Spigot believes that it’s important for its employees to become involved and engaged within their communities. One way that our employees give back to their communities is by volunteering with programs that positively impact others’ quality of life.

To help support our employees in helping out the community they live in, we have recently launched a new Employee Volunteer Program that allows Spigot employees to take paid time off for volunteering.

Why Did Spigot Implement a Volunteer Program?

In addition to getting our employees involved in their communities, we also recognize that people may have specific charities or organizations that they have a personal connection with. Spigot believes that this volunteer program will both enable and encourage people to get involved in organization of their choice, rather than one chosen by the company.

Instead of organizing company-wide volunteering days, we believe that this type of volunteer program will give our employees the freedom to chose how they give back to their communities and the organizations within them.

A few weeks ago one of  FGCU’s  Entrepreneurial class came for a tour of Spigot, Inc. and got the opportunity to listen to Ben Tucker, Elina Terenteyva and Shayna Paolucci speak about our company culture, the reasons we’re successful as a company (and individuals) and what it took for us to get here. The students and professor loved it so much that they asked Ben to come to one of the Senior Level classes and speak to students graduating about Spigot, Inc. and advice on how to have a successful future.

He spoke a lot about the “Spigot, Inc. Mentality” and just having the right mentality in general. He talked about the way he thinks about things as a manager, and how it’s not about age or experience – but who’s best for the job. He honed in on not settling or punching a time clock everyday to just have a job.  He explained how the generation we are in; employers like young leaders and that we’re in a generation that doesn’t discriminate. He told the students that he likes when his employees are better than him and he can learn from them, because it makes him a better leader.  Ben stressed that even when people doubt you (which many doubted him) to still follow your gut, because you know what’s best for yourself when others around you don’t always. He told them if you are passionate about something, listen to what people have to say – but trusting yourself is a huge key to success. He spoke about finding a company that will invest in your leadership growth and as you go through your career, finding a company that invests in you and helps you grow.

He opened up about his failures that led to his success and spoke about how failure is okay and part of growing. He explained to them that even most of the leaders in our company have lost large amounts of money for the company taking risks and it’s okay. When mistakes happen, we take our people aside and we say “let’s think about what we can do better next time.”

Overall our visit to FGCU was extremely successful. Ben stressed to the students that our company IS epic, but he isn’t trying to sell the company – he is trying to sell the dream of “don’t sell yourself short.”

Spigot, Inc. loves their relationship with FGCU and the opportunity they give our leaders to inspire their students.  1/4 of our employees graduated from there and we will continue to hire! If you want to be a part of an awesome company with an great mindset, we would love to speak with you!

Send your resume and cover letter to careers@spigot.com for review! Check out all of our adventures on the Spigot Inc blog.

This morning one of FGCU’s Entrepreneurial classes came for a field trip at Spigot, Inc. and got the opportunity to listen to a few employees speak about their journey to their success and position in the company. Elina Terentyva began the conversation by telling them about her background in graphic design, branding and redesigning the company logo. Hands raised all around the room – students asked a bunch of great questions about graphic design and company rebranding. After Elina spoke – Ben Tucker, Manager of our Search Privacy Team spoke with the students about being successful and the mindset needed to reach their entrepreneurial and personal goals.

He spoke about his management style and how the employees he manages are not just colleagues, but we all take care of one another. We all work together to accomplish the same goals and have a team mind-set. He spoke about our bonuses at Spigot, Inc. and how they are all based on one goal – and as a team, we all have effect on that. This incentives us to help one another and to hire leaders. He told the students; when you are looking for a job – look for culture and ask yourself, “Will this position help be to become a leader?”

Ben taught the students about our start up mentality and keeping a small tenacious mindset. Instead of thinking I want to make a million dollars – instead say, “How do I make my first dollar?” and scale out from there. He talked about the hard stuff that most people don’t tell you, that there WILL be hardships, money loss and mistakes. He spoke from personal experience and told students about his mistakes along the way, and how much he learned from them. He advised students to always keep the mindset of, “how do I get to the next level?” and even after a set back – you’ll always bounce back.

Ben told the room that they can’t care about other people’s opinions because he had people that doubted him and it drove him to prove them wrong. He said, “remember it’s not the money you make, but it’s the experience it gave you.” He told them you have to ask yourself, “When is the right time to take a risk and trust yourself”  because if he hadn’t – he wouldn’t be where he is today.

In closing Ben encouraged the students to be a sponge, to learn as much as they can and always keep the Spigot, Inc. mentality!

Overall, today was a great learning experience for everyone involved! The students came out of our conference room inspired. We are extremely grateful to have such caring leaders in our organization that challenge their employees, help them grow and have a team mindset. We are also grateful for our awesome relationship with FGCU and the opportunity we are given to partner with them and hire talented interns and graduates!