#1 Best Company to Work For – Below 50 Employees
rivate equity firm looks to thrive on the principles of Conscious Capitalism – looking after all stakeholders.
Satori Capital’s culture is built on the foundation of Conscious Capitalism, the practice that says a business thrives when it looks after the interests of all stakeholders.
“That’s the core of who we are,” Faith Geiger, the company’s stakeholder engagement manager, says. “That’s the lens we use to view the world.”
Conscious Capitalism permeates everything from recruiting to investments at the company, which invests in growing private companies. “When we hire people and when we on-board, we try to take a whole-person approach,” Geiger says. “We explore – what do they want to bring to the workplace? What makes them thrive? People are always learning and always developing. That’s one of the reasons people leave a workplace – because they’re not intellectually stimulated.”
Satori, which has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth and recently was named as an approved workplace by the Blue Zones Project Fort Worth well-being initiative, looks for the same values in the companies it invests in. “If the values alignment is there and the growth potential is there, we believe it will help the business grow,” says Hope Kahan, the company’s operations manager.
Satori offers a panoply of benefits, including healthcare, 401(k), and long- and short-term disability. It pays for corporate fitness memberships that employees propose and currently has eight such partnerships with local studios. It hosts periodic discussions on dimensions of personal energy, annual “gratitude dinners,” holiday events, and birthday benefits, in which it makes a contribution to employees’ charities of choice.
The company also encourages flexible schedules to allow employees to build the workday around their energies and needs. “Instead of having an environment where we frame what a day looks like, we empower employees to do that for themselves,” Willie Houston, the chief financial officer, says. “People rarely feel as if they’re making sacrifices to be here in their lives. That doesn’t mean we don’t work hard. We work really hard.”
The company offers three weeks of paid vacation, plus major holidays, government holidays, and the week between Christmas and New Year’s. It also doesn’t track vacation usage. “What we find is we have to push people to take their time,” Geiger says. Casual dress is the order of the day.
Personal energy is a big focus. The company’s offices feature a Wall of Energy Rituals, including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy. Employees make a commitment to something on the wall, such as working out more. “If you’re taking care of this,” Cami Miller, an operations analyst at the company, says of what’s on the wall, “then your performance should show that.”
The paid fitness memberships is a nod to that. “If we take cost out of the equation, they’re more likely to keep themselves fit,” Miller says. Satori offers joint workout times twice a week, brings in free healthy, catered lunches, and ensures its break room is filled with healthy snacks.
Another office wall, the Wall of Value Statements, offers encouraging expressions like “Be Present” and “Inspire.” All team meetings start with seven minutes of meditation – each employee gets to define that for themselves. “It’s just really to clear your mind so when you’re in the meeting, you’re present,” Miller says.
Some employees take daily walking meetings, walking around the block in the company’s West 7th district Fort Worth office. Others have standing desks with treadmills underneath. One of Houston’s energy rituals is to walk more. “There are studies that show getting some exercise will help you think better,” he says. “There’s nothing healthy about sitting behind a desk for 10 hours and not moving and eating crap.”
“One of the reasons I came here was the emphasis on well-being,” Miller says.
“We create value for investors; we partner with great people,” Houston says. “We love business; we’re entrepreneurs. It’s the type of company where everybody plays a role.”
At a Glance
What the company does:
Invests equity in growing private companies that have $5-$25 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Employees:
23
Fun benefits:
Lets employees define parameters of their work day, pays for corporate memberships with local fitness studios.
Why the company lets employees frame their work day:
“People rarely feel as if they’re making sacrifices to be here in their lives. That doesn’t mean we don’t work hard. We work really hard.”
Why the company likes to invest in companies simiiar to itself:
“If the values alignment is there and the growth potential is there, we believe it will help the business grow.”