OFF-MUTE 🔈
📣 ICYMI: Inkhouse has an office in Seattle.
😷 We announced it in February 2020—four weeks before the pandemic hit.
🌱 Despite all odds, our Pacific Northwest team has grown (and flourished)!
🎉 And now we’re proudly celebrating their TWO-year anniversary.
👑 Our success is due to our mighty leader, Kate Riley, and her team. As Inkhouse’s Pacific Northwest general manager, Kate’s built a team of 12 from the ground up when the world went remote and brought on tech clients across a range of industries from fintech to real estate tech, including Seattle-based #clients Remitly and Qumulo.
🎙️ Our President Jason Morris recently sat down with Kate to understand what makes Seattle unique, how she established team culture during Covid, and why she chose to open a new physical office space. Here are the highlights from their chat using direct quotes from Kate:
💫 On what makes Seattle unique: “Seattle is now a major tech hub rivaling Boston, New York, Austin, and Denver, among others. It offers everything a large cosmopolitan city has, but on a scale that is accessible and energizing. We have world-class universities, incredible natural beauty… and companies that have changed the world!”
👀 On which industries she’s watching: “I am interested in the way technology is improving logistics—both in terms of efficiency and climate impact. Logistics and supply chain management was already experiencing disruption before the pandemic, and those technologies have become even more necessary over the last two years.”
👩💻 On growing a team in a virtual environment: “We had to redefine what made us a team. For us, it was about creating a sense of identity and connection to one another.”
🏢 On why she signed a lease for a new physical office in Seattle: “We have the opportunity to create a workplace environment that balances community and flexibility. Many of our Seattle team members crave time in an office to connect and learn from others. We also really like each other and enjoy the camaraderie and energy that comes from working side-by-side.”
💕 On the importance of self-care: “If you take care of yourself, you’ll do a better job taking care of your people—this has been especially true over the past two years as I strove to be a calm, empathic and optimistic leader for my team.”