Barrett Solutions gave all employees a raise! - Barrett Solutions August Newsletter
August Newsletter around giving raises and healthcare to the team, partnering with Aloe Health, and helping founders
Monthly Updates from the Barrett Solutions team. August 2026.
I started this firm because I was unsatisfied at my software job. I didn’t feel like my input meaningfully affected the product. I had little responsibility, no real stake in the outcome, and the monetary incentives weren’t aligned with effort.
Barrett Solutions had to be different so this month I gave everyone on my team a raise and started the process of getting them health insurance (more below).
I don’t want anyone here to feel like they’re just filling a seat. The goal is to build a firm where strong work and initiative leads to real responsibility, real growth, and real reward.
This was a small step toward realizing that vision, and we'll keep moving in this direction. When you have an entire team invested in what they’re building, you have the potential to create something pretty amazing.
I’m incredibly excited to see what we accomplish together this half.
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Featured news
Helping Founders make the right call!
We talk to a lot of founders who are trying to figure out how to build their tech platform. Should they vibe code it themselves, bring in an outside firm, or hire an engineer in house?
It's a decision that's easy to get wrong, and expensive when you do. Since we have this conversation so often, we built an AI-powered guide that walks you through your specific situation, asks a few questions about where you're at, and points you toward the option that actually makes sense for you.
Check out the guide here, and if you read it, let us know what you think and whether it was helpful:
https://barrettsolutions.kit.com/8b18b892db
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Better benefits, built in Michigan
This fall, we are adding health benefits for the Barrett Solutions team, powered by Aloe Health, a Grand Rapids startup rethinking how small businesses offer healthcare.
Aloe gives our team more flexibility to choose coverage that works for them, with real support along the way. It’s a great model, and we’re especially excited to be working with another Michigan company to make it happen.
We talk a lot about the strength of Michigan’s startup ecosystem. Getting to support a great local company while also investing in our own team is exactly the kind of win we want to see more of.
Thanks to Aloe founder Jeff Boore for coming out to our office and walking the team through everything in person.
Best,
Emmett
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