Syndio CEO Maria Colacurcio on How Tech Can Build Workplace Equity

Maria Colacurcio launched her first business in the fifth grade. Her goal: raise enough money for her friends to buy jackets inspired by The Pink Ladies in “Grease.” Her method: sell ideas for dares that kids seeking playground mischief could perform.

Her efforts earned her a bad reputation; Colacurcio said it was her first exposure to how culture can make or break a business.

On this episode of Office Hours, the Syndio CEO joined host Spencer Rascoff to discuss how technology can change workplace equity and the importance of company-specific decision making.

Colacurcio became CEO of Syndio, a SaaS startup that aims to help companies foster workplace equity, when there were fewer than a dozen employees. Initially a “people analytics” company focused on providing clients with data about their staff, Colacurcio said one of her first big decisions was whether to shift focus to a side project started by founder Zev Eigen. Looking at the competitive landscape and considering their big idea, Colacurcio said they decided to bet on a calculator that provided real-time pay equity analysis.

“It was a way to give companies more real time access to doing ongoing pay equity analyses and get the insights as to why it was happening,” she said. “We saw the market changing.”

Tech like Syndio’s is becoming increasingly necessary as people consider what workplace equity looks like, she said. As Colacurcio learned as a kid, culture can define a company—and understanding how policies and behaviors impact pay equity, hiring trends and internal promotions all impact corporate culture.

While many companies are concerned about a looming recession, Colacurcio said Syndio remains in a good place to grow. In fact, she said companies should examine their situation before jumping into layoffs, which often disproportionately affect marginalized groups—the very communities that Syndio’s tech seeks to uplift.

“I think you have to be really careful about automatically moving to that mindset of ‘batten down the hatches’ and really look at your business,” Colacurcio said. “Look at your metrics—what [does] your magic number look like? What [does] your operational efficiency look like? How much are you spending for every dollar of revenue? And if those metrics look decent, this may be a moment for you to actually pull away from the pack.”

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