One thing the following NYC companies all have in common? A mission to impact the lives of their customers. In fact, the below tech leaders attribute their respective company’s mission as the main reason they accepted their job in the first place.
For example, Danyua Phillips-Miller, a provider growth associate at healthtech and social impact company Headway, said that the reason she accepted a job at the company was because of the role she was going to be able to play to bring affordable mental health services to more people across the country.
In addition to Phillips-Miller, 10 NYC tech leaders shared how their company’s mission aligned with their own personal goals. They also shared why they enjoy working at their respective companies and what they’re excited to accomplish in their roles in the future.
What they do: Flatiron aims to improve the lives of those affected by cancer by learning from their individual experience. The company’s products connect community oncologists, academics, hospitals, life science researchers and regulators on a shared technology platform.
The reason Product Manager Roxanne Diaz accepted a job at Flatiron: “The biggest factor in my choice to join Flatiron was the sense of alignment I felt throughout the interview process,” Diaz said. “The challenges of 2020 gave me greater clarity on what I was looking for — to work for a company whose mission and values mirrored my own. It is important for me to work with people who inspire me not only with the work they set out to do but also with their passions and values outside of work.
“During my interviews, I was empowered to ask about Flatiron’s response to COVID-19, Black Lives Matter and other events unfolding across the country. With every answer I received, I sensed honesty, transparency, accountability and commitment to creating a safe and inclusive workplace that ultimately made it feel like the right fit for me.”
The biggest factor in my choice to join Flatiron was the sense of alignment I felt throughout the interview process.”
What excites Diaz about the future of Flatiron: “Flatiron wants to create change from the inside out and is committed to recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting diverse talent — not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because they understand and believe in the business case for doing so,” Diaz said. “I’m also excited by Flatiron’s pursuit to leverage data and talent to empower impactful research that addresses racial disparities and highlights the needs of underrepresented patients living with cancer. Our mission is to improve lives by learning from the experience of every cancer patient. It’s critical that our work sheds more light on the most vulnerable and at-risk patient populations.”
What they do: Celonis is an enterprise SaaS company that helps companies unlock their full execution capacity in any business processes powered by its market-leading process mining core, the Celonis Execution Management System (EMS).
The reason for Global Product Marketing Manager Max Smith’s tenure at Celonis: “As with any company, it only makes sense to leave once you’ve stopped growing personally and professionally,” Smith said. “Celonis certainly does not fall short in either of those categories. It’s amazing to continuously be challenged and supported by so many energetic and intelligent people.
“But if I really only had the ability to choose one reason, it’s because I believe in the vision. I can see how execution management systems (EMS) will shape the future of business, already now and even more in the future. Once you get it, it’s something that you can’t go back to being ignorant about. I can imagine people speaking about Celonis as a necessity in the same way that people talk about Salesforce or Workday. Perhaps even more so than those systems because EMS transcends departments and disciplines. If you were at an early stage Google, Uber or Amazon and you could see the future, would you leave? It’s not even about the stock options, it’s about being part of a once-in-a-generation company — the wisdom it brings, the stories you can tell and the sense of pride it invokes.”
I can imagine people speaking about Celonis as a necessity in the same way that people talk about Salesforce or Workday.”
What excites Smith about the future of Celonis: “I believe in the technology itself,” Smith said. “I’m a left-brained, computer scientist at my core that just so happens to have found a place in marketing. I have the technical knowledge to differentiate between the kind of visionary storytelling that leads to something like the ‘Fyre Festival’ and the kind of visionary storytelling that leads to Amazon. After seeing the technology, I’m 100 percent sure Celonis is the latter.”
What they do: Bluecore is a marketing technology company that focuses on helping growing retail brands transform casual shoppers into lifetime customers.
The reason Product Support Manager Rachel Powell accepted a job at Bluecore: “I believe the people you work with make the difference between just a job and a career,” Powell said. “I was really impressed with all of the individuals I met during the interview process at Bluecore and was confident I would be joining a team of smart and talented individuals. I wanted to join a company where I would be challenged by not only my responsibilities but also by the people. Now that I am part of the team, this has proven to be true, and I appreciate how much I am able to learn and grow from those that I work with.”
I wanted to join a company where I would be challenged by not only my responsibilities but also by the people.”
What excites Powell about the future of Bluecore: “There’s a massive opportunity in front of Bluecore with the shift to digital-first commerce this past year,” Powell said. “I am most excited about the impact Bluecore will have on our customers as we continue to innovate and build our product. I manage our customer support team and we’re able to work directly with our customers to help achieve their success. As we continue to scale as a company, I am looking forward to expanding our reach as a team to make our customers wildly successful within our platform.”
What they do: Ribbon Health’s platform provides the infrastructure for payers, providers and digital health solutions to enable accurate provider directories, reliable referral management and efficient care navigation.
The reason Product Lead Harsha Patel accepted a job at Ribbon Health: “Ribbon’s central product — to build an accurate provider directory — is refreshingly practical,” Patel said. “In a world of flashy startups promising to ‘solve US healthcare’ (many of whom fold or fall from grace in a few short years), I am drawn to teams that are taking real swings at the less glamorous but perhaps more foundational problems. We’ve all been frustrated that our payer’s provider directory is wrong — be it the phone number or the ‘in-network’ info.
“Coming out of the strategy consulting world, I was ready for something this impact-oriented. I don’t think I realized it at the time, but during the interview process, I was picking up on one of Ribbon’s values: running towards hard problems. Since joining I’ve learned (and really appreciated) how carefully Ribbon embeds its values into everything we do — that deliberateness shone through to me when I was deciding where to go.”
Since joining I’ve learned (and really appreciated) how carefully Ribbon embeds its values into everything we do.”
What excites Patel about the future of Ribbon: “A few common complaints about choosing a doctor are, ‘Why don’t I know the price and why is it so hard to tell who’s good?’” Patel said. “While those answers are complex, what patients don’t know is that there’s been some meaningful progress on price and quality measurement recently. However, relatively little has been done to get that info in the hands of regular folks. What’s the point? My background is in building and evaluating these measurement types — I’m excited to inject them into the world so we can all use them!”
What they do: Movable Ink is a marketing technology company that creates visual experiences for clients to share across email and other channels.
The reason Associate Front-End Developer of Client Solutions Sanjeet Uppal accepted a job at Movable Ink: “The deciding factor for me accepting the position at Movable Ink was the company’s investment in employees’ career trajectory,” Uppal said. “In the interview, management made it clear that from day one they would be invested as long as I made it clear to them. The company also had a more structured plan for growth, but flexible enough that it wasn’t so rigid that you had to follow the designated career path and could explore different areas that may be of interest to you.
“Furthermore, even at the beginning of the interview process, Movable Ink was intentional with their job posting by not including required years of experience. This was to be more inclusive and place you where they felt your expertise level matched. This was super important to me as DE&I is a huge thing for me as a woman in tech, so I love when a company is conscientious of these kinds of things.”
The deciding factor for me accepting the position at Movable Ink was the company’s investment in employees’ career trajectory.”
What excites Uppal about the future of Movable Ink: “I’m just excited to see the company grow into other markets and add new technologies for clients with augmented reality and artificial intelligence,” Uppal said. “My work will be to help grow the markets. Specifically, I will be helping those clients with their campaign logic by creating custom apps and hopefully wowing them to continue their retainment and get their referrals for other companies.”
What they do: Yotpo is an e-commerce marketing platform that helps companies accelerate direct-to-consumer growth.
The reason for Customer Success Manager Gabe Goldstein’s tenure at Yotpo: “The main reason I’ve stayed at Yotpo for this long — and why I have no plans to leave — is the authenticity that typifies our company’s leadership,” Goldstein said. “Throughout the interview process, it was clear that Yotpo employees advance in their careers for the right reasons: hard work, an eagerness to lead from the front and genuine care for others. That observation has held up a year and a half into my time here.
“I love coming to work because I can be my authentic self — I don’t have to check my personality or passion at the door. It’s special to be somewhere that makes you feel connected to yourself. It’s something that I don’t take for granted.”
What excites me most about Yotpo’s growth trajectory is that our eyes are big but not bigger than our stomach.”
What excites Goldstein about the future of Yotpo: “What excites me most about Yotpo’s growth trajectory is that our eyes are big but not bigger than our stomach,” Goldstein said. “We’re taking a measured and strategic approach to growth to ensure that we have staying power five, 10 and 20 years down the line. We understand that building a multidimensional e-commerce marketing platform takes commitment and intentionality. That focused mindset will preclude us from being a blip on the tech radar and is conducive to consistent innovation.
“Personally, it’s the perspective I carry with me as I try to move our SMS business forward. I feel like the challenging work that I’m doing is having a real impact on the direction of the company. I’m excited by the opportunity to make a tangible difference here.”
What they do: Matillion enables businesses to migrate and transform data into actionable insights to quickly solve business challenges.
The reason Director of Commercial Sales Joe Yesunas accepted a job at Matillion: “Sixteen months ago, I thought I was joining a special company in terms of the executive team, vision, product, culture and the market we operate in, but it has exceeded my expectations in every way,” Yesunas said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as ‘all in’ with an organization in my 10+ year tech-sales career and that excitement continues to grow every single day. The culture is palpable and fully top-down from our CEO Matthew; the product is constantly improving as showcased by our best in class retention in arguably the hottest sector in technology; the vision has never been more clear; and the executive team is comprised of some of the smartest, approachable, genuine, and experienced folks I’ve ever been lucky enough to work for.
“The fast-paced nature of an organization at this stage means every team member can make an impact in achieving our collective vision and the people I get to work alongside just make it easy to give it your absolute best day in and day out.”
At Matillion we strongly believe no person, process or product is ever finished.”
What excites Yesunas about the future of Matillion: “We continue to lead with our culture and values at the forefront as we constantly evolve and make improvements across all key areas of the business,” Yesunas said. “I’m excited to grow the very important commercial sales function and deliver key revenue in order to help drive this business forward to the next level. Besides just growth and revenue, I’m personally driven by always looking to improve our sales process, coaching up the next generation of future enterprise AEs and always focused on improving personally since at Matillion we strongly believe no person, process or product is ever finished.”
What they do: Petal analyzes banking history and provides users with a ‘Cash Score,’ an alternative measure of credit based on income, savings and spending history.
Why Senior Associate of Data Analytics Kaijia Tian accepted a job at Petal: “I was attracted to Petal’s culture from the very beginning,” Tian said. “The people I talked to during my interviews genuinely loved working here, and I was blown away by the amount of transparency and positivity in a workplace. During the pandemic, our people team has made sure that morale stayed high by providing periodic check-ins, a monthly social budget and open shoutouts at Town Hall every week. The people and culture are the best parts of the job and I have made a lot of friends here.”
The people I talked to during my interviews genuinely loved working here, and I was blown away by the amount of transparency and positivity in a workplace.”
What excites Tian about the future of Petal: “Every strategic decision made at Petal is backed by data,” Tian said. “We pride ourselves on being able to use a customer’s holistic financial information, rather than just a credit report, to underwrite new applicants and determine risk. This allows us to serve the underserved market and provide credit to a greater number of customers. We just launched a new card last year, which targets a new portion of the population, and I’m super excited to see our customer base grow!”
What they do: Headway is a healthtech and social impact company that, using its proprietary software solution, helps users find virtual therapists within their insurance networks, as well as helps therapists build out their clientele.
Why Provider Growth Associate Danyua Phillips-Miller accepted a job at Headway: “The provider growth associate role at Headway intrigued me in part by its non-traditional sales nature,” Phillips-Miller said. “But most significantly, it was the role I would play in achieving Headway’s mission of rewiring the mental healthcare system for increased affordability and accessibility for all Americans. Our mission resonates deeply with me and I knew that I’d have the opportunity to make a measurable and sustainable impact in this role.”
Our mission resonates deeply with me and I knew that I’d have the opportunity to make a measurable and sustainable impact in this role.”
What excites Phillips-Miller about the future of Headway: “I’m most excited about the vast and exponential growth of Headway and the increased impact that comes along with it!” Phillips-Miller said. “We are rapidly growing and scaling to new markets across the United States, which ultimately translates to more affordable and accessible mental health care for more Americans.”
What they do: Reonomy leverages big data, partnerships and machine learning to connect individuals, teams and companies to commercial real estate properties.
The reason VP of Legal Ezinne Okpo accepted a job at Reonomy: “The deciding factor for me was how impactful Reonomy has been in its journey to transform the massive $16 trillion commercial real estate industry,” Okpo said. “From those initial conversations, I saw a company focused on innovative technology and accessible design and was inspired by how the product was driving real impact and efficiencies in the day-to-work of its users.
“It has been exciting to work across teams to thoughtfully build out legal processes, and I’m looking forward to expanding on that foundation by growing my team and hiring our first director of information security.”
I’m most excited by the clear focus and quality of work from our teams to unlock crucial insights for our customers.”
What excites Okpo about the future of Reonomy: “We are continuously discovering new applications of our products and bringing to market enhancements to improve how our customers are leveraging our data,” Okpo said. “I’m most excited by the clear focus and quality of work from our teams to unlock crucial insights for our customers. I view the legal function as a facilitator of that business growth, and I’m fortunate that in my role I’m able to collaborate with each department across the company as we work towards our ambitious mission of bringing actionable insights to commercial real estate.”
What they do: Powered by data science and machine learning, Enigma builds data infrastructure, developer-friendly APIs and other intelligent tools so that customers can easily access and integrate data to understand, engage and serve their small business customers.
The reason for Data Science Tech Lead Pamela Wu’s tenure at Enigma: “I’ve stayed at Enigma so long because, from the CEO to the most recent hire, we hold each other to a high standard of integrity, fairness and quality of work,” Wu said. “Like every other company, we have to adjust product direction, revert decisions about infrastructure or resolve personnel dilemmas, and we don’t always get it right the first time. Our culture persists because we’re honest with each other and try to fix problems as they come along with solutions that are both creative and respectful of people’s time.
“As a data scientist, I also appreciate that there are always interesting problems to work on. We have a robust research program that has, just in the last year, encompassed entity resolution, industry category prediction, time series prediction and business closure inference, to name a few.”
Our culture persists because we’re honest with each other and try to fix problems as they come along with solutions.”
What excites Wu about the future of Enigma: “I think Enigma is at the sweet spot of early product-market fit around entity resolution and card transactions data, with lots of growth ahead,” Wu said. “While these two topics aren’t new to the company, active research on them has really revved up in the last six months. I expect in the next couple of years, we’ll look back and be astounded at how little we knew and how much further we were able to get with a few key paradigm shifts. I don’t know what those shifts will be yet, but I look forward to finding out and perhaps even hiring the people right now who will come up with them later.”
