Thanks to the dedication and fortitude of healthcare professionals, first responders, supply chain and delivery professionals, and other essential employees, MEMX, like many businesses, has been able to fully shift to a remote working environment over the past few weeks. Although the issues we’ve faced are not as profound as those that many in our workforce are dealing with, we have still learned valuable lessons as to how we can best continue our progress, maintain and build our culture, and put our best foot forward in this challenging and unpredictable environment.

Today, I’d like to share some lessons and updates from our team, with the hope they are of some value to you.

Remain Focused on Our Team

We’ve taken our current situation as an opportunity to get creative and rethink the ways in which we generate positivity amongst our team. Traditional workplace bonding activities are not taking place, so like many others, we have found ways to connect virtually. We have hosted virtual game nights and “lunch and learns,” added new messaging threads such as a #watercooler Slack channel, and conducted a group yoga class via Zoom. Sharing activities outside of our work responsibilities not only benefits everyone’s mental well-being, but also builds strength in our team. Plus, we have some pretty cool people on board — who wouldn’t want to hang out with them?

We’ve also provided digital resources for our employees in order to ease their transition to remote working. For instance, our Employee Resource Center includes homeschooling tips, health and wellness resources, and benefits information. These resources increase transparency for our team, while also helping everyone adjust to a new work/life balance. No one is a master at keeping their kids or pets from joining a meeting, but with a little help, we can all better manage those instances.

Remain Focused on Our Goals

We also have continued to stay productive as we work toward our goal of introducing an equity exchange that simplifies the trading experience, improves operational transparency, and reduces fixed costs for all market participants. We believe maintaining some sense of normalcy is important throughout the uncertainty around us. Continuing to drive toward our mission allows us to keep our work constant, our interactions with each other regular, and our spirits high. For instance, we have maintained our bi-monthly “All Hands” meeting hosted by our CEO, Jonathan Kellner, to keep all MEMX employees up to date on progress, decisions, and company announcements.

Since moving to a remote working environment, we are happy to have welcomed six new hires in the last three weeks. With the employment situation across the nation becoming more uncertain by the week, we realize we are fortunate to be able to hire in this environment. Thank you to our creative and talented tech team, who have worked tirelessly to onboard our new team members and help them jump into their responsibilities immediately. The MEMX team is now 41 full-time employees, with four co-op students on staff from Stevens Technical Institute.

Make a Tangible Impact

We are doing our part by working remotely and complying with social distancing best practices. However, we would be remiss not to recognize those around us who do not have the luxury to stay home.

Beyond sending our heartfelt thanks to all the doctors, nurses, hospital staff, pharmacy and grocery workers, EMTs, and many more, we are committed to contributing to the communities that are currently under a tremendous amount of stress. As a small gesture of our gratitude, MEMX is sending meals each week to a tri-state area hospital, fire department, shelter, or other first responder location from local neighborhood restaurants to support both the staff and small businesses. It’s important to orient ourselves to the community around us and give back in a meaningful way, even as we press forward with our own internal business initiatives.

I’m sharing these perspectives not because they are the solution to what ails every company, but in the hopes that sharing what has worked for us might help others decide what will work for them. I continue to be impressed with the ability of our team to remain intensely focused on our collective mission. But as the champion of the MEMX culture, I am most proud of the character of our people. The teamwork, heart, and gratitude shown to those in our community — as well as the willingness to support each other — is emblematic of the type of team anyone would be honored to work with.