A few weeks ago, I met with the VP Chief of Staff at Hudl here in Lincoln, NE.

I toured their incredible office space, which I’ll dive into below, and I sat down with Mark Ketcham (VP CoS) to chat about all things Hudl—one of the absolute coolest companies.

How do I know I’m in the right role as a Chief of Staff Consultant & Founder of a Chief of Staff company?

It’s simple: nothing lights me up more than learning about new-to-me businesses.

I love getting to know other business owners and leaders, touring their office spaces, and diving into unfamiliar industries.

As the Founder of Nova Chief of Staff, a fast-growing, first-of-its-kind ed-tech company, it’s rewarding and illuminating to learn about other local companies doing big things.

One of my goals as a business owner here in Lincoln is to establish more local connections. As Nova’s Founder, with students and partners in nearly 30 countries, I feel more globally connected than ever. But since moving to Nebraska and having my little guy two years ago, it finally feels like it’s time to get more connected in my own backyard.

Connection

Hudl’s Chief of Staff and I met on LinkedIn. I reached out to Mark in hopes of making more local connections with Chiefs of Staff in town. He replied with an enthusiastic "yes" and we scheduled some time together. He suggested lunch and a tour of Hudl HQ—I was so in!

couches in a waiting area in front desk area of hudl office space with working area in the background

About Hudl

Hudl empowers more than 300,000 teams globally to reach their potential, working with coaches, athletes, and administrators at every level of sport. They equip teams with tools and insights to elevate performance, streamline operations, drive recruitment and deepen fan engagement.

Hudl’s smart cameras capture every second of practices and games, powering the industry's ecosystem of film review, recruiting, scouting and more. And their trusted software layers data and analytics onto video to help athletes and teams reach their potential. Hudl’s platform helps every team create a stronger connection to their fans through livestreaming, athlete highlights, tickets, and updates on all the information fans care about.

view of two levels in hudl office space with seats, tables, and a large screen over a basketball court on the bottom floor

Founded in Lincoln, Nebraska in 2006, Hudl has seen incredible growth, with more than a dozen acquisitions under its belt. It now works with nearly 100% of U.S. high school athletic departments in the U.S. and boasts a massive global footprint. I was stunned to hear that Hudl will analyze more than two million games this year!

My husband grew up in Lincoln and because it’s a small community, I’ve heard bits about Hudl’s work—but I had no idea what I was walking into.

As one of the largest private technology companies in Nebraska, Hudl has more than 3,000 employees globally, with about 550 based in Nebraska. This is a big footprint for our small town of about 300,000 people.

When I find cool things in town, I get so excited. Hudl is COOL.

The Hudl HQ Tour

What makes a company cool? Innovation, client base, company leadership, office culture, and the brand. To me, coolness is the vibe that permeates physical spaces with design, culture, and inclusivity that reinforces the brand.

When I walked into Hudl HQ in Lincoln’s Haymarket, it was clear they had all this and more. One of the first things I noticed was the design of the office space: wide-open floor plans, gorgeous views, color-coded team and quiet spaces, lockers for every employee, dozens of differently styled workspaces, free lunch onsite, game rooms, and hoteling desks for every single employee (C-suite included!).

a row of grey employee lockers with orange name tags

You can tell that a collaborative environment was the goal and the in-house architecture and design team nailed it.

Back in 2020, while working for T-Mobile (a multi-billion dollar company with the kind of money that buys stadiums), we went through a full office re-design and remodel. Hudl’s design features, all-hands arena stadium stairway, boardroom, branding, and open-concept floorplans rivaled T-Mobile’s redesign.

couches and chairs over a grey carpet next to a wall with orange and grey basketball wallpaper

Touring Hudl’s space also reminded me of my recent trip to Austin, Texas, where I met with Jared Blank, Chief of Staff to UT Football Head Coach Steve Sarkisian. Hudl’s boardroom was on par with the space Texas Football uses to entertain recruits and donors—it was incredibly well done.

You can tell I’m a sucker for great space and well thought out design. The last thing I’ll share on this topic is that Hudl’s Lincoln HQ isn’t the only place their team focuses on amazing office design. Their designers create similar concepts in all their offices around the world.

a wall with a map installation is featured behind two sets of four chairs arranged in an open space

Hudl’s Business

After the tour, Mark and I grabbed lunch from the Hudl cafeteria and sat down to chat. We discussed Hudl’s business, leadership team, executive support team, the massive growth the company has seen since 2006, cool local partnerships, and some shared connections.

Mark shared his story—rising from tech support to VP of Operations & Chief of Staff. We talked about how important we both feel it is to stay as close to the customer as possible before taking leadership roles in a customer-first company.

stairs and bleacher style seats overlook an open space

That’s a Wrap

I left Hudl HQ after lunch on Friday and I was buzzing the rest of the day. As someone who has the privilege of speaking with business leaders every day and learning about unfamiliar companies and industries, I truly could not love my job more.

Thank you Mark Ketcham and the Hudl HQ team for hosting me!

- Maggie Founder, Nova Chief of Staff