Senso 2020 Year In Review— A Culture of Giving Back
2020! What a year it has been.
In March, we left the office thinking that we’d be gone for a month … 10 months later, and the world feels vastly different. The first wave of the pandemic required our team (like many others) to quickly pivot to a virtual environment. It’s been amazing to witness what could be accomplished while everyone is sitting in their home-offices … miles apart … wearing PJ’s and fuzzy slippers for most of the working weeks for the remainder of 2020.
Collaborating in a virtual setting does have its challenges, but it was inspiring to see our team quickly adapt to new protocols and processes in a matter of weeks while dealing with their own personal COVID-related challenges. We even created a “Coffee Chats’’ Slack channel as a virtual proxy for our office kitchen (where a lot of business problems got solved prior to COVID-19). The buy-in and commitment our staff showed to not only our own business, but the objectives of our customers during an extraordinarily uncertain time is emblematic of our culture of support and positive action we strive to instill at the core of Senso every single day.
Who would have believed that in the same year that the world ‘shut-down’, we would experience our biggest year of growth to date? Our team of data scientists, business leaders, and world-class developers set their sites on some audacious goals and achieved some amazing milestones. As Norman Vincente Peal said, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”. While we are ecstatic about all of our achievements this year including raising a new round of capital, launching our product in Canada, and expanding to the US market, the one achievement we are most proud of is that of ‘giving back’ to those who needed it most during the height of the pandemic.
Members of our team were personally impacted by COVID-19, and members of their families risked their lives on the front line to ensure that we didn’t have to risk ours. Despite this, our culture of support and positive action resulted in SensoGo, an initiative which supported front-line hospital staff with sponsored meals and gifts prepared and delivered by local businesses impacted by COVID-19. Over a 6-month period, our team raised over ~$60,000 for front-liners across 10 hospitals and long-term care homes in the Greater Toronto Area. All care packages were prepared by local businesses who struggled to stay open as a result of COVID-19.
This type of mentality extends to the types of customers and partners we choose to work with as well. 2020 was also a year of beginnings for us at Senso as we announced our go-to-market partnership with TransUnion. Partnering with a global firm like TU is a huge milestone for Senso and it was a natural fit for us because of their progressive culture, and also because of their belief in giving back. TU’s Information for Good© program is a prime example of a company who recognizes the impact they can have, not only on the communities in which they operate but also the world at large. We are excited about going forward with TU by our side and look forward to doing great things together in 2021.
As we close out this adventurous year, the Senso team is holding true to our deep rooted value of giving back. This is the time of year when we usually recognize our customers and partners by sending them a token of our appreciation. However, we are conscious of those in our communities who may have been affected to a greater extent by the global pandemic and may not be able to purchase necessities, let alone holiday items. Senso has leveraged the SensoGo platform to raise additional funds to sponsor a family in need via holidayhelpers.org. Holiday Helpers, annually sponsors ~650 low-income families in the GTA by providing a relief package, with the help of community donors. Instead of receiving another branded mug or techno gadget, we wanted our partners and customers to be part of something bigger, especially during this celebratory time of year. We thank the tech ecosystem and our family and friends for donating additional funds to support this initiative.
As we prepare to break for the holiday season, all of us here at Senso want to wish you peace, love, and happiness; and we thank you for your continued support and good vibes.
Sincerely,
The Senso Family
