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We’re one of the coolest companies in DC!

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Taoti was named one of DC’s Coolest Companies at DC Inno’s 2017 DC Fest!
Brent Lightner 2

Brent Lightner

CEO | Founder
Ready for the longest ‘about page’ bio you’ll ever read?? I’m Brent.  I run this shop.  I started it out of a college dorm room back in the late nineties…

Taoti is a digital agency and officially a cool place to work! Part of being cool is not needing to say you’re cool.

Coolness comes from knowing that other people can just sense it. We get that. However, we were named one of DC’s Coolest Companies at DC Inno’s 2017 DC Fest, so we’re going to shout it from the highest rooftop… or, at least from our awesome roof deck.

DC Inno’s readers’ voted for their favorite company from 100 finalists and named the Top 5 the winners of the Coolest Companies competition.

At DC Fest, we were crowned winners, as we rocked with White Ford Bronco, sipped on summer drinks and dined on D.C.’s best food trucks.

We beat out over 90 cool companies to win the title of Coolest Company in the District. But we can’t just tell you we’re cool. Take a look at the video that helped us snag the title.

You’re probably wondering, “Wouldn’t it be better if I worked at one of the coolest companies in DC?” Well, you’re in luck. The video is just a taste of what the Taoti team enjoys. And we’re hiring.

Our basic job is to ‘move the needle’ for our clients. In order to do that, we need to ‘move the needle’ for our own team to keep them happy, motivated, and innovating. So we take fun seriously (We actually have a fun committee).

The Perks.

  • A brand new renovation of a historic office building in the heart of Eastern Market – Complete with “Taoti Café,” a sunny atrium, a roof deck with a great view of the Capitol and Washing Monument, grill and bar on said roof deck (good beer all day every day from our pals at DC Brau), twinkling Christmas lights (24/7/365), wall-to-wall music, multiplayer video game theater, maker space, etc.
    Our receptionist is a giant Minion.
  • We have a boat! (that we can walk to from the office for monthly cruises up the Potomac)
  • Super casual space (including a “no [long] pants if it’s ninety” policy)
  • Flexible work hours and lots of telecommuting (unrestricted telecommuting by your 4th year)
  • Lots of community service/involvement, charitable contribution matching (we host events like Santa’s workshop, annual meetings for friends of the firm, international outreach events, meetups, etc.)
  • Professional development budgets both for individuals and for departments (that increase with tenure)
  • A $250K “QIS Fund” (stands for Quality/Innovation/Service) that anyone can take time/money from to go above and beyond for a client without having to take time out of their personal lives to do so.
  • Speaking of which, a legitimate 40-hour work week
  • Extra PTO credit for going to after-hour events

The Bennies.

  • Full Medical/Dental/Vision/Short-Long-Term Disability—all 100% company paid premiums (Gold level, no less!)
  • Company matched retirement plan
  • 3 weeks PTO at a minimum
  • Paid family leave for moms and dads
  • Metro benefits
  • Standardized bonuses for anyone bringing in a client or employee
  • Guaranteed annual raises

The above are some things we have, but they’re not what make up our culture. Our culture is focused on meaningful work that makes things better. “Moving the needle” as we like to say. In fact, our favorite question: “Wouldn’t it be better if….” (It’s written on your mouse pad and coffee cup, just so you don’t forget to ask it all day, every day, to everyone.)

We’re all about new things. We’re constantly tweaking our process. We like to play with emerging technology like VR and connected devices. We like projects that let us spread our wings both creatively and technically. We do diverse work for diverse clients. Big non profits. Small charities. The Federal government and local agencies. Commercial, education… you name it. For us, it’s about the nature of the project—not the sector of the client.

We’re about collaboration, candor, original ideas, and doing great work above all else. We’re also casual, fun, and ambitious. We’ve been named ‘Agency of the Year’ by DC Web Women, ranked 2199th on the Inc 5000 list of America’s fastest growing companies, have won lots of awards for our work, etc.

Taoti is a cool company!