Mission, Culture and Values: My first six months as a Viafourian!
Mission, Culture and Values: My first six months as a Viafourian!
[divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”3″ divider_color=”black” divider_opacity=”90″ animate=”yes”]Six months ago, I accepted a new position as Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Viafoura. Joining a fast-moving team responsible for ensuring our customers’ success and moving the market forward (no small feat!). As I’m starting to really fall into my stride, I’d like to take a pause to reflect on the incredible first leg of my journey here, and why I’m so excited for what lies ahead!
On a Mission to Move The Industry Forward
At its core, Viafoura’s mission is to empower brands to activate their digital audiences. In practice, the vision is so much greater- empowering digital publishers brings more power to build a sustainable future for the news and media industry. That focus and ethos lives strong in our culture and it’s seen with every customer interaction we have. My first EBR was three months in with one of our larger customers, and it was also the first time that the mission really clicked for me. I had done countless EBRs, but here are some things that stood out to me:- Execs from different functions: We had 6 different functions represented in the room spanning from individual contributors to top level execs, this meeting mattered!
- 3 hours long: Sounds like a lot, but it actually flew by! It was also a lesson in the trust we’ve built up as trusted advisors and partners to dedicate this much time from both sides to our partnership alignment.
- No shortage of takeaways: We left the meeting with 9 additional items for the success plan with 3 key impact projects for the year. It was the first “aha” for me that our work really matters.
Working Alongside The Best of the Best
There’s a lot to love about Viafoura. That said, our incredible team and access to senior leadership is easily the biggest motivator for me to show up as my best self every day. There are 3 key folks I want to highlight that made my first half year something very special:- CEO Mark Zohar: I was able to sit down with Mark multiple times to dive deeper into Viafoura’s vision, oftentimes extending the call feeling very inspired. Whether he’s helping align strategically, or grabbing dinner with the team after a long day, Mark is always accessible, and can always be counted on to break the stress of working in a fast-paced environment with a funny meme, GIF or joke.
- My Team: My goodness, what a mighty team we have. Within my first week at Viafoura I had met the whole team and they each took the time to train me on specific topics, making this one of the most hands-on onboardings I’ve had. Above all, I’m inspired by our team’s dedication to always help each other level up.
- My Customers: What makes our customers stand out is how driven and innovative they are. One of my customers had 12 AI pilot projects in Q4 of last year, and they’re working on launching these initiatives to a wider audience in 2024.