Golden Hippo is America’s leading builder of direct-to-consumer health and wellness brands. Golden Hippo partners with some of the world’s top doctors and celebrities to help them turn their ideas and passions into products that help millions of people.
Craig Clemens co-founded Golden Hippo with two of his brothers and together they have quietly built a Los Angeles business powerhouse with expertise in e-commerce, technology, branding, logistics, marketing, fed by talent acquisition team keenly aware of how to identify and attract needed team members to achieve their goals. Golden Hippo is more than a workplace – it’s a place where some of the best in the world work together to impact the lives of millions of people
Comparably had the chance to catch-up with Craig to hear about how Golden Hippo has dealt with the Covid-19 shakeup, their excitement for the future, and the tremendously effective way they intact for all-hands meetings with a remote staff.
Comparably: How did the pandemic shifted the way Golden Hippo operates, and how did your people responded to the crisis?
Craig Clemens: At the onset of the crisis, we gathered everyone on a call, and made the point that this moment, and how we deal with it, is going to be a defining moment for us all. We will all remember this year, and how we acted during the Covid-19 crisis. Some used it as an excuse to watch too much news, too much Tiger King, and eat too much junk food. Others used it as an opportunity – an opportunity to grow as a person, as a high-performer, and as a leader. We are proud that our team members have done the latter. I don’t believe there is a single person at Golden Hippo who will not emerge stronger from this, both professionally, and personally.
Comparably: What are you most proud of that Golden Hippo has achieved over the last year?
Craig Clemens: Early in the crisis, we realized we were in a unique position to help doctors and nurses on the frontlines, as we had recently opened a Shanghai office, and in doing so, had procured a large amount of N95 masks. We began coordinating with hospitals around the USA, and were able to secure and donate 55,000 masks in total – 5,000 to 11 different hospitals – which arrived the first week of April. In addition to this, our team members recently looked into the inventory at our two warehouse locations, to identify food items that we had enough of and could be donated to food shelters in our local communities. 50,000 food items have now been donated to the SOVA Community Food Program here in Los Angeles, and the Mid-South Food Bank near our fulfillment center in Memphis, Tennessee.
Comparably: How would you describe your workplace culture, and what attributes are you looking for when determining who gets hired there?
Craig Clemens: Golden Hippo is a place where A-players come to work with others who want to be the best in the world. It’s that simple. If you want to be surrounded by people who challenge you to do your best work, while growing your mind and having a blast at the same time, then our workplace was created specifically for you.
If you want to be surrounded by people who challenge you to do your best work, while growing your mind and having a blast at the same time, then our workplace was created specifically for you.
Craig Clemens, Co-Founder, Golden Hippo
Comparably: Are there any guiding principles that you or your company live by?
Craig Clemens: We used to have a longer set of values, but have recently narrowed it down to 4 principles that are at the core of everything we do:
- Have a Passion for Understanding the Business and Changing Lives
- Build Best in Class Brands, Products, and Services
- Build Trusting Relationships
- Make Strategic and Data-Driven Decisions Quickly
Comparably: What has been the biggest challenge for Golden Hippo to overcome as a business, and how did you rise to the occasion?
Craig Clemens: When we first shifted to work-from-home, I’ll admit we were afraid. We feared that with all going on, people would be unable to avoid distraction, have a tough time communicating, and not be able to perform as well as they would in our carefully-curated office environment. Well actually, we are proud that the opposite has happened. Our team members have rallied around our mission to get high-quality health products into the hands of people who depend on them. We had our biggest month ever as a company in April, and achieved some wins that are going to carry revenue growth throughout 2020.
Comparably: What are some of the best practices you and your staff do to stay connected, in general and in times of crisis?
Craig Clemens: Anyone who knows Golden Hippo will tell you we have a ferocious spirit for what we do, and our place to cultivate that energy is our every Tuesday “all-hands” meeting. But we worried, how would we have a high-energy 225 person meeting, NOT in person? As soon as we rolled out appropriate safety measures after the epidemic hit, our all-hands became our next focus. Our team worked hard to get everyone set up on Google Hang-out, and then brainstormed on how to have different departments share virtually. A favorite part of the all-hands is the “Shout Outs.” This is a time when one team member can “shout out” another who has gone above and beyond their usual duty… and the person being recognized gets a piece of company swag and a rowdy round of applause. The virtual version became to shout someone out by typing it in the Hang-outs chat, after which I as co-founder announced their name and accomplishment. Then, everyone un-mutes and gives cheers and snaps! Swag is sent via mail, but the glory of getting public acknowledgment for kicking butt remains.
The path for Golden Hippo continues to look bright by elevating the importance of their employees to that of their customers and partners. Clearly, Golden Hippo’s unique business and team success is a hidden gem among Los Angeles tech companies. As one team member said, “It’s a friendly and open atmosphere. Everyone is helpful and easy to work with. It’s good to be a Hippo.”