About Us – Intrivium

Who We Are

In Latin, the word trivium means “the place where three roads meet”. To be Intrivium is to be directly in the center of connectivity, at the convergence of people and ideas – exactly where the magic happens!

We are a group of friends and former colleagues who have joined together as a team to create our ideal environment, both through our product and in our lives.

After many years working for both small and large companies in a variety of industries, we’ve learned a few things…

What we know

Work is simply another part of life

We’ve heard the phrase for years, but we prefer to acknowledge that there’s really no such thing as “work-life balance”. There’s just this one life and we happen to be spending some of it here at work. There is no compartmentalization happening for us throughout our days, weeks and years. Whatever is most pressing or important to us in the moment is what we’re focused on. Such is life.

When we recognized this truth, it became beautifully apparent that we were free to be exactly who we are regardless of our location or activity. Whether our focus is work, play or even being idle, we are our genuine selves. We love how liberating it is to never have to maintain a “work face” façade ever again!

When we experience true freedom, multiple things occur in abundance: inspiration, vision, creativity, pride, levity, innovation, connection, productivity, self-confidence, joy and gratitude. We like it here.

People manage commitments – not each other

Intrivium has no managers or bosses. We are equal in that each of us contributes to our highest ability and no one’s contribution is greater or more valuable than another’s. We believe that people are fundamentally good and can be trusted to do the right thing.

We acknowledge that freedom is the only system in the world that truly works. To the degree that we are free to perform to the best of our ability, we are also free to innovate change that continually improves our performance and ultimately, our overall fulfillment.

In claiming this freedom to “own our own world” we also acknowledge the responsibility that accompanies it. We gladly share in the benefits of autonomy and readily accept the ultimate outcomes that result, both great and sometimes not so great.

We agree to focus on managing our commitments, processes, and deliverables – not the individuals who are associated with them.

Roles exist, not hierarchy

Contrary to a common self-managed team misconception, leadership does exist in the absence of bosses. Intrivium team members provide mentorship and guidance in a variety of areas according to their experience and ability. Such leadership is not title-based the way that it is in most hierarchical organizations. Rather, it occurs organically through daily interactions and exchanges as experts provide their valuable input where needed.

Speaking of titles, we don’t really have them. They have no impact on income, authority or influence. We’re free to choose our own and right now most of us consider ourselves to be a Cofounder. However, the roles we play vary from one to another and for the external world it can be helpful to have a more specific identifier. In that case, we still choose our own title – whatever makes the most contextual sense.

Transparency is foundational

There is no confidential or protected information at Intrivium. We collaboratively share all information, including financial information, with full transparency.

This free share of information extends to our salaries. Since we share profits equally, regardless of role, transparency in this context is kind of automatic.

But it’s not just about money (so much of life is not). We’re open with each other in our language and in expression of emotions, running the full gamut from frustration to gratitude. When everything is permitted to be on the table, there is no fear of being punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.

When nothing is hidden, there is little to fear.

We run our business – not the other way around

Fulfillment is our measure of success and is the north star which drives all our actions. Simplicity and Freedom are our mantra words. Consequently, we’ve done away with things that reduce happiness or that just don’t make sense for us. We don’t participate in “busy” work like creating needless presentations or attending unnecessary recurring meetings. We’ve also eliminated painful processes like performance evaluations, annual (let alone three or five year) target setting or compensation planning sessions. Did we mention we’re all partner owners and we all benefit the same regardless of role?

One of the primary reasons we’ve created Intrivium has nothing to do with our vision of building amazing technology for connected experiences. In fact, it has nothing to do with work at all. We want to freely enjoy life and pursue happiness in whatever form that takes for each of us.

Intrivium is a beautiful paradox. It’s a great example of relinquishing control (over that which cannot be truly controlled anyway) and discovering that letting go is the secret to success after all!

Connection is key

Of all the tactics, tools and methods for success that we’ve learned to employ over the years, the most valuable by far has been our connection to each other. We’ve found that simply being together has a huge impact on favorable outcomes, both for our business and our overall lives.

We are more than colleagues. We are supporters, mentors, confidants, challengers, collaborators, motivators, and friends. We rely on each other, have each other’s backs and genuinely care for each other.

We used the word “other” three times in that last sentence. You know, it’s probably the most important word on this entire page. The business of life is human connection. Our belief in this idea is so strong we decided to create a company around it.