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FastSpring’s Employee Spotlight is a Q&A series that features the hardworking, intelligent, and fun people that make FastSpring great. Get to know the fantastic team behind the ecommerce platform!

In this post, we’re featuring our Global Senior Manager, Business Development, Bryan Gonzalez!

Describe your current role at FastSpring.

I lead the Global Sales Development team, and I am responsible for creating new business opportunities for FastSpring.

How long have you been in your current role?

Not long! I joined Fastspring in February of this year.

Has it been challenging to perform your role during this remote work time due to COVID-19?

Definitely. There are so many benefits to being together on the sales floor, like organic skill-sharing and contagious positive energy. In my experience, people just tend to learn and get stuff done faster, working together. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well the team has adapted to working remotely, and I am very proud. I can’t wait until we are able to all come back to the office, and I’m sure the team feels the same because we’re a social bunch that thrives on interacting in-person.

What did you do before FastSpring/How did you get to where you are today?

I sort of fell into Sales accidentally. I started my career teaching 7th-grade literature at a summer school in Berkeley. I took a Sales Development role at a small company in town just to make some money while I figured out whether to go to law school or continue teaching. Long story short, I had a knack for selling and got really caught up in the energy of the start-up culture at that time. I spent several years as a consultant in Silicon Valley, studying and developing playbooks around what makes some of the fastest-growing SaaS companies so successful. Most recently, I led Sales Development teams at Procore during their hyper-growth period, from 2015 to my start at Fastspring.

What inspired you to join FastSpring?

With growth comes opportunity, and in FastSpring, I saw a company that is relatively early in its growth, on the cusp of really accelerating, and that’s always a blast to experience. It’s the type of environment where great careers are built, tough challenges are solved, and the success of the company translates directly to success for the individuals who helped achieve it. There is a really strong product, in a huge market, with no real hurdles in the way other than our ability to execute. I couldn’t ask for a better set-up.

What made you want to join our Sales team?

Definitely the people. There’s an old saying, “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” which I’ve always liked. The opportunity I describe above means nothing if we don’t have great people to execute. I knew the day I interviewed and met the team that they had the passion and talent to build a great company.

What does a typical day look like for Bryan at FastSpring?

Well, first and foremost, I work for my team. My job is to make them more successful. So, a lot of my time is spent removing obstacles. In order to do that, I have to deeply understand their role and what they are going through. In practice, this means a lot of time spent meeting with my team one-on-one and mining our tech to identify useful trends and coaching opportunities to improve our selling approach.

What excites you every day about working at FastSpring?

Most of the joy I get from my role is enabling others to succeed. So, every time someone hits their goal, every promotion earned, every time I see growth excites me. Selfishly, I like tough challenges, and a business at this stage is like an ever-evolving puzzle; and I’m having a lot of fun pursuing the right solutions.

Describe a favorite memory of your time at FastSpring.

Probably the murder mystery party after Sales Kickoff. Everyone got really into character and the whole night was hilarious. I think there’s a lot of value in spending time with the team outside of the usual work duties.

What are your favorite hobbies and activities outside of work?

I’m a really curious person, so I devour a lot of books, podcasts, documentaries, etc. I’m part of a monthly book club and weekly trivia team. It’s practically mandatory when you move to Santa Barbara that you pick up an active hobby and get outside, so I’ve gotten really into cycling since moving here. Finally, I’ve played in heavy metal bands off and on since high school.

What is a fun fact most people may not know about you?

There is very embarrassing recorded proof of me singing and dancing to “As Long As You Love Me” by the Backstreet Boys in a talent show that my mother would be more than happy to share with you if the opportunity ever presents itself.