Seismic and Equitable Employment in 2022

By Steven Weinstein

Treating all stakeholders equitably is a tightrope that all companies must face, and these days in particular employers know they need to do whatever they can to hold onto the workers who grow the business and make it thrive.

A longstanding benefit of the tech industry has been stock options. They can produce incredible returns for employees who stay on board for long periods of time. But for all employees — newbies and long-timers — more near-term benefits are holding an additional appeal, especially amid increasingly volatile markets, and uncertainties around the pandemic.

Some tech companies are stepping up to the plate to develop ways to ensure their employees are still compensated meaningfully. And as companies adapt to meet the needs of a changing workforce, it is important that even emerging tech startups prioritize taking meaningful compensation seriously. With a tight labor market and the ease of switching roles in our now remote landscape, we know we need to help our startups stand out to continue to grow their teams.

At Seismic Capital Company, we believe companies should create a work environment that empowers employees to thrive in their work and create the best possible output. It’s hard to do that when many in the workforce aren’t given adequate time and flexibility to spend with their families, pursue outside interests, worry about making rent in their company’s big city, or of course, stress about budgeting when their student loan payments are due.

We invest in companies that make a seismic impact on their respective industries, and we know these companies can’t do that without putting their employees first. With that in mind, we want to make a few things clear.

First, we will require all Seismic companies who use interns to actually pay them. If someone is putting their time in, it only makes logical and ethical sense to compensate them for their efforts. For too long, companies and startups have taken advantage of their entry-level team members, and Seismic is committed to changing that. The era of unpaid internships has ended at our companies.

Secondly, we will work with Seismic startups to consistently provide their employees with world-class benefits. That means, consistently adapting and growing these benefits to meet the needs of an evolving workforce.

With that in mind, we are thrilled to announce our student loan bonus model! We know the average student loan debt for a 2020 private college graduate is $32,029. And the relief that we can offer can be a true difference in enforcing and maintaining a strong company culture. But more than that, create an environment where the individual employee can thrive. As such, when a startup signs on with Seismic, we do our due diligence to evaluate compensations structures and bonus models to ensure they are profitable and equitable. As such, when any Seismic company offers a bonus, employees can elect to have up to $5,250 set aside tax free to support their student loan payments.

Seismic Capital Company is prepared to put our startups in the absolute best position to succeed. That means empowering them to focus on customer acquisition and product / service development, by jumping in to make sure their back-office operations are covered and ready to go. And this includes doing what we can to meet the needs of the workforce and create an environment that treats employees like the important stakeholders that they are.