All good teams have one thing in common - a good leader. In this segment of 'Meet the Team' we dive deep into the brains of our Showcase CEO and Co-founder Millie - AKA pottery aficionado, hiking enthusiast, and Wairarapa local.
Hi Millie! Who the heck are you?
I'm the boss around here! I co-founded this fine company in the previous decade of my life along with my (now) husband, and two excellent developers. I live 50/50 between Greytown, New Zealand and St Helena, California.
What does a typical weekend look like in the world of Millie?
It's been a good weekend if it includes any combination of travel to new places, being outside hiking or on a bike, trying new recipes or restaurants, and listening to audiobooks or podcasts.
When I'm in New Zealand it likely also includes some time at our bike shop.
What is your guilty pleasure food?
(The food you eat in secret or the kooky combination you are too embarrassed to admit you like)
Lite Beer.
Stigmatised by craft beer geeks and beverage peasants alike.
What's your favourite thing about your job?
The business is constantly evolving and maturing and I get to learn and grow with it. For me, that's a very valuable part of any job or hobby. And of course I can’t pass this question without mentioning the team - a good small business is the sum of the good people in it and Showcase is a great place to work because of the people.
What is the best sales advice anyone has ever given you, and the worst sales advice anyone has ever given you?
The best advice I’ve ever been given is to do with attitude, that our attitude is the one thing we fully control:
"Not everyday will be the best day ever, but you can have the best attitude everyday.”
I would lump the worst advice I've been given into a general category of tactics or techniques that require me not to really be myself. This isn’t things outside my comfort zone - like cold calling - but things like using aggressive tone in email, or manipulative language over the phone. I think it’s very important to be genuine about the way you sell yourself and your products.
Would you rather live in an 80's action adventure film, or a 90's rom com - and why?
80s action adventure. Specifically, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark or Crocodile Dundee. I'm a sucker for a loveable rogue in beige.
Why did you decide to start Showcase? Did the idea come to you in the shower?
When Steve Jobs launched the iPad in 2010 we immediately saw it as having an amazing range of business potential. A dynamic alternative to PowerPoint presentations on the laptop, a eco-friendly alternative to printed brochures and a super potable business tool for field based teams.
But the kernel of the idea for Showcase must be credited to my co-founders Adam and Adrian. Not me in the shower unfortunately.
What is your go-to response for when people ask you why they should use Showcase?
It tends to vary - often for larger organisations I get fired up about the potential wins for them from our analytics and reporting data, sometime it's simply the ability for a customer to transitioning from basic powerpoint or folders of printed materials to an app.
But the thing that's true across all customers big and small and that I always mention is the positive impact they can make on the environment by transitioning to Showcase.
What feature/function in Showcase gets missed by a lot of users that you think could really help people out?
This is less about a specific feature, but I think the possibility for Showcase outside of pure sales and marketing tasks is often overlooked. Our Waikato Milking Systems case study is one of my favourites for this reason, they found such creative ways to put Showcase to use right across the business.
Also, emoji's in subject lines for shared content! 👏 😎 📲
What is your number one vice, and why can't you give it up?
Pottery. I have three ever-growing collections. Here is one of them:
Why can't I give it up? That's a good question and probably needs some deep work. For as long as I can remember I've had an instinct to build collections, but it may just be a semi-legitimised form of hoarding.