50 Smartest Companies of the Year 2021
The Silicon Review
“RippleWorx has been creating athlete-minded performance through its unique methodology of coaching effect, proven for increased productivity, profitability, and overall outcome, driving organizations ahead in the race.”
RippleWorx is a performance acceleration company using AI for predictive modeling, focusing on the overall performance optimization—for physical, cognitive, and emotional wellbeing for professional sports teams, enterprises, high-performing teams, and the Department of Defense.
The company was incorporated in 2018 and is based in Huntsville, Alabama.
Interview Excerpt: Angela Sandritter
Q. What was your motivation behind starting the company?
My husband and I read the book ‘The Compound Effect’ to strengthen our relationship further. This concept of “compound” impressed me, and therefore, inspired me to dig deeper. I realized that people don’t want to do the work to truly achieve goals. In an “instant gratification” culture, we get bored too easily or lose interest when we don’t see immediate results. We want to lose 15 pounds on a crash diet in one week. We don’t want to exercise daily to take off the weight, for instance. So, I started thinking of a technology that could help people achieve their goals, one day at a time, providing instant gratification and immediate results along the way, so people stay the course. And we also asked—what if individuals could also see how their development impacted the overall organization’s results and continued to align on their interests and the organizational needs? This created the powerful Ripple Effect. Our platform evolved to incorporate individual sentiment, organizational goals/needs, and the capabilities/skills needed to achieve results, giving individuals their action plan (daily) to see their impact and to move the needle truly. These quick wins allow people to be motivated to stay the course.
When looking at the individual sentiment, we see what mindset is. And we are able to help overall well-being—emotionally, physically, and cognitively, so individuals feel confident and motivated to perform in their current and future roles.
Q. How do you help organizations create a sustainable, resilient, and high-performing culture?
The RippleWorx algorithm was tested, determining that only true results can be seen by optimizing performance holistically. RippleWorx acts as a digital coach to help you achieve results. We provide clear action plans for individuals, teams, and organizations to discover their risks and identify growth opportunities. By integrating your existing data and qualitative feedback, RippleWorx can pinpoint the triggers within your organization. This provides a data-driven way to determine the effectiveness of your decision-making at all levels.
Q. Could you tell us about your process?
RippleWorx provides you with a holistic solution to manage schedules, tasks, training plans, corporate and individual goals, real-time communication, data and decision-making analysis, and workforce sentiment analysis. This blend of capabilities allows you to visualize and understand the real truth behind your organization’s performance in a variety of ways, making data points actionable and making it possible to measure the effectiveness of those actions.
Q. Could you tell us about whom you work with and what industries you focus on?
RippleWorx works with a variety of groups, including sports, enterprise, healthcare, law enforcement, and the military. We have also successfully obtained an AFWERX contract and are in pursuit of Phase 2 contracts.
Q. Tell us in detail about the technology that underlines your services?
RippleWorx correlates an individual’s chronic workload ratio (scheduling, sensor data, training plans, rankings, and physiological data) with the perceived workload (wellness surveys and feedback), indicating stress-induced components. ACWR measures the acute workload to determine the current workload. The software can detect when an individual has exceeded the threshold, predicting the susceptibility to injury. RippleWorx can then automate a mitigation plan to prevent the combination of stressors from reoccurring for an individual.
Q. What makes RippleWorx unique?
RippleWorx is the only solution on the market that offers a holistic solution to achieve your goals. Social unrest, stress, workloads, PTSD, depression and sickness are creating a decline in the effectiveness of organizations. In a digital communication era, the best way to tackle these topics is with a holistic view. It is essential to streamline workflow, to provide clarity on an individual’s daily impact as well as create the right conditions for an individual to “decompress” and continue to develop over time.
Q. How was it working through the pandemic? How efficient are your solutions to help companies in 2021?
The pandemic opened new doors for RippleWorx and also set the stage for a new way to work and engage. Following the pandemic, there is a high demand for overall improvements in the workplace. In order to retain your people, you have to maintain a culture of development and individual growth. We offer actionable data to help you tackle those pain points.
Q. What does the future hold for your company?
RippleWorx has been creating athlete-minded performance through its unique methodology of coaching effect, proven for increased productivity, profitability, and overall outcome, driving organizations ahead in the race. They will be continuing this methodology in the future, too. Further, to address specific challenges in the coming days, they are focusing on utilizing their product and the methodology of workforce mobility and establishing an employee culture in a remote and distributed environment with high engagement, retention, and well-being of individuals.
The Leader Upfront
Angela (Angie) Sandritter, CEO of RippleWorx, is a motivated executive and entrepreneur. With over 15 years of experience developing and bringing technology products to market, Angie holds professional and educational expertise in designing enterprise-class software products for organizational development, leading strategic change, and enhancing team performance.
Angie’s initial professional experience lies in working with global enterprises to develop the right go-to-market strategies for a leading telecommunications equipment provider. She later co-founded Cygnus Strategy Group, a consulting firm designed to help small businesses migrate to small enterprises through a holistic approach to aligning processes, people development, and market strategy.
For six years, Angie held the position of vice president of Global Services for HAUFE, Gruppe — the leading talent management provider in Europe. In this role, Angie opened the US office at HAUFE to drive strategic change for global organizations today. With clients such as NIKE, ZEISS, HILTI, and others, Angie led key change initiatives for diversity in hiring practices, recruiting the right global talent, and driving key learning and development initiatives for global companies to prepare for the workforce of the future.
Combining the experience with people development and technology, Sandritter co-founded RippleWorx.
Sandritter has educational training in computer science, developing go-to-market strategies through an eMBA (University of Alabama), and leading strategic change initiatives through Harvard’s Extension School. She participates in the various board of directors and public speaking engagements today.