In Silicon Valley, where there’s a problem, there’s an app to solve it.
But to help lessen social isolation while giving small businesses a boost, Verkada, a security tech company, is taking it back to basics — and offline — through a unique work perk.
It’s dubbed the “3-3-3” program. After 3 p.m., three or more employees can spend up to $30 in total on food and drinks at businesses within walking distance of the company’s downtown San Mateo headquarters.
The problem of social isolation and loneliness was elevated to the national spotlight in February when San Mateo County became the first in the nation to declare the issue a public health emergency and this month pledged to invest $1 million in fighting loneliness.
And all across the region, small businesses are still grappling with how to adapt to a business climate in which many of their previous patrons continue to work from home.
Verkada said it believes the program helps address both issues and is mutually beneficial to the company as it helps keep employees motivated while giving them the opportunity to build camaraderie at work.
“We’re in the office five days a week, and we do (3-3-3) because we believe that it’s great for people’s careers, and it’s good for the company,” said Kameron Rezai, Verkada’s chief financial officer, who helped create the program last April. “The second piece of feedback we got was people were kind of using it as an opportunity to connect across departments.”
Many of Verkada’s clients are small businesses, so the company naturally wants to help out its neighbors, Rezai said.
“Many of our customers are small hamburger chains or ice cream shops. It’s the bread and butter of who we sell to,” he said.
A homegrown security technology developer, Verkada was founded in 2016 out of CEO Filip Kaliszan’s San Mateo living room. The company now has 16 offices around the world, including in Tokyo and London, and has expanded the 3-3-3 program to all of them.
Rezai said while the company has grown from a start-up to a global enterprise, San Mateo as a community is embedded in its DNA.
“We’ve also decided our HQ would always be in downtown San Mateo. We feel connected to the restaurants and bars and the other places that are here. Many of them also happen to be customers, so it’s important to us to try to be connected to the community,” he said.
The headquarters currently employs a little over 1,100 people. And so far, Verkada has spent over $300,000 at various businesses in the neighborhood.
Among Verkada employees’ favorite spots to use their 3-3-3 perks are the many boba, or bubble tea, shops around downtown.
Tong Sui on South B Street is one of those shops.
Founded in Sunnyvale, the San Mateo branch opened its doors during the later stages of the pandemic in 2021. This period was marked by the emergence of stronger COVID-19 variants across the United States, leading to unpredictable cycles of lockdowns and re-openings.
“People were still reluctant to go out, especially for face-to-face shopping,” said Judith Xiao, a marketing and sales manager with Tong Sui. “We had to rely heavily on delivery platforms to increase our business volume.”
Xiao said initiatives such as Verkada’s have helped them survive in the post-pandemic years, where many small businesses still struggle as many employees continue to work from home and don’t visit shops near their offices as often.
“Verkada providing their employees with a budget for afternoon tea has significantly boosted our sales and allowed us to pay our staff,” Xiao said. “It has helped us survive in downtown San Mateo.”
The city has taken notice of the program as well.
“I think what they’re doing is a very innovative approach, and we see the impact of it,” Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash said. “Businesses, merchants up and down San Mateo talk about the fact that Verkada employees come in.”
She said that the initiative has injected not only money into the local economy but has contributed to the city’s efforts to revitalize downtown.
Verkada employees, Julie Ann Barrozo, left, Virginia Ramsey and Aditya Anguria order drinks at Tong Sui in downtown San Mateo, Calif., on Thursday, April 4, 2024. Verkada will reimburse $30 in total to its employees when three employees or more spend $30 on food or drinks after 3 p.m. at local businesses as part of the company’s 3-3-3 program. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
“It’s a very mixed bag, but it’s trending positive,” Diaz Nash said of the local economic situation. “Small businesses were just devastated during the pandemic, and we were no exception. But the city took very aggressive action to do whatever we could.”
During the pandemic, the city set up its parklet program and encouraged outdoor dining to help keep restaurants and food establishments open. In 2021, the City Council voted to keep portions of B Street permanently closed to make more space for outdoor dining and pedestrians.
Diaz Nash says other big employers in the area also are considering implementing similar programs for their staff members.
“It might not be exactly what Verkada is doing, but what works for them? How can they tailor it?” she said.
Verkada sales recruiting manager Julie Ann Barrozo, originally from Guam but now living in San Mateo, said her takeaway from 3-3-3 is that while work-from-home has its advantages, digital relationships are no replacement for human interactions.
“I will tell you that I thought I was a work-from-home girl my whole life,” Barrozo said. “The pandemic hit, and I realized, I need socialization. You need to learn how people interact. It’s very hard to read the world, and to raise money, just on Zoom.”
