About a decade ago, Pradeepta Dash and I worked with a great team to create LinkedIn Messaging. It’s hard to believe now, but back then, real-time communication was still a novelty at work, and some argued whether it’d ever have a place next to email.
In many ways, LinkedIn’s core business was built upon that stuffy, old InMail style of communication. We thought it should be different, and took the risks to completely transform it. Now, it’s arguably one of the biggest drivers for professional engagement and communication.
Fast forward from those 0-1 days, and Pradeepta and I are joining forces again, founding Exceeds to challenge conventions and tackle more big problems in the workplace.
We’ve witnessed the increased pressure on managers to eke out more impact from their teams. The “year of efficiency” is enduring. AI and margin pressure are increasing expectations to do more with less. Individuals are carrying a larger burden, often with less guidance and support than ever. Navigating your professional journey can be a lonely path without guidance, coaching and advocacy.
It’s time to retire the old models of coaching, performance reviews and helicopter management. Capturing extensive 1:1 notes that go unread, writing lengthy reviews to prove your worth, and peanut-buttering your management time across a large team are all symptoms of a broken system.
We believe there’s a better way to help managers and individuals have bigger impact without the anxiety and overhead that companies spend today in performance processes and manager check-ins. By analyzing a team’s work and interactions, we can generate powerful insights in a company. Leveraging those insights with AI will transform the way people are coached and managed and give individuals more direct control of their growth. All of this at a fraction of the time and cost that’s typically being wasted today.
Thanks to the support of a lot of amazing angel investors and our first customers, we’re hard at work at bringing this vision to life. We’ll have more to share in upcoming posts, and thank you for supporting us on our mission.
P.S. "Exceeds" is a hat tip to everyone who navigates their company performance processes, trying to nab that "Exceeds Expectations" rating. Everyone deserves an "Exceeds."
