Reflections on 2023... and Excitement for 2024

The holidays are in full swing, and I find myself feeling reflective as the year comes to a close. I’m thinking about the last 12 months, everything that’s happened here at Ninety, and everyone who helped make it happen. 

Despite an uncertain economy, a world with more than its fair share of strife, and a challenging fundraising environment, we’ve accomplished so much this year. All our Ideal Stakeholders, clients, coaches, investors, and partners worked together to achieve so much. I’m inspired in ways that are hard to describe in words. My hope… no, my belief… is that every team member and leader at Ninety shares this sentiment.    

For starters, we released a fully rebranded website and published dozens of information-rich briefs and guides covering the concepts, tools, and disciplines that support the healthy growth of small to midsize businesses.

Here are a few more notable 2023 milestones I’d like to highlight:

• We crossed the threshold of 10,000 companies running on Ninety (with a huge thanks to the many coaches who support them and us).
• We raised a significant second round of funding with Blue Cloud Ventures and Catalyst Investors joining Insight Partners.
• We became certified as a Great Place to Work®.
• We notched #101 on Deloitte’s 2023 Technology Fast 500™ Rankings.

I set these things apart because there’s a common theme here around the importance of doing great Work (yes, Work with a capital W) and enabling a certain work/life harmony. The kind of harmony that allows everyone to be the best version of themselves for themselves and their team members, friends, and loved ones. The kind of harmony that gets people talking about where they Work, and how others might like working there, too.

In fact, we saw our company nearly double in 2023 as we added 80 new people to our team. Many were actively recruited by current team members, something I simply can’t stop smiling about. 

Since we're a Work From Anywhere company, culture is critically important at Ninety. And gratitude is an integral part of our culture; it’s something we will never take for granted or stop working on. 

Plenty of research shows that companies embracing a culture of recognition and appreciation see better performance:

• Higher engagement
• Greater dedication
• Improved retention levels 

Gratitude not only helps build strong interpersonal relationships but also frequently helps to develop stronger, more loyal, and more motivated team members and teams.

I know I’m grateful for the unwavering support, active engagement, and stellar contributions every one of our stakeholders makes to help us uphold our mission in support of small to midsize businesses. Not to mention, of course, all their efforts that push us to relentlessly become a better and better version of the best version of ourselves.

So yes, it’s been quite a year, and all of us at Ninety are excited for what’s next, not just for Ninety but also for the coaches we support, our partners, our investors, and the companies relying on our platform. 

I’m certain we’ll collectively help those companies continue to grow and thrive as they set aspirational goals, run great weekly meetings, keep track of the most important numbers, and take their organizations to the next level and beyond.

When all that happens, great Work gets done, year after year.

My hope for everyone is that you get to do what you truly love doing. And my wish is for you all to enjoy continued success and happiness in the new year. 

On to 2024!