As business partners and friends, Alisha Adams and Tess Sloane are passionate about bringing authentic human connection and purpose to everything they do. Together, they are the founders of Eleven Eleven Talent Collective, a full-service human resources agency that supports businesses with all things people-related. From recruitment to succession planning, Tess and Alisha help organizations optimize performance and create progressive, happy work environments.
Eleven Eleven is not your typical HR firm — Alisha and Tess are shaking up the rules and are committed to helping people create lives they love with a focus on empowering remote work and unlimited earning potential. They chose “Eleven Eleven” to represent 11:11, an auspicious set of numbers representing clarity, intuition and enlightenment.
Alisha and Tess are babes because they’re forging a new path in their industry and focusing on results rather than old rules.
What does babes supporting babes mean to you?
Tess: In our business, we always talk about women with a vision who rise by lifting others. It wasn’t intentional at the beginning, but we worked with a ton of female entrepreneurs, and a ton of our early success can be attributed to the support we received from other women.
Alisha: Especially since becoming a mother, I really believe there’s nothing women can’t do. To me, babes supporting babes is about creating a community of collaboration.
What city feels most like home to you?
Alisha: 100% Vancouver. I was born and raised in the Lower Mainland, but I did have a bit of an interesting upbringing. I grew up with my Mom in Aldergrove and my Dad in West Vancouver.
Tess: Equally Melbourne and Vancouver. Moving continents is a big deal, but when I go home it feels like no time has passed. I love Vancouver so much and I also adore going back to Australia to see family and get some Southern Hemisphere time in.
Are you a work-by-yourself kind of person, or a person who loves working surrounded by people?
Alisha: Both, but with an entrepreneurial mindset. I like to be in choice about how and where I will be working each day, depending on how I feel and what is required for the task at hand. I think the concept of going to sit at a desk “just because” is very outdated.
Tess: Both. I love to collaborate and bounce ideas, and I also love to retreat. Also, for anyone who is looking to go into recruiting — it requires a lot of administrative work! It actually works out perfectly for me, because I love attending events and meeting people, and I also love to light a candle beside my laptop and work quietly from home. It’s a great balance.
If you could go back in time, what era would you travel to?
Alisha: Victorian England. I would love to get a ridiculously large dress on and get pulled around in a horsedrawn carriage!
Tess: The ’60s, because I love Elvis. The performers in that era truly performed, you know? I adore live music.
What is your karaoke song?
Alisha: My husband begs me not to sing! I take his word for it, because he’s very supportive with everything else I pursue. Hah!
Tess: Run To You by Whitney Houston. You can really take it to the next level with Whitney.
What is the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
Alisha: Having a baby. It was a huge jump for me. I had so much fear around my career and my lifestyle, knowing that as much as it was going to be incredible, the change would be significant. It was actually seeing Tess with her boys and how amazing their lives are that made me take the leap.
Tess: Moving to Canada. I had an amazing life in Melbourne, and I had no real plan of what I was going to do when I got to Canada. However, I knew that I could always go home if I wanted, and my intuition told me to take a chance.
Who would you want to play you in a movie about your life?
Alisha: Chelsea Handler. Not only is she hilarious, but she also calls herself out. I love that.
Tess: Rebel Wilson. She is just so funny and doesn’t give a f*ck.
What would you consider your “superpower”, aka the thing you can do better than anyone else?
Tess: I find it easy to love people. I build genuine connection quickly.
Alisha: I am a very non-judgemental person. Nothing shocks me.
Tess: I can confirm that Alisha is “unshockable.” It’s quite something actually.
What characteristics do you most admire in the people you work with?
Tess: I admire people who are passionate and have purpose, and get up each morning to make a difference.
Alisha: I admire people that are straight shooters, authentic, speak from the heart and have vulnerability.
Who was the first person you had great adoration for and why?
Alisha: My first boss at Aritzia, Andrea Cadogan. I admired EVERYTHING about her, but what sticks out most to me is her ability to stay calm in any situation. Because of her chilled out demeanour, I felt calm, safe and inspired, and it set the tone for me in HR, where things are occasionally intense. Whenever I have a situation that’s making me feel a bit stressed, I channel my inner Andrea and everything works out.
Tess: My Dad. We just click. From the first moment I can remember, we fundamentally understood each other. He makes everybody feel like they matter, which I love. Growing up, my Dad seemed so different from all of the other Dads — so openly affectionate, playful and funny. He’s still like that today, and I think his joie de vivre is so special.
If you could leave your career with one legacy what would you hope it is?
Tess: I hope that we create limitless possibilities for people. What I mean by that is I hope we create the ability for people to effectively integrate work and real life, and for people to discover that work doesn’t have to be a 9 to 5 job just because society tells them it has to be. We want people to own and live out how they want life to be, and to experience incredible transformation and fulfillment.
Alisha: That I played a part in people making monumental shifts in their lives because I saw their potential. I also hope we help people discover that by setting goals and having a vision, they can create the life they want.
What is your version of a “power suit”?
Alisha: Honestly, Tess and I have the same idea of a power suit, so we have to text before any event so that we don’t show up dressed like twins. I always feel great in a bodysuit, a great pair of jeans and heels.
Tess: In addition to the outfit that Alisha mentioned, I also have this fierce leopard print wrap dress that I wear when I really want to have a moment. It has never let me down.
What public figure do you admire the most?
Alisha: Michelle Obama. Her work with children and health inspires the hell out me, and the way she lives her life with effortless elegance and purpose is incredibly motivating.
Tess: I am a huge Oprah fan. I love her work around healing, both with individuals and healing the planet. The impact she has had in this world is hard to measure.
Champagne, wine or sparkling water?
Alisha and Tess: PROSECCO!
Best piece of life advice?
Alisha: Nothing matters. Once, at a really stressful time I called my brother and basically word-vomited for 10 minutes about a seemingly stressful work situation. As we were wrapping up, he sweetly said to me, “you know Alisha, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.” In that moment, I realized it didn’t matter. My family is healthy, we have a good life — all of it. So that piece of perspective really helps me ground myself in what’s actually important.
Tess: Show up. Show up for yourself and the people in your life that are important to you. Sometimes it’s going to be easy, and other times it’s going to be hard but you’ll always be glad you did it.
What is your evening ritual before bed?
Alisha: One of my greatest indulgences is that I take a bubble bath every night! Then it’s tea and whatever my current book is, or occasionally I’ll put on Netflix in bed. My favourite show right now is Schitt’s Creek, it is completely hysterical.
Tess: After I tuck my boys into bed, it’s me time — and that usually involves chocolate, a glass of wine, Miss Vickies malt salt and vinegar chips and a book.
What new trends are you noticing in your industry?
Alisha and Tess: I think there is a big conversation around the next generation of men and women. How to raise them, what skills are missing, remote work, how to leverage (and prepare for) artificial intelligence, and the rise of emotional intelligence. At Eleven Eleven, we’re focused on developing the leadership skills of the future: grit, courage, vulnerability, resiliency. At this point in business, no one cares where you went to school if you can’t talk and relate to people, or if you don’t have fortitude. It is much more important that you can be with people. That you understand how to unleash their potential, that you know how to support someone in connecting with their highest self.
Keep up with Alisha & Tess @eleveneleventalent.
Introduction written by Lindsay Pearce.
Photography by Ryan Pugsley.