Protecting the things that matter

Hello, friends of Jem. 👋🏼

We’ve had a bunch of new subscribers, so a quick reminder of what this is: People Notes is a monthly newsletter where I share what’s really happening inside Jem. I’m Dani, Jem’s People Lead. This is for anyone following our journey, curious about joining one day or building teams of their own. This is not polished PR, just an honest window into life inside Jem. 🪟

Let’s get into this month’s note.

There’s a line a mentor shared with me last year that has never really left me.

Things are going incredibly well at Jem. Our team is scaling across multiple machines (our word for teams) and we’re building entirely new parts of the business like Jem Mobile and Jem X. The team has never been stronger.

However, it’s exactly because of that momentum that this advice keeps resurfacing. Growth is exciting, but it’s also when the small, human things can quietly start to slip.

So, I spent a lot of time in December sitting with one question: as Jem grows, what are we not willing to lose?

Below are the 4 things we’re choosing to protect. 🔒

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1. Multi-disciplined > narrow specialists 💡

We don’t hire people to sit in narrow boxes. At Jem, people are expected to stretch beyond their lanes and stay close to the real work. That’s a deliberate people decision.

Firstly, you see it in the day-to-day. Shannon packing Jem Mobile orders. Francis from our customer team building an AI automation (clearly loving every second of it). Ian, one of our engineers, out at an activation talking directly to users.Chris (don’t tell him I shared this), our Commercial Director, helping the catering staff.

Secondly, you see it in the roles we hire for. We’re recruiting two senior product engineers, rather than narrowly defined software engineers.

Finally, you see it in how our leaders show up. Thamsanqa, our CTO, still codes so he stays close to what we’re building. Caroline, our COO, spent time each day packing Jem Mobile boxes when it launched to understand the process end-to-end.

What began as an early-stage necessity has become core to who we are.

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2. We have a “kudos” section in every all hands meeting. 💡

At the end of every All Hands, we leave space for kudos.

People put up their hands and thank each other for the last two weeks of work.

Recognition is how people feel valued and motivated to keep showing up at a high level. As the company grows, it becomes easier to assume people know they’re appreciated. They don’t. Saying it out loud changes everything.

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3. We make time to sit together 💡

At 12:00 in the Joburg office and 12:30 in Cape Town, we sit down and eat lunch together four days a week.

We don’t talk about work. We ask one question that has nothing to do with our jobs. For fifteen minutes, we step out of execution mode and remind ourselves that we’re human first.

👉🏾 Our best question this year so far was: “What irritated you most about something your family or friends did over the holidays?” From the way the dishwasher gets packed, to the braaier in the family who insists on cooking the meat well done, to relatives arriving “now now” and pitching up two hours later.

As teams grow, these are usually the first rituals to disappear. We’re doing the opposite. We’re protecting this because it has helped us build empathy and psychological safety in our team in ways no policy or process ever could.

Our table will get bigger in 2026, but taking time around it will always matter.

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4. We only hire “hell yeses” 💡

Over the last few years at Jem, we’ve built a real hiring muscle. We’ve learned some hard lessons. We’ve made some exceptional hires. Both have shaped how we build this company and this team.

Today, we only hire with real conviction. We move slower, we don’t hire to relieve pressure and we never settle for “good enough.” We’re not filling seats. We’re shaping the environment people come into every day. Every hire changes the standard. Every hire shifts the energy. Every hire either strengthens what we’re building, or weakens it.

Let me give you some examples:

• Bakuena joined our sales team and didn’t just sell well; he sold differently. That difference opened doors we hadn’t been able to open before and helped us land customers we simply weren’t reaching. One hire expanded what was possible for our entire commercial team. (Can you guess which company he got on board from the photo? 😉)

• Mike joined Jem as an engineer and didn’t just write great code, he raised the bar around him. He has referred multiple exceptional people into Jem (I’ve honestly lost count), many of whom are now shaping both our product and our culture. One hire lifted the standard of the whole team.

• Thandoluhle joined Jem on the front lines, speaking to customers every day. Over time, she’s grown into a Technical Support Specialist working closely with product. Our product is stronger because someone building and supporting it deeply understands the customer using it.

Each of these hires multiplied us.

The right hire moves everything forward. The wrong hire doesn’t just miss. They cost us momentum and trust.

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We’re building something ambitious, but how we build it still matters.

Every hire and every decision is shaping the kind of company Jem becomes. We’re choosing to do that part with real care.

If this way of building resonates, we’d love you to take a look at the roles we currently have open. We’ve got a number live right now on our careers page, with a big focus on:

✅ Head of Customer Support (Joburg)
✅ Sales Development Representative (Joburg)
✅ Head of Jem Mobile
✅ Senior Product Engineer x2 (Joburg)
✅ Multimedia Visual Creative
✅ Talent Associate