiences will change the way they do business and see dramatic results. Do happy employees make happier customers? Or is it the other way around? What I have seen is the transformation great customer experiences can drive for businesses, and I’m excited to transform organizations anew as part of BambooHR.

I have a lot to learn about the “Bamboo Way,”  yet I know that it begins with our employees’ passion for delivering for our customers every day with products and technology that replace complexity with simplicity. With the recent trends around data-driven insights, artificial intelligence, personalization, trust, and the role of the employee experience, human resources for companies of any size is more complex than ever. The vast opportunity awaiting feels like a familiar and rare one, and the world is ready for the power behind the BambooHR platform.

BambooHR has all of the key components to shoot the moon, which means looking just beyond where our sights are set into new partnerships, innovation, strong strategies and broader horizons. The sacrifice, work, and dedication that has made BambooHR what it is today are foundational to its success. I can’t wait to work with the entire team to embrace the remarkable opportunities before us. Together, we will empower people to love where they work, make positive changes as a result of great employee experiences, and reach for the perfect hand of cards with heart and determination.

Sincerely,

Brad Rencher, CEO of BambooHR

P.S. You can read what Ben and Ryan have to say about this exciting announcement here.