How EverOps Quietly Built ‘Two Nikes’: A Candid Conversation with CEO Stephen Koza

In a very recent candid conversation, Stephen Koza, CEO of EverOps, offers exclusive insights into how the company is redefining operational excellence for some of the world’s most innovative companies. From refining the company’s messaging to launching new AI-powered accelerators and evolving its flagship TechPod model, Koza opens up about what drives EverOps’ success and the mindset that has kept its client base growing for years.

The interview also touches on the company’s emphasis on outcomes over effort, its AI-native delivery philosophy, and the values-based culture that underpins every engagement. Packed with leadership lessons and insights into the future of AI-enabled operations, this insightful exchange offers a transparent look at how EverOps continues to innovate, scale, and stay true to its core by delivering certainty in today’s uncertain world. 

Hi Stephen! Since our last conversation, which was about a year ago, what has changed the most about how we talk about EverOps? Not necessarily due to a change in direction, but rather to the company niching down on what we've always done best?

Great question. The short answer is, you're right. Nothing's really changed with what we do, how we do it, or what we already know makes us special. But we have put a lot of work into getting better at articulating that, because we actually do a lot of stuff. There are probably 300 different problems we could solve for any given client, but that’s too vague for most people to grasp…so we’ve spent time really distilling that.

At the highest level, we help companies achieve four critical outcomes: 

1. Ship faster by accelerating modernization
2. Reduce risk by engineering for resilience
3. Cut costs by optimizing cloud spend
4. Work smarter through AI-native operations. 

Everything we do ladders up to those four pillars. The way we do it is the way we've always done it, embedding elite teams with proven playbooks and deep experience to accelerate roadmaps and achieve real results.

Could you share any new services, products, or capabilities that EverOps has rolled out recently, and explain what led to their development?

We just launched our first set of AI accelerators, which are turnkey service offers that are predefined in both scope and price. The idea behind this is to make it easier for new clients to engage with us.

Usually, consulting firms take weeks of meetings and discovery to draft a custom statement of work. That’s too slow for many clients who need quick solutions. Our accelerators solve that.

There are three accelerators to choose from, all focused on AI for developer productivity. They include: 

1. A four-week assessment to identify the highest-leverage AI use cases.
2. An eight-week ‘Proof of Value' sprint to build and demonstrate a working concept.
3. A long-term AI TechPod, where a team of AI engineers embeds to build capability and best practices over time.

What impact are you seeing from the company's TechPod approach, and how has it matured based on client feedback?

The TechPod is something we created years ago. Others have started to copy it, but, to my knowledge, we were the first.

On a granular level, our TechPod is a small team of elite U.S.-based engineers/long-term W-2 employees who embed directly into the client's business, including their Slack channels, standups, and systems.

This approach ultimately means faster execution, higher accountability, clear deliverables, transparent work, and built-in leadership. Alongside top-tier engineers, there’s also a trusted-advisor component. When clients choose the TechPod model, they essentially get their own elite team, but without the hiring risk, inefficiency, and drawbacks of traditional consulting.

Do you have a story that captures what that looks like from a client's perspective, either TechPod or AI-native delivery?

There’s one fintech client that comes to mind, and we’ve been working with them for a few years now. Our initial set of projects focused on addressing security vulnerabilities, cleaning them up, and addressing the cultural and process issues behind them.

We supported this client with our embedded TechPod, which took ownership of several of their systems, including networking, security, and cloud infrastructure. Because the team had full autonomy, they didn’t have to wait for SOWs or change orders. Instead, they identified opportunities and proactively acted on them. 

In doing so, the team found a routing inefficiency in the client’s cloud infrastructure. It sounded minor, but fixing it saved the company nearly $2 million annually, from just two days of work. 

That’s the power of being embedded and empowered. Because we're in there, because we have agency, because we're motivated to drive improvement, our team was able to find the problem, get the approvals, and then fix it immediately. 

AI-native delivery isn't a service we sell; it's how we operate. Every Pod leverages AI to move faster, predict issues, and optimize outcomes.

As far as AI for operations, we recently built a private chatbot called Victor for a client’s development team. It was trained on their internal data and helps developers self-serve, accessing systems, answering questions, and generating runbooks without needing human support. It’s secure, efficient, and a perfect example of how we used AI to enhance a client's operations.

Right now, we’re just scratching the surface. I believe companies will eventually run production systems autonomously with AI, freeing humans to focus on strategic work.

When someone engages with EverOps, what do you want them to feel about the company?

It’s easy to talk about technology, but that’s not what makes us different. What’s special—and has always been true—is that we guarantee outcomes. Clients don’t hire us because we have smart engineers who know AWS. They hire us because they need certainty. With EverOps, you're not buying hours or hoping for results, but you're buying guaranteed outcomes.

What’s your 30-second EverOps elevator pitch to a CTO?

Most CTOs are under pressure to move faster, control costs, and keep things running while managing tools, silos, and teams. We solve that by embedding elite engineers who bring playbooks and AI-native best practices to accelerate modernization and improve velocity.

We’ve done this with Coinbase, Snowflake, and Peloton, to name a few, helping them scale platforms, reduce waste, and deliver products faster.

Unlike traditional consulting that hands you a deck or staff aug that gives you bodies, we're in the sweet spot. We bring both strategic foresight and elite execution. We speak boardroom and command-line fluently, so strategy translates directly into production systems.

In a nutshell, we’re the partner that many companies wish they had but didn’t know existed. 

We plug in, execute with certainty, and deliver business outcomes that turn into lasting partnerships. Most of our clients stay with us for years, some for over a decade now. It's very rare for us to have a one-and-done engagement. 

Do you have anything impactful to back that up even more? 

Yes, here’s a fun fact: Seven of our clients have gone public to date. Most have stayed with us for years, one of them for over a decade now. Collectively, those clients created $186 billion in market value during our engagements.

To put that in perspective, Nike, with 80,000 employees, took 51 years to reach $95 billion in market value. In just a few years, EverOps helped create the equivalent of two Nikes.

What do you want a client or partner to take away or remember most about EverOps specifically?

I want them to understand who we are and what drives us underneath the surface. Our values are true to our core, and they haven’t changed much over time.

We care deeply about what we do. We have a growth mindset, deliver at a high level, and strive to be the most dependable part of our clients’ organizations. We move fast, tackle hard problems, and live by a simple rule: don’t be a jerk.

People like working with us, and we love working with them. Beneath the technology and buzzwords, it’s about great humans doing exceptional work together.

What has helped shape you as a leader in this industry over the years?

I've been fortunate to work for a bunch of really great leaders, and I’ve had some great mentors over the years. I would first say that you can’t be a good leader unless you truly care. You need passion and authenticity. People can feel that.

It’s hard to be effective if you don’t care or have a bigger picture you’re working toward. For EverOps, we have an ambitious vision and a team aligned around it. That makes it easy to show up, lead, and keep building. 

I also love seeing the incremental progress along the way. But for those who don't care, they’re just going through the motions.

Any other advice for aspiring leaders?

Early-career folks these days put a lot of pressure on themselves. They commit to one major, and they think it's a one-way door or that it's what they have to do for the rest of their life. So my advice is, don’t put so much pressure on yourself to have everything figured out early. I took a squiggly path, and I think many people do. Just try things. If you don’t like something, pivot. 

Be open-minded, curious, and hungry to learn. It’s easier to change direction than people think.

For anyone who doesn’t know, how did you arrive in your role today?

I studied electrical engineering, but realized before graduating that I was more interested in business. My first job was as an engineer, but I made the leap into sales about a year into my career. I spent a bunch of years in sales and sales leadership for tech companies, where I learned communication, business strategy, and leadership.

I eventually caught the entrepreneurship bug. I became an investor with the goal of operating and growing a company. That’s what led me to EverOps. I invested in the business and ended up joining as their CEO. Three and a half years later, I’m leading an incredible team, scaling a company I love, and having a lot of fun doing it.

Closing Remarks 

As the conversation draws to a close, Koza’s vision for EverOps is unmistakably clear. The company’s strength lies not only in technical mastery but also in its ability to embed directly with clients as an extension of their teams while delivering a measurable, lasting impact. The company’s model prioritizes trust, agility, and ownership over transactional relationships. This has propelled EverOps into long-term partnerships with some of the world’s most forward-thinking brands.

Beyond process and technology, Koza emphasizes authentic leadership and a human-first culture as the foundation of the company’s longevity. His approach, equal parts precision and passion, mirrors the values EverOps instills in its teams and clients alike.

For readers who want to trace the full arc of this journey, our first interview with Stephen Koza offers valuable context on his early career, leadership philosophy, and the foundational principles that continue to guide EverOps today. Together, these two conversations capture both the consistency of the company’s vision and the evolution of its execution over time.

For organizations facing high-stakes modernization or scaling challenges, EverOps eliminates execution risk. We're not just a technical partner…we're a trusted team that guarantees outcomes, turning complex initiatives into measurable results.

Build Certainty & Partner with EverOps Today 

If your organization is ready to accelerate delivery, strengthen operations, or unlock new value through embedded expertise, EverOps is the partner to call.

Our TechPod model integrates elite engineers and proven playbooks directly into your workflows, giving you the capability, accountability, and velocity to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Since 2012, EverOps has helped leading companies enhance performance across Ops with measurable impact. From AI-native delivery to infrastructure modernization and cloud optimization, our teams are built to execute with precision and care.

Connect with EverOps to explore how we can help your teams move faster, reduce risk, and achieve lasting results. Schedule a conversation today and see how our team can get you the results, reliability, and acceleration you’ve been aiming for.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes EverOps different from traditional consulting or staff augmentation?

You're buying certainty, not capacity. EverOps guarantees outcomes—not hours, not headcount, not effort. Our TechPods own the result, eliminating the execution risk.

What is a TechPod?

A TechPod is a small, U.S.-based team of elite engineers who embed within your organization to accelerate delivery, improve reliability, and strengthen operations. Each Pod operates as a seamless extension of your team with clear ownership and transparency.

How do EverOps accelerators work?

Our accelerators are turnkey, fixed-scope service offerings that help clients quickly realize value without lengthy discovery or contracting cycles. They include AI assessments, Proof of Value sprints, and long-term AI TechPods.

What outcomes can clients expect from a TechPod engagement?

Clients consistently see faster delivery cycles, reduced operating risk, cost optimization, and long-term improvements in team performance. Many engagements extend into multi-year partnerships built on trust and measurable impact.

What is AI-native delivery, and why does it matter?

AI-native delivery means AI is built into how we work—not bolted on afterward. From code assistance to predictive monitoring to automated optimization, we use AI to accelerate execution, improve accuracy, and deliver better outcomes without adding complexity.

What kinds of companies does EverOps typically partner with?

EverOps works with leading technology-driven organizations, from growth-stage innovators to global enterprises, focused on modernizing operations, improving developer productivity, and scaling efficiently.

How does EverOps help companies adopt AI responsibly?

Our teams apply AI-native delivery practices to enhance productivity, security, and decision-making. Every AI engagement is designed around tangible value creation, data protection, and sustainable performance.

How does EverOps embed values into its work?

The company’s culture is anchored in dependability, authenticity, and excellence. Teams operate with a growth mindset and a commitment to delivering at a high level while being collaborative, transparent, and human-first.

How experienced is the EverOps team?

Since 2012, EverOps has supported some of the world’s most innovative companies, including Coinbase, Snowflake, Peloton. and many others. Seven of our long-term clients have gone public, creating a combined market value of $186 billion during our partnerships.

How can a company get started with EverOps?

Engagement begins with a focused conversation to understand goals and challenges. From there, EverOps recommends the right accelerator or TechPod structure to deliver early wins and long-term value.