The Kermit Collective
Being a great company is more than just being good at the services you provide.
The Kermit Collective is a small high-trust community made up of leaders of boutique software agencies who share a passion for doing great work for their clients while providing fulfilling careers for their employees. This is a safe space where we connect with respect and openness. We recognize that we are competitors AND collaborators and seek to share best practices that will help all of us grow our businesses and create even better places for people to thrive.
Two upcoming opportunities to connect as a community
Kermit Keynote 2024: Think Do Say with Ron Tite.
Join us in Chicago on October 23rd for an exclusive keynote + private workshop to help your company build alignment around your vision and purpose.
Kermit Camp 2025: Back to the farm
We will return to our incredible farm location in the mountains next year. We have our block of rooms reserved for May 2025 and can’t wait to get back to the farm-to-table meals, tranquil setting and lively discussions.
Shared Values
Empathy: We hold space for each other as we tackle broad business and societal challenges that impact our individual communities we employ.
Vulnerability: We share our mistakes so we might learn from each other.
Connection: We strive for personal connection first. Business value comes later.
Generosity: We share what we know and lead with giving with no expectation of reciprocation.
Growth: We find opportunities that support strategic growth for members.
Collective Impact: Together we can have an exponential impact on the communities we work in.
Shared challenges
Everyone in the community shares some common organizational context: we all lead professional services agencies in the custom software industry. Unlike other networking groups that intentionally separate companies in the same industry, we lean into the idea of “Cooperatition” - bringing together competitors in the same space who are willing to share ideas and collaborate together.
The Kermit Collective will help your leadership team build connections, share insights, and provide a support network for those who share similar goals, have similar values, and tackle the same tough obstacles in our industry.
We will facilitate each Kermit Camp as an “unconference”, allowing you flexibility to explore topics of interest, whether they be sales, staffing, organizational growth, adaptive leadership, career development, or whatever else you may bring to the table.
Our lily pad logo symbolizes both the connection made between individuals in the community and the “jumping off point” that serves as a catalyst for connection, collaboration, and change.
new ideas
In addition to the unconference-style Kermit Camps, we facilitate a monthly call and virtual gatherings to harness the creativity of this group. We’ll discuss better ways to manage stress and become more adaptive problem solvers who are capable of creating, innovating, and working quickly under conditions of great uncertainty.
BUILD CONNECTIONS
You are concerned about recruiting, about staffing, and utilization and forecasting. You want to grow your people and execute for your clients. You keep the lights on and make the whole organization hum. Yet, it’s funny that the role that is so integral to the organization’s success rarely gets the opportunity to pair and collaborate with their peers, the way developers do. The Kermit Collective will help build connections, share insights, and provide a support network for those who share similar goals, have similar values, and tackle the same tough obstacles in our industry.
EXPLORE CHALLENGING TOPICS
We host monthly calls, share an active slack channel, and host several “Kermit Camps” a year allowing you flexibility to explore topics of interest, whether they be sales, staffing, organizational growth, adaptive leadership, career development, or whatever else you may bring to the table.
Contact
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Meet the organizers
Claudia Richman
Founder, We Grow Forward
Claudia is a change management expert who helps companies shape their organizational structure through the design and implementation of programs that allow employees to thrive. She empowers rapidly growing, entrepreneurial organizations to develop practices that reduce systemic biases and cultivate inclusive learning cultures. Claudia helps to build human-centered operations rooted in shared values across leadership, clients, and employees.
Contact: Claudia@Kermitcollective.com
Mark Rickmeier
Contact: Mark@Kermitcollective.com
Founder, The Kermit Collective
Mark is the The CEO of TXI, a product innovation and custom software development consultancy. While growing that business, he quickly realized how much the leadership team would benefit from the advice and support from other leaders who faced similar challenges. In 2014, he founded OpsConf to create that network of software execs who share the same values and struggle with similar challenges. In 2021, that group pivoted to The Kermit Collective to foster a stronger community built on trust, openness, and connection.
If you have a question or comment about Kermit - let us know! If you’re interested in joining, here’s what to do.