Today I attended what they call “Agency Standup”. The Director of HR sent out a company-wide invite a week earlier and upon receiving it in my email, I was beyond confused by what that meant. So when the time came, all the employees gathered around at the front of the office and I just followed suit.
One of the co-founders, Max Pollack, was front and center to discuss the fall season for the company. He started off by giving a formal welcome to those who have only recently joined the team. Such as us interns, we, one by one, handed each other “the mic” to introduce ourselves and to state what we were most excited for during our time here. They referred to us as the “second generation interns”, leading me to assume that their internship program is likely to be fairly new. But nevertheless, I felt grateful to be where I am. If there was anything I was not expecting, it’d be standing in a lineup of interns in front of everyone but it did feel good to be acknowledged.
Max also took the time to recognize the employees’ hardwork, to address what’s to come, and to motivate them for the upcoming months. He shared that they’ve already been kicked out of three offices before their now, Tribeca home. Hearing this took me by surprise but this fact was treated as an indicator of success because of how much MATTE has grown over the years. They were apparently receiving complaints for being too loud, taking up parking spots, and using the elevator “too much”. In his words, he said that they’ve “outgrown” those spaces literally and metaphorically. He followed up by extending his appreciation to the team by reminding everyone of the big clients they’ve worked with and the 4 Emmy nominations they received this year. Even though they haven’t won, they’re rooting for next year. And before we all separated, he briefed us on the new clients and company updates.
