who we are:
About
Derived from ancient Sanskrit, our name translates to “wisdom from experience.” It can be a little tricky to pronounce (It rhymes with mosaic.), but it fits us perfectly. Our name speaks to the guiding principles we use when designing effective learning and knowledge transfer experiences.
Our Origin
Doug and I weren’t born into families of entrepreneurs and didn’t study business; we grew up on a ranch and farm, respectively, and are teachers by training. The principal members of Vivayic worked together for more than 15 years in various capacities and on multiple projects prior to the inception of Vivayic. It’s unlikely we would have started a company together had we both not been stumbling around in our career path at the same time.
There are the four owners of Vivayic: Doug and Emily Kueker & Seth and Carrie Derner. Doug and Seth serve as co-CEOs, while Emily and Carrie also work full-time in the company in leadership and operational roles. We’ve always held that building culture is our most important job.
Vivayic = Wisdom From Experience
We launched Vivayic in 2006 to meet the needs of forward-looking organizations recognizing the need for more effective learning solutions. We have steadily built relationships with dozens of organizations completing hundreds of consulting, strategy, and design projects related to learning, training, and knowledge transfer. We’ve done more than just show up and complete the job — we’ve worked to add beyond-scope value to every project and client. Our team has grown and the tools of our trade have changed, but our focus on helping organizations find success through learning remains constant — and will long into the future.
Vivayic is a company that chooses to be great instead of big.
11 Things to Know About Vivayic
1
It sounds just like it’s spelled.
Just kidding — this is how we say it: VI-VAY-ic.
2
Our team is 100% virtual and live and work in 13 states.
And counting — we find the best people no matter the location.
3
We have a Party Planning Committee (PPC).
Just like “The Office” — however, neither Emily nor Carrie claim to be the Angela. We are that intentional about culture. The PPC helps us celebrate each other, birthdays, graduations, weddings, babies, March Madness, college football, and "The Bachelor."
4
We have the absolute best clients all around the world!
We help others' build capacity to do good in the world. Whether our clients provide food, fuel, and fiber to the world; provide resources to rural areas; provide leadership development to youth organizations; or create classroom resources, they are making a positive impact and we are thankful to be able to help build their capacity.
5
The most frequently played song at our team meetings is “Africa” by Toto.
Four of our team members have traveled to Uganda with our partners at Field of Hope to better understand the learners of a curriculum we are building to help students in Uganda be better farmers. We care so deeply about making a dent in the world that our work with Field of Hope is part of our strategic plan.
6
Our people are musicians, artists, athletes, farmers, volunteers, teachers, etc.
We’re more than talented learning designers, we bring all these cool talents to what we do and our culture.
7
Three times a year we visit a new part of the U.S. as a team to experience new parts of this country/agriculture together.
We’ve visited California, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Indiana, Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia, and South Carolina as a team. The PPC makes the location reveal into a fun scavenger hunt, puzzle, or clues in the mail to reveal the location.
8
We love entrepreneurs!
We work closely with the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program to not only help develop upcoming entrepreneurs, but to learn from these students as well!
9
We have a group SnapChat, and it’s really fun!
Our self-appointed Director of Millennial Integration made a PowerPoint tutorial for the non-millennials. #lifelonglearners (She also taught us about hashtags and memes.)
10
We care so deeply about our team members and their communities.
Community involvement is important to us. Our team members serve on volunteer boards and committees in their communities, and we match their donations to non-profits that are close to their hearts.
11
Our culture takes the cake!
We’re honored to be part of the Small Giants community to continue to build a rockstar work environment.
Vivayic returns measurable, meaningful results
Our number one goal is to positively impact your project, your cause, or your business — and to deliver solutions that surprise and delight. Vivayic’s broad experience and proven processes balance excellence, innovation, and practicality to consistently return results that exceed expectations.
“Feedback from the course was amazing and off the charts compared to times in the past.”
—Brian Flanagan
Director of Agriculture Training
ECHO
