Below is an article originally written by Tara Sussman at PowerToFly Partner Bluecore, and published on September 17, 2018. Go to Bluecore's page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.

At Bluecore, we put our people front and center in everything we do. To better understand what makes our diverse team tick and really get to know the individuals that make up our people machine, we decided to find out why different Bluecorians are #BlueToTheCore.

Today's interview is with Kellye Snodgrass, a Product Marketing Manager at Bluecore. Kellye first joined Bluecore in April 2017. She recently moved to Chicago from NYC. When she's not busy launching products, she enjoys needle pointing and makes everything from belts to baby gifts.

Tara Sussman: Tell me about the path that led you to Bluecore.

Kellye Snodgrass: My first job out of college was in outside sales for an NYC startup that powers listing optimization software for restaurants. I fell in love with the marketing technology space and how it can simplify marketers' daily workflows so they can spend more time on strategy. Then I joined another martech company that focuses specifically on the retail vertical. I met so many awesome people who work within the eCommerce ecosystem and knew I'd found my niche. Upon a move to New York, I started researching emerging technology companies and had heard great things about Bluecore through my network, so I reached out about a position.

TS: What does your typical day at work look like?

KS: I feel lucky to work very cross-functionally. Every day I collaborate with so many wonderful people, including our amazing R&D team, that designs and creates our product, our customer-facing teams and even our customers. I spend half of my time brainstorming with others and the other half putting pen to paper. A big part of my role is working on our new product launches, where I gather input from various stakeholders and get to hear from the smartest people in our space. Once a new feature is built, I help make sure it's fully integrated into our sales process, that our internal teams know the benefits and how to talk about it and last but not least that our customers know it exists!

TS: What differentiates Bluecore from other high growth companies?

KS: Like other startups in a high growth stage, we're bringing in a lot of new talent to help accelerate growth. I feel strongly that we're unique in that we're doing it right — our new team members are not only talented, but they align with our unique values. The new people acclimate and mesh well with tenured employees, and because I work cross-functionally, I get to see it.

TS: Which Bluecore value do you most represent?

KS: Learn from the past to build the future. As we discussed earlier, a lot of my time is dedicated to creating resources to properly position Bluecore in the market. I try to keep in mind that as we improve our offering with each produce release, some of my past work may not be applicable to where we are heading in the future. Examining what was done in the past and iterating is so critical for our growth!

TS: How well do we walk the walk when we say we put product and customer first?

KS: We put our customers first by building for their needs, and not just the features that are requested, but the capabilities our customers do not yet know they need. We choose to focus our product development on the features that will drive the highest performance for our customers.

TS: If you could switch jobs with anyone, who would it be?

KS: Definitely the Data Insights team. What they do is so core to Bluecore — they spend their days understanding the data we collect for our customers to help solve the biggest problems in retail. These range from how to reduce unsubscribes and how to turn a non-buyer into a buyer to how to turn a brick and mortar shopper into a multichannel shopper.

TS: What about Bluecore do you value the most?

KS: My team. I'm part of a newly created Product Marketing and Operations team that's filled with passionate and smart people who are great at what they do. We respect each other, would do anything for each other and work really well together.

TS: What are you most looking forward to accomplishing this year?

KS: I'm very excited to continue working on features that help our customers personalize marketing campaigns at scale.

TS: What are you most proud of, either personally or professionally?

KS: Relationships. I have a lot of family and friends back home in Texas, and they do a lot to visit and support me in my life and work outside of Texas. I miss them! I work hard to maintain those relationships in addition to those I've built at Bluecore.

TS: What keeps you at Bluecore?

KS: Avocados…just kidding. Our product roadmap and the new features we are launching this year are going to make a huge positive impact on the day to day workflows of our marketers. I can't wait to have a role in those launches!