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2022 Year in Review

As we wrap up yet another busy year for the Ekos team, we wanted to reflect on the changes we’ve made, people we’ve connected with, and new experiences we’ve shared. Looking ahead to 2023, we know there’s change on the other side, and we’re excited to embrace it as it comes.

Without any further ado, here’s what we’ve been up to this year:

Customer Connections

We’re lucky to have customers in some pretty cool places: from Austin to Alberta and everywhere in between, we love visiting our customers and seeing them in action and helping them improve the way they use Ekos. This year, we had the privilege of visiting:

Getting boots on the ground is the best way to connect with and gather feedback from craft producers and winemakers. From expanding our knowledge about wine harvest and additives to seeing Ekos software at work, we feel so lucky to learn from the best: our customers.

In addition to meeting our customers where they are, we also met them on the tradeshow floor. We brought our biggest crew ever to the 2022 Craft Beer Conference, put on another great year of our users conference, Ekos_Con, and attended dozens of state and regional trade shows in between. Celebrating great beer, wine, and cider alongside the craft beverage community is part of why we love the work we do so much.

The Launch of Craftlab: The Podcast

Long ago we dreamt of a podcast that would tell the stories of craft producers. The highs, the lows, and every step they took in between. This year, it became real! Craftlab: The Podcast hit airwaves in March, and we’re so proud of the 12 producers’ stories we’ve shared so far with Ekos CEO Josh McKinney at the helm as podcast host.

There hasn’t been a boring moment in the podcast journey so far. Our guests have shared so much with us: how they started a brewery with their retirement fund, the challenges and emotions that come with owning a business, and partnering with drive-in restaurant Sonic are just a few of the stories we’ve heard so far. Keep your ears tuned in for new information about Craftlab: The Podcast, and give our podcast a listen if you haven’t yet. 

Continuous Product Improvement

One of our core values is “when our customers win, we win” — something we strive for day-in and day-out. This year, we kept customers at the forefront as we enhanced several key areas of our product by:

Industry Education & Professional Growth

Living up to our core value to “be better than yesterday” includes continuing education to better understand the beverage industry and gain new skills for each role at Ekos. This year, we conducted tons of interviews with breweries, wineries, and cideries to produce the 2022 Building a Tech Stack report and the 2022 State of Technology in the Wine Industry report. We also analyzed data and extracted valuable insights about how our customers use Ekos, which allowed us to understand the most popular raw materials in Ekos last year.

Our team members also pursued continuing education and industry experiences all year long. Just to name a few:

  • Software Test Engineer Canaan Chandler became a certified scrummaster
  • Director of Product Marketing Kassandra Costa completed the PMM Leaders Fellowship Program and became product marketing certified
  • Content Marketing Editor Becca Starkes earned her Poynter ACES Certification
  • Customer Success Manager Heather Harris was named the executive director of the Charlotte Independent Brewers Alliance

In addition to these certifications and leadership roles, we’re incredibly proud of the internal promotions our team earned this year:

  • Greg Munson, vice president of operations
  • Jordan Parker, senior director of customer success
  • Kassandra Costa, director of product marketing
  • Erin Williams, team lead, customer success management
  • Stephen Schaar, principal devops engineer
  • Sal Narisi, customer implementation specialist
  • Ed Smith, customer implementation specialist
  • Taryn Rossi, senior manager of implementation
  • Sean Rogers, principal software engineer
  • Will Henderson, principal software engineer
  • Hannah Board, product manager

Awards & Recognition

While we don’t do what we do to win awards, it’s always affirming to be recognized! We proudly earned a number of awards this year including:

These awards are a testament to the hard work our team puts in every day and showcases the importance of our mission: connecting the craft supply chain, which we couldn’t do without our fantastic team.

Ekos Team Bonding

If you have to spend a lot of time with your coworkers, you might as well enjoy it and throw some fun in the mix! Our teams spent a lot of time this year together — both in and out of the office. Our teams traveled to wineries, splattered paint together, played TopGolf, hosted a Pride Month party, attended a Charlotte Knights baseball game, and so much more.

We believe that connecting with each other is just as important as the work we do for our customers. Without developed relationships and team bonding, Ekos wouldn’t be the place or the product it is today. It’s all part of our “we are one team” value — we need each other to serve others, collaborate, and build community. 

As we move into next year, we’re looking forward to the changes, excitement, challenges, and everything that comes in between in 2023. We can’t wait to meet more folks, gather more feedback and insights from the craft beverage industry, and continue working together to empower producers every day.

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“After using various different brewery software, we came to Ekos for an all-in-one product. We are able to plan, schedule, manage inventory and our day-to-day tasks without the need for external spreadsheets.”

– Ivan Dedek, brewmaster

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