Communicating Our Mission to Wall Street and the World

Opportunities don’t come along very often to join a company that is setting a new standard for its industry. Rarer still is a company whose mission is devoted to making people safer as they go about living their daily lives. As the new Vice President of Investor Relations for Evolv, it feels as if I am coming on at an important flex point in the company’s development.

We have just completed our initial public offering and are now listed on NASDAQ as “EVLV.” We have an opportunity to be more visible and to invest in doing the things necessary to take the company to the next level. You can feel the energy of the company, and the excitement, just by talking to our people and to our customers. We hope to generate the same enthusiasm and passion among our investors.

One of my most important roles is to make sure we are accurately communicating to Wall Street and the investment community the fundamentals of what we are doing, how we are doing and, in a broader sense, why we are doing it. That “why are doing it” aspect comes down to the mission and, frankly, that is one of the main reasons why I am here.

I am a mission-focused person, whether it’s working with the Boy Scouts of America, the Boston Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute or every job I’ve ever had during my 20-plus-years as a leader of finance-driven investor relations programs for ground-breaking, category-leading technology companies. One of the first things that resonated with me when I spoke to the management team at Evolv is that this is a company that is doing truly important work.

These days, unfortunately, it is hard not to think about safety when entering an arena for a sporting event or a concert hall or, really, just about any venue where people gather. When you get in line at the metal detector to get inside, or hand your phone to a security guard, or put your valuables in a plastic container, it is a constant reminder of why these things are necessary.

However, when you think about it, the idea that these “precautions” are based on decades-old analog technology and standards feels so obsolete and out of place—particularly when you consider how dependent we are upon digital technologies for so many other aspects of our lives. You would think that our physical safety would be priority number one in the digital age. Fortunately the team at Evolv has – and does – prioritize physical safety.

The concept of a solution designed specifically to detect weapons and deliver a friction-free experience for patrons is setting a standard for safety that is innovative and necessary. The fact that the team at Evolv could not only conceive of this idea, but could actually build it, is somewhat awe-inspiring. The opportunity to be part of that team and communicate what we are doing to Wall Street and beyond is a source of pride and excitement. It’s a mission that this mission-focused guy can truly believe in.