Meet the People: Teddy Helfrich, VP of Sales

An Atlanta native, Teddy competed in multiple sports and was recruited by the U.S. Naval Academy for squash and sailing. After graduating in 2011, he served as a Surface Warfare Officer, completing three deployments across Central and South America, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. After leaving the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander, he shifted into software sales. As WelcomeHome’s founding sales hire, he’s helped shape every aspect of sales at WelcomeHome. Outside of work, he’s married to Liza and is dad to Poppy and their black lab, Penny Lane.  Meet Teddy: Describe yourself in 3 words: Determined, Fun, Patient

Favorite books, movies, or TV shows? Unbroken (book), The Other Guys (movie), The OC (TV Show)

Interests outside of work? Dad life to Poppy and Penny, sports, and travel

Top bucket list item? Sail across the Atlantic Ocean

Favorite afternoon pick-me-up? A League Basketball Game with the 765 Office League One thing you can't live without? My family and friends

Biggest pet peeve? Complaining

Favorite local restaurant/store/shop? The General Muir Farmer's Market Stand at the Peachtree Road Farmer's Market

Q&A with Teddy:

What is your favorite part about leading the Sales Team? The effort they put in and the fun they have while doing it. They never complain, they are accountable, and they have a strong work ethic while not taking themselves too seriously. It's a joy to lead people like that! Could you talk about what led you to pursue a career in sales? When I got out of the Navy, I had no idea what I wanted to do and didn't really understand how my skills would translate outside of the military. I initially thought operations would be perfect-because I ran operations in the Navy-only to find out that operations in the civilian world means something very different. Ultimately, I knew that if I ever wanted to be in senior leadership, I would need to know how to make money—so sales seemed like the right place to start. It also required me to have the least amount of hard skills, so that was a plus...

What excites you most about working in the senior care industry?

It's a mission oriented industry and that's what I love about it. I, like most, have family members that need the help of our industry and seeing the care and love that people give our seniors is heartwarming.

Why WelcomeHome?

WelcomeHome is a special place! It is very rare that a company is able to nail the trifecta of People, Product, and Process. You can have great people and a bad product and you will fail. You can have great people, a great product, but not have repeatable processes and still fail. WelcomeHome is the rare place that has amazing people, an amazing product, and best-in-class processes—and that makes working here so enjoyable and is ultimately why we continue to succeed.

Favorite quote?

This one is easy as you are required to memorize it at the Naval Academy and I've never forgotten it—it helps that Sierra had it framed for me in my office!

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

 – President Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man in the Arena”