What the interview covers
- Richard Quest opens by saying he cannot picture how Escalate works. Sienna’s response is that it is quite simple.
- Sienna explains what an employee does. The employee sends a chat about what is stopping them from getting to work. A combination of AI and live coaches answer around the clock. They ask a few questions and arrange the help, which arrives in about a minute. The request never reaches their manager.
- Sean explains what that is worth to the operator. One call-out at a fast food restaurant costs about $350 once you count the overtime, the slower service and a manager’s time. Both sides pay for it, and the worker and their family pay first.
- Richard wants to know how the idea came about: Sean and Sienna both started as teachers in low-income areas, then spent twenty years running workforce development nonprofits. They trained people for better jobs and placed them. Within about ninety days many of those people lost the job anyway, and the reason was practical every time. Sienna and Sean built Escalate to fix that problem.
Quest Means Business airs on CNN International, Monday to Friday. See the programme on cnn.com.
