What’s in a name? The story behind Gloat

At Gloat, shaking up the status quo runs deep. From the very beginning, we knew that talent mobility and hiring systems were broken, so we set out to harness the power of AI and change the way the world works. But while we had a clear vision for what we wanted to create and the impact it would have, we grappled with one question: what should we call ourselves?

Our first attempt

Initially, we settled on the name Workey. It was a logical choice since we want to revolutionize the way the world works. But as we expanded into the global market, we realized that name didn’t tell the whole story. In fact, it hid the most interesting part of it: our talent marketplace isn’t just another workplace platform; it’s an opportunity to retire old models, break away from the norms that are holding people and businesses back, and embrace something bold and new. We’re not about upgrading the systems people use; we’re disrupting them to create game-changing outcomes. And what kind of name could capture all of that—ideally in one syllable cause it just sounds better?

From Workey to Gloat

To say we went on a journey might be an understatement. I’ve joked that naming your company is harder than naming your baby, but there’s a lot of truth to it. There are so many nuances to take into consideration and many more potential consequences.

We started by exploring plenty of different names to get a feel for what might stick. Gloat emerged as an early favorite because it evoked strong emotions. It’s a real word that’s in the dictionary, but it’s not commonly used. That meant we could redefine its meaning, which would be important, since “gloat” typically has some negative connotations. In Merriam Webster’s dictionary, it’s defined as “to think about something with triumphant and often malicious satisfaction”.

As we re-imagined the way the world works, why not re-imagine the way we celebrate our own success…and turn gloating into something good?

Why Gloat?

Given some of the pejorative associations, we had some hesitations. So we decided to dive deeper into what the word really means by holding interviews to learn how people would react to a technology called “gloat.”

The feedback we got was all over the map: some people loved it, while others couldn’t believe a company would choose to call themselves something that was even slightly taboo. But across the spectrum of answers, there was one thing everyone agreed on: the name elicits a strong emotional reaction.

That sold us on Gloat because we wanted a name and brand that people would remember. Something that resonates with everyone, even if we interpret it differently. Choosing such an emotionally-charged name felt like a risky decision, but there’s also an element of risk that comes with embracing disruptive technology. And we knew we weren’t the only ones choosing this unconventional route, since Slack was already thriving with a name that typically means the opposite of productivity. So we decided to go with Gloat.

If we could turn “slack” to mean productivity, maybe we could turn gloating to be a positive too—a celebration of people’s capabilities and potential.

Interestingly, earlier definitions of the word evoked something much less negative: to gloat is to “revel in”—something the world doesn’t do much of. In the workplace, it’s common to see that most people don’t have the skills—or aren’t encouraged—to highlight their achievements and potential. So we asked ourselves:

What if the solution could gloat for you? Could technology be an equalizing force that helps everyone put their best foot forward and voice their career ambitions?

What being a Gloater means to us

Today, we call our employees “Gloaters”. But rather than using the dictionary definition of the word, we built our own meaning for this term. In fact, we created an acronym, with each letter standing for one of our company values:

Get it done
Look beyond the status quo
Own it
Adapt and evolve
Tear down silos
Empower our customers
Rely on each other

From our employees to our partners, everyone in our community shares the same commitment to living these values. At times, they might be challenging to embody. But they’re exactly what we need to do to keep challenging the status quo.

Where we are today: activating the Anything Workforce

It has been about three years since we first made that choice, and I’ve loved watching our business grow into its new name. As Gloat, we’ve celebrated funding rounds that will accelerate our development and broaden our reach. We’ve expanded our product offerings to create a suite that enables enterprises to achieve complete workforce agility. And we’ve activated “The Anything Workforce”, a mindset that gets people thinking about the limitless possibilities that businesses can achieve by unleashing their workforce’s full potential. It’s a pillar of the rebrand we introduced, one that’s bold and disruptive to match our name. We chose a bright color palette with strong red and yellow components, breaking from the mold of primarily cold color schemes that dominates the larger workplace technology landscape.

At the end of the day, we are a challenger brand and we’re here to tell people that it’s ok to break the rules when the rules don’t work. There isn’t just one way of doing things anymore; today, we can work from anywhere, network with anyone, and gain the skills and insights we need to achieve anything. And when we break through barriers and accomplish the unthinkable, it feels good to take pride in it—and maybe even gloat a little.