How Kelsey Bishop Is Building an Authentic Professional Network

Kelsey Bishop, Founder and CEO of Candor, is devising a new platform for managers and founders to discover and share how they work.

Kelsey’s experience working with startup companies has resulted in varying outcomes. On one hand, she has worked with great teams that had a positive work culture. She has also experienced working with teams that did not click. With this point of friction in mind, Kelsey started Candor, a business aimed at helping individuals understand themselves and their colleagues better by taking a more human approach to teamwork. In building her own team, Kelsey now understands the correlation between a connected team and happiness at work. She aspires to bring the same environment she has been able to cultivate to all workplaces. 

We asked Kelsey about the founding story behind her company, the importance of being a kind and transparent leader, and creating a stellar team to continue building Candor’s mission.

Q: Tell us the story behind your company’s founding. How and why did you start working on Candor?

A: I've been in tech for about eight years as a Jane-of-all-trades. I've done sales, partnerships, and operations. My experiences in startups always fell into one of two buckets. The first bucket included fun workplaces, incredible teams, and an awesome culture where everyone challenged each other. The business might struggle, but everything works because the team is awesome. The other bucket was made up of the opposite type of surrounding. The business could be crushing it, but work was a struggle without a strong culture. It is difficult for me to enjoy working at companies when there isn’t a strong culture fit. After I left my last job, I thought about how people at companies get to know each other and how job seekers learn about what it’s like to work at certain businesses. For the most part, we go to LinkedIn, look at people’s education and experiences, and leave knowing nothing about that person. You don't get a sense of their personality, what their values are, what they're excited about, and things like that. I felt like there was this massive gap. Culture fit is one of the most important factors, yet all we share with each other is our resumes. How can we know what it’s going to be like to work with each other? How can we confidently land in a role where we find belonging?

Q: What problem does Candor solve? 

A: We’re helping teams build deeper relationships, surfacing information about work styles and what our colleagues are like as people so that they can still bond in a remote world. 

Users share their core values, motivations, their journey so far, and more about who they are at work. Many of our users are sharing these things with their teammates for the first time and experiencing real connection, even in a remote world. 

Eventually, we want to be seen as the trusted professional network, where people can authentically be themselves and find workplaces where they align with the culture. By sharing their true selves, professionals can connect with people and work cultures they align with.

Q: What’s been the hardest and most rewarding part of your entrepreneurial journey?

A: Definitely building a team. Hiring is tough—there’s no doubt about that. We actually started doing mutual assessments, which is a two week work trial where we pay a candidate hourly to work with us. It gives us a strong sense of how they pair with our culture and it gives them a sense of what the job is really like. While this process is time and resource intensive, it’s also a tried and tested way to ensure we’re making the right hire. We’ve hired everyone on the Candor team through this process and I’m really proud of the talent we have on board.

Q: What’s the biggest misconception that others have around entrepreneurship?

A: I think people glamorize founding a company. The reality is that it’s not super sexy.  Being a founder has been my dream job, but I don’t think that’d be the case if it weren’t for the problem we’re trying to solve at Candor. The reality is that company building is the best job in the world if you work on a problem that keeps you up at night and gets you up in the morning. Starting a company is so much less about the metrics, the press, and all the stuff people see on the outside. It’s so much more about trying to solve a problem that you can’t live without trying to solve.

Q: Have you discovered any underappreciated leadership traits or misconceptions around leadership?

A: Being a kind, transparent leader should be table stakes. Before starting a company, I thought there was so much nuance and information I couldn’t understand because I wasn’t in my CEO’s shoes. I realize now that it’s not hard to be respectful, kind, and trusting in your teammates. If any leader doesn’t show basic human decency, I don’t think they get the benefit of the doubt. It’s not that hard to do the right thing, especially when you’re in a position of power.

Q: How would you describe the journey you’ve had in a few sentences? Would you do it all over again?

A: It’s been the absolute honor of my lifetime to start Candor and if I do nothing else, it feels like I’ve done enough. I’d run this company for the next 30 years if given the opportunity. I’ve learned more in the last year and a half than I ever could have expected. Things are definitely not boring.

Q: What’s next for you and Candor?

A: It’s just the beginning over here. We’re seeing momentum on the growth side as our users are starting to see the Candor magic. We’re heads down building on the product side towards a world that’s more authentic, growth-oriented, and where people find belonging at work.

Kelsey is a member of Dreamers & Doers, a private collective that amplifies the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through thought leadership opportunities, authentic connection, and access. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and subscribe to their monthly The Digest for top entrepreneurial and career resources.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.