Sammy Courtright co-founded Ten Spot, a platform for workforce engagement that enables companies to connect with distributed teams. The company believes that enjoying the moment with colleagues, no matter where they are, will glue the workforce together and allow them to be more productive and engaged in cooperation.
At Ten Spot, Sammy Courtright and her team collaborates with her clients through every step of engaging the workforce. They help develop “new hire onboarding tools and automated icebreakers to peer pairing and virtual social events.” The team also uses powerful analytics tools to track and assess employee “engagement and behaviors,” so that your company can have real and reliable data to rely on when implementing strategies to “improve your culture, identify leaders, and create a space that welcomes everyone.”
Her attention to detail has been evident to everyone who has worked with Sammy Courtright since the very beginning of Ten Spot. Aside from running the company, she is also a certified Pilates instructor, and she brings the tenacity and grit of the exercise to bear on helping startups perform necessary tasks. At Ten Spot, she also fulfills a good number of roles, from “sketching app screens to managing the customer experience.”
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Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Sammy Courtright: I’ve always been very creatively inclined, and in school, I studied theatre. However, at the same time, there’s always been part of my brain hyper-focused on solving problems.
Anytime I go into a restaurant or a store, I find myself thinking about all the ways it could be more efficient and scalable, and have even emailed the owners with my ideas (I know, I am that person). That is how I met Jon, my co-founder. Mutual friends introduced us and once I heard about what he was working on, I started telling him all the ideas I had to make it scale.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Sammy Courtright: We had plans to return to Los Angeles after completing Techstars Atlanta, but at the end of the program, we were offered free office space and access to incredible resources–things that early-stage startups cannot refuse.
So 90 days turned into two years! It wasn’t an easy decision. I only had a carry-on suitcase of clothes. I flew back to LA for a weekend to pack up my apartment, said ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ to friends, and flew right back to Atlanta.
Running a company can be lonely, and at the time, I didn’t have any family or friends in Atlanta. It would have been easy at times to throw in the towel, but we didn’t.
I feel a strong sense of responsibility. The fact that my name is attached to what I’m building and that I took money from people, I want this to be successful. Although the move was unsettling and lonely, I found my focus and stride. That is what drives me to continue and persevere.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Sammy Courtright: Last fall, I was sitting in a cafe in New York, having a cup of coffee, and some guy I’d never met before approached me and said, “Sammy?” I was thinking, “I’ve never met this person before…right?” and replied, “Yeah?” And he said, “Ten Spot, right? My friend’s cousin sent me your pitch deck.”
Moral of the story: your pitch deck isn’t your business card. We always prefer it when people ask to share company collateral before sharing it with others!
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you please share your “Five Things You Need To Know To Delegate Effectively and Be Completely Satisfied With the Results?” Please share a story or an example for each.
Sammy Courtright:
- Learn to let go and know when to do it: I always try to ask myself, ‘does any item on my ‘to do’ list move the needle for our business’? If the answer is no, then I take a few items off my plate and delegate them to someone else, so my focus is on growing the business.
- Provide the right instructions: be specific with the task you want someone to complete, when you want it done, and how you would like to review and receive it once it’s finished. The more detail you can give here, the better.
- Know and be mindful of who you’re speaking to: how much context does this person have? No need to over-explain a concept to someone you’ve worked with for years but make sure they know what needs to be done.
- Follow up: Once someone completes the task, ask them how it went, and for feedback. Feedback is a two-way street!
- Get people excited about the opportunity you’re presenting: explain the ‘why’ behind the task. The more you explain why something is important, the more connected they feel. Make them responsible for owning and completing it in its entirety. When your colleague completes the task, it’s also an excellent opportunity to recognize/reward them for their accomplishments!
Jerome Knyszewski: One of the obstacles to proper delegating is the oft-quoted cliche “If you want something done right do it yourself.” Is this saying true? Is it false? Is there a way to reconcile it with the importance of delegating?
Sammy Courtright: I think it comes down to someone’s personality — if someone is very “Type A” or has a hard time relinquishing control, then it’s easy to believe this statement.
I would say start small and give people direction to get started — and have a thorough project management plan in place. This doesn’t mean micromanaging but having processes and checklists are useful to keep tasks moving along and communicating where things are at.
To counter the quote, I would like to share one of my favorites that “it takes a village to raise a child” because in business — like children — it takes the help and work of the community — your employees — to build and grow something, and have it succeed.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Sammy Courtright: Following Ten Spot on one or more of our social media channels is the best way to keep up with what we’re doing.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tenspot/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tenspot
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenspot/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellotenspot
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
