Alpaca's goal for our first technology product
Team Letter | June 5, 2023
June 5, 2023
Happy Monday, Team Alpaca!
When we set out our goals this January, one of the things we talked about is building a “national brand, not just a local brand.” As we start to look forward to a new school year, and think about the opportunities we have ahead, I would like to challenge all of us to start thinking at scale.
What does it mean to think at scale? And why does it matter?
Thinking at scale is a shift in our decision-making, away from thinking about our company as a nice little Omaha startup that supports Omaha teachers. It asks us instead: “what if we have 1000 teachers in Pennsylvania and another 3,000 in Oregon?”
It takes us away from being able to simply order a few hundred (or thousand) pouches when we need them and says instead “what if we need to order 100,000 pouches?”
It takes us away from being able to call or visit every superintendent or sponsor we want to bring on board, and it takes us away from being able to use our personal connections alone to grow the company. It says instead “how do we get our company in front of 5,000 principals and superintendents, this month, next month, and the month after that?”
Why does it matter that we think at scale when we’re still so small? Because we can’t get to scale until we think at scale. Thinking at scale changes how we build things, how we make decisions, and how we document our work. It’s less post-it notes, more shareable systems.
In our coming year ahead, it’s going to mean leaning into technology-based products to reach more teachers and principals. Can you imagine if, beyond our packs, we have products online that allow principals to support their teachers no matter where they are?! Can you imagine if there was a way online for teachers to connect to each other? Can you imagine if the Thank You Crew could reach people all over the world? That’s thinking at scale. And our technology strategy will be what enables it to move fast.
Our first technology-based product is going to be a survey product for principals to use with their teachers at the beginning of the school year. It’s a simple product, and it will be free to use. It will give principals key information about how best to support their teachers this year, and will introduce us to hundreds or thousands of new schools and their leaders. I’m SO excited for it, and I hope you are too!
To that end, I’m very pleased to tell you that we will be bringing on Alexander Gillie, a talented software engineer, to our team this summer. Alexander is joining us for a single project at first, to help us with our survey product for principals. But I believe there are many more opportunities ahead, and I’m so excited for him to join this team!
I want to challenge you this week to make “Elevate Every Educator” our value of the week, and ask yourself in your work “What if we needed to grow this by 100x, very quickly?” or “What if this needed to reach teachers 2,000 miles away?” What would you do differently? What ideas do you have? Think about it for your Independent Study projects, and for the work you do each day. If you need help, just ask!
With all this said, it’s as important to keep our eye on the ball - on the work ahead THIS week - also. Let’s keep pushing to make June Alpaca’s best month ever. Sales is everyone’s job, new districts are everyone’s business.
I’m so proud to be building it with you. Let’s KEEP GOING!!
KB