A graduate of Brown University and New York University School of Law, Kurt Hirsch, chief financial officer of Jellyvision, is well-known for his incredible work ethic and ability to take challenges in stride. 

And while many companies involved in benefits may be worried about the Affordable Care Act, Jellyvision promises that "confusion has a cure," which Hirsch fully embraces.

"Uncertainty and disruption are our friends," Hirsch told HR Daily Wire. "Taking the complex and making it understandable– and even delightful – is Jellyvison’s jam."  

Hirsch believes that with changes, such as the Affordable Care Act, people will have questions that Jellyvision is ready to tackle.

"Stasis is the bigger threat to our business than change is," Hirsch said. 

With headquarters in Chicago, Jellyvision is ideally located for a pleasant combination of talent, cost and rent.

"While rents have been steadily increasing in recent years, good deals can still be found off the beaten path, where Jellyvision prefers to reside," Hirsch said.

Though their location has been static for over five years, Hirsch feels confident that the company's operations are the best.

"We’ve been in this space for more than a half-decade now without any competitor seriously challenging us on quality of experience, so such concerns don’t haunt me most nights," Hirsch said.

Additionally, the ushering in of new talent this year to the team at Jellyvision, in the roles of vice president for sales and vice president for finance, has the company confident in their operations and excited about the new customers they are onboarding.

"The selling season is still young, and we've already added a Big Three car manufacturer, a top publisher, one of the leading heavy equipment manufacturers, and some of the largest university systems —among many others—to the Alex platform," Hirsch said. Alex is the company's interactive employee communication software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that assists in countless ways.

"There are so many flavors of ways in which employees take leave – vacation, disability, FMLA, pregnancy, etc. – each with its own dizzying array of requirements, regulations, and administrative headaches," Hirsch said. "We just launched our Alex Leave of Absence product, which is scratching a sizable itch for HR departments – giving individualized leave information to employees on a scalable basis." 

Somewhat of a visionary himself, Hirsch told HR Daily Wire that he is most inspired by individuals who may perceive the world in an extraordinary way: Malcolm Gladwell, Stephen Dubner and Bob Dylan, to name a few. But outside of such notable individuals, Hirsch also looks around him to find everyday inspiration.

"I am so lucky to be working with two of the most inspirational business leaders I could ever hope to meet," Hirsch said. "Harry Gottlieb, our founder, is the archetype for having strong values and imprinting them on a whole company culture.  And Amanda Lannert, our CEO, is the quintessential lifetime learner – never resting on successes, but continually sponging up new ideas, methods, and strategies, and putting them to work at Jellyvision."

Confident of their ability to handle difficult situations as they arise, Jellyvision is ideally suited to be at the forefront of the evolution of HR.

"We have a strong 2017 plan, and are executing well against it," Hirsch said.