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Venture Scape Map 3

Nick Barbarossa
OGL 355

Organization: ALKU

The organization I am covering, ALKU, and the goals for the next five years were rolled
out this year to their company. This would put them at the growth, or “climb” stage on the
continuum after hitting their goal from their previous five year plan. Taking into consideration
some growth they have already experienced this year, their goals already seem within reach 6-
months into a 5-year plan. Starting with their big goal of achieving one billion dollars in revenue,
the company sets annual goals for revenue growth. The goal for 2022 is $650 million, and as of
July, the company is already 43% to their target. Since April, the production of revenue has
grown no less than 6% month to month, growing as much as 9% revenue from May to June.
Although there is still more than 50% of the goal to reach, the organization will still be on track to
hit their goal if they continue their growth margins.

The next goal the company has set out to achieve is their giving back to local
communities. In 2022 so far, the company has hired a community relations coordinator, and a
director of their ALKU foundation, strengthening their focus on giving back. The company also
introduced a platform where employees can sign up for volunteering events, donate to charities,
and see updates from the company on what has occurred this year so far in their local
communities. The company recently held a Pride month celebration, where the employees
raised over $4,000 for LGBTQ+ organizations, which the company matched, totaling $8,000
donated to selected organizations. These few examples show that in the seven months since
their 5-year plan was rolled out, they have made large strides in giving back.

Providing employees with more tools and resources to be successful is something the
company has always taken pride in. This year the company had more new hires start with the
organization compared to the years prior, with their largest internship session ever held this
summer. Since the year has started, the organization has doubled the size of their Talent
Development team, providing their growing organization with more opportunities to develop their
skills and have more support in their roles. Recently, the company held a lunch meeting to
provide employees with a team of people from Fidelity to help them make wise financial
decisions and help plan for their future. This unique experience also gave employees
opportunities to book time to review their finances and create better plans for managing
finances. A recent morning meeting was held company-wide for employees to manage the
working from home environment and help new hires adjust to a new environment.

One of the bigger, more complex goals the organization has set out to achieve is
creating safe spaces and upholding an inclusive work environment. ALKU has added 7
members to their DE&I council, about 50% growth, and grew their ERG’s by 112 employees,
which is 49% growth since September 2021. Their total of 341 ERG members is 75% of the
entire company. This growth is a direct result of employees finding a safe space within these
groups to be themselves. The organization has held an open meeting for each ERG and
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Venture Scape Map 3
Nick Barbarossa
OGL 355

provided informative meetings to interns to join, referred to as “ALKU-ED.” A result of this is a

new ERG on the horizon, proving that this goal is within reach.

The final of the five goals is continuing to Have Fun Working Hard™ and the company
has found new ways to do so. Recently the company provided new hires with an all inclusive
boat cruise, giving them the opportunity to unplug and relax. ALKU has a committee
surrounding their slogan to come up with new ideas on how they can implement new ideas to
uphold this environment. The company has also just picked up the idea suggested by an
employee to bring in a taco truck once a quarter to provide employees with a company-paid
lunch and mingle with everyone in the organization. They have also upgraded their in-office
snacks, drinks, and games, providing employees with more than one way to unwind. A new
initiative they are taking this year to engage their internship program employees is planning a
field day of sorts with a number of games and prizes to win.

ALKU introduced a new 5-year business plan in the beginning of 2022 where the
company was in their re-dream phase, engaging employees in the next 5 years of their journey.
Since starting this journey, the organization has begun to grow tremendously and take a large
step in achieving their metric for the first year of the plan. The organization still has a lot of
climbing to do before they get to achieve many of these goals, but they have celebrated many
small achievements already, and will likely hit their arrival ahead of schedule, as they’ve done
historically.
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Venture Scape Map 3
Nick Barbarossa
OGL 355

Resources

News & insights. ALKU. (2022, July 10). Retrieved July 15, 2022, from
https://www.alku.com/news-insights/