2 The Pivot and the Trouble with “Tech”

I first met Travis and the rest of the InCrowd team at their office party in February 2014. They were celebrating their move out of rented incubator space and into a space of their own. Framed software trademarks met guests as they entered through the glass double doors, just in front of the conference room where a huge company logo hung over a table of hors d'oeuvres. Most employees wore orange and black InCrowd tees, with streamers in the same colors flying above. Beer and cocktails flowed from an impromptu bar set up in the back next to the DJ booth, and a magician roamed the halls doing card tricks. Founder Travis gave a tour to anyone who asked. In his usual blunt fashion, he noted that this was as much a recruitment event as anything else, showing that InCrowd had arrived and was ready to act on his “number one operating principle”: “being an employer of choice for the right people.” A developer led me toward the Wall of Awesome Ideas, which recorded brainstorms for outlandish products. It was filling up fast. I shared a toast with a new hire, who said she was celebrating her own transition: from the slow, predictable pace of nonprofit work to a tech startup, where every day brought a new challenge and demanded new skills.