Meet Lauren Rayappu, Account Executive at Bluecore
Below is an article originally written by Tara Sussman at PowerToFly Partner Bluecore, and published on May 15, 2018. Go to Bluecore's page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
Signing New Brands, Working with a Passionate Team and Growing Fast: Why Lauren Rayappu is #BlueToTheCore
At Bluecore, we put our people front and center in everything we do. To better understand what makes our diverse team tick and 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 Lauren Rayappu, an Account Executive at Bluecore. Lauren first joined Bluecore in January 2017. She recently transitioned from working remotely to working at Bluecore's New York City headquarters and is enjoying exploring her new Tribeca neighborhood.
TS: Tell me about the path that led you to Bluecore.
LR: I worked in the eCommerce industry previously, so I was familiar with Bluecore from trade shows. I had met a Bluecore recruiter at one point, and he reached out to me when something in sales came up because he thought it would be a good fit. I liked that Bluecore had a true startup vibe, and I got a great impression of the culture through the interview process. Everyone's passion and commitment to their work really stood out from everything I had seen.
TS: What does your typical day at work look like?
LR: When I'm in the office, I start my day by checking my calendar to make sure I'm prepared for my meetings for the day. Then I do any outstanding follow up from meetings with prospects and clients. Maintaining strong relationships is important to me, so this part of my day is critical. In between calls I sync with my manager to review my pipeline, talk about how things are progressing and strategize how to get new business across the finish line faster. A couple of times a month I get out of the office to visit prospects and clients all over the US, which is always fun.
TS: What differentiates Bluecore from other high growth companies?
LR: I think Bluecore has a unique culture that we strive to protect and maintain. It's a work hard, play hard mentality where everyone collaborates to get things done.
TS: Which Bluecore value do you most represent?
LR: As simple as possible and as powerful as necessary. That's a balance I strive for in all of my communications. For example, when speaking with prospects, I try to narrow in on our strengths make clear what we do and how we're different from others in the marketplace. If I do that well, our prospects immediately understand the value that Bluecore can deliver for them. And if a customer or a prospect has a problem for which we don't have a solution, I will collaborate with other teams to try find the best way to solve for that problem with this value in mind.
TS: How well do we walk the walk when we say product and customer first?
LR: Bluecore is all about the product and customer first. When a customer raises a challenge or we see common problem in the marketplace, we are quick to address that need and build features in the platform. Our role in sales is to pass feedback along to the product team to help inform our product roadmap. Everything we do is about helping retail marketers achieve their desired outcomes.
TS: If you could switch jobs with anyone, who would it be?
LR: Our recruiters. I love meeting new people and would like to be able to pair people's strengths to roles here at Bluecore.
TS: What about Bluecore do you value the most?
LR: The people that I work with are incredibly intelligent and motivated. We're all working toward a common goal of driving success and fulfilling Bluecore's mission. People really do bleed blue here.
TS: What are you most looking forward to accomplishing this year?
LR: Enabling retailers to drive new revenue with Bluecore, which is also my favorite aspect of my role!
TS: What are you most proud of, either personally or professionally?
LR: I'm really proud to share that one of the brands that I brought on to the platform is seeing 50x ROI in their first month after launching Bluecore!
TS: What keeps you at Bluecore?
LR: The excitement of being a part of a company in a high growth phase. Every day is different and brings its own challenges and rewards.
Growing Your Career in Technical Support: 4 Tips for Getting Hired at Elastic from Support Director Heidi Sager
Heidi Sager loves math, but she also loves working with people.
She always has, which is why she enjoyed her part-time job working at the IT department of the University of Colorado while she was studying electrical engineering. (She'd started in computer science, but explains that it "wasn't for her" and switched her major.) She helped students and professors with word processors, basic programming, and software checkout, and took a full-time job after graduation as a UNIX system administrator.
3 Women, 7 Lessons: What These Relativity Leaders Learned in 2020
Working at Relativity—the global tech company that equips legal and compliance professionals with a powerful data-organizing and discovery platform—looked different in 2020. The highly collaborative environment of their Chicago headquarters transitioned to a virtual setting, and just like companies around the country, Relativity adapted their goals and major projects to a completely remote environment.
8 (Virtual) Diversity Conferences to Attend in 2021
Diversity Reboot 2021: The One Hundred Day Kickoff
<p><strong>When</strong>: February 1-5, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Free!</p><p><strong>Where to register: </strong><a href="https://summit.powertofly.com/" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>We had to include our own Diversity Reboot on our list of the best diversity and inclusion events to attend in 2021 because we know firsthand how the quality of 100+ expert speakers, the enthusiasm of 10,000 participants, and the cutting-edge tech that enables meaningful virtual networking and job fairs combine to create a truly epic five-day experience. This year, the theme 100 Day Kickoff harnesses the energy of the new government's first 100 days in office to help jump-start personal and professional plans to build more diverse and inclusive workplaces. </p><p>Following the February summit, we'll have a monthly series of smaller virtual summits on topics spanning everything from returnships to LGBTQ+ advocacy, so be sure to stay tuned for updates!<br></p>The Future of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 2021
<p><strong>When</strong>: February 3-4, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Free</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://www.hr.com/en/webcasts_events/virtual_events/upcoming_virtual_events/the-future-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-2021_kcxf8glq.html#detail" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>This virtual conference put on by HR.com focuses on how social movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter have pushed DEI at work beyond legal compliance and into a major factor of any company or brand's culture, employee engagement, and performance. Topics include how to uncover and resolve pay gaps across your team and hire top-level diverse talent.</p>Workplace Revolution: From Talk to Collective Action
<p><strong>When</strong>: March 8-12, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register: </strong>$820</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://cvent.me/ZQ4BbE" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>The Forum on Workplace Inclusion's 33rd annual conference includes 12 session tracks, from DEI Strategy to Social Responsibility, along with 59 workshops and daily networking sessions. This year's theme focuses on one question: "What will it take to start a workplace revolution that moves us from talk to action?"</p>Diversity: How Employers Can Match Words With Deeds
<p><strong>When</strong><strong>: </strong>May 19, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register</strong><strong>: </strong>Early bird registration is $49 and general admission is $149</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://hopin.com/events/may-virtual-conference-diversity-how-employers-can-match-words-with-deeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Here</a></p><p>From Day One is hosting monthly conferences in 2021 focused on different ways for companies to foster strong relationships with their customers, communities, and employees. May's half-day virtual event is focused specifically on how companies can make diversity promises that don't fall flat and features workshops, panels, and a fireside chat.</p>Hire with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
<p><strong>When:</strong> August 18, 2021</p><p><strong>Where: </strong>Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register: </strong>$195</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://www.hci.org/conferences/2021-virtual-conference-hire-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-august-18-2021" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>This conference put on by the Human Capital Institute is one of 12 virtual conferences that HCI has planned for 2021. This one focuses on fair and inclusive talent acquisition, including how to attract diverse talent, implement inclusive hiring practices, and addressing bias in employee selection. Other conferences will focus on optimizing talent strategy, engaging employees, and developing your workforce.</p>Virtual Grace Hopper Celebration 2021
<p><strong>When:</strong> September 26-29, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual, broadcast from Chicago, Illinois</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Was $799 for regular access to the virtual conference in 2020; 2021 pricing hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://ghc.anitab.org/attend/registration/" target="_blank">Here</a>, though 2021 registration wasn't live at the time of writing</p><p>Grace Hopper might be the best-known conference for women in tech. Through keynote presentations, networking sessions, job fairs, and community-building activities, vGHC reached over 30,000 women for their 2020 conference and are expecting even more in 2021! While not a conference focused exclusively on diversity and inclusion, many speakers plan to focus their talks on creating environments for women to thrive in the male-dominated tech field.</p>Inclusion 2021
<p><strong>When:</strong> October 25-27, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual and in person in Austin, Texas as of now</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register: </strong><a href="https://conferences.shrm.org/inclusion" target="_blank">Here</a>, though 2021 registration wasn't live at the time of writing</p><p>The Society for Human Resource Management's biggest conference of the year saw 1,200 DEI leaders participate last year; SHRM hopes to see even more come to learn, be inspired, and to walk away with a playbook of implementable strategies to create truly inclusive workplace cultures.</p>AfroTech 2021
<p><strong></strong><strong>When:</strong> November 8-13, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Early bird pricing is $149 for individuals and $249 for corporate attendees; regular pricing hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://experience.afrotech.com/" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>AfroTech is a conference hosted by Blavity, a tech media platform for Black millennials. It focuses on emerging tech trends, connecting Black talent with top tech recruiters, and providing networking and educational opportunities, with an overall goal of building a strong Black tech community. Over 10,000 people participated in 2020. While the conference isn't focused specifically on DEI, its main audience of Black tech talent is an important one to understand and to engage at work and beyond, and several speakers plan to focus on issues of race and inclusion at work. </p>Finding Her Sport: Being Part of the Team in a Startup Environment
A Conversation with Vouch's Lead Designer Carrie Phillips