Upside Mission, Purpose & Impact

In what ways does Upside embrace sustainable practices?

We use everyday commerce to empower people and businesses — and to protect the world around us. We’ve committed one percent of all revenue to sustainability initiatives tied to our areas of operation, a pledge we began in 2016 and strengthened further in 2022 by joining the global Pledge 1% movement.

While millions of people use Upside to stretch their dollars and tens of thousands of businesses use it to earn more profit, we do our part behind the scenes to transform everyday errands into greater change.

How does sustainability reinforce Upside’s mission?

We use the commerce of today to help our world for tomorrow. Our platform is built to deliver value — financially for consumers and businesses, and environmentally for the planet. That alignment is intentional and central to how we operate.

As our footprint grows, so does our ability to reinvest in carbon offsetting, food rescue and other meaningful impact areas. With our massive financial impact, this model has put us in league with some of the world’s largest companies doing good.

What advice would you give to leaders interested in bolstering their companies’ sustainability efforts?

Start with your business model. The most effective sustainability strategies are the ones that scale with your success. 

Our advice: Identify how your company’s operations naturally intersect with opportunities to do good, then build in a mechanism — like a revenue pledge — to turn everyday business growth into long-term impact. Even small, consistent actions can drive meaningful change when they’re embedded into the core of what you do.

Tell us about Upside’s mission. How does that mission influence the company culture, and did it impact your decision to join the team?

At Upside, our mission is simple and bold: We exist to advance the economic power of people living and working in the real world. We’ve already put over $1 billion back into people’s pockets by connecting them with retailers on our two-sided marketplace. The best part is, we’re just getting started. That mission shapes how we work: We act like owners, make everything measurable and build for real people. It absolutely influenced my decision to join. I’ve spent my career in mission-driven roles, and I love that we also commit 1 percent of revenue to offset emissions and fight food waste. The more we grow, the more good we do. It’s rewarding being in a data-driven role at a truly data-driven company. One fun cultural touchstone is celebrating “twinning,” when multiple people on the team wear the same outfit. Whenever this happens, we snap a photo and post it to Slack! 

From your perspective, how does your work connect to the overall company mission?

As a product analytics manager, I helped build App 360, a suite of dashboards that keeps our team dialed into product performance. Living our “Make it Measurable” value, we’ve used these insights to spot friction in the user journey, prioritize fixes and even catch bugs early so we can ship better experiences faster. Measuring app performance leads to better user experience, which leads to more successful trips and more cash back in people’s pockets.

What advice would you give a jobseeker hoping to join Upside?

Start by using the Upside app at a gas station, grocery store or restaurant near you. Seeing the marketplace in action is the best intro. Then come ready to “Be an Owner:” Propose what you’d improve and why; “Make it Measurable:” Bring a hypothesis and the metrics you’d track; and “Represent the Real World:” Consider both consumers and retailers.