Culture Uncovered
Ever wonder what it's like to work for the best companies in the world? Maybe you’re actively looking for a new job. Or maybe you’re thinking about your next strategic career move.
Well, you've come to the right place.
Each week we meet with talent leaders at companies you’ve heard of - and many organizations you haven’t. Giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work there…before you even apply.
Culture Uncovered
SurePeople
Obsessed with personality tests? (Me too.)
SurePeople is flipping the script on assessments by making psychometric insights accessible, ongoing, and practical—built for real work, in real time.
In this episode, I chat with Russ Mikowski, CEO of SurePeople, about how they’re democratizing self-awareness, infusing AI into career coaching, and building a small but mighty team that embraces transparency, flexibility, and fun.
💡 What you’ll learn:
- How SurePeople's PRISM assessment is reshaping how companies understand (and apply) personality data
- Why sales is the career skill everyone should master—even if you're not in sales
- What startup leadership looks like in a remote-first, AI-fueled world
- How SurePeople includes families in its culture-building strategy
- The difference between “disagree and commit” and healthy dissent in decision-making
- How to get free access to your own AI-powered work coach at SureCoach.ai
🌟 Some SurePeople highlights:
📆 Founded: 2015
👥 Team size: 15 full-time employees
🌍 Fully remote, globally distributed team (U.S., South America, Europe)
⚙️ Product: PRISM assessment + SureCoach.ai (free personalized AI work coach!)
🧠 Culture: Transparent, collaborative, async-flexible, and values self-awareness
🎉 Perks:
- No office, no commute
- Flexible hours focused on outcomes, not clock-in time
- Creative, family-inclusive all-hands meetings (like Zoom trivia nights!)
- Growth in sales and engineering is expected
To learn more about SurePeople:
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- Follow the host, Jena Dunay, on LinkedIn.
Jena Dunay: Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of Culture Uncovered! I am really excited for you all to meet my new friend, Russ Mikalski, who is the CEO of SurePeople. I'm actually a huge fan of this product, this platform, and what they're doing over there. I’ve been telling a lot of chief people officers I know about this organization. So I'm really pumped to talk to you today, Russ, not only about the product but also about your culture and your organization as a whole. Thank you so much for joining us today!
Russ Mikalski: I'm incredibly excited for the conversation. Thanks for having me.
Jena Dunay: We got connected through my old boss, which is so fun. Catherine from The Muse! I love how those connections come to be.
Russ Mikalski: Yeah, we're incredibly lucky to have Catherine serving in a board of advisors capacity for SurePeople. She and I have bounced ideas off of each other for years. For me, as a first-time CEO, it's incredibly valuable to pick the brain of someone who’s built and exited a tech company.
Jena Dunay: She's just an amazing woman in general! So, if you’re listening to this podcast, go check her out and check out The Muse, which she founded. But let’s talk about SurePeople. What is SurePeople? Let’s just start there.
Russ Mikalski: SurePeople is attempting to disrupt the traditional assessments sector. I like to joke that the assessments world hasn’t changed since I first took Myers-Briggs back in the 90s. The tech industry has evolved so much, yet assessments have mostly stayed the same.
Russ Mikalski: Our co-founder, Niko Drakoulis, started with a question: What if we created a platform that integrates human and data science to help people work better together? What if it could help leaders lead more effectively and ultimately drive better business outcomes?
Russ Mikalski: That question led to the development of our core technology, which is built around the Prism psychometric model. It integrates emotional, relational, and team intelligence and provides insights for employees, leaders, and teams.
Jena Dunay: I love this! For those listening who are thinking, wait, what does that mean for me? Can you give us an example of what a user might experience?
Russ Mikalski: Sure! Let’s say you’re a new manager. You just got promoted, and now you have a team of five. With SurePeople, you’d log in and take the Prism assessment. It’s short and takes less than 10 minutes. From there, the platform gives you a complete view of your own emotional and relational profile.
Russ Mikalski: But it doesn’t stop there. If your team members have also taken Prism, you’ll see coaching tips on how to communicate with each person, how to avoid tension, and how to give feedback that resonates. You get all this relational intelligence in a very practical way.
Jena Dunay: That’s so powerful! I was talking with a client just the other day who said, “I wish I had a playbook for how to lead my team.” It sounds like this is that playbook!
Russ Mikalski: That’s exactly it. We’re trying to give leaders the tools they need to support their people effectively. And that applies at all levels, whether you’re a new manager or a seasoned executive.
Jena Dunay: Okay, let’s zoom out a bit. How big is SurePeople today? How many employees do you have, and where are you based?
Russ Mikalski: We’re a small but mighty team of about 20 people, fully remote. We’re spread across the U.S., with some team members in Canada and one in Europe. Our headquarters is technically in Chicago, but we embrace a distributed model.
Jena Dunay: I love that! And it makes sense given the nature of your product. I imagine you help a lot of remote and hybrid teams.
Russ Mikalski: Absolutely. In fact, one of our most popular features is the Team Intelligence dashboard. It helps distributed teams understand how to work better together, especially when they’re not in the same physical space.
Jena Dunay: So good. Okay, let’s talk a little bit about your culture. How would you describe the culture at SurePeople in just a few words?
Russ Mikalski: Human first, high trust, high impact.
Jena Dunay: That’s good! Tell me more.
Russ Mikalski: Being “human first” means we don’t just say people matter—we act like they do. We check in with each other. We lead with empathy. We know that people have lives outside of work, and we try to support the whole person.
Russ Mikalski: High trust means giving people autonomy and flexibility. We don’t micromanage. Everyone on our team is a grown-up and we treat them like one.
Russ Mikalski: And “high impact” means we move fast, but intentionally. We’re small, so we all wear a lot of hats. But we’re really clear on our mission and who we serve. That keeps us focused.
Jena Dunay: That’s such a strong combo. And I’m sure that kind of culture didn’t happen by accident. What are some intentional things you’ve done to build or protect your culture?
Russ Mikalski: One big thing we’ve done is integrate our own platform into how we operate. Every new hire takes the Prism assessment, and we use it as part of onboarding. Managers get reports that help them understand how to lead each new person effectively from day one.
Russ Mikalski: We also have regular check-ins and reflection sessions where we ask, “How are we doing? What do we need to shift?” Culture is a living thing. You have to keep nurturing it.
Jena Dunay: That’s so true. I always say, if you’re not actively shaping your culture, it’s shaping itself—and probably not in the way you want!
Russ Mikalski: Exactly!
Jena Dunay: Okay, last few questions. What kinds of people tend to succeed at SurePeople?
Russ Mikalski: People who are self-motivated, curious, and values-driven. We’re a small team, so there’s no room for big egos or politics. We need people who want to collaborate and genuinely care about the mission.
Jena Dunay: And who might struggle?
Russ Mikalski: If you need a lot of structure or don’t like ambiguity, it might be a tough environment. We move quickly and sometimes have to figure things out as we go. That’s exciting for some people and stressful for others.
Jena Dunay: Love the honesty! That’s helpful for listeners who are thinking about applying. Speaking of which, are you hiring? And if so, where should people go?
Russ Mikalski: We are hiring! The best place to check is our LinkedIn page or our website at surepeople.com. We don’t always have a ton of open roles, but we’re always open to connecting with great people.
Jena Dunay: Amazing! Russ, thank you so much for this conversation. I learned a lot, and I know our listeners did too. I’m excited to keep cheering you on!
Russ Mikalski: Thank you! It’s been such a pleasure.