Blank canvases come in all shapes and sizes. In Breckenridge, 25-ton blocks of snow became blank canvases for sculptors from around the world.
The International Snow Sculpture Championships wrapped up last Thursday following a flurry of creative, intricate craftsmanship as artists transformed 20-foot blocks into works of art.
Not everyone is an artist, but life still offers its fair share of blank canvases: the possibilities of a new day, the opportunity to try your hand at something new, or the chance to apply to a new job. In Colorado’s bustling tech industry, talented professionals have built products and services from the ground up, earning the state its spot as one of the top tech hubs in the country.
At Conga, entrepreneurial spirit is championed by and for all employees. “All Conganeers are encouraged to think creatively across the enterprise. We all innovate,” explained the Global Head of Sales, eSignature, Adam Kruse. “This helps create a culture built not on fear or a dogmatic hierarchy, but one of fearless humility and courageous innovation.”
Built In Colorado spoke to professionals at Conga, zLinq Inc. and KPA to learn more about the exciting projects their teams are working on and the company cultures that empower employees to reach their full potential. For job seekers, these growing companies are hiring now and shouldn’t be missed.
zLinq Inc. is a SaaS solution that manages enterprise customers’ communication lifecycles. The company is on a mission to transform the communication landscape.
Think back to your early days on the job. What surprised you or stood out to you most about your company’s culture?
What stood out to me about zLinq was the accessibility to leadership from a very early stage. In a startup, it’s expected that things are always changing, but I loved the visibility of leadership and their desire to see the company and employees succeed while the solution and company continued to evolve. My CEO would sit beside me during office days and ask me questions about my meetings, try to understand how the sales process could be made easier, and give advice and her time to figure out what was best for the clients. My goal was to be a sponge to her business knowledge and telecom expertise and capture even a fraction of her passion for the company. zLinq really is what we advertise from a company culture POV; we build trust, we have fun, and most importantly, we get results!
What continues to surprise me is that regardless of product iteration, who is on the team and what’s happening in the world, the mission and our ‘why’ stays the same. We exist to positively transform the experience of communications and do it in a way that puts a smile on the face of our clients, employees and investors.
For me, if you’re not smiling and enjoying it, what the heck is the point?
What continues to surprise me is that regardless of iteration of product, who is on the team or what’s happening in the world, the mission and our ‘why’ stays the same.”
What’s the coolest project you’ve worked on recently, and what skills did it help you develop?
A perk of working at a startup is that there are a ton of cross-team collaboration opportunities. There are also a handful of clients that may need out-of-the-box solutions.
Last quarter, I had the opportunity to work on a project with our business analyst who is building out new parts of our offering and software. She is fantastic, technically advanced in telecom, detail-oriented and a joy to work with. During the sales cycle of this project, the client had specific pain points that 85 percent are within zLinq today and 15 percent are within zLinq of the future. Fortunately, the business analyst, myself and our CEO came together to build a pilot program that is such a cool combination of our current offering and where we are headed. The team supporting this new client is equally excited and ready to make it a resounding success.
This project helped me sharpen my communication skills, patience, listening, collaboration, genuine interest in problem-solving, data- and requirements-gathering, and follow-through. It also showed me how incredibly knowledgeable different parts of the organization are. I look forward to further developing the zLinq Solution from a sales and service combined POV.
Conga is a revenue lifecycle management solution that removes the complexity of order configuration, execution, fulfillment and contract renewal processes.
Think back to your early days on the job. What surprised you or stood out to you most about your company’s culture?
On my fifth day with Conga, I was working with a customer who requested a side-by-side feature comparison of one of our products. Talking with my solution engineer, we both felt like the existing collateral wasn’t going to hit the mark.
Being new, I deferred to him. I asked, “Well, what should we do? Who can find something like this for us?” There was a slight pause before he replied, “We might just have to make it.”
So we did. We created a document outlining what we wanted to show. We pulled in marketing and, three days later, we had a professional, customized, customer-facing marketing piece.
One of Conga’s core cultural values is having an entrepreneurial spirit. That means all Conganeers are encouraged to think creatively across the enterprise. We all innovate. This helps create a culture built not on fear or a dogmatic hierarchy but one of fearless humility and courageous innovation.
I’m excited to add my own set-up ideas to the mix and to see what great things we can achieve together!
I’m excited to add my own set-up ideas to the mix and to see what great things we can achieve together!”
What’s the coolest project you’ve worked on recently, and what skills did it help you develop?
It’s not often I feel like I’m in over my head. Not to brag, but I am, in general, a healthy, creative, smart, hard-working person. I have a solid credit score, I’ve never been to jail, and I can swim at least one full lap in the swimming pool.
In my first few weeks at Conga, I was in over my head. I was brought in to lead a sales organization around a new technology product. Next thing I know, I’m presenting on an all hands call to help enable the field around our new product.
Eventually, I looked around and thought, “No one here is any smarter or dumber than me. I’m part of this.” So, I’ve never developed a go-to-market plan, but after this opportunity, I’ll be able to say that I have!
KPA offers software and solutions that help mid-sized organizations identify, fix and prevent workplace safety and compliance issues.
Think back to your early days on the job. What surprised you or stood out to you most about your company’s culture?
Something that has always surprised me about KPA is how my future goals have always been addressed in terms of ‘when,’ not ‘if.’ One of my first days at KPA involved me speaking with our marketing leadership. I vividly remember them saying things like, “when you’re an account executive closing business…,” as if my success and advancement were a foregone conclusion. Even though I wasn’t always confident in myself, my mentors and leaders were. Their confidence and coaching are a big reason why I’ve been at KPA for two years and experienced constant growth in my career.
Even though I wasn’t always confident in myself, my mentors and leaders were. Their confidence and coaching are a big reason why I’ve been at KPA for two years.”
What’s the coolest project you’ve worked on recently, and what skills did it help you develop?
In the two years I’ve spent at KPA, one of the coolest things I’ve gotten to experience is the growth of our flagship software product, KPA EHS Software. My first day as a sales development representative was when KPA EHS was rolled out to the company after its acquisition. First as a sales development representative and then as an account executive, I’ve been able to watch this solution grow, both in its core functionality and its application to our clients.
What began as a solution built for oil and gas operations is now in several different industries and hundreds of businesses across the country, ranging from 12 to 12,000 users. Being a part of that growth has been extremely rewarding and fulfilling.
