PEOPLE
CREDIT: ELECTROLUX Thirst began life as an authoring tool for instructional designers before Fred pivoted it, as he told an AMA with the equity platform Vestd, into a business“ firmly rooted in ensuring that organisations can upskill and retain the best talent”. In a growing company, the know-how lives in a few senior heads, and every new hire spreads it thinner. Thirst uses AI to capture what those veterans know, serves it back as short videos, links and quizzes, then tracks whether the people using it onboard faster, produce more and stay longer. Development becomes measurable, and measurable budgets survive cost reviews.
Pay, culture and the rise of the stay interview Fred’ s other qualification on the subject is that his own company has to live it. Thirst runs half-day Fridays, keeps afterhours contact off-limits and puts share options in employees’ hands through a scheme Fred says“ allows our business to do the best job it can to retain our key talent”. Its founder is unsentimental about which direction workplace culture flows.“ I think you can’ t create culture,” Fred says.“ You can merely encourage and foster it, and that starts from the top.” Money still buys time, though not devotion. Compensation is the lever companies reach for first, and a competitive package remains the price of entry. One-off retention bonuses make a cheaper hedge than permanent rises for employers watching their labour costs, and a JobLeads analysis of 21.5 million job adverts found roles promising a competitive salary carry a premium of up to US $ 13,972, a reminder that rivals are already pricing the poach. Matching the market is defence. It stops people leaving over money without giving
80 November 2026