Up and to the Right!
Team Letter | July 6, 2026 | Happy Second Anniversary, Maci!
Happy Monday, Alpaca, and Happy Anniversary, Maci!
Last week I saw a chart outlining our growth based on the products we sell — our teacher recognition programs on one line, and our pulse check-in software on the other. And I thought, “I hope Maci McWilliams knows the impact she is making in this place.”
So for her second anniversary with Alpaca today, I wanted to make sure we recognize the shift in the direction of the company that happened because we get to work with Maci.
All of us like to feel like we can see the impact of our work in the world. For educators, “impact” is the area where we hear the most positive sentiment. And for own team, I think it’s why many of us choose to join a start-up in the first place — when you work for a fast growing company, you get the opportunity to make a real impact for customers and for the company every single day you show up and win the day.
When Maci McWilliams joined our company, she was fresh out of the prestigious Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management, she’d just gotten married, she’d just moved to Omaha, and we handed her wireframes and one goal: to launch our software platform by the end of the summer.
Now, we measure the company in before and after we sold software.
This chart shows customer growth from our teacher recognition programs (how we started the company) in green, and from customers who buy our software in blue. You can literally see the day that Maci joined the company and began to immediately make an impact. Check it out:
Alpaca Pulse changed the trajectory of our company, and on the impact we can have on teacher retention and educator wellbeing. There are a lot of individuals who have designed, built, tested, and supported Alpaca Pulse since we launched it two years ago; but the person who leads the charge and approaches the challenge with abundance and problem solving, and who keeps bringing that mindset to every new feature and challenge in our platform, is Maci.
Now, we see so many new opportunities with our product(s), and Maci is just warming up! The post-its are filled with ideas, the vision is big, the product is evolving and growing, and Maci approaches the opportunities with big learning, a lot of listening, and a mindset of abundance. Beyond software, Maci raises her hand to stand and the booth and book demos on the conference floor, because she’s willing to jump on any opportunity to better know our customers, our product, and the opportunities ahead.
Beyond that, Maci is an absolute delight to every single person on our team, regularly bringing little gestures, kind words, handpainted notes, and small kindnesses to each and every one of us.
Maci, Year 3 is going to be an extraordinary one — and your impact will only grow. Let’s keep going — up and to the right!
KB