One of Shipt’s core values is to put People First. Every day there are new stories about Shipt Shoppers delivering incredible experiences to our members. They do this by creating a real, human connection between the member and themselves. Leading up to the holidays, one of our shoppers took a Shipt member Christmas tree shopping through FaceTime, strapped the tree to the roof of their car, and delivered both the tree and the groceries straight to the member’s home so they could focus on celebrating the holidays with their family. In time of need, like when hurricanes strike, our Shipt Shoppers and our employees go out of our way for our members. Our shoppers bring the store to your door. They don’t just deliver groceries, they deliver your groceries. The Shipt experience is awesome because we delight in putting people first.

Our employees, especially our Engineers, take this value to heart. We go to great lengths to put people first in our software teams. At a time when some companies are going more and more remote with their workforce, we are mostly going in the opposite direction. We have two offices on opposite sides of the country. The executive team spends at least one week per month in the other office. Engineering leadership spends at least one week per quarter in the other office as well. Software teams intentionally consist of equal members in both offices and team leads deliberately manage equal numbers of people in both locations. Travel between offices is strongly encouraged* for all members of the software teams. In person collaboration is a strong cultural value and nearly everyone participates.

As you’d expect, when we improve our products we keep our members and shoppers first. Our approach to software development strengthens that resolve because we put our people first.

*We hate to use the word required, but neither is calling your mother on Mother’s Day…

Southern Hospitality

From our inception, Shipt was different than your regular tech startup. It was founded in 2014 in Birmingham, Alabama. Our founder and CEO, Bill Smith, was shopping for groceries with his wife, a 1-year-old, and a newborn. This exhausting event escalated into two crying children and two very stressed parents. All you parents out there remember your recent experiences like it in the grocery store — I sure do. You might even be getting that fingernails-on-chalkboard feeling. As they were leaving the store, it hit Bill that there just had to be a better way. Out of that experience Shipt Grocery Delivery was born.

As the idea developed, it became evident that Southern hospitality was at the heart of our culture. Our sense of hospitality and respect are more than just a nod to our Southern roots — they’re fundamental to how we operate. We’re fanatical about providing personal, high-touch service that goes above and beyond. One embodiment of this is our world-class customer support organization. We call them the Experience Team. Because, to Shipt members and Shipt Shoppers, that’s what it’s all about.

Silicon City Expansion

As Shipt grew, we opened a San Francisco office in March 2016. In some ways, it’s the other half of our magic: technology. The Silicon City is the perfect match for the Magic City. Since the office opened, we have continued to hire equally in both locations.

I started at Shipt (in San Francisco) not quite 6 months ago. On the day I started, there were 51 people in Technology in Birmingham and 52 people in San Francisco. I had 4 direct reports — 2 in Birmingham and 2 in San Francisco. This pattern was consistent very deliberately across the department. Since that day, I have been to the Birmingham office twice. Since that day, over 160 employees (over 30%) from one office have visited the other office.

Shipt is growing very fast. As we grow, it’s of paramount importance that we keep this deep integration between the offices.

Cornerstones

Until the development of modern construction, a cornerstone was the first stone placed at the corner of new construction. It was critical because all other stones were set in reference to this stone, thus the entire building position was based on the cornerstone. Over time the term has come to represent something that is essential, indispensable, or basic.

Our two cornerstones in Birmingham and San Francisco are each awesome and unique in their own way. The Birmingham office is in an old bank over 100-years-old located on a corner dubbed the Heaviest Corner on Earth due to the sheer mass of the buildings located on the four corners of it. The main entrance and lobby has 20-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling white marble, and is a large, wide open work space for multiple teams. We even have a meeting room in the old vault downstairs — with a working door.

The current San Francisco office is the fourth office space that we’ve had in two years — we outgrew the previous three. We have a full floor in SOMA just adjacent to the San Francisco Convention Center. Its exposed ceilings and structural columns are part of the modern and quirky decor. There are no right angles in the entire space. Interior conference rooms have irregular polygon windows. Some conference room doors are camouflaged — only revealing themselves with the door handles. Desks are intentionally set at slight angles and every desk has a view out of the perimeter windows.

Both offices share all the human touches that you want and expect of a high-tech company. Each location is equipped with all sit/stand desks, well stocked kitchens, and relaxing break areas that can be found all around the office. We keep the atmosphere upbeat with music softly echoing throughout the space on our Sonos speakers. And, as an Engineer, you can literally have any computer, tool, or really anything you need to do your job. We trust our Engineers to know what’s best and be a responsible custodian of the company’s resources. We care about our employees because we put people first.

Delivering the Goods

This post launches the Shipt Technology blog: Delivering the Goods. As our Shipt Shoppers deliver your goods to your home, we strive to perfect that service — making Shipt the easiest, most reliable, and delightful way to get your groceries. Our engineers and scientists want to contribute what we are learning and doing here at Shipt to further the technology and software development community that we are grateful to be a part of. We are excited to give back to the community in this and more ways as we strive to always put people first.

About Shipt

Shipt is a membership-based online grocery marketplace delivering fresh foods and household essentials through a community of shoppers and a convenient app. Shipt offers quality, personalized grocery delivery to members for $99 per year, and is available to nearly 70 million households in more than 200 markets across the country. For more information (including how to become a Shipt Shopper), visit Shipt.com!

Interested in joining the Shipt team? As part of our “people first” mentality, we value our open, collaborative culture and work environment where everyone has the opportunity to grow and succeed. Learn more about careers at Shipt.