Honoring the Spark: Meet Spiceworks Employee Number 1

Honoring the Spark: Meet Spiceworks Employee Number 1

Brought to you by @spiceworks As we continue our 20th Anniversary series, it’s only fitting that we start at the very beginning, with the person who saw the vision before there was even an office to house it.Before the “SpiceWorld” roar and the millions of IT pros in our Community, there was a small group of founders and a single, pivotal hire: Tabrez Syed.Joining as the first-ever employee, Tabrez didn’t just take a job; he took a leap of faith into the unknown world of “social IT.” From those early lines of code to helping shape the DNA of what Spiceworks would become, his fingerprints are all over the foundation of this Community.A Legacy of InnovationIn this latest episode, we sit down with Tabrez to discuss:The Early Days: What it was like in the “garage phase” of Spiceworks.The Vision: Why he believed in a community-driven future for IT.20 Years of Evolution: His perspective on how the industry has shifted since day one.Subscribe for more amazing career stories, community spotlights, and all things Spicy: https://community.spiceworks.com💬 Join the Discussion!What’s your experience in the Spiceworks Community? Drop a comment below! 👇🔥 Subscribe & Stay Ahead! 🔥Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE for more tech insights, career tips, and IT news!📌 References & Resources:→ Join our Spiceworks Community to get free access to IT Community, news,insights, research and tools - https://community.spiceworks.com/→ Since 2006, Spiceworks has been the IT Industry marketplace, where tech buyers and sellers come together to push the world forward with technology - https://www.spiceworks.com/Connect with us:Website: https://community.spiceworks.comTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/SpiceworksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spiceworksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiceworks/

Building the Beast: How Greg Kattawar Engineered the Orange Revolution

Brought to you by @spiceworks It’s easy to talk about a “vision,” but it’s a whole lot harder to actually code it, scale it, and keep it running while millions of IT pros are pounding on the doors.For Episode 4 of our 20th Anniversary Podcast Series, we are sitting down with the man who kept the engine humming: Spiceworks Co-founder and former EVP of Development and Engineering, Greg Kattawar.Greg was the steady hand on the rudder during the wild years of 2008–2012. While the community was growing at a breakneck pace, Greg and his team were in the trenches, making sure the “Social Network for IT” didn’t just look good, but actually worked. We’re talking about the reality of the early Austin startup grind, the late-night “war room” sessions, and the technical hurdles of building a platform that became a global powerhouse.Join the Watch Party! Come listen in on the “behind the scenes” stories of how Greg and team turned a scrappy prototype into the tool that defined a generation of IT management.Subscribe for more amazing career stories, community spotlights, and all things Spicy: https://community.spiceworks.com💬 Join the Discussion!What’s your experience in the Spiceworks Community? Drop a comment below! 👇🔥 Subscribe & Stay Ahead! 🔥Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE for more tech insights, career tips, and IT news!📌 References & Resources:→ Join our Spiceworks Community to get free access to IT Community, news,insights, research and tools - https://community.spiceworks.com/→ Since 2006, Spiceworks has been the IT Industry marketplace, where tech buyers and sellers come together to push the world forward with technology - https://www.spiceworks.com/Connect with us:Website: https://community.spiceworks.comTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/SpiceworksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spiceworksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiceworks/#Spiceworks #GregKattawar #SpiceHead #EngineeringLeadership #StartupLife #SoftwareEngineering #TechStack #AustinTech #ITCommunity #20YearsOfSpice #DevOps #scalingstartups

Auditing Your Burnout with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - Vol 3!

We are wrapping up our Mental Health Awareness Month series with the grand finale—Volume 3 of our chat talking the “Auditing Your Burnout with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” with our favorite @SpiceTherapist [https://community.spiceworks.com/u/spicetherapist] Jen Slaski! This week, we are finally reaching the peak of Maslow’s pyramid to tackle Self-Esteem and Self-Actualization. As most of us know all too well it is way too easy in IT to feel like an invisible cog in a machine, grinding away without any appreciation. Jen breaks down how to audit your daily routine, lean into your true strengths, and find spaces where your unique skills are actually celebrated. It’s all about shifting out of survival mode so you can build a long-term vision that protects your peace and keeps burnout at bay for good. Listen Now to finish your system audit!

Spicefreaks and Geeks - Celebrating Geek Pride Day

Brought to you by @spiceworks We’re skipping the mild stuff and going straight for the Carolina Reaper of hot takes. We’ve invited a Surprise Guest who fits right in with our band of misfits to help us celebrate the weird, the wired, and the way-too-spicy.Loading Stream Assets:Peter's Lego Build: Get ready for some master-builder energy as we check out what Peter has been piecing together.PassRusher's Cheesy TV Moments: A nostalgic dive into the absolute peak of television cheese. Bring your own crackers.The Game Zone: We're playing "Are you a Robot, Android or Cyborg?" to question our own humanity, followed by a fierce round of "What's That Thing - Pop Culture Edition".SpiceWorld 2026 Announcement: Kristine drops by with a massive announcement that you absolutely cannot miss. It's happening!Reheated & Rewired: We are digging into the archives for a classic, reheated video of turning SpiceWorkers into Robots.The Spicehead Challenge: We’re turning up the heat—literally or figuratively—to see who survives the "Eek!" factor.Early Access Pride: Why wait for the official holiday when we can cause a glitch in the Matrix on a Wednesday?Warning: This stream contains 100% pure, unrefined geekery. Side effects may include watering eyes, scorched palates, and an immediate urge to re-watch your favorite cult classic.Subscribe for more amazing career stories, community spotlights, and all things Spicy: https://community.spiceworks.com💬 Join the Discussion!What’s your experience in the Spiceworks Community? Drop a comment below! 👇🔥 Subscribe & Stay Ahead! 🔥Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE for more tech insights, career tips, and IT news!📌 References & Resources:→ Join our Spiceworks Community to get free access to IT Community, news,insights, research and tools - https://community.spiceworks.com/→ Since 2006, Spiceworks has been the IT Industry marketplace, where tech buyers and sellers come together to push the world forward with technology - https://www.spiceworks.com/Connect with us:Website: https://community.spiceworks.comTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/SpiceworksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spiceworksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiceworks/

Auditing Your Burnout with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - Vol 2

Brought to you by @spiceworks Featuring Special Guest: Jen SlaskiThank you for joining us again in our Mental Health series for Mental Health Awareness Month! We are continuing our mission to bring you actionable insights, and we are incredibly excited to bring you Volume 2 of our special 3-part series with the Spiceworks community's favorite "SpiceTherapist," Jen Slaski.If you missed Volume 1, we laid down the foundational baseline—the brain-body connection, gut health, and how physical neglect can mimic total burnout. Now, it's time to build the next layers of our psychological system audit.Inside Volume 2: Safety, Belonging, and the Spiceworks FactorIn this episode, Jen takes us up the mid-section of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, focusing on the environmental and social infrastructure that keeps us stable:The Safety Check (Level 2): Financial stress and physical safety aren't just background noise; they are the second floor of your mental house. If these are shaky—whether it's anxiety over money or a toxic work environment—everything above them will feel completely unstable.The Power of Belonging (Level 3): Humans are hardwired for connection. Jen dives deep into the crucial role work plays as a social hub. This becomes a literal lifesaver if you aren't close with your own family or local friends—and it is exactly where the Spiceworks community comes in as a godsend for so many IT pros who feel isolated on an island.Reclaiming Your Power Mid-PyramidDepending on your developmental stage in life—whether you're navigating the grind of young adulthood or heading toward senior citizenship—what "safety" and "belonging" look like will change. But Jen reminds us that this model acts as a troubleshooting guide. When you feel overwhelmingly burnt out, you have to look at the infrastructure of your life and figure out where the leak is."We can't always control the global economy or our company's headcount, but we can actively choose where we seek connection. Finding your tribe and securing your basic peace of mind is where you reclaim your agency." — Jen Slaski👉Here is a link to Volume 1 - https://youtu.be/VOrBf4mO_OsComing Next Week: Volume 3 (The Grand Finale)We are capping off Mental Health Awareness Month next week with the final piece of the pyramid. Get ready for Volume 3, where Jen breaks down Self-Esteem and Self-Actualization. We’ll talk about aligning your passions with your daily work, creating a vision that prevents future burnout, and how to position yourself in environments where your unique contributions are actually recognized and celebrated. Stay tuned!Subscribe for more amazing career stories, community spotlights, and all things Spicy: https://community.spiceworks.com💬 Join the Discussion!What’s your experience in the Spiceworks Community? Drop a comment below! 👇🔥 Subscribe & Stay Ahead! 🔥Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE for more tech insights, career tips, and IT news!📌 References & Resources:→ Join our Spiceworks Community to get free access to IT Community, news,insights, research and tools - https://community.spiceworks.com/→ Since 2006, Spiceworks has been the IT Industry marketplace, where tech buyers and sellers come together to push the world forward with technology - https://www.spiceworks.com/Connect with us:Website: https://community.spiceworks.comTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/SpiceworksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spiceworksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiceworks/#MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #ITMentalHealth #Spiceworks #MaslowsHierarchy #ITBurnout #TechCommunity #MentalHealthMatters #SpiceTherapist