A new year has officially begun, and while some people are embarking on a new fitness journey, others have their minds set on career success.
For many people, the start of a new year unlocks a desire to pursue their professional goals, whether that involves finding a new role or growing in a current one. And luckily for Austin-based job seekers, three local companies make it possible to do just that — and more.
At Closinglock, family-first benefits, such as generous parental leave and flexible work scheduling, make it easier to drive the company’s mission to simplify the real estate closing experience.
An encouragement to grow is also essential for long-term success, which is why AlertMedia emphasizes career development, connecting its people with the right resources to get them where they need to be. Invoice Home takes a similar approach, encouraging its employees to discover their professional passions while providing them with office perks, such as commuter benefits and an onsite gym, so they feel supported in every sense.
Read on to see why these three companies are ones to watch as the new year begins — and don’t forget to check out their open roles!
Closinglock aims to simplify the real estate closing experience. The company’s platform enables title companies, law firms and financial services providers to share wire transfer instructions and other documents with clients, collect e-signatures and verify bank or loan payoff information instantly.
What first attracted you to Closinglock? When did you know it was the right place for you and your career?
There were actually two main factors: The tech stack they were moving towards and the culture. I’ll address culture in a separate question. As a front-end engineer, you will see an endless number of job postings for — what else — React. It’s ubiquitous, and it has plenty of plusses. It’s also the default companies pick when they don’t know or don’t care what else they might use. React is a popular, aging library that has a lot of legacy features, versions and patterns that must be maintained.
As with every tech choice, there are trade-offs. When I see React on a job requisition, I wonder how much control engineers have about choosing those trade-offs for themselves. Closinglock’s front-end framework is Vue, which told me in one line that the engineering team at Closinglock was making informed choices about what was good for the business and the developers. Since joining, that feeling of being among people who take an interest in their own work and make decisions with their brains switched on has only grown. I’ve benefitted from an openness to explore and adopt improvements suggested by individual developers, and I really enjoy working with people who share my engineering enthusiasm.
“I’ve benefitted from an openness to explore and adopt improvements suggested by individual developers, and I really enjoy working with people who share my engineering enthusiasm.”
Share one exciting challenge or project you are working on right now. What impact will this have on the business?
My team is adding the ability to collect earnest money on behalf of our customers. OK, so what? Closinglock’s customers are mainly title insurance agencies. Their mission is to ensure — and insure — that when you buy a property, you aren’t also buying an unpleasant surprise — an unpaid debt, a lingering lien or even purchasing from someone who isn’t the full owner of a property. To paint that full picture, title agencies must do a ton of digging, and in compensation they receive a fee as a percentage of the sale. However, if the sale falls through, all of that digging becomes wasted effort.
To guard against this, many agencies would prefer not to start that search before a prospective buyer has committed some non-refundable earnest money as a way to signal their sincere interest in proceeding. This allows Closinglock’s customer pool to expand while improving life for current customers at the same time. What I like about this project is that the value to customers is so clear. You can fully understand the customer need and how it would be a business boon for us. It’s a substantial problem to solve, which is fantastic for feeling like your work has real impact.
If your company culture was a car, what would it be, and why?
Our company culture would be the van that your friend takes to the beach every weekend. People always make room for one more person, take turns driving and follow one another's suggestions for how to keep the van running smoothly. It isn’t flashy or reckless, but it’s dependable and full of good people.
I think the van metaphor can only be driven so far, so let me be direct. Culture can either be a part of the job that needs to be compensated for or part of the compensation. At Closinglock, culture is emphatically the latter. They don’t use cloying language to tell new hires that they’re joining a family. No one checks time cards to see when you arrive and when you leave. What they do instead is hire smart, well-adjusted adults who take pride in their work, have empathy for their peers and communicate clearly. It’s a great formula that creates a cordial, candid and collaborative atmosphere. Come see for yourself.
AlertMedia develops threat intelligence, emergency communication, employee safety monitoring and travel risk management solutions. With a team of in-house intelligence analysts and meteorologists, the company empowers organizations of all sizes to identify, respond to and recover from critical events more quickly and confidently.
What first attracted you to AlertMedia? When did you know it was the right place for you and your career?
During the interview process, AlertMedia highlighted that one of the company’s values is “We’re humans, not robots.” That resonated deeply with me, as I have always admired organizations that prioritize a culture of continuous learning, individual growth and development opportunities beyond what’s included in a job description. Also, having a friend and role model who already worked on the enterprise sales team at AlertMedia provided valuable insight. Her positive experiences and career progression within the company also showed me what I could achieve with hard work. I knew this was the right place for me and my career when I could see how much my leadership team cared for my success. Having your CEO strategize on deals and compliment your work really stood out to me. Now, after two years with significant growth to the business, nothing has changed.
“I knew this was the right place for me and my career when I could see how much my leadership team cared for my success.”
Share one exciting challenge or project you are working on right now. What impact will this have on the business?
Right now, I am working on a few opportunities with enterprise luxury brands who came to AlertMedia to help create a foundation for their employee safety programs, specifically to ensure they can fulfill their duty of care in an ever-changing threat landscape. I love that my job allows me to bring a prospective customer’s vision to life, and I’m consistently inspired by seeing in real time the impact our product makes for organizations in their efforts to keep employees safe across a wide range of work environments and geographies.
If your company culture was a car, what would it be, and why?
AlertMedia works with a large number of automotive companies, so this question is like asking your sales leader to choose their favorite sales rep. They are all great in their own unique way. What I will say is that organizations love AlertMedia because our product is fast, elegant and, most importantly, reliable, which are all attributes that make people fall in love with their cars. The most important attribute of any great car to me is it helps ensure your safety from one destination to another, and I am extremely proud that AlertMedia’s product helps keep people safe every day.
Invoice Home offers a billing and invoicing service for small businesses and freelancers. The company’s platform provides customizable invoice templates and is designed to securely save customer data, documents and reports.
What first attracted you to Invoice Home? When did you know it was the right place for you and your career?
Right after college, I sought a job with flexibility and valuable experience. Invoice Home delivered with excellent benefits, competitive pay and an environment where I could leverage my strengths while also providing ample opportunities for growth.
Share one exciting challenge or project you are working on right now. What impact will this have on the business?
Myself, along with the social media team, are working on expanding our presence and brand awareness on our social media accounts. Increasing our brand awareness will allow Invoice Home to continue to be a leader in the fintech industry.
“Increasing our brand awareness will allow Invoice Home to continue to be a leader in the fintech industry.”
If your company culture was a car, what would it be, and why?
The company culture at Invoice Home reflects the Subaru Outback: adaptable, supportive and ready to tackle any challenge. Just like the Outback’s capability to navigate diverse terrains, Invoice Home fosters an environment where employees are encouraged to be versatile and resourceful. Team members are valued for their unique strengths and contributions, creating a collaborative atmosphere that promotes growth and development for everyone involved.
