We moved for a variety of reasons. For one, we outgrew our former space and needed somewhere to house our company of 70+ people. Beyond that, we knew we wanted to be in a city like Raleigh to attract the young, energetic professionals for which the town is so well known.
Here are some of the things we love about our home base.
The Triangle Diversity Business Council
We’ve partnered with the Triangle Diversity Business Council (TDBC) to make North Carolina’s Triangle (Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham) one of the most inclusive business environments in the country. Together, we’re working to cultivate one of the most productive talent pools in the nation, while helping foster work environments built with diversity and inclusion (DI) principles.
Specifically, the TDBC and Personify partnership helps build the infrastructure and capacity of the TDBC to expand its membership and help carry out its mission in Raleigh and our sister cities. Through convening and sharing of best practices, our team is assisting in the development of resources and training related to recruiting and retaining top talent.
Actively being involved with an organization like TDBC enriches our company culture. Not only does it give us something to be immensely proud of, but our involvement also helps us keep looking forward as far as our goals for Personify, and the city of Raleigh.
Our Sweet Space
We loved the vibrant feel of the American Tobacco Campus in Durham and knew we wanted our offices to have a similar vibe. Built in 1935, the Dr. Pepper Warehouse at 416 S. Dawson St. served as a bottling plant for nearly 40 years. Between 2008 and 2013, the warehouse spaces were renovated and brought to life. We moved in two years ago and have been thriving in our customized area ever since.
The Numbers
According to Forbes, Raleigh’s business costs are 18% below the national average, and 42% of our adult population is college educated (the national average is 30%). This is thanks in large part to our proximity to three amazing schools: Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The city is also home to Research Triangle Park (RTP), which houses companies like IBM and Cisco, and not one, but four startup accelerators. Forbes also notes that the city’s annual job growth rate is increasing by 2.5% per year, making Raleigh the perfect town for opportunity-hungry companies like ours.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Forbes also notes that the city’s annual job growth rate is increasing by 2.5% per year, making Raleigh the perfect town for opportunity-hungry companies like ours.” quote=”Forbes also notes that the city’s annual job growth rate is increasing by 2.5% per year, making Raleigh the perfect town for opportunity-hungry companies like ours.”]
While Personify continues to expand our reach across the US and beyond (we have team members in Montreal; Lyon, France; and the UK!), we’ll always have a soft spot for North Carolina. When looking for a home base, our greatest advice to burgeoning companies is finding a city that facilitates growth just as much as success. For us, this was Raleigh.
Our offices in Cary served our company’s needs for a long time — and we’ll always appreciate the formative years that made us into the Personify of today. Raleigh came calling when we realized who we were and who we wanted to be. Find a city that brings out the best in you, too.