One of my secret recruiter talents is that I can stalk people tirelessly for years. It’s not as creepy as it sounds. I love watching the candidates I work with realize important life milestones, from finishing their MBA to getting married, to having babies or buying their first house. Many times I’ll have a “feeling” about someone: How fast and how far they’ll rise, and it’s rewarding when those instincts are confirmed. Like with Melanie Weinberger.
You remember Melanie. When we met in 2011 she was working for digital agency, LaunchPad, blogging about High Five Moments. I was drawn to her ability to see and celebrate small victories, her buoyancy and her irrepressible need to uplift and empower others. Then she goes and launches Trainer Link, a site that matches personal trainers to clients. It takes first place at Austin’s 2012 Startup Weekend. But Trainer Link requires tremendous investment to achieve Melanie’s growth goals, so she pivots the concept to wellness programs to employers. Wellshift is born. They’ve been steadily signing clients, including guess who? Google. Now that’s a High Five Moment! Cue the Rocky theme song.
So it’s one thing to watch someone succeed, like a newbie actor getting an Oscar nod. It’s even better when you can call up that person and say “Hey, you kicked some serious a$$, congratulations! How did you do it? How did it feel?” Here’s what Melanie had to say. Buoyancy, I call it. Tenacity and optimism. The humility to constantly refine your ideas, tell your story to smart people and act on their advice. All the markings of an unstoppable entrepreneur.
JS: You’ve really developed Wellshift’s class offering! Are any of these available online? Or all must be delivered in workplace? Can companies buy a la carte or is it membership based? Where are the classes available?
MW: We have an online portion, as well as on-site offerings. Companies can buy them separately or together. Google went for the combo because it’s the most powerful. The online portion has teams come together to complete 1-3 positive actions each day, based on the categories of well-being chosen. For example, today Googlers took a class on Communication, and then were asked via our online software to “Do a favor for someone,” because it is a powerful communication strategy to build rapport with. We can create programming anywhere in the country. Many of our customers have offices all around the world, and leverage our software to bridge the culture gap.
