Part 1: Love, Viv

G-Rex [00:00:00]:
This is a very special episode for all the Alti peeps out there today, we have an amazing guest, somebody that you've been waiting to hear from for at least three years. I'm super excited about this episode. I hope all of you are. It happens to be a two parter, so you'll hear the first this week and the following next week. Please welcome bev can't believe you girls.

Viv [00:00:30]:
Made me do this.

G-Rex [00:00:31]:
We love you. But listen, we have cocktails. Do you have your cocktail?

Viv [00:00:36]:
I actually have hall's, cough drop and water because I'm getting over a cold, so I start hacking and coughing. So no, I couldn't do the cocktails. And I want to be sober when I do this. Yeah.

G-Rex [00:00:49]:
Okay, so we're going to have a celebratory drink because I have real Cuban.

Viv [00:00:55]:
Rum.

G-Rex [00:00:57]:
And maple Coke.

Dirty Skittles [00:00:58]:
I have a shot of almond.

Viv [00:01:01]:
Nice. Now you're making me feel bad.

Dirty Skittles [00:01:03]:
No, you're fine.

Viv [00:01:07]:
Okay. Cheers.

G-Rex [00:01:24]:
You look amazing, my friend.

Viv [00:01:27]:
I actually picked this hat because I think it has all the values of me and Alti, because it has love can't read it. Love, compassion, justice, and belonging. Kindness. I'm like that's the hat I want to wear. Yeah, I like that. I actually ordered it. Oh, empathy. There he goes.

Viv [00:01:48]:
That's a big one. Empathy. I think those are the values, what we build Alte on.

Dirty Skittles [00:01:53]:
Yeah.

Viv [00:01:54]:
That we all embrace. Yeah.

G-Rex [00:01:56]:
So how the hell did you get a cold in South Florida?

Viv [00:01:59]:
Because my grandkids went to school. And the first week my son has hand, mouth and foot. Gets sick for a week. Then my granddaughter gets sick and all of a sudden I got this major congestion. I was down last three days. My body was hurting, but not today is actually the first day that I felt good.

Dirty Skittles [00:02:18]:
Yay, I'm happy.

Viv [00:02:20]:
Well, you still really good.

G-Rex [00:02:21]:
You still look as beautiful as ever.

Viv [00:02:24]:
Gracias. This is my new look now. It's always casual.

Dirty Skittles [00:02:28]:
I love it.

Viv [00:02:29]:
I went from business clothes to just leggings and casual.

Dirty Skittles [00:02:33]:
I love that. That's my style.

Viv [00:02:35]:
Lucky. I think I do my hair once a week. It's up in a pigtail. I got sick of the corporate attire. I donated all my clothes. Like, I'm done.

Dirty Skittles [00:02:45]:
Nice.

Viv [00:02:45]:
You're like, never again, never again. Burn that. No. And I actually donated it all. I just donated. Now I wear heels. I'm like ouch. I lived in heels and I was like, Ouch.

Viv [00:02:55]:
Why did I do.

Dirty Skittles [00:03:00]:
Yeah, it's hard when we have to go out to wear real clothes. It's not like comfortable, like yoga pants or like a T shirt. I'm like, man.

Viv [00:03:07]:
No. And I told my daughter the other day, I completely have lost my sense of style. Totally lost my sense of style. And before in the corporate world, I always had to dress up. I had to get creative. Now I don't even know how to dress or put on makeup anymore. Don't know how put on makeup. I got an eyeliner here.

Viv [00:03:23]:
I'm like, oh, my God, no, I should not be doing this anymore. I like it much better, though.

G-Rex [00:03:29]:
It's funny. The other day I had to actually go out with a bra and it took me like, I don't know, an hour and a half to find a bra. Why?

Viv [00:03:40]:
That's the other thing. As 61, like, why am I still wearing a bra? Who cares? Mom, your nipples are showing. I don't care. Let them show. Give me a break. There's another thing a woman have to like, why do we do that to ourselves? Heels and bras.

G-Rex [00:04:00]:
At least your show okay. Mine are like halfway down to my belly. She always like, can you at least get a reduction?

Viv [00:04:05]:
I'm like, no, let them go. Just let it go. Let it go free. The older you get, the less shit we care about, right?

G-Rex [00:04:15]:
See, dirty skittles in about 20 years are going to have the same attitude. Like, I don't fucking care anymore.

Dirty Skittles [00:04:22]:
Yeah.

Viv [00:04:22]:
And we worked too hard. We went through so much shit. I'm like, I just don't fucking care. Yeah. If I go out, you don't look at me. I don't fucking care. Don't look at me. I don't care.

Dirty Skittles [00:04:30]:
Yeah.

Viv [00:04:31]:
I don't want to dress up to please anybody. No. I want to dress to please myself. No, not for anybody else.

G-Rex [00:04:37]:
Lovely. I just spit up my Cuban ramen coke. Love you both.

Viv [00:04:42]:
Do you spit it into your cup or you just spit it nice and you drank it again? Are you regurgitating? Disgusting. That's TMI. You did not have to share that.

G-Rex [00:04:53]:
I baby burned in it.

Viv [00:04:57]:
I told you. We're going back to being kids again. That depression stage. This is how it begins. Someone will be cleaning up to our shit soon.

Dirty Skittles [00:05:04]:
I don't know, dude.

G-Rex [00:05:06]:
I don't want to waste the bottle itself was like $60. I don't want to waste the rum.

Viv [00:05:11]:
But why do you spit it out then?

G-Rex [00:05:16]:
I was laughing so hard, it was about to come out someplace else.

Viv [00:05:19]:
All right.

G-Rex [00:05:19]:
So I just wanted to make sure we are okay.

Dirty Skittles [00:05:22]:
Yeah.

Viv [00:05:23]:
And you do.

G-Rex [00:05:23]:
You bring out the worst in me, the absolute worst.

Viv [00:05:27]:
I do not. That's not true. That wasn't my goal at ultimate. I was the goal to bring up the best people, not the worst. I brought up the funnest. I didn't bring out the worst. There's a difference between funnest and worst.

Dirty Skittles [00:05:39]:
Yeah.

G-Rex [00:05:40]:
You know, the costume I found the other day was the derby old man costume. And I looked at it and I laughed and laughed and laughed. That was the best costume ever.

Viv [00:05:52]:
You had some doozies. You had some doozies.

G-Rex [00:05:56]:
Most irreverent person ever.

Viv [00:06:00]:
And the point of I don't think I'm going to get dressed. The next thing, she wins the contest.

Dirty Skittles [00:06:04]:
I know. And then creeped us all out and gave us nice.

Viv [00:06:07]:
I love the old man one. The old man was awesome. Classic.

G-Rex [00:06:11]:
Just because I offered you guys candy and to go play bingo. Yeah, we'd have to do it virtually.

Viv [00:06:21]:
We did virtual. We invited. We were inclusive of everybody. We could do virtual. Yeah.

G-Rex [00:06:25]:
I won't be there this year for Halloween because I'm going to be in Atlanta. We're doing a live version of the show on November 4.

Viv [00:06:32]:
Nice.

Dirty Skittles [00:06:33]:
Friends giving.

Viv [00:06:34]:
Look at you. So busy. Excuse me. It's busy. Traveling now, recording your show.

Dirty Skittles [00:06:43]:
I know, right?

Viv [00:06:44]:
Congrats. Congrats. $100,000. Congrats. Thank you. Hope to get you some more after this podcast. Or maybe you might lose some. Can't blame me if you lose some followers.

Dirty Skittles [00:06:58]:
I think this one is coming with perfect timing. I think everybody, your voice will heal. I think a lot of people for good. Yeah.

Viv [00:07:05]:
Good. It's a lot of heartbreak right now. It is.

G-Rex [00:07:09]:
And I think just having you on here, Viv, it just reassures people that you're still around, that you still care.

Viv [00:07:18]:
Absolutely.

G-Rex [00:07:19]:
That we're all human. And I read a comment the other day that I can't remember what group I was on, but you were like the ultimate mother to so many people and myself included. And I just feel so very fortunate to be able to talk to you.

Viv [00:07:38]:
We'll get some tequila. Please hold. Please hold.

G-Rex [00:07:44]:
It'll go well with your hauls.

Viv [00:07:47]:
Yeah, really? That'll definitely smooth my coffee. And I definitely take tequila straight. But anyway.

G-Rex [00:07:58]:
Three, two, one. Welcome to another episode of shit that goes on in our heads today we have a very special guest. We have Viv, the former chief people officer from Ultimate Software. I'm so excited to have you here. I know that you really hate doing these things, but for us it is truly an honor. And why don't you give us a little story about you, Viv?

Viv [00:08:24]:
Hello. I was going to say honored and so grateful I'm on here, but I'm not because I hate doing these things, but only because I love you both. But what do I do? An intro? What do you want me to start from my origin of Cuba from the beginning of Alti where do you want me to take this? Yeah.

Dirty Skittles [00:08:43]:
What brought you to the States? Start there.

Viv [00:08:46]:
Communism. So I came in 67 when Fidel took over Cuba and everyone thought it was going to be a more socialist country was totally fooled us so my mom alone with my husband, my father and my two other siblings in 67 they brought my someone during that time someone had to declare you. So my aunt who was my dad's sister declared us who had been here already in the States in York brought us to New York City. My mom left behind her four siblings. Her mother a very close family so I can't even imagine that. So we went to New York. We didn't have any money. We didn't know the language.

Viv [00:09:25]:
Long story short went to Washington Heights new york. So that's in 67 came was raised 67. In 70 my mom passed away. Sorry, cervical cancer. Those days as an immigrant, the last thing you think of is going to the doctor. She was too busy working, actually cleaning toilets, which I think leads a lot to my empathy for always the lowest paid employees and lowest paid people who no one talks about or takes for granted. So she cleaned office buildings at night and the lady who cleaned with her told my dad, look, she bleeds, she's bleeding. Wow.

Viv [00:10:02]:
Long story short, I had already been progressed, or she had a year, which I think about it still to this day, her knowing she was going to die. She leaves three little kids, five, eight and eleven, that she was going to leave. And on top of that, she was leaving with my dad, who was womanizer. Can you imagine what the pain she went through? Long story short, on her deathbed, she told my aunt, who was my dad's sister, that she only wanted her to raise us. And then coincidentally, my aunt, she didn't have kids, it was just her husband. She actually raised me. So I am the person I am because of my aunt Maria, who passed away in 2010. So it was her.

Viv [00:10:39]:
My uncle passed away in 2012. My dad passed away in 2012. An adjustment. First time that I had to deal with Alzheimer's from one week into the next, she didn't know who I was and I was her caretaker. So anyway and then it's really different perspective how you look, everyone above you has gone and you're it. So that was hard. That was a tough adjustment, going through altitude and going through that and again, just trying to be strong. But anyway, so New York, so now it's being raised by my aunt, who lived in the same building in Washington Heights.

Viv [00:11:14]:
My dad was nowhere to be found. Moved. She bought a house that she wanted us to live in. 1981 was my first year in college. I was Pace University in New York. And she said, I'm moving down. I said, Fine, I'm going with you. I moved down.

Viv [00:11:29]:
Shortly after, she finds out my uncle's having an affair. Typical male. So she says, I got to go back, I haven't invested in this marriage to let some ho take him away. She came back, I said, Fine, you go, I'm staying. So then I was on my own. She had a house, but she had an efficiency. I lived in the efficiency outside. She rented the house.

Viv [00:11:48]:
My sister came, I think, the year after. And then I was on my own. My dad never even to this day knew what I did at Alti, did what I did, or he was too busy having babies with women. And then my aunt finally moved down years later. But then I got married, I had the kids. So that's my journey into how I got ended up in Florida from New York. As an immigrant, I'll go into how I ended up at ultimate. My story of back in the days too, I needed a job, I was still going to school.

Viv [00:12:22]:
And back in the days, you looked at newspapers and you circled jobs and you applied. My first job in Miami was Royal Bank of Canada. So it was a bank. I was a secretary because I was very good in typing. And as a woman, that was the top job you did. It was easy to get secretary job. Then I went to another bank, I can remember, and I don't know why they hired me in the auditing department, which everyone hated me because no one wants to see an auditor coming to a teller to say I got to check if you're stealing money. I'm like, it's a horrible job, I hate it.

Viv [00:12:57]:
Nobody liked me. I want to be liked. I don't want to not be liked.

G-Rex [00:13:02]:
I can't imagine that because you're such a personable person.

Viv [00:13:06]:
No, I was in a horrible role, but no one wanted to take that job. And I said, Fine, I'll take it. I used to audit tellers and nobody liked me and I hated it. And then I looked at an ad in the paper for ADP. I said, you know, it was also a sales administrator. Typical, they call a sales administrator, but you really were a secretary for the sales department, for the wholesale distribution in ADP. I didn't know who ADP was. I had no idea.

Viv [00:13:34]:
I want to try it, go in, go in for an interview, I get the job. So it was a very small group, nothing to do. It was a very small division of ADP. It was wholesale distribution. We implemented and sold GL accounts, payable, accounts receivable, so a lot of the peeps worked in my division. So we all got super close. But then I admired Maria Nyes mercy Sepulblada, Marilyn Amanza because they all were implementing the accounts. And I got I want to be like them.

Viv [00:14:06]:
When I grew mean, I was a good sales administrator, but I'm like, I want to be like them. So I started shadowing them. Let me go back too. So I met my husband there, my first husband, I met him there at ADP. I was married him, not important. So then Paul Gonzalez was a salesperson, so he sold and Marilyn, Mario Mercy implemented for them. So I got close to Paul and Paul knew my work ethic. It was always like I was always a leader.

Viv [00:14:36]:
I think I was born a leader as a child, because I remember back, they always ask the question are you born a leader or are you made a leader? I think there's a combination. I think I was born a leader because I remember as a very young child, always looking at things and always thinking I can do that better, I can do things better. And even as I went into elementary and high school and college, it was always like, if we do it this way, I think it could be better. And everybody was like, all right, baby, you got it. I'm like, I didn't mean to do that. I didn't want to have to do all this work. There's better ways of doing this.

G-Rex [00:15:12]:
Were you the kid on the playground that organized everybody and said you can do this better?

Viv [00:15:17]:
Well, I was the person and that I was the person that brought everybody together. I want everybody to just you and I have talked about it, but I think it goes to my childhood trauma of losing my mom, young, wanting to be even though I was a leader, I didn't want to be the popular one. I just wanted to lead and bring people together. But I also wanted to be loved. So I had my dad who was never around, who really didn't. I know he cared for me, but now I am with how I was with my kids, how I raised my kids and the scene with my grandkids, I must have told my kids and my grandkids 20 times a day, I love you. I'm so proud of you. Hugging.

Viv [00:16:00]:
I'm a hugger. I never got that as a child. But I wanted to be loved. So even my aunt, who was my mom, who I loved and learned so much from, she also was tough love. She never sat and talked about how was your day and what are you feeling and I love you and I hug you. That didn't happen. But she loved me and I was always her favorite, so I know she loved me. So I think it was that need to be loved.

Viv [00:16:28]:
I just want everyone to like me. Hence, as I grew up, I think it became critical, which was a perfect role for me in HR people team because I just wanted people all to be happy. I wanted everybody to love. I want everyone to love me. That same for me. Physical touch is so critical for me because that tells me I feel loved. So that's why I'm such a hugger. Like, I hug everybody.

Viv [00:16:57]:
An adult teams that brought me so much joy of just hugging, especially those that I felt didn't feel they belonged. I could sense I'm a very good too. I sense people very good well. So I can sense I was very conscious of looking, of who was in a corner, not mingling, who was in a room not talking. I was very conscious of that. And I want to make sure those people felt part of you belong. So that was my focus. But again, because I'm always a people pleaser.

Viv [00:17:33]:
But I wanted to make sure everybody and I did that as a child, I think I did that, that I brought people together and made people work together well. So that's where I think my leadership values or beliefs come from that I bring people together again. I didn't want to have to be the most popular most I just wanted to make people feel good.

Dirty Skittles [00:17:52]:
Yeah.

Viv [00:17:53]:
So goes back to my story. So when I was working there and I work very hard and I work very hard, my work ethic says, Look, I think when you come from nothing, we were on food stamps. I had a nanny from the government. I think you can't really appreciate people and appreciate what you have until you've gone through when you didn't have anything. And I never thought of myself, of poor, know, we're on food, know my mom died. I never do a pity party. I just don't feel I think I'm so grateful for everything I do have. And I always think it could be so much worse.

Viv [00:18:29]:
And I think at Alti, I heard so many stories, and every time, like, oh, my God, how did you survive? And I heard so many people, the hard times, like, I didn't have a hard time. And people always looked at us, oh, my God, the poor orphans, they don't have a mom. I'm like, yeah, but there's a lot of people who get molested and get beaten and get like, I didn't have a mom, but, you know, that's life. I think I am who I am to a lot of my body because I lost my mom, because I have that self sufficient and independent and strong and dominant. Some people might not think that's great, but I think it developed me into the person I am because I didn't have my mom. So anyway, so I started shadowing, and I said, Marilyn, let me just watch you. I just want to watch what you're the the manager. I remember Jose Glennis Redman was the manager of the implementation people, and there was another woman in charge of sales.

Viv [00:19:22]:
I was surrounded by three very strong women in sales in that division who I admired. I'm like, man, these are amazing women. They don't take shit from any man. I'm like, I want to be like that. I want to be just like that. So I had talked to Glass at Glass. I want to be an implementation consultant. And she said, all right.

Viv [00:19:40]:
I said, Just shadow the girls and go around with them. And they'll tell me when they're ready. And they said, Viv's ready, we'll do it. I had no idea what I was doing. I became implementation consultant for Paul. So Paul sold the accounts, and I implemented for him. And he knew my work mean, and then he knew my attitude. And I tell everybody, didn't work.

Viv [00:20:00]:
Even if you don't know what you're doing, just say you do because you'll figure it out. I said, you know what? Whatever it is, how hard can this be, right? All these people are doing it. I'm going to figure it out. I'm going to learn this. I'm going to get it. And I did, and I was a very good implementation consultant. But then I went on maternity leave with my daughter. I was traveling, I had really the Keys, the Keys in South Florida.

Viv [00:20:22]:
So I was traveling back and forth all over the place. I already had my son, but I had my daughter and a maternity leave with my daughter. Glenn has called me and said, they're closing our division. We're all getting laid off, all of us. So when you come back from maternity, you're going to be laid off. And I'm thinking, this is amazing, this is perfect. I'm going to have more time with my daughter. Back in 1990, I could get a job.

Viv [00:20:43]:
Now I'm feeling really confident. It wasn't like the job market. Now I could get a job anywhere. In worst case, what's the worst that can happen? I can be a secretary. Again, I was making $70,000. And again, I think in scenario, in life, I always think, what's the worst that can happen? I am a hustler, so I know I wasn't going to be without a job. I'll work at publix. I'll do anything.

Viv [00:21:05]:
It is I have no ego. So when we got laid off, I came back and was in maternity, but Paul so my last dad at ADP was the fifth, October 5, 1990. And Paul says, babe, you really should go talk to Scott Shearer. He's starting up the company. He needs someone to run the inside of the office. I said, Nah, I don't really want to talk to Scott. I think Scott maybe twice walk the hallways and I saw he was real stoic. He was head of sales region, very successful.

Viv [00:21:38]:
I said, this guy thinks he walks on water. I'm not my type of guy. I don't want to deal with him, I don't want to talk to Scott, share whoever he is, I don't want to talk to. But then I thought, you know, what's the worst that can happen? So my last day of at, I go have lunch with him in Fort Lauderdale. He meets me for lunch in a suit. He shows me a little thin business plan, maybe ten pages, goes through the whole spiel of starting ultimate, and this is what he's going to do. And he's got a third party off the shelf software. He's going to call it Altipay.

Viv [00:22:08]:
And our revenue is going to be from the losses from ADP. We're just going to implement. And he has $300,000 to start the company and he wants someone to run the inside of the office. He doesn't know what that means, but he just wants me to take charge and do what I need to do. So he had him and Paul was starting. Paul was actually working in another company already helping Scott start, and they were going to sell. And Debbie Sasso, who he recruited from ADP, who was his implementation person on the payroll side, she was joining because ultimate got incorporated October 1, 1990. I started ultimate october 7, 1990.

Viv [00:22:42]:
So I told them all that ultimate didn't start until I started, because they had no clue what they were doing, right? So, long story short, he says, Look, I got $300,000. It's the four of us. I can only pay you 50% of what you're making to take a pay cut. We give you basic health insurance. But I had two months of severance from ADP, and he said, I won't pay you until you're out of the severance because I was getting more pay from ADP. So I said, fine. Don't pay me for the two months. So he didn't pay me, so I make a freebie.

Viv [00:23:14]:
So he didn't pay for the two months. And then I took up 50% pay cuts. I was making 35,000 driving an hour and a half on a thick shift.

Dirty Skittles [00:23:21]:
How do you survive?

Viv [00:23:23]:
Because you know what I thought was the worst that can happen? And there was something about Scott that I just believed in. I'm like, you know what? Let me do whatever it is. I had no idea who Debbie was. I hadn't talked to Debbie. I never met Debbie. I knew Paul, but I didn't know Debbie. So here I go into we have two little offices in a cubicle. My first day of alti, Scott was nowhere to be found.

Viv [00:23:47]:
Debbie was in the room. I can literally she was with the Yellow Pages circling companies that we're going to call him, like, what the hell am I getting into? Paul sitting there doing Word star to do a proposal for Beckham Polycock, which is the place we're sitting in, because they were our first customers. Still, I'm assuming they're still the customer for UKG, because that was our first pitch, I kid you not. I had behind my desk a huge printer that we were doing banners for an eight and a half by eleven binder. And it was like and it took forever to do a proposal. So Paul and I spent maybe a day figuring out and I said, Paul, I am not a secretary anymore. I don't know how to do his worst story. He goes, well, we're going to learn.

Viv [00:24:30]:
I'm like, you know what?

Dirty Skittles [00:24:31]:
What's the worst?

Viv [00:24:32]:
But it was that mindset of, what's the worst that can happen? It's four of us. How bad can this be? I got a job. I need a paycheck. So, long story short, I'm going out. Scott comes in 11:00 in the morning after he's played tennis in a suit. I'm like, Where are you going? He's in a suit. And it was, all right, well, Viv, you got to order a fax machine, because we don't have a fax. All right, I'll order a fax machine.

Viv [00:24:58]:
We got to make a letterhead, because, remember, we're talking back 1990. We got to design a letterhead with our logo. US group, let's go to the printers. We'll see what you think? What, the clothes? We should. So I'm going with Scott. Look at the printers, whatever. So that's how it started. And as the time went on, I inherited more stuff and more stuff, and it became that Scott trusted the three of us.

Viv [00:25:20]:
Scott not one to call median and say, look, guys, this is what I'm thinking. Never in 30 years did he ever do that. Never. He just said, this is your role, and here you do the offer manager. Do whatever you do need to do to take care of the business. And Paul, you're going to sell, and with me and Debbie, you're going to implement. It was a disaster because alti pay, which was really abra pay, had so many bugs. I mean, I can spend days just telling you all the shit we went through.

Viv [00:25:46]:
Alti days run out of money. We didn't have money. Like, why don't have payroll? We don't have money for payroll. So he asked Rick Wilbert, who was one of the initial investors, who was also his friend, to give us 25,000 to make the next payroll. But you know what? None of us ever thought someone had asked me that. Do you ever think that it was going to fail?

Dirty Skittles [00:26:05]:
Right?

Viv [00:26:05]:
And I never in 30 years, I mean, obviously at the end, it got very successful, but never in those early days did I ever think, what the fuck did I sign up? This is not going to work. It was never that. Never, ever did I think, this is not going to work. It was just we went and we told Scott, look, if we can't get paid this payroll, that's okay. Then we'll wait till next pay. It was that mindset of, look, we're in it together, so whatever we need to do, the four of us. I learned a ton from his dad, who was still he had a business that he had sold to ADP, but he was still running payroll for people, for businesses. So that's what I did in our spare time, because, remember, the phone wasn't ringing, the mailbox was empty.

Viv [00:26:48]:
I didn't have much to do other than get a fax and things. So I started doing payroll. I started processing payroll. So I learned a ton from him. We went to open the bank account. We had the big checkbook thing, writing bills. So he gave me a lot of the same thing, is like, I didn't know Scott. I didn't know Ruben.

Viv [00:27:04]:
But they entrusted this trust that I started working with a benefit broker to start like, well, but our benefits and I started adding things, and it was like we were just running out of money. It took a while. Even after we went public, we still weren't making money. And then it was like, start hiring. Here I am hiring people. Basic your w. Four. Your I nine.

Viv [00:27:28]:
I did a form that get all your data. That was HR. Like. All right, I'll make a file, put it in a file. I mean, basic stuff. But anyway, that's how it started. Of did we anticipate the growth, the success, the money? Never in a million years. We were very happy, the four of us.

Viv [00:27:48]:
And if we can just make some money where the four of us can live happily ever after and pay and take care of our family, that was it. I remember the first receptionist I hired, Michelle Cahill, who's still now a you crewer. I must have interviewed 25 people for that job for a receptionist, because now I realized, like, now I'm busy. Now I'm getting busy, because now I'm into sales. I'm implementation. It's a do all. So I knew all the roles I implemented. We went on like I did, all set up mail rooms to get now.

Viv [00:28:20]:
And then I interviewed Michelle, and Michelle is the reason we have healthcare for the family. And I told everybody that story at New Hire because she was married with a child who was the same age as Isa. My daughter Missy. Her daughter was Missy. And I said, Michelle, as everyone, those who know her is very timid, very gentle voice, the sweetest girl you can possibly find. So I interviewed after again, after interviewing 25 people, and I saw Michelle, and she just again, I go for that underdog, right? The one who always feels not part of it. And she was just so timid, so quiet, and just something that I wanted to just embrace and help her. She's very religious.

Viv [00:29:04]:
And I said, Michelle, does your husband work? He says no. He's studying. I said, do you have health insurance for him? He goes, no, we don't. I said, what about for Missy? She goes, no, I don't. I go, I just pray she doesn't get sick. And that night, I went home.

Dirty Skittles [00:29:17]:
Oh, my goodness.

Viv [00:29:17]:
I go, My God, her daughter is the same age as Isa. So the next morning, I come to, I said, Scott, she doesn't have healthcare for her daughter. I said, this is who I want to hire, but she doesn't have health care for her daughter. He said, you know what? Let's change our health care plan. Let's make it for the family. We'll cover family.

Dirty Skittles [00:29:31]:
Wow.

Viv [00:29:32]:
And that's where the giving started. Sound like he didn't even question me to say, well, how much does it cost? Never was a question. Never anything I've done in 30 years. At ultimately, did I ever get asked by anybody, how much does it cost? Never. I had to get Scott's approval for anything. I just did what I thought was the right thing to do, and it started. That's the belief that Scott and I had. So we said, Michelle, we're going to cover you now.

Viv [00:29:55]:
We're going to cover everybody in their family. So that's how the family coverage from day one, where we didn't have any money, but we made sure that the family was taken care of and the business will take care of itself. The people will take care of the business. So that was our motto. We take care of the people, the people will take care of our business.

G-Rex [00:30:11]:
Yeah, that is so true. Because when I started at ultimate, it was the first place that I actually felt accepted for who I am.

Viv [00:30:21]:
Right.

G-Rex [00:30:21]:
I didn't have to hide who I was. You know what? I'm out of the closet. I don't give a fuck. And I never felt like I needed to hide who I was. And the one thing that I noticed just walking into the door, it was the most open and loving company that I'd ever worked for. And at that time, let's see, 15 that had been in 30 years. So you practiced what you preached and I'm forever grateful I'm a better person because I worked for Ultimate Software.

Viv [00:30:55]:
But it's interesting you say that because I think that was a very big bring. We wanted the best in people to come out. And I think that trickled a lot initially from Scott and I. Then it was Adam and Mitch and Julie and all the senior, they we had to make sure that everyone felt this way. And that's what makes it so critical where culture succeeds in an organization. Does everyone at the top, does everyone have these values? Does everyone feel this? Is everyone feeling inclusive, fairness, accepting kindness? Does everyone feel this? If everyone feels this, the business will be fine. Because we all hired Scott. All hired.

Viv [00:31:43]:
Eleven of us again, we never had meetings, we never had strategizing meeting where people perceive that we sitting. No. Everyone did their own thing. He was very good at trusting everybody and he trusted his eleven leaders to do what you need to do, you're going to take care of the people, adam, the product, Julie operations, and everybody had a role. He trusted us to do that. So when I think it's so empowering when someone you feel that from your boss, when you feel that they trust you, look, do what you need to do and if you fuck up, it's okay, we're all going to fuck up, we'll fix it. But if you trust it empowers the individuals and it trickles down to fight for the company, to be loyal, to be engaged to, just dedicated to the company because they're fighting for the same thing. And we created a bond where, you girls know, we made sure we took care of everybody with stock and the benefits.

Viv [00:32:40]:
And as we grew and as we got more successful, my mind every night was, what more can I give? And it wasn't based on, I'm going to research and see what workday is doing. I didn't care what anybody else was doing. I knew I wanted ultimate to be and I didn't want to mimic if I heard Work Day did a benefit, I don't care. I want to do what's best for Alti and our peeps. I don't care what you're doing. On the contrary, if I find out you're doing something, I want to do it better than you are. So I used to talk a lot to employees about benefits and that's how our benefits started. It was like, Viv, you know what? I used to have this my other company, I think it'd be great.

Viv [00:33:18]:
I said, okay, just make sure it has to be great for the majority of the organization, not just for you, because this isn't about you. It might be good for you, but is it really going to make a change and impact for the organization, for most employees? If it isn't, then I'm not doing it. So that's how it was. And then if they came to me and says, you know, in our company, we used to have, I don't know, a $1,000 for adoption. You had a thousand, I'm going to do 2000. I never went to Scott. Mitch, many times because then he was like, Viv, how much is I don't care how much it's going to cost me. I don't care in the beginning who Mitch came from, KPMG was very hard for me to get through something, through Mitch, because it was always, how much is going to affect our bottom line? And I used to tell him, I don't care.

Viv [00:34:06]:
That's not the point. That's not my role. I don't care how much it's going to cost. You figure it out. But this is the benefit when it gets to employees and when we give more to the employees, if we're saying we're being successful, we're meeting our revenue, we're making forecasts, we need to give back. Because the people who are doing that for us are the people. If you don't give back, then go talk to Scott. Because I didn't get Scott's approval.

Viv [00:34:26]:
And probably after two years, Mitch totally changed, totally became all about the people, all about the culture. Never questioned me for about anything. Because I told him, I said, I don't care what you say. I'm telling you right now, this is what I'm doing for the people. Because if I don't get asked by Scott or have to go to Scott for approval, I'm going to give it. I'm not going to run it by you. I'm telling you, this is my house and this is what I'm giving to the peeps and you're not going to take it away. So either you adjust and say, yes, babe, or I'm going to go to Scott and it's not going to be good when you go to Scott.

Dirty Skittles [00:35:00]:
And it wasn't, sorry, it wasn't then.

Viv [00:35:02]:
He became, oh, no, go ahead. No, I said then he changed. Then he became, yeah, you're right. Let's do this for people. Oh, now, yeah, let's do this for the people.

Dirty Skittles [00:35:11]:
And I was going to say, it wasn't always the big things like that. It was even the little things that would be done. Like, I remember working at phase one, and all of a sudden, flowers would show up. Remember the flower guy? And I've got everybody flowers. And I'm like, what? I remember that hitting really hard because.

Viv [00:35:29]:
I'm like, you know what? In perspective, it was $150 a run. But it's a little thing that's those little things the ice cream truck. The ice cream truck is $300 a visit, or is it going to break the bank? If it's going to break the bank, then we got a lot more issues than me getting the ice cream truck. And I told him, I said, Mitch, if it ever gets bad, I can cut a lot of costs. Where the pizza? But don't affect the family of the pizza. I'm not doing that. But you want to cut out. And then I said, so a lot of the brokers and investors, especially when Scott was going on the road, would tell us, like, you guys are raising money, but you guys are still giving to charity.

Viv [00:36:10]:
You're still covering 100% of employees. You're doing all these benefits. Like, you can't continue doing that. You can't continue giving options to employees. And Scott says, we're going to we're never going to stop that. And if that's what you want us to do, then go invest somewhere else. And then they will go like, wait, okay, let's just talk because I said, well, because our broker you said, Viv, at some point you have to start charging the employees a fee for the insurance. I said, what, do you want me to charge them $50, $100 a month? Is that really going to make an impact? That's not going to make an impact, but that's what they should do.

Viv [00:36:43]:
But that's not the right thing to do. These people work their asses off. They dedicate their family time. They're super loyal to ultimate. You couldn't have a recruiter talk to a recruiter because no one was leaving Alti. And you want me now to tell them that the money they're making us and the business they're growing, now they have to pay for health care? I told them. I said, as long as I'm here, I will never do that to the employees. And it was it was for 30 years.

Viv [00:37:09]:
On the contrary. I always was always looking, let's make the benefit of it, and what else are we missing? And it was always from conversation, from peeps of, it'd be great to do this. Let's do it. And it was always because the employees it was the same thing I said in any organization that you're not giving back to the people that are making your business successful, you're an idiot. You just don't give a shit about your people. You don't give a shit about your people. And in your mind, everyone's replaceable, and they're going to keep making money, which you probably will continue making money, but I don't want to be at a company that's just about making money. We spend too much time working that.

Viv [00:37:43]:
I should enjoy this.

Dirty Skittles [00:37:46]:
That wraps up this week's episode of Love Viv. Join us next week for the exciting conclusion. It's okay to be not okay. Just make sure you're talking to someone.