Four years as Employee #1 in a start-up? It's basically a college education.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, KIMBERLY! | Team Letter | May 2, 2026
May 2, 2026
Happy Saturday, Alpaca!
Yesterday, the team was wishing Kimberly a happy 4-year anniversary at Alpaca one day early, and Kaitlynn said:
“4 years?! You basically have a bachelor’s degree in Alpaca!”
Kimberly started as Employee #1 at Alpaca four years ago today, which hardly seems possible. Four years of building our brand, our marketing efforts, and our customer base. Four years of shaping our team culture, our revenue strategy, and our presence in the world. Four years of leveling herself up, making changes when we needed them, and truthfully, helping to shape me into a CEO for the first time. Four years in a start-up truly is the equivalent of a full college education, and then some.
So, at a little celebratory lunch, Kimberly and I ran with the college metaphor.
I asked her the following questions, and then we reminisced and giggled about the answers for an hour. With no further ado…
If Kimberly’s time at Alpaca so far was a college education…
Karen: What did you major in?
Kimberly: “Repositioning.”
This is so true — when Kimberly started, Alpaca was a direct-to-consumer subscription box company with approximately 5 customers. Today we’re a software platform selling to schools and districts. Every step that got us there required us to reposition our products, our value, and our company to each changing audience.
Karen: What “intramural sport” have you played?
Kimberly: “Design: I’m the intramural sports player that takes it seriously and tries to win, even if it’s not the sport I actually trained in.”
Most of our team and customers would never know that Kimberly isn’t trained in design — she brings her keen eye and high standard to every piece of work we put out into the world. Definitely winning the intramural championships over there.
Karen: What is your favorite Alpaca “spring break”?
Kimberly: “Camp Wandawega.”
Can’t argue with this one - this is one of my favorite Alpaca retreats, with one of the most epic photo shoots our team had ever seen. Kimberly was in Wes Anderson-inspired photography heaven, and led the team to such a memorable shared experience.
Karen: What has been your favorite Alpaca “college party?”
Kimberly: “Wilson Phillips karaoke after winning the day at NCE.”
Funny enough, this is also what 80% of the team said was their favorite memory of Kimberly from this year. I’m not even going to try to explain this one, but Kimberly said it well: “There’s no celebration like celebrating after a big win.”
Karen: What is your most memorable “all nighter” at Alpaca?
Kimberly: “October 2022 packout“
We had an overly ambitious Alpaca pack, not enough hands, and new customers that we’d promised an on-time delivery. (And I do mean delivery — we delivered all of our packs by hand then). In case you’re on the team and don’t know the provenance of our obsession with Mariah Carey, it is this night. We had one goal after that experience: “no more midnights.”
Karen: What is your go-to “cafeteria meal” at Alpaca?
Kimberly: “Egg Bites, of course.”
I think I’ve seen this woman eat approximately 200 egg bites in the last four years. It’s honestly remarkable.
Karen: Who has been your hardest “professor” at Alpaca?
Kimberly: “Customers who tell us no.”
I love this answer so much. Kimberly went on to explain it: “Listen, I think we’re really amazing. So if someone doesn’t, and they say no to working with us, I really want to know why. Could we have done something different? Did we not create the right relationship? Is our product the wrong fit? Is it really because of budget? Those are the questions that teach me the hardest lessons, and the ones I value the most.” <— May every startup company have early employees who think like this.
Karen: What do you want to get your “masters degree” in at Alpaca?
Kimberly: “Answering the question ‘What should we do next?’”
This answer pretty much sums up exactly where Kimberly is in her world at Alpaca right now: shifting from the purely tactical to the grounded strategic; from the fully experimental to the “we’re starting to understand what our customers truly want and need;” from a die hard member of the squad to the leader of a growing and evolving team.
Kimberly, if the last four years were a college education, I believe you would be graduating with highest honors with all the special lanyards and cords. You bring the highest level of rigor, excellence, joy, and love to every single bit of work you do for this company.
This year alone, we saw you lead our marketing team, run a summer camp for educators, take Alpaca to 34 conferences, roll out our largest presence at an event, and then casually run 2 marathons and earn a literal masters degree.
We’re us because you’re you, and I cannot wait to see what extraordinary work we have in store together in Year Five. Happy Anniversary, and THANK YOU for every single way you shape this company.
Love,
KB