Michael Witte, CEO & Co-founder of Workrise: $750 Million Raised to Power the Future of the Energy Industry

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Michael Witte, CEO & Co-founder of Workrise, a marketplace for on demand services and skilled labor in the energy industry that's raised over $750 Million in funding, about why the energy sector’s needs for digital innovation are equal to its dependence on advanced extraction technologies, and how Workrise fits in to the future of energy. A B2B marketplace to bring together skills and expertise from disparate vendors and individuals to implement energy projects to the highest possible standard, Workrise is set to drive efficiency and expediency in this foundational part of our economy.

We also speak about Michael’s background as a native Texan and as a energy engineer, the staggering technology in the energy extraction process but why the sector lags behind in terms of digitalization, how personal experience led him to found Workrise, and how he manages to balance being a father, husband, dog owner and CEO.

Topics Discussed:

• Michael’s life as a native Texan and his career in the oil and gas sector
• The complexity of energy extraction projects involving a wide range of stakeholders, skills and expertise
• The current state of the Austin tech ecosystem and why Michael is proud to be a part of it
• The staggering technology required to extract energy resources, but why the sector still lags behind in terms of digitalization
• Why so many would-be founders never really consider what their success might mean, and the responsibility that comes with a leadership role
• How Michael balances his business with the responsibility of being a husband, father and ‘dog father’

 

Favorite book: 

The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

 

Resources: 

Easier, Faster, Safer: How Workrise is Absorbing Complexity to Bring the Energy Industry Into the Future