Meet the team: Steve Schreck

Previous roles/jobs# 

Early on in my Sales career I worked in healthcare sales, selling medical devices to large hospital systems in New Jersey. After several years, I decided that I wanted to transition into tech in order to gain new skills and experience a new exciting industry.

I ventured into software sales working for both small and large companies but have gravitated towards smaller companies recently as I enjoy taking on responsibilities outside of my job description and getting into different creative mindsets.

Why did you join Conduktor?# 

I was introduced to Conduktor through an Account Executive I knew who already worked here. It was exciting to me as I always wanted to be on the “ground floor” of a company and help contribute to the build of it.

I felt the company had great growth potential, product market fit and the culture was extremely welcoming. Everyone I spoke with in the interview process was fully transparent, looked beyond just my resume and saw me as an individual. This for me provided everything I was looking for in a new role.

What does a typical day look like for you?# 

As I am based in New York City, I usually start my days having internal calls with my sales colleagues in Europe and additional cross-functional meetings with Product and Customer Success.

From there, I will have external calls with both current and prospective customers. I focus a lot of my time on account prioritization, identifying and engaging prospective customers, while also partnering with our sales engineering team to ensure companies understand the full value of a partnership with Conduktor based on the needs of their business.

I like to make sure I am getting the right message in front of the right people as data streaming is not going anywhere, it’s only scaling in companies.

I truly believe I’m selling a product that is needed in the market which makes my days that much more meaningful as we are really helping the people and teams that we work with.

What's been your biggest challenge at Conduktor?# 

The biggest challenge for me has been learning about a brand-new industry. It’s presented lots of opportunities to learn about different personas and the challenges that organizations face when it comes to data streaming.

Alongside this, as a start-up, things are constantly moving and changing. I think it’s important to go into an early-stage company with the mindset that you need to be able to adapt, learn quickly and be bought into the vision that is shared amongst your peers as you work towards the achievement of common goals and objectives

What are you most excited about in the coming months for the business/your team/your department?# 

From a business perspective, I am excited about the launch of Gateway, and I’m looking forward to executing our plan and seeing key results.

We’re now meeting critical needs of large enterprises as it relates to their use of Kafka. It is an exciting time to be here and I look forward to continuing to make the data streaming journey easier for the customers that we work with.

What was your favourite company offsite moment and why?# 

My favorite offsite was my first one, in Milan, Italy. I was new to the team but found myself surrounded by people who shared the same mindset, goals, and values so I felt comfortable straight away. I also learned a few things while I was in Milan; “cold brews” are not a thing and the Italians are not fans of the concept. I did appreciate their unlimited pasta, however.

What’s one thing you have learned more about this year?# 

On a professional level, I’ve learned the importance of always looking to develop your skills while continuing to challenge yourself. The quicker you can adapt to changes, self-reflect on your learnings and continually evolve will only lead you to be more successful.

On a personal level, I’ve lost 20 pounds during my time here as I’ve implemented more discipline into my health and nutrition in my day to day. I think this mindset has carried over into my work a lot, and teaches me how important it is to have goals both inside and outside of work. For me, having strong mental and physical health gives me more energy and helps me to be more focused throughout the day.

When you’re not working you’re…# 

I am passionate about working out so I start my days early in the gym, and I’m an avid reader and podcast listener. At the moment I’m listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear. I’m also a big Rutgers and New York Giants football fan so my fall weekends are usually spent rooting for both teams.

Which of Conduktor’s values speaks to you most and why?# 

Speak the truth.

The reason I say this is opinions and feedback matter to Conduktor, it’s very easy to be open and transparent here. I find the feedback that I share within the organization does get heard and get listened to. No matter the department, people listen to what you say and they take it into consideration.

Thank you Steve# 

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