What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Director of Product Management at Definitive Healthcare? 

We connected with Catherine Wright to find out!

Interested in learning more about Definitive Healthcare? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  

I grew up in Chatham, New Jersey, a town about 30 minutes outside of Manhattan and a big commuter town for those working in New York City. Growing up, I always imagined I’d end up living or working in New York City. However, I ended up going to Boston College for undergrad and Boston captured my heart. It’s been about 10 years now & I’m still here!

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a SVP, Sales and Client Growth at Kyruus?

We connected with Travis Moore to find out!

Interested in learning more about Kyruus? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?

Sheboygan, WI (home of Johnsonville Brats). My dad worked as an engine inspector at Kohler Company. My mom was a facilities manager at a large engineering company. 

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

Undergraduate at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (BS Nursing). Graduate at University of Phoenix-Denver (MBA). First job out of college was a Neurotrauma/Orthopedic Pediatric Nurse at Children’s Hospital Denver, CO. Then got the bug for technology, and switched careers and joined Thomson/MICROMEDEX (now IBM), then Influence Health (now Healthgrades) and finally here at Kyruus. A 21-year journey so far.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

Passion, grit, work ethic, and a desire to always learn!

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a SVP, Sales and Client Growth at Kyruus?

I am responsible for new and existing client sales, for all of our verticals, along with Channel Partnerships, Sales Operations, and Sales Engineering/Consulting. 

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

Pre-COVID I would have said, prepare for a lot of travel, but that has of course changed dramatically. In my opinion, while sales is not for everyone, it’s one of those careers that some may think you have to be born to be in, and that is simply not true. I have seen plenty of salespeople who never even considered it being an option, including me, but I do think if you want the flexibility like no other career (at least most), sales is a great opportunity. 

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Coffee

What time do you get into the office? What time do you head out of the office? 

I work from home, so whenever I need to start and finish.

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

• My team - I always want to see them grow and they drive me!
• My company - we are changing lives.
• My family - they are the ultimate motivation!

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

Log back in. I’ve adopted Jeff Bezos’ “work-life harmony” (not balance - as balancing is too hard).

Any productivity hacks?

• Slack (so much better than email)
• Handwritten (old school) to-do lists
• Don’t think you can, or should, respond to every email. If it’s that important, someone will text or call you.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

• Music apps (music junky)
• YouTubeTV (because I recently cut the cord)
• Life360 - I have three boys!

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

Being a Pediatric Nurse. It gave me so much perspective in a short period of time, and made me who I am as a professional today.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

 I have recently been provided a “sales coach” and it’s been amazing! 

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Sr. Payment Operations Associate at MineralTree?

We connected with Joe Lennon to find out!

Interested in learning more about MineralTree? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up in the little town of Gulf Breeze, FL. It’s in the Panhandle about as far west as you can go before hitting Alabama. Growing up, my Dad was a Regional Account Manager for a hospitality service company, but my Mom’s job was much tougher- being an all-star mother to myself and my 2 sisters. She always found time to volunteer in the community, though. I always loved the small town feel, but I needed to experience a city at least once in my life!

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to the University of Florida (gooo Gators). I bounced around from Finance to Nursing to Sports Management, but eventually landed on Economics just in time to graduate! After graduation, I spent 7 months living with my parents, job searching. I knew I wanted to work in a city and to be at a startup company, which was a very difficult task. While I almost always had a part-time job, I had no internship or “real business” experience. In college, I was very involved in the rowing club and I basically considered that my job. The search was long, but with a lot of patience, I finally found myself in the right place at the right time!

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

Until the day I die, I will always swear by the fool-proof system of trial and error. Simply not being afraid to fail, ask questions, or be different has led to a lot of lessons, and unlike the lessons learned in the classroom, failures stick with you. Also, just being yourself and setting your own expectations helps a ton. You know yourself the best, so when you live based on society’s/parent’s/colleague’s expectations of you, you’ll fail every time one way or another. That’s exactly the reason why I moved so far away from home to a city. I wanted to keep the new experiences flowing and keep failing!

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position?

I work with a product offering we have called SilverPay, which is a virtual credit card. It’s basically a one-time-use credit card payment sent over email. My job is to care for the product (operationally) as if it were my own child — love it, nurture it, help it grow. At least that’s how I see it. But more concretely, I help customers get set up with the payment method, then work with our supplier enablement team to enable our suppliers to accept the virtual card. Throughout my time at MineralTree it was crazy to discover the massive amounts of paper checks being printed every year, and moreover, how some people still prefer that over just getting an email! The value is even greater now that the world is almost entirely dependent on contactless interactions. Our SilverPay users and SilverPay acceptors are sitting pretty nowadays knowing that they don’t even have to leave their house to send and receive payments, helping keep this economy pumping while staying safe.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

I would define my field as a startup, and in a startup environment you should never be afraid to ask questions and stay curious. You really do have the power to define your role and forge your own career path, so you need to find out which part of the company you enjoy best, learn it, and go after it. 

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Coffee. Coffee coffee coffee. I’d drink it all day long if I could. There are about 1000 different ways to prepare coffee nowadays, but I’ve never been able to make a better brew than from my old school drip coffee maker at home.

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

• Helping Customers

  • It sounds cheesy, but it’s no secret that helping people in general always gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling. In business, it’s easy to get into a rut and just think of the people you’re helping as one-dimensional “clients". However, when you realize that they are just people like you. looking for assistance, it’s really motivating knowing you’re the one person who can help them out. I also love adding in puns and jokes to my emails. One time when trying to explain how a virtual card works to one of our customers, I asked her to picture Samuel L Jackson telling her that you can “Get cashback on every purchase every day” and included a picture of him with a Quicksilver logo. She loved it and it made me smile as well!

• Scoring big wins

  • As I mentioned, the name of the game for my role is to help customers optimize their payments as much as they can through our virtual credit card. When one of our Supplier enablement reps discovers that a huge supplier of our customers can accept virtual cards, it feels like a windmill dunk.

• Being a part of a team

  • What is a company other than a group of people working together to provide value to other people? It’s very apparent at MineralTree that we aren’t just a bunch of people looking for a way to pay the bills. We want to build something great and I haven’t met a single coworker who believes they can do it on their own. We all know and love the fact that building something long lasting and worthwhile requires a diverse team with different strengths, weaknesses, cultures, personalities, etc. 

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

The Supplier Enablement team and I have a daily stand up meeting first thing in the morning to go over goals and just say good morning. From there, it can go a million different ways. I’m usually supporting virtual card customers via email and then working internally with teams and teammates to continuously make process improvements. I have my daily tasks and then always at least one project to work on when the daily tasks are finished.

Any productivity hacks?

Lately while working remote, I’ve found that a good afternoon workout actually boosts my productivity. It splits my day in half. Coffee fuels my mornings and a good blood pumping workout in the afternoon propels me to the end of the day.

What time do you head out of the office? 

In general, I’ll leave when the job is done for the day, so it varies. On a normal day, I’ll plan my work so I can leave by 5. However, if it’s a day where I work out in the afternoon, I’ll go until about 6 to make up for the time. There’s always plenty of work to do, though, so it’s very important for me to set goals/tasks for the day and plan it like that.

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

I never log back in at night. I close out all my windows, quit all my applications, and shut off my laptop every day.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Honestly, I could live without any apps! However, I’m definitely a texter and I can’t deny the convenience of airline apps.

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

I’m playing with loose definitions of “accomplishment” and “professional” here, but I am very proud to say that I formed a social group that started out with our own team but soon expanded to other teams around the company. This social group clocks out at 5:30pm every other Thursday and takes Somerville by storm with our wit, prowess, and infectious enthusiasm. In other words, we go to a Thursday trivia night and take advantage of an amazing pizza and beer combo deal. But in all seriousness, it’s a great opportunity to get to know teammates/coworkers outside of work. My theory is when you become friends with your coworkers, you are more motivated to do great work because you aren’t only working for yourself, you’re working for your friends. 

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

Covering both the admiration and professional advice categories is definitely my Dad, Joe Lennon Sr. He changed careers while I was in college and now works in almost the opposite business as me, but within the same industry. Where I work with the Buyer to pay with a credit card, my Dad’s company works with Suppliers to accept credit cards, so we’ve learned a lot from each other. Also with the rise in social media and the public’s fascination with political figures and celebrities, one type of person who never gets the admiration he deserves is the dedicated family man. He’s not the CEO of his own company, he doesn’t start social movements, and he isn’t rolling in cash. But he loves his family, works harder than anybody I’ve ever met, has values and sticks to them, and tries to make a positive impact on people’s lives every day. He would be a fish out of water in Boston because he actually smiles and says hello to every stranger he sees! It’s not a glamorous lifestyle but it’s the one that gave me every opportunity in the world and taught me that it’s the small things that really make a difference. He’s exactly the type of person I want to be when I grow up. Although he can’t remember people’s names to save his life so I hope I’m a little sharper in that category.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for the Senior Director of Data Science at HealthEdge?

We connected with Ayan Chaudhuri to find out!

Interested in learning more about HealthEdge? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up in New Delhi, India. My dad was a chemical engineer who used to design oil refineries. He worked for the same company for 30 years. In fact my first 4 years right after birth were in Algiers, Algeria, where my dad was designing a refinery. Admittedly I don’t recall much of anything there, other than the blue waters of the Mediterranean.  My mom was a primary school teacher and my homework taskmaster.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to Bangalore University for college, in the city of Bangalore, India. I majored in Computer Science and Engineering. My first job was as a Software Engineer where I used to code in Java. While the feeling of being financially independent was exhilarating, coding off a spec sheet began to take its toll. I wanted to be in applied computing, where software being built could have tangible impacts to society. This led me to pursue Grad School at UMASS in 2002. My master’s thesis involved automatically detecting ocean currents and tracking their movements in time from hourly snapshots of images streamed from NASA satellites. In hindsight that was my first machine learning project, much before the advent of mainstream ML/AI. I wish I had the techniques which I use now, back then.

Picture from Nepal (elevation of 18192 ft) in April 2019, with Mt. Everest (mountain with no snow on top) in the background.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

I learned early that one must pursue a career that aligns with their core values. For me I always looked for opportunities where I could tangibly see the impact of my work on the core business, and the core business itself would ideally have some societal impact. 

Other aspects particularly related to Data Science involves my ability to embrace failure.I consider a failed experiment as an outcome. One may not have succeeded at solving the problem at hand, but next time around one would know what not to do. I also encourage discussions of failed experiments within my team, so that we can collectively learn from each other's experiences.    

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Senior Director of Data Science at HealthEdge?

I am responsible for operating a Data line of business for HealthEdge. This involves creating innovative data-driven solutions for our customers who are mainly Health Insurers. Our solutions fall into two categories: (1) focused on automating or optimizing their operational workflows (e.g. claims processing, payment transactions, etc) and (2) focused on achieving positive health outcomes for members insured by our clients. 

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

The field is continuously evolving at a rapid pace, however, the basics are still applicable. A good grounding in software development, statistical knowledge and the ability to efficiently extract data from large and often disparate data sources are necessary requirements. Moreover a largely overlooked aspect is the ability to effectively communicate highly technical content to mainly non-technical consumers. It is a competency like any other skill that needs to be learned, practiced and honed regularly.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Was nothing, but WFH with kids has made coffee a necessity. 

What time do you get into the office? 

9ish

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

Continuous learning, ability to positively impact people’s lives, helping individuals achieve their aspirations

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Daily standups to discuss any major concerns, hands on work on at least one project, monitor and at times resolve data governance (changes to the data) issues.

What time do you head out of the office? 

5ish

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

I log back for an hr to respond to non-critical emails

Any productivity hacks?

Spend half a day in a week on a pet project/class.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Soundcloud, strava, waze

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

Helping a member who got very sick, identify that she was being prescribed the same medications by three different specialists (who did not know that the others were prescribing the same medication) and was thus overdosing. 

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

My wife who has a very accomplished career herself and is my go-to person for professional advice.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for the Partner Marketing Manager at Ordergroove?

We connected with Lindsay Kolinsky to find out!

Interested in learning more about Ordergroove? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up in New Rochelle, NY. My mom orders contact lenses for an eye doctor’s office and my dad is an oral surgeon.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school? 

I double majored in Marketing & Business Management with a minor in film at the University of Miami (go Canes!). My first job out of school was a season temp position with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which turned into a full-time role doing advertising and marketing for all of Macy’s annual events. After 3 years at Macy’s, I was craving a more agile and digitally focused organization, so I started at Yext as an Enterprise Sales Coordinator and eventually moved to the Customer Success team.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

I’d say my relationship building skills. Good internal collaboration isn’t just about being friendly and having a personal relationship with someone, it’s about taking the extra step to understand your colleagues’ roles, responsibilities and challenges, even if it doesn’t apply to your day to day, so you can have a more rounded perspective of how your organization works. 

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Partner Marketing Manager at Ordergroove?

It’s a new role within Ordergroove which is cool because I get to build and adjust the role as our partnership function grows. Right now, my main focus is on building relationships with our partners and unlocking co-marketing opportunities.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Iced coffee

What time do you get into the office? 

9:45-10

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Still figuring it out! I’m transitioning from customer success to partnership marketing, so right now I’m attending a lot of internal onboarding meetings and getting introduced to our partners.

What time do you head out of the office? 

I usually disconnect around 6:00-6:30.

Any productivity hacks?

I have lists everywhere. If I don’t write it down, it doesn’t exist.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Seamless, Uber, Venmo

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

I don’t have any moment in particular, but I always feel a sense of pride seeing a project out from start to finish. Whether that’s a client launching or seeing Santa pass Herald Square at the end of the Parade, it’s always great to finally see the tangible results of all your hard work.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Director of Customer Operations at Quick Base?

We connected with Hilary Foley to find out!

Click here for a list of job openings at Quick Base, or check out the right side of this page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up on both coasts. I spent the early years of my childhood living in a small suburb outside of Boston and then my father moved our family out to San Francisco for a job opportunity when I was about seven years old. I grew up on the west coast before returning back to my roots for college.

Along with finding each other, my parents both found success in the corporate world. My father was the CFO of several publicly traded companies and has a track record of helping grow companies from small startups to large publicly traded organizations. My mother is a former executive on the HR side of the house. She specialized in talent acquisition for public relations firms. 

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to Boston College and studied communications, dedicating a great deal of my time to research in health communications. I then went on to spend the early part of my career in the healthcare field, working in the Plastic Surgery Department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and earning a Master’s of Public Health degree at night. I held multiple roles ranging from the executive assistant for a plastic surgeon who was pioneering the first face transplant program in the US to the division’s financial manager, and finally the physician practice manager before I pivoted to the technology side of healthcare.

Just prior to Quick Base, I held a few roles at athenahealth. I managed a customer success team and built out an operations team, centralizing and scaling programs and processes across athena’s customer success org to support the functions of onboarding, talent management, employee engagement, and knowledge management.        

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

While I enjoy driving transformation and tend geek out over process improvement, above all, I’m passionate about people. People are what bring me to work every day. They inspire me, and enable me to be better than I was yesterday through the thought partnership and breadth of experience they share.

I think that passion for people has translated into the adoption of a servant leadership philosophy. After several years of managing people, I’ve developed my own spin on servant leadership, which has helped me to turn around what were once struggling portions of an organization and convert them to strongholds. By pouring energy into growing genuine relationships with my direct reports and creating a culture of feedback, I’ve been able to build trust and foster environments that have allowed my teams to excel.

In addition to building a foundation of care to drive employee engagement, I’ve also learned that it takes a tremendous amount of discipline to keep a team aligned on all fronts, create visibility into their work, know the performance metrics inside and out, and leverage that data to shape their influence on the business. When you're able to do that, it's really then that you can prove the value of your team.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Director of Customer Operations at Quickbase?

Customer Operations is a function within our overall GTM Operations and Enablement team. That larger group ensures the GTM org is performing to its best potential, providing business critical insights, creating cross-functional alignment, and driving strategic initiatives to execution.​

The Customer Operations Team is focused on providing a simplified infrastructure to align the highest-level organizational priorities with sound day-to-day operations, drive efficiency across the customer journey and keep all teams engaged on customer retention and revenue growth. 

We recently spearheaded an initiative to get the GTM org grounded in our value selling methodology and buyer-aligned sales process. We’re now continuing to prioritize initiatives that will improve the effectiveness of our GTM org by aligning everything we do with our customers’ needs and their buying process.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field of work?

Build connections, forge thought partnerships and learn from the experiences that your network of peers and colleagues can share with you. Find a mentor and never stop learning from them. Leverage their insights, get exposure to new areas of the business, try new projects, and expand your breadth of experience. And most importantly, pay that all forward. Share your knowledge and bring others along. 

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Boatloads of coffee right up until bedtime.

What time do you get into the office? 

Roughly 7:30am, right about the time the first pot of coffee starts brewing at the office.
 

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

I have a team to lead, an org to support, and processes to improve - all in an effort to positively transform the way we work at Quick Base. 

The team of people I work with at Quick Base are easily some of the best folks I’ve ever worked with throughout my career. What's great about my job, is that the people I work with are also my customers. My customers aren't the paying kind. My customers are the GTM teams at Quick Base. Just like it's their goal to delight their customers, it is my goal to delight all of them, simplify the way they do work, both on their own and in partnership with other teams across the business.

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Back when we used to go into the office, I'd usually wake up around 5:30am, typically awoken by the sounds of one of my young children who always seem eager to beat the sun up. The early morning is spent getting my family ready for the day and then I’m out the door by 6:45am.

I like to get in to the office early to give myself time to get organized for the day before the chaos ensues - I reorient myself to my top priorities, map out what I want to accomplish that day, finish any prep needed for meetings and continue to plug away at my inbox.

Then, the real fun begins! Colleagues trickle into the office, meetings start, people lob ideas and asks, decisions are made, and the needle moves forward. I think it’s fun, because it often feels like my team is at the epicenter of the action, helping to drive transformation each day. As the business changes, so do the requirements of the infrastructure that support it. My team is in a constant state of change - we react to the evolving needs of the business, transform the underlying infrastructure and processes to support it, and manage the resulting changes across the organization.  There is never a dull moment. 

Then I blink and it's 4pm - time to start wrapping up to get on the road so I can get to daycare on time to pick up my kids! 

What time do you head out of the office? 

I try to be out the door by 4:30pm so I can get to my second job - parenting 2 young kids :)

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

I log back in - I can't help it. Days in the office fly by, and I need the time at night to get organized again, checking off the action items from all those meetings and getting prepped for tomorrow's line-up.  

Any productivity hacks?

I turn off email notifications to minimize disruptions when I'm trying to do some strategic thinking or focus on executing some project or deliverable

I like old fashioned to-do lists. Nothing quite compares to the feeling of checking off a box on a hand-written to do-list

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Quick Base (duh!)

Redfin - I'm house hunting right now

Zoom - It's been a lifesaver these days - I can be away from my computer when I need to juggle meetings and the kids without missing a beat. 

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

I think employees are the most important piece of any organization and when I reflect on my professional accomplishments, the moments that stand out are the ones in which I was able to help or inspire someone else.

When I first joined Quick Base, I took on a team that presented me with some tough challenges out of the gate as they were struggling with their identity and many had one foot out the door. Those challenges gave me the opportunity to dive in head first, creating a vision, setting goals, and garnering trust to turn that team around. The team had the perception that they were undervalued by the rest of the organization. That prompted me to take a programmatic leadership approach to running that team. I implemented monthly readouts to report on my team's progress against our OKRs, share our success stories and learnings, and iterate on our support model through engaging discussions. These efforts enabled our leadership team to get closer to their work and gave the team a forum in which their voice could be heard and their hard work could be showcased, empowering them to advocate for themselves. As a result, we were able to prove out a strong ROI for our Orientation CSMs and received enthusiastic support to grow that team. We've now tripled the size of that team!

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

I had the privilege of working with Dan McNamara at both athenahealth and Quick Base and can tell you that Dan sets the bar for what it means to be a great leader. Dan has since moved on from Quick Base to the lucky folks at Catalant Technologies, where he serves as VP of their Customer Success org. I say "serves" because Dan is the most genuine servant leader I've known in my career. He truly wants to help people reach their goals and is incredibly successful at motivating his teams. Coming out of a conversation with Dan, I can almost guarantee you will feel re-energized and motivated. He's got a knack for that. He often measures his success in the accomplishments of those he's helped along the way and he'd likely take pride in a situation in which one day he ended up reporting into someone he hired or once managed. He's a great thought leader with a wide breadth of experience to share and an impressive track record of success. For all those reasons, I admire him and continue to call upon him for professional advice.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Senior Brand Storyteller at Rapid7?

We connected with Grace Arsenault to find out!

Click here for a list of job openings at Rapid7, or check out the right side of this page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up right near Portland, Maine. My mom’s an accountant and multi-media artist and my dad’s a carpenter who golfs and carves — whether it’s in the wood shop or on a snowboard. 

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to Northeastern University in Boston. Northeastern’s co-op program and job placement rate were a huge deciding factor, and it did land me my job at Rapid7. My first co-op (internship) was at EF Education in 2011, and my second was at Rapid7 in 2012. 

I’ve been at Rapid7 for almost eight years now, and, while that’s sometimes met with wide eyes, I always say it’s been like working for at least three companies with how fast we’ve grown. I remember hitting 200 employees soon after I joined and we’re now over 1600. We’ve also gone public (July 2015), opened offices all over the world, and built and acquired incredible additions to our offerings. Paired with that, the culture and standard of leadership have remained consistently open to change and challenge how we do things. 

I started as a PR and Global Communications intern, did some general marketing communications, then taught myself the Adobe suite and pivoted to a graphic design role — that was really challenging and fun. From there I did a lot of work partnering with events and getting more into creative strategy and brand experience. 

What has contributed to your success thus far and helped propel you to the position you have now?

First, I have wonderful, supportive, loving family and friends in my corner — they all, in different ways, have helped me through challenges in life and in business. I’m also very lucky to have had the opportunity to go to a shiny private university in a big city. While my student loans are my constant companion, I do think it’s important to note that I started with a pretty significant leg up.

Seizing opportunities when they arise is important, but in my experience, some of the most interesting projects have come from looking for gaps to fill. Said another way, if you seize what comes to you, you can be a successful part of someone else’s plan, but if you find opportunities, too, you start to carve out your own path. That’s always been exciting to me. Of course, this goes along with making sure existing work is outstanding and that those opportunities are in my wheelhouse. It’s never an easy undertaking — a lot of extra time and energy — but, for me these projects have been some of the most rewarding and showed a breadth of interest and ability outside my, “job description.”

The flipside of that was learning to frame patience, which I’ve never had much of, with learning. Career trajectory isn’t linear, even though it feels like the effort you’re putting in is consistent. In those times between the big opportunities or when it feels like things are becoming stagnant, a mentor helped me to see the valuable lessons I was learning — about myself, work relationships, business in general — in those moments instead of letting frustration stew. 

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Sr. Brand Storyteller at Rapid7?

I’m responsible for crafting the engaging, human parts of the brand. The connective tissue between how we talk about our technology and what allows customers to build a relationship with Rapid7. That includes a lot of complex planning, research, and writing, as well as concepting and pitching ways we can show, not just tell, the brand story. It’s a new role to me and to the business, so right now the cocktail is equal parts challenge and potential.

Any tips for someone considering a career in brand and experiential design?

Get as much broad experience as you can. I’ve always been both creative and analytical, and it’s gone a long way to be able to brainstorm creative and talk logistics or product. To have an out-there, imaginative idea and do the planning and organization to execute it. If you have one more strongly, I’d say really push yourself to strengthen the other.

Be solution oriented. Pretty much anyone can look at something and tell you what’s wrong, what’s not working. That doesn’t exactly make you an asset to a team — and we’ve all been there. If you see something — whether it’s a clunky process or the size of a type face — try adopting a default on fixing or improving it. This sets you up to find those gaps and turn them into opportunities, teaches you to give better feedback, and generally makes you a more productive, positive person to be around.

Backing all of this up is communication, communication, communication. Storytelling and writing are modes of communication, yes, but to influence the brand and work with other teams, interpersonal skills are huge. Even great solutions or ideas delivered without tact and timing will go nowhere.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Right now, my go-to is coffee with oat milk and a little squeeze of honey. I’ll order a dirty chai once a week or so, when I need an extra pick-me-up. 

What time do you get into the office? 

8:30-9ish, depending on meetings and if I fit in a workout.

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

We’re aligned around a powerful mission to create great experiences for customers and shape the future of security. I have the opportunity to craft our brand to communicate that mission, build those relationships, and help make security accessible. It’s daunting, and the challenge pushes me to put my best into it.  

Deadlines! I mean, it’s just reality that pressure and expectations get things done. Especially other people’s expectations, or my perception of their expectations and my drive to exceed them. Either way, but sometimes it really is just a deadline.

I have some career crushes that I follow on social, read their books, tuck away inspiration. I used to constantly compare myself against other people’s success, especially women — tale as old as time and I’m still working to break the habit. Rebranding that, so to speak, from socially reinforced jealousy into what I call, “career crushes,” puts that energy to a much better use. A career crush feels more friendly, positive, and supportive than defaulting to envy. Anyway, they motivate and inspire me to be better. 

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

I review my calendar before bed to mentally prepare — do I have any important meetings? Time blocked off to do writing and creative? It’ll inform what time I get started, if I schedule a workout to get psyched, what I choose to wear. 

On my AM Commute, I’m listening to either a business podcast or Audible book or my playlist for that season, again depending on the day ahead. When I get in, it’s coffee, oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter, catching up with my team, and checking on emails or rewriting my to-do list.

For the rest of the day it’s a mix of weekly check-ins with various teams, project updates, and the occasional brainstorm. When I’m not in meetings I’ve got headphones in while planning, writing, or designing — at my desk or perched somewhere around the office.

On the way home I’ll grab a few groceries or Thai takeout, and listen to a non-biz audible book, music again, or call home to check in. 

How has your routine changed in quarantine? 

I seem to need more sleep lately, so I let myself off the hook if getting out of bed is hard. It took a while to have the right energy to work out, too, so I’m happy now to enjoy a good sweat a few times a week — I’ll catch an Everybody Fights live class or do my own medley of yoga/strength/dance/stretch. To feel put together enough to be productive, I need to shower and get fully dressed, with shoes. Yes, sometimes it’s sweats and sneakers, but staying in slippers makes me feel sleepy. Without a commute, I’m listening to fewer podcasts and reading more books.

Zoom makes meetings feel relatively normal. Back in March, I beat myself up a bit for sometimes not sustaining capital-P Productivity all day, but in a creative role, inspiration doesn’t always strike. Off days happen whether you’re in the office or not. I’m very lucky to be able to stay home, and I’m quarantining with my grandmother, who’s ninety. There are always a few pauses to have a chat, help with reaching or carrying things, or grab snacks. We play cards and watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every night, so that provides a nice natural end to my workdays.

What time do you head out of the office? 

Around six most nights.

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

I try to keep it separate, but if I’m working on a deadline, I’ll be online late. Or if I have a project out for feedback, I’ll keep an eye on Slack notifications.

Any productivity hacks?

For any creative block, lately I’ve been turning to hitrecord.org for a change of pace. I love the Tiny Story prompts for a super focused, bite-size challenge. I’ll also switch up the medium if the ideas aren’t flowing — staring at a blank doc? Get out paper and some markers. Struggling to make a slide presentation flow? Start with a written outline. 

I’ll also adjust my music depending on the task. I thought my Deep Productivity playlist was very clever, but I realized recently that it’s literally just Hans Zimmer soundtracks. Lighter copywriting gets something like Gershwin or Steve Aoki radio. If I’m doing more visual work, I can listen to music with lyrics — I start a new playlist each season to keep it fresh. I like that I can go back to, say, Summer 2016, and it’s like opening a time capsule.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Outside of the necessary work apps, it’s Instagram and Spotify for sure. Third is probably The RealReal app. For a few years I’ve shopped mostly consignment, vintage, and thrift in an effort to make my clothing consumption more sustainable. Looking for great pieces, even if I don’t buy them, is a relaxing treasure hunt for me.

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

There are a few that stand out to me — designing ads for Times Square when Rapid7 went public, working with a NY-based company, Luster, on interactive displays to engage people at our trade shows, partnering with our leadership team on their presentations. 

Most recently, I wrote the pitches for external speakers at our kickoff in January. Our team talked through a bunch of amazing names and, based on the theme of the show and knowing the story he could tell, I advocated for Leslie Odom Jr. to be our keynote. We ended up signing him, and I crafted the interview questions, recommended the songs he performed, and, ultimately, co-hosted the conversation with Leslie alongside our Chief People Officer, Christina Luconi. From beginning to end, it was an incredible experience, I learned so much, and it was massively rewarding to get the feedback on how well his story resonated.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

The aforementioned family and friends, of course. I’m also fortunate that my career path has crossed with a lot of brilliant, strong women, a few of whom I consider close advisors, mentors, and friends. Most of my career has been carving my own route, with some admittedly imaginary-sounding titles along the way. I’ve definitely needed support, and in times where there’s not a “right” answer, consulting diverse opinions has helped me to find center.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Senior Sales Executive at Drift?

We connected with Lindsey Riordan to find out!

Click here for a list of job openings at Drift, or check out the right side of this page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up in Woodbury, CT.  My dad has a land surveying business.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to UConn (University of Connecticut) where I studied Psychology.  Right out of school I worked at Wellspring, which is a residential place for teenage girls with mental health needs.  After that, I worked at a KinderCare as a preschool teacher!

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

I would say my work ethic, creativity, and competitive nature have all definitely helped propel me to where I am now. 

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Senior Sales Executive at Drift?

My high-level responsibilities as a Senior Sales Exec at Drift are currently booking demos through Drift Video, running demos, maintaining pipeline and follow-up, and helping colleagues.

Any tips for someone considering a career in Sales?

There are always going to be things to get better at and if you always have the desire to learn and put your ego away you can succeed at sales. You also need to work REALLY hard and it will pay off!

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Water

What time do you get into the office? 

I get in around 8:45 AM.

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

My team, our mission of helping companies change how they interact with their prospects and customers, and my desire to win.

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Each day is different but a typical day looks like this - I start the day with prospecting in the morning and looking for new accounts. I’ll typically have a couple calls throughout the day, and then reach out to existing pipeline and prospect more if I have time before I leave or if I am feeling behind.

What time do you head out of the office? 

I try to head out around 6:00 PM. 

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

Shut it down usually.

Any productivity hacks?

Drift’s App - At Drift we are big believers in “drinking our own champagne” so we use all the tools we offer to our customers in our day to day as well. Our app is amazing because I love knowing which one of my potential customers were on the website and reaching out to them in a relevant and meaningful way. It’s been a gamechanger in how we’re able to personalize our outreach and make connections with future customers!

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Candy Crush, Uber, Mail

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

My proudest professional accomplishment to date was when I was awarded the “Stay Scrappy” award at Drift. At Drift we have eight Leadership Principles that guide us, and one of them is to “stay scrappy” and work like we have something to prove. This quality helps us overcome challenges we encounter regardless of means or circumstances. Every year our leadership team recognizes eight individuals who represent and embody each one of our guiding principles. The winners receive an award with their principle on it and a ticket to our Leadership Circle tropical vacation. That was an awesome moment for me.

Want to learn more about Drift? Check out their BIZZPage

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Product Designer at Yesware?

We connected with Ryan Tengler to find out!

Click here for a list of job openings at Yesware, or check out the right side of this page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I spent most of my younger years growing up in a small town about 45 minutes outside of Boston. It was about as rural as you get for being so close to the city. When my brother and I were born my mom left her line of work to focus on spending more time with us, while my dad continued to work as an entrepreneur in the software and restaurant industries. 

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

"People always make the difference" — when I think back to my college experience and selection process, I always think back to this one mantra. It was something my dad would repeat to me throughout my childhood, and a belief I carry with me to this day. It would be a lie to say anything other than feeling helplessly lost when applying to colleges and trying to decide in that moment what I wanted from my life, which led me to apply to a comical number of universities just to buy me some time as I attempted to figure it out. I eventually landed at Bryant University for a number of reasons, but one of which being the people and professors I met when visiting.

Throughout my time there I continued to explore and discover my interests in part by introducing myself to the professors and department heads that seemed most passionate and excited about their field of work. This ultimately led to several wonderful mentorships and segways into extracurricular projects that shaped a meaningful part of my college journey, culminating in a degree that was largely focused on entrepreneurial studies, communication, and sociology. 

After graduating I came right to Yesware as a sales enablement intern. I was fortunate enough to join its younger years as a startup where the potential of carving your own path is slightly greater. As an intern I was able to divide my focus amongst a variety of projects that spanned departments and allowed me to learn from many people at once. And it was at this time that I learned about something that Yesware does brilliantly — if for a moment you thought of each job I had as an intern as an individual food item, I was allowed to fill up my plate with as many different foods as I wanted, then slowly pair back to only the foods that I enjoyed the most. It was this approach that allowed me to explore adding value to various parts of the business while simultaneously discovering areas of natural interest that I gravitated towards and wanted to pursue. This model has led to a few different career jumps so far at Yesware, starting with sales enablement intern, to sales engineer, to managing our customizations process, to now, a product designer! 

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

People, and the collective growth mindset of Yesware. One of Yesware’s biggest strengths is their dedication to supporting their employees, and over the years I think we’ve cultivated an amazing cohort of individuals that deeply share this mentality and do their best to help others succeed. 

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as product designer at Yesware?

My main responsibility as a product designer is to think critically about the user experience and design solutions that generate as much value and excitement for our customers as possible. Achieving this includes a fair amount of ideation and user research as the design process evolves from scribbly sketches to a pixel-perfect mockups that our engineers then bring to life. 

Any tips for someone considering a career in product design?

I would encourage them to speak with as many people as possible in the design field beforehand, and should they decide to move forward in this career path, be relentless about asking for constructive feedback at every turn. As I didn’t get a formal education in product design, or any other forms of design for that matter, learning from other’s feedback has been my greatest source of improvement. 

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Usually tea. Though recently I’ve befriended a former Blue Bottle employee that’s been super generous with some free, delicious coffee. 

What time do you get into the office? 

Usually between 9:00 and 9:30.

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

Making a genuine difference in the daily lives of our users, working through difficult product challenges, and being free to express creativity in multiple forms. 

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Every day typically consists of a handful of meetings and team ceremonies, along with providing feedback to engineers on projects involving UI/UX work, and working through various stages of the design process depending on the size and scope of any given project. 

What time do you head out of the office? 

Typically around 5:30.

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

I usually shut it down. I’ve been trying to do a better job at keeping a steady work/life balance and spending energy elsewhere outside of work. 

Any productivity hacks?

I intermittently put my phone on airplane mode throughout the day, especially if I’m trying to focus on a large task. Highly recommend if you have a bad habit of checking your phone.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

1Password, Google Maps, and WhatsApp. 

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

In my former role as a sales engineer, my main responsibility was to help customers better leverage and tell stories with the data we capture on their behalf. Throughout the two years I spent in that role, I was able to work with our largest customers and spend time with their sales leaders to deeply learn and understand their most pressing goals and needs, and work with them to drive those goals forward in ways they could only do with a tool like Yesware. It felt great knowing that I could make such a meaningful difference to our customers. 

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

My parents are my greatest heros. My mom just celebrated her 36th anniversary as a stage 4 cancer survivor, and my dad is one of those people you’d never forget even if you just met him for a couple of minutes — he has this aura of energy and positivity around him that’s both infectious and grounding. Together they’ve taught me the value of positive persistence, believing in people, and always leading with a positive attitude. Whether I’m seeking professional or personal advice, they’re always my first call.

Want to learn more about Yesware? Check out their BIZZPage

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Software Development Manager at Chewy?

We connected with Orlatha Duffy to find out!

Click here for a list of job openings at Chewy, or check out the right side of this page!

Where did you grow up? What did your parents do for work?

Belfast, Northern Ireland. My mother was an Irish step dancing teacher and my father was a professor in mechanical engineering.

Where did you go to college? What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

The University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Computer Science, I did an internship for 15 months during the third year of my degree at Microsoft and went back to work there after graduating.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

A strong work ethic instilled by my parents at a young age and a belief that everyone deserves a chance if you are willing to work hard.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Software Development Manager at Chewy?

I currently manage the technical CMS, Accessibility and SEO teams at Chewy.  We work in an agile environment and I manage all ceremonies as well as all projects for my teams.  I work closely with the product and business teams on our initiatives. 

Any tips for someone considering a career in Engineering?

Keep an open mind, learn as much as you can from the people around you and always strive to do your best.  Never be afraid to ask questions or listen to other's advice/opinions.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Tea all day, every day!!

What time do you get into the office?

Between 8-9am

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

Team members and striving to do the best that I can for them.  Helping people and being an integral part of our A11Y (accessibility team) making strides to make our site accessible for everyone including people with disabilities.

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Every day is different, stand up’s, roadmap discussions, 1 on 1’s with team members, working through issues that arise, never a dull moment, we work in a very fast paced environment.

What time do you head out of the office?

Between 5-6pm

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?

Typically log back in at night or follow slack but I like to shut it down completely when I can.

Any productivity hacks?

Learn to multi-task and do it well….

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Chewy, Music & Whatsapp (connecting with family)

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

I have a few bosses from previous roles that I now call friends and consult with them for advice.

Want to learn more about Chewy? Check out their BIZZPage