Jackpocket ceo peter sullivan: “ to create a fantastic work culture, offer employees a vision for…

> OFFER EMPLOYEES NOT JUST A JOB, BUT A VISION FOR WHAT THEIR FUTURE > COULD LOOK LIKE. Part of ours includes a stronger parental leave > policy than (most of) our peers, as we 

supplement the existing New > York Paid Family Leave Law by offering eight fully paid weeks for > maternity leave and four fully paid weeks for paternity leave, as > well as four 

weeks of work-from-home time for mothers and two weeks > for fathers. And by offering new hires equity in the company, we can > be mutually invested in each other’s growth — employees 

are > incentivized to stay with the company as their shares vest over > time; as a result, they’re also inspired to see the company > through to success. I_ had the pleasure to

interview Peter Sullivan. Peter is the founder and CEO of __Jackpocket__, a mobile-first startup making the lottery even more accessible and enjoyable for today’s consumers. He’s focused on

securing venture capital to fund the company’s continued growth, as well as working with lottery commissions and state regulators to bring Jackpocket to new jurisdictions. He previously

served as a design consultant, a General Assembly course creator, and founded __Tripl__, one of the first social travel applications to launch using Facebook Connect in 2010._ THANK YOU SO

MUCH FOR DOING THIS WITH US! CAN YOU TELL US A STORY ABOUT WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS SPECIFIC CAREER PATH? Excited to share more about our story! I’ve always looked at the world through an

entrepreneurial lens. When I first got a CD burner, I quickly created a book catalog of songs and would allow my friends to compile their own custom mix albums. I used to sell glow sticks

outside concerts for artists like Aaron Carter. And when I was in college I’d design local bars’ websites. Lottery was somewhat of a natural calling. It hits home for me on a very personal

note as I drew inspiration for Jackpocket from my dad, Pete — or “Big Pete” as he’s better known. He’s been an avid lottery player for as long as I can remember; he even used to make me late

to sports practices in high school because he made me stand in line with him to buy his daily lottery tickets. The more I was made to do pushups for being late, the more I started wondering

why a paperless lottery system didn’t exist! The iPhone came into the picture, and one day I noticed my dad — who was basically computer illiterate — playing social casino games on it. I

couldn’t help but wonder why there _still_ wasn’t a viable way to play the lottery on your phone. And that was the genesis for Jackpocket. Fast forward to 2012: I’d had a good run as the

founder of Tripl, a startup I’d founded in Sweden, and was ready for my next venture. Seeing that my dad was still waiting in line to buy his tickets, I got to work and launched Jackpocket

in the spring of 2013. CAN YOU SHARE THE MOST INTERESTING STORY THAT HAPPENED TO YOU SINCE YOU BEGAN LEADING YOUR COMPANY? Where do I begin? One interesting and hugely encouraging part of

our growth story has to do with my earliest employees. I had lined up a major investor, who happened to be the former CEO of one of the largest lottery companies in the world, to lead our

series A funding round. But in the 11th hour, this investor — who had already signed term sheets with us — backed out of the deal. Our funds were dried up, and I had to tell my employees

that the round fell apart and I could no longer pay them. To my surprise, they stayed anyway. They supported me and believed in what we were doing. And that kind of grit and determination is

hard to come by these days, I think. While working out of a WeWork, we wanted to use our small corner office as a customer acquisition tool and take advantage of the fact that we had large

windows facing Varick Street. We printed a bunch of pieces of paper that, when combined together, appeared as a large ad to people on the street. During that time, I had been in contact with

a potential investor, but we had never met. One day he walked by, saw the sign and sent me an email: “I’m on Varick St. and saw your sign, it must be a sign. Do you have time to talk?” He

ended up leading our series seed investment with his partner! Later, when we launched in New York we had no idea what press reception would be, or if we would get any at all. I got a call at

5 a.m. from our PR agency rep, who said I needed to get over to the closest bodega. When I got there I saw we were on the front cover of the New York Post! That spiraled press, including a

very rewarding segment on Good Morning America. And I’d also be remiss if I didn’t talk about the fact that we have a million dollar winner on Jackpocket! A 20-year-old college football

player in Minnesota became the first person to win $1 million or more using a lottery courier service. Not only did he win just a day after downloading Jackpocket, but he ordered his winning

ticket through free referral credits he received from a friend. ARE YOU WORKING ON ANY EXCITING PROJECTS NOW? HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WILL HELP PEOPLE? Always! Our mission is to give people a

more convenient, fun and responsible way to play the lottery. We want to empower anyone (who’s of age!) to experience the thrill of playing, and do it without ever getting out of their PJs

if they so desire. We also want to shed light on all of the positive impacts that come from lottery revenues, including the funding of many state budgets and beneficiary programs around the

country, such as public education, veterans affairs and natural resources, which directly benefit state residents. We’re continuing to improve upon our Pools feature in a number of ways.

With Public Pools, players can combine their Powerball or Mega Millions tickets into one pot for a better chance to win. We even had over 3,000 players join one pool during the largest Mega

Millions jackpot in history last October. And for a more personal experience, friends, families and colleagues can play together in Private Pools. Just think how much easier organizing a

jackpot-winning work pool can be. It’s a way for us to give people the chance to win big with only a small commitment. OK, LETS JUMP TO THE MAIN PART OF OUR INTERVIEW. ACCORDING TO THIS

STUDY CITED IN FORBES, MORE THAN HALF OF THE US WORKFORCE IS UNHAPPY. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT NUMBER IS SO HIGH? We often hear companies touting the “work hard, play hard” mentality, but

realistically, it’s probably much more so “work first, play later” that drives our professional lives. As Americans we’ve been conditioned to prioritize our jobs, and our innate desire for

_more_ gets in the way — more responsibility for more money for more to do at the end of the day, and less time to reap the benefits. In my early days, I worked under the guise that “burning

the midnight oil” and working 12+ hour days meant I was really hustling and working hard. As the team grew I quickly learned that didn’t improve business outcome and got burned out. Social

life, family life and physical exercise are all so important to maintaining work-life balance. It was interesting spending time developing my first company in Europe. People there truly

value work-life balance. They understood that getting away and taking a step back with a vacation was important, and that people can be responsible for managing their own time. Recently,

I’ve seen Americans trying to glorify this premise of overworking. I see it on social media and I call BS. I don’t think it’s healthy. You career should be a healthy reflection of your life

skills, and in turn, should help you achieve happiness, not take away from it. And as the study suggests, sometimes some managers are just not meant to be in those roles; individual

professional success is not synonymous with management success. In other words, being good at your job doesn’t mean you’re equipped to oversee the growth of another person. BASED ON YOUR

EXPERIENCE OR RESEARCH, HOW DO YOU THINK AN UNHAPPY WORKFORCE WILL IMPACT A) COMPANY PRODUCTIVITY B) COMPANY PROFITABILITY C) AND EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND WELLBEING? Enough studies have shown us

that there’s a direct correlation between employee engagement and company productivity. One single person’s unhappiness, even if their issues are not work-related, can affect a whole

organization, much like a cancer. The key is to try to understand it before it can spread. Shawn Anchor, author of “The Happiness Advantage,” points to research indicating that the more

positive a employee’s mindset, the better their performance across productivity, creativity and engagement. So how do we achieve that in the first place? Anchor says that the “happiness

advantage” — maintaining that positivity in the face of a challenge — is what improves business outcome. As it relates to company profitability, low employee engagement levels cost the U.S.

economy hundreds of billions of dollars in lost business in 2015, according to a Gallup study. It’s possible a disengaged employee becomes that way because they lack professional purpose.

They may not be in a role that’s stimulating enough, or just don’t believe in what they’re doing or building. And you can only fake happiness for so long before it has a clear impact on your

work. At the end of the day, if you’re not inspired to do it, then the work itself will suffer. At Jackpocket we maintain transparency across the board so that we’re always in tune with

roles, responsibilities and expectations. Whether in sharing company sales numbers and KPIs with employees, or developing individual and team OKRs that we map back to throughout the quarter,

these ongoing checkpoints give us a closer look at what’s happening with the team in real time. According to a Career Builder study cited in the Forbes piece, 40% of respondents indicated

they’d gained weight in their current job due to sitting at their desks for most of the day. In a traditional office environment this can be difficult to avoid, so it’s up to business owners

to make this a consideration when appealing to employees and even potential hires. At Jackpocket we do the majority of our work on computers, but we offer a few options to mix it up:

computer stands let us position our screens at eye length; extendable stands let us work standing up; and there a variety of other places where employees can go to break from their desks and

get a change of scenery — tables with various types of seating arrangements, couches, conference rooms and private phone booths. I’m also a huge bicycling proponent for its health and

mental benefits, and impact on the environment. Last year we introduced free Citi Bike memberships for each of our employees, because we want people to find healthy ways to get around the

city and get to work. Americans are typically overworked, with less energy and time to keep healthy habits. So it should be true that because more engagement directly impacts productivity,

happier employees can feel more energized and empowered to be healthier in their day-to-day, with more time to devote to their own wellbeing. I’m realistic enough to know that in a utopian

scenario we could all not work and just sit on the beach all day, so I understand my employees aren’t going to come at max capacity 24/7. All I can hope for is that I’m doing everything I

can as their leader to make sure the work environment is as comfortable for them as possible. CAN YOU SHARE 5 THINGS THAT MANAGERS AND EXECUTIVES SHOULD BE DOING TO IMPROVE THEIR COMPANY

WORK CULTURE? CAN YOU GIVE A PERSONAL STORY OR EXAMPLE FOR EACH? OFFER EMPLOYEES NOT JUST A JOB, BUT A VISION FOR WHAT THEIR FUTURE COULD LOOK LIKE. Part of ours includes a stronger parental

leave policy than (most of) our peers, as we supplement the existing New York Paid Family Leave Law by offering eight fully paid weeks for maternity leave and four fully paid weeks for

paternity leave, as well as four weeks of work-from-home time for mothers and two weeks for fathers. And by offering new hires equity in the company, we can be mutually invested in each

other’s growth — employees are incentivized to stay with the company as their shares vest over time; as a result, they’re also inspired to see the company through to success. SPEAK TO EACH

OTHER LIKE HUMAN BEINGS WHO JUST WANT TO GET THEIR SH*$ DONE. This kind of cooperation and clear communication is needed to successfully work toward the same goal: building something

transformational. By eliminating bureaucracy, micromanagement and working in a vacuum, our employees feel like they’re trusted to do their work, while still understanding they can raise

their hand…whenever _they_ need a hand. BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE BUSINESS, because your employees are its investors, too. Regular all-hands meetings are a way for every individual within the

organization to know what’s happening — at Jackpocket we cover everything from new hires to record sales announcements to funding updates and more. Further, our public status board provides

insights into real-time sales and business KPIs. PUSH YOUR TEAM TO EVOLVE, CONSTANTLY. We share product developments and individual accomplishments during “Friday Wins” show-and-tell

lunches. Recently, we adopted individual and company-wide OKRs systems to better track against goals and results on a quarterly basis, which we review with individuals 1:1. And we encourage

employees to better themselves outside of work hours, whether in hosting or attending meetups, taking professional development courses, attending conferences and networking events, or

however else they want to improve their craft. BREAK UP THE MONOTONY! Just like people, a company can only work to its fullest potential if it can take breaks, and mix things up. We’re all

about impromptu ice skating outings to Six Flags retreats to hosting Sofar Sounds secret music events. We participate in Super Bowl squares pots and company happy hours and birthday cake

breaks. On any given day, you can find various employees taking breaks to strum any of the guitars we have in the corner, or bonding over a beer in the kitchen. It keeps us refreshed for the

tasks at hand, when we have to get back to them. IT’S VERY NICE TO SUGGEST IDEAS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE TO “CHANGE THE CULTURE REGARDING WORK CULTURE”. WHAT CAN WE DO AS A SOCIETY TO

MAKE A BROADER CHANGE IN THE US WORKFORCE’S WORK CULTURE? There’s a fine line between startup and big company culture. We’re very mindful that as a startup we’re shaping our culture as we

grow, but want to ensure we don’t establish cultural practices for the sake of doing them. What works for Facebook or Google, or even other tech peers, may not apply to our young

organization. To us, this means having a call and response culture, where we not only measure employee sentiment, but translate their feedback into actionable improvements. Furthermore,

transparency will always be central to the success of any company, both internally amongst employees, and externally, to customers and other stakeholders. We see this nearly every day with

one scandal to the next; in my opinion, companies don’t take this seriously enough and should make transparency entrenched in their DNA, and not just an obligatory disclosure. HOW WOULD YOU

DESCRIBE YOUR LEADERSHIP OR MANAGEMENT STYLE? CAN YOU GIVE US A FEW EXAMPLES? I’m a risk-taker by nature, and I think that’s reflected in the way I run the company and in shaping its brand,

but I’ve also learned to measure risks vs. rewards over the years. Even though I’m very results-driven, but less concerned about time, I would characterize my management style as open and

flexible. As the company’s grown, and with my travel schedule, I’m not as in-the-know as I used to be in our early days on developments within specific teams. So, it’s not unusual to find me

having an impromptu powwow with team members in the middle of the office or joining team meetings I’m not regularly in, just so I can maintain personal touchpoints with employees. I want to

know what’s going on, but I also trust my teams to just “run with it.” I always say that anyone can contribute ideas to improve the app, our office or company as a whole, and anyone’s idea

can become reality. When making decisions, I often ask several people for their thoughts even if they’re not directly involved or affected by the decision, because I want my team to know I

value their input. NONE OF US ARE ABLE TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS WITHOUT SOME HELP ALONG THE WAY. IS THERE A PARTICULAR PERSON WHO YOU ARE GRATEFUL TOWARDS WHO HELPED GET YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE? CAN

YOU SHARE A STORY ABOUT THAT? I think my mother instilled the confidence that I could achieve anything and that nothing was impossible. She’s there during the failures and always pushes me

to push forward. She taught me to be fearless when dealing with other people, to stand up for myself and keep persevering for what I want in life. HOW HAVE YOU USED YOUR SUCCESS TO BRING

GOODNESS TO THE WORLD? After raising some initial money and starting Jackpocket, I had the flexibility in my schedule to lend some personal time to help a great cause during the first three

years of Jackpocket. I worked with the Chill Foundation, which inspires underserved youth through learning boardsports. It allowed me to combine my love of snowboarding with giving back, so

it was an amazing program to be a part of. One of the things we’re proudest of as a lottery service operator is the fact that we’re helping lotteries drive incremental revenue that directly

impacts their respective beneficiary programs, from public education to veterans affairs and more. For example, in Minnesota, nearly a quarter of revenues are earmarked for the General Fund,

which includes problem gambling treatment, as well as the Natural Resources, Environment & Natural Resources Trust, and Game & Fish funds. In New Hampshire, a quarter of the

revenues go to state education. And in Texas, funds go to education and veterans’ assistance. This year we started working with BUILD NYC, an organization that fosters youth entrepreneurship

in under-resourced communities. I serve as a judge for their business plan competition, in which students develop their own business that they develop over the course of several months

through mentorship, on-site company visits, pitch events and more. It’s been wonderful to witness how creative these kids are (9th graders), and so fulfilling to impart at least some of what

I’ve learned in my career to help them develop their own skills. CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE US YOUR FAVORITE “LIFE LESSON QUOTE”? CAN YOU SHARE HOW THAT WAS RELEVANT TO YOU IN YOUR LIFE? “Nothing

in the world can take the place of persistence.” — Calvin Coolidge This is part of a bigger quote we were required to memorize when I was pledging a fraternity, and at the time it was pretty

corny, but it’s always stuck with me. When you’re building a startup or attempting to do anything that’s really hard, you’re going to hit a ton of road blocks. It’s easy to give up, and

most people do. At the end of the day, it’s not talent, education or genius that solves big problems. It’s persistence. Nothing can be more fitting than trying to modernize and change a

deeply entrenched, bureaucratic industry as the lottery. YOU ARE A PERSON OF GREAT INFLUENCE. IF YOU COULD INSPIRE A MOVEMENT THAT WOULD BRING THE MOST AMOUNT OF GOOD TO THE MOST AMOUNT OF

PEOPLE, WHAT WOULD THAT BE? YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOUR IDEA CAN TRIGGER. :-) Everyone always asks, “what’s the meaning of life.” My interpretation is that life is finite so we need to make the

best of the time we’re given. People can achieve anything with hard work, focus and perseverance. I think it’s impossible to live “every day to the fullest” but I think everyone should live

their life to _their_ fullest. That, and the golden rule still wins. It’s pretty simple thinking, but treating others how you want to be treated is a great foundation for making a big

impact in the world. It all starts with helping one another. THANK YOU FOR THESE FANTASTIC INSIGHTS. WE WISH YOU CONTINUED SUCCESS!