Meet the Pie-oneers

Shuchi Goyal, sales analyst, was hired in 2021. She did her research before interviewing with Pie and discovered that people enjoy working here. Throughout the course of her interviews, the interviewers were consistently enthusiastic about their jobs and Pie’s mission. The determination, enthusiasm, and patience made Shuchi excited to be a Pie-oneer.

Her favorite part of working at Pie is the helpfulness of her coworkers. “I can seek assistance from anyone at any time.” Shuchi’s favorite memory is the 2021 holiday party where she was able to meet many coworkers in person for the first time.

Pie has taught Shuchi to take action. “Don't just concentrate on your assigned tasks. This is out-of-the-box thinking and extra effort for Pie's overall progress.” Over the next five years, Shuchi hopes to grow alongside Pie and perhaps see Pie offer insurance in nearly every state.

Shuchi’s favorite pie is lemon!

Hired in 2022, Chriag Gupta, director of engineering, joined Pie because he was excited about Pie’s mission to help small businesses. The open and free work environment has been a high point for him as well as the opportunity to be part of the Denver Tech Summit.

Chirag has enjoyed learning about the insurance industry and how it changes from state to state. For the next five years, he is excited to see how Pie tackles new challenges and grows—and he’s excited to be part of that growth!

His favorite pie? Pecan!

Seika Omine, team lead of payroll operations (pictured here with her dog Zeus), joined Pie because she wanted to try a new industry and a career path to expand her knowledge base. The culture and Pie-oneers are her favorite part of Pie.

One of Seika’s favorite memories at Pie is a two-week stint at a desk behind a beam during construction and moving offices. Lovingly named the “pole desk” by the office, she had to manipulate her chair just so in order to be able to slide in and out of the space. The biggest lesson she’s learned so far is to be flexible and open to change. “We’re a startup and things can happen quickly!”

Looking ahead to the next five years, Seika is excited to see Pie expand to offer even more ways to help small businesses thrive.

Seika’s favorite pie is Buckeye pie!

Shelley joined Pie because of the people. From experiences at other organizations, Shelley already knew several Pie-oneers and was amazed how many people in the small Washington, D.C. startup community joined Pie.

Shelley appreciates the balance at Pie. “Working here definitely feels like a startup in many ways; we move fast, we have a lot of fun, and we're doing some really cool things in an otherwise antiquated industry. But it also feels like we have direction as a company; we're not just throwing ideas out there to see what sticks. We have a real, transparent plan to meet our lofty goals as an organization and we aren't sacrificing our longer-term future for shorter-term gains.”

After starting with Pie in the fall of 2020, after the offices were closed for COVID-19, her favorite memory is meeting coworkers in person after working with them virtually for so long. The most common comment she heard upon meeting coworkers was “I thought you were taller!”

During her time at Pie, Shelley has learned that moving forward is everything. Even slow progress is progress. With all that Pie has accomplished in the past 5 years, she believes we’ve only scratched the surface of what we can achieve. She is excited to help build the future of Pie in any way she can.

Shelley’s favorite pie? Apple! Made with tons of cinnamon and Granny Smith apples.

Kevin Philpott, head of UX, has been with Pie since the beginning. He joined Pie because he wanted to be part of building the best experience for small business owners in the insurance industry. Kevin’s favorite thing about working at Pie is the culture. “All the people in all the different departments really do want to build the best commercial insurer. And at the core, even when it's not easy, it always feels to me like that is what everyone is trying to achieve together.”

His favorite memory as a Pie-oneer is the first year. “In less than 12 months, that early team at Pie stood up an entire insurance system with the ability to buy workers' comp online. I might never see so few people accomplish something like that again, but you never know with Pie.” Throughout the course of three critical projects, Kevin has seen people come together and work diligently to deliver on the deadline and surpass all expectations. He now believes that with the right team and culture, you can execute your vision no matter how impossible it may seem. In the next five years, Kevin is looking forward to seeing Pie providing excellent insurance to more small businesses—and being on the path to becoming #1.

His favorite Pie? Unsurprisingly, pie-loting industry-leading experiences.

Jess joined in 2018 and was excited about the challenge of helping to build a new startup. After meeting co-founders Dax Craig and John Swigart, she knew Pie was the right fit for her.

Jess’ favorite part of working at Pie is the Pie-oneers. She gets to connect across many departments and loves meeting new people. Her favorite memory with Pie is the 2019 Denver Startup Week. “It was Pie's first year joining the event. We were a sponsor and we participated in or hosted events every day that week. Our Pie-oneers jumped in feet first and volunteered to help staff several events. We even got to throw some pies in the executive's faces!”

Pie has shown Jess she’s capable of so much more than she imagined. “Startup life is energizing and fun but it’s also hard work. I’ve done huge things like giant office moves, office renovations (while we worked in the space), creating a team of Executive Assistants, and more. Pie stretched my skills and gave me so many new ones!” After all the growth to date, and transitioning to a hybrid workplace, she is excited to see how Pie continues to evolve over the next five years.

Jess’s favorite pies are lemon meringue for summer and pecan for winter.