First off, we’re not a bookie. But the pun doesn’t work otherwise.
Before I introduce you to Smarkets, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Celine, a British/Lebanese who moved to London 15 years ago in search of ‘a tribe’. After spending over a decade in Finance, a very male-dominated and hierarchical environment, and finally receiving my British passport, I gained the freedom to spread my wings and simply quit my job. It was an uncertain time and when I started networking with VCs, who introduced me to an assortment of tech companies, I never could have hoped for what was to follow.
Believe me when I say that when I first heard of Smarkets, I never imagined I would,
- Spend the next four years there
- It would be the place where I would have my first child
- And I definitely never imagined that I would engage so much with our mission to democratise sports and political betting.
But most importantly, feel accepted and valued, regardless of my gender or roots.
There is a lot of prejudice when it comes to sports betting or ‘gambling’, and I am certainly not trying to change that. Of course tech and betting remain male dominated industries, but Smarkets is taking strides to change that, by making it more accessible and more appealing to females.
This ethos has been a founding principle of the company as much in 2015 when the company was only 20 people as it is today with global offices in London, LA and Malta. We are made up of 130 people – 38 nationalities. 70% of our workforce is technical, from engineers to quants and data scientists – with our CEO himself being a computer scientist but we want more female engineers, data scientists, marketers, problem solvers to join us.
Our values ensure that we appeal to all types of people, and we have been crafted with this in mind.
Openness – we are a judgment free environment, and no one bats an eyelid when I bring my son into work.
Ownership – you can champion projects that you are passionate about, and you are accountable from day one regardless of experience, gender or race.
Innovation – you need to be diverse to have a rich ecosystem of ideas, and we go far beyond only technical innovation: we don’t settle for the status quo when it comes to people innovation either.
Nurture – we are inclusive, we value our employees and their well-being. We are committed to our Smarketeer’s community. We have regular women networking events and run personal development courses. Smarkets even lets me host my podcast series: 15 mins of Femme in the office booths, and our chefs didn’t mind slicing endless citrus for me during my lemon craving phase of pregnancy!
For many of our expat workforce, Smarkets has become a home away from home. As a mother and woman working in tech that is no easy feat. Here are some things I am particularly proud of that makes us Smarketeers.
- Our transparent salary structure means there is no gender/racial pay gap
- Our counselling policy which pays for 75% of your therapy means you can truly bring your whole self to work while also bettering yourself. When I struggled with postnatal anxiety upon my return to work this ensured I could continue to perform at the highest level
- Our generous parental policy means you can time the appropriate time off and our emergency nanny provision means you are not left stranded between work and motherhood.
So if any of the above resonates with you and you are curious to find out if our Smarkets Tribe is your Tribe, then take a leap of faith and get in touch with us.
Come for lunch or email me directly. Watch our online videos. Respond to this blog. Whatever you are most comfortable with. Your questions will be met with honest answers about things we’re good at and other things we’re still hoping to improve. But whoever you are and wherever you are from, Smarkets is a judgement-free environment where you are allowed to be yourself and where we are continuously looking to work with the best and brightest talent to build and create, innovate and challenge, and have fun doing it.
