Hello everyone 👋!

Welcome back to Inside Freestar, where we introduce you to all the people who make Freestar such a great workplace.

So far, you’ve met Amber, Tim, Christina, Matthew, and Wariana.

Today, I’m introducing Louise Dijksman, Senior Customer Success Manager at Freestar. Louise has spent the last few years in ad tech, starting at Triple13 and now at Freestar with Triple13’s acquisition. Louise is located in West London, England, and when she’s not helping publishers, you can find her crocheting and watching/listening to true crime!

Ready to meet Louise? Let’s go! ⚡

Editor’s note: The following has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Trish: Hi, Louise! Let’s dive right in — can you tell me a bit about what you do at Freestar?

Louise: I’m a Customer Success Manager on the Customer Success team, and that is essentially client liaison and customer support. We work closely with the Yield team to pass the information on optimizations and revenue to our publishers. We work closely with every department across Freestar, from Yield to Support to Marketing to Product. We’re the bridge between the publisher and Freestar, ensuring that the line of communication is always open.

Trish: What does your day-to-day typically look like?

Louise: In the morning, I’ll usually do initial checks on my publishers’ performance and look for anything unusual that needs to be addressed immediately. Then I work through my emails and Slack messages to respond to publisher queries, troubleshoot, etc. Throughout the day, I follow up with the Yield team ahead of any publisher calls that I have so we’re in sync on optimizations or ongoing projects. My afternoon is usually filled with publisher calls, and I end my day by following up with any ongoing cases to ensure they’re on track.

Trish: Wow! What a busy day! What do you enjoy about your role?

Louise: So, I’m the kind of person that can get bored doing the same thing all the time. Customer Success offers so much variety, and I will always get different requests every day. There’s always something new, and the publishers will always have some interesting questions to ask. I enjoy being able to work on new things and meet people every day, especially forming friendships and relationships with my publishers. I love just spending time with people, and being able to be that connection that can provide expertise is enjoyable.

Trish: What is a fun fact that people might not know about you?

Louise: I have a degree in psychology, and it’s part of my interest in people. I also fell into ad tech. I previously leased offices and ran an office building for a few years. One of my customers was Matthew Whaley (Founder of Triple13 and now COO of Freestar), and he offered me a job. After that, I never looked back!

Trish: What can we find you doing when you aren’t working?

Louise: I love crafts! I love to crochet, so I usually watch something true crime and do a little crochet project. Crocheting was my lockdown hobby, and it has stayed with me since!

Trish: How has your journey been since starting at Triple 13 and now at Freestar?

Louise: At Triple13, we were a small operation. We had a very niche product in the market targeting AMP, and we were working with Freestar in a partnership to monetize their product better. We got to know the Freestar team, and everyone was super friendly. At Triple13, I had to wear many hats, and knowing that at Freestar, I would have lots of support and work with exceptional talent was exciting. Everything was like a dream come true moving to Freestar because everyone I met was at the top of their game, and everyone was knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly.

Trish: Lastly, what advice do you have for prospective Freestar candidates?

Louise: Get to know as many people as possible. Freestar, a fully remote company, has a lot of virtual social meetups – join all of these because you want to talk to as many people in different departments and learn from them. Once you start meeting these people, you know who can help you with your daily challenges in your work and make great friends from around the world. I can now say that I’ve got good friends all over the globe!

WANT TO JOIN LOUISE ON FREESTAR’S CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAM? WE’RE HIRING! CHECK OUT OUR OPEN ROLES HERE.

Hello everyone 👋!

Welcome back to Inside Freestar, where we introduce you to all of the people that make Freestar such a great place to work.  

So far you’ve met Amber, Tim, Wariana, and Christina.

Today, I have the honor of introducing to you Matthew Wells, Freestar’s first Chief Financial Officer. Matt is a 20-year finance and corporate development expert and oversees the company’s finance and accounting functions and helps pursue strategic opportunities to fuel the company’s rapid growth. When he’s not analyzing the numbers, you can find him catching a wave near his home in Santa Monica, CA. 

Ready to meet Matt? Let’s go! ⚡

Editor’s note: The following has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Trish: Hi Matthew! Let’s dive right in — can you tell me a bit about what you do at Freestar?

Matthew: I am Freestar’s CFO and responsible for all finance and accounting for the company. We effectively record all of the transactions that the company makes, organize it in a way that makes sense to us at the company and to our investors, lenders, and the business community at large. We then take those reports and mine them for insights so we can figure out what we should do more or less of and how we can best grow and reach our goals.

Trish: You’re the first CFO at Freestar. How does that feel?

Matthew: Well, it’s a great honor and a big responsibility being in such an important position for the company. I love that I’m able to join Freestar at a time when we’re experiencing rapid growth and know that we have a lot of exciting initiatives still to look forward to. I’m excited by the opportunity to build on the successes of my department in the past and really evolve the department to one that serves the company even better.

Trish: What does your day-to-day typically look like?

Matthew: I joined Freestar in the back half of October 2022 so I’m about five months in. I joined the company at a very busy time for finance and accounting. My first few months were focused on handling and taking over a lot of the key annual financial processes such as financial statement audits and budgeting and planning efforts for the upcoming year, and on building relationships with our investors, bankers, and company leaders. We had a lot of deliverables to turn around very quickly. 

Recently I was able to attend my first board meeting with the company and present the budget, which went very well. Now that we have our plans in place, I’m looking forward to some of the things that I haven’t had a chance to do yet like reviewing team structure and building out the capabilities and functionality for the department that we haven’t had in the past. 

What I did in the first few months is not going to be what my day-to-day looks like going forward. In 2023 we will settle into new routines to better serve our business and clients and provide new insights on a reliable schedule. 

Trish: What are you looking forward to in your role?

Matthew: I’m shifting my focus to growing our small but mighty Finance team to really support the growth of Freestar. It’s already grown from three people when I joined, which in my experience for a company this size is quite small. We now have myself as CFO, Matt Flood who is our VP of Finance, Laurie Kinsella who is our Controller, and recent additions Roland Garcia as IT Specialist and Zac Halls as Sales Ops Manager.

Our team is primarily tasked with day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping to keep the wheels turning. We recently hired Debbie Alderson as Payroll Specialist to work under PeopleOps to free up some of our time and allow our existing team to focus on analytics and studying/introducing KPIs. Our recently hired Sales Ops Manager will work closely with Finance and Business Development to build insight and drive better performance from our pipeline. We’re also looking to hire more accounting staff to allow the team to transition some of their work and accelerate their career progression.

Trish: I can’t wait to see the growth! Next question is, what is a fun fact that people might not know about you?

Matthew: I collect and ride vintage surfboards. I was born in LA and grew up just south in Orange County. I’ve always lived close to the beach. My mom is from Hawaii and so whether I was at home or visiting family, I was always kind of close to the ocean so I grew up riding the waves. It’s one of my passions and I still get out in the surf as often as I can in and around Southern California. 

I moved away for a time to pursue professional opportunities but about 10 years ago, I moved back to LA and plan to be here to stay. The first thing I did when I moved back was buy a new surfboard. As I’ve been able to get in the water more and more, I’ve picked up new boards here and there. A few years ago, I bought my first really old, vintage surfboard and have started collecting surfboards from different eras from the 50s, 60s and 70s. They’re cool to look at, hold their value (or appreciate if I don’t beat them up too bad!), but they’re also fun and educational to ride. It’s been interesting to learn the history and evolution of surfing from the perspective of the shapers and crafts that led to the present day and how different boards impact my surfing.

Trish: When you aren’t working, what can we find you doing?

Matthew: My hobbies are the three S’ – surfing, soccer, and skiing. Those are the main things that I love to do when I have free time. Fortunately for me, in California, we’re close to the beach and the mountains so we’re never too far away from being able to surf when it’s good or ski in the winter. Oddly enough, I’m a much better skier than surfer. 

In the limited time I have to watch sports on TV, soccer is my go-to. My son’s into soccer, he plays, I used to play and I try to get out there with him when I can. But at this point, he’s hard to keep up with.

Trish: Tell us a little bit about why you chose Freestar.

Matthew: In my last role, I was CFO at a digital media company that we sold which was a good outcome. But part of that outcome, which was fully expected, was that I was out of a job. I had some time to step back and think about what I wanted to do next. I realized that what was most important to me was having a team of people that I’d enjoy working with shoulder to shoulder.

Freestar stood out in my search above other opportunities based on my sense of the devoted, fast-paced, yet fun culture and camaraderie I’d be stepping into. Since I’ve joined, my intuition has been confirmed . I love the people I work with and each new person I’ve met has been incredibly passionate, high energy and capable at what they do. When I started my family asked me, “Hey, how’s the new job going? What do you think of it?” My immediate answer was just the culture and the people here are different and special. Everyone talks about culture and values, but there’s something about Freestar where those values mean more and are taken more seriously.

Trish: What have you enjoyed about Freestar since you’ve been here?

Matthew: Other than the great people and the great level of talent that I get to work with every day, I really enjoy the trust and the autonomy that’s been placed in me as a new member of the team so quickly. Knowing that I have my colleagues’ trust is a great feeling. I’ve realized in my career that the thing that I really get excited about, and that motivates me the most, is impact. Regardless of company size or industry, the ability to be free to make an impact and to improve is highly motivating. I’ve been afforded those opportunities right off the bat at Freestar and I plan and hope to manage in a similar style.

Trish: Finally, what advice do you have for prospective Freestar candidates?

Matthew: Freestar is extremely well-positioned in our space to continue our rapid pace of growth. From the perspective of the industry, the company, and most groups within the company, we plan to grow, and my experience has been that growth is a lot more fun than the alternatives, even when (or maybe because) it’s accompanied by great intensity and new challenges. I think Freestar’s leadership in our space will create opportunities for new hires over time. Whether you’re coming in as a brand new graduate or as an experienced hire, you’ll join forces with an incredible team of people to work with in a very collaborative environment. I can’t recommend the Company highly enough and if you’re interested I’d encourage you to jump in and learn more!

WANT TO JOIN MATTHEW ON FREESTAR’S FINANCE TEAM? WE’RE HIRING! CHECK OUT OUR OPEN ROLES HERE.

In honor of International Women’s Day, we wanted to highlight some of the amazing women in our industry that are paving the way for women in ad tech. In this interview, they share their stories on growing their careers, becoming leaders, and what advice they’d give their 25-year-old selves. 

Meet our inspiring leaders:

• Ashley Wheeler, SVP, DV+ Platform, Magnite
• Christina Fiasconaro, SVP, Business Development, Freestar
• Lashanne Phang, Senior Director, Mobile, PubMatic
• Lashawnda Goffin, Founder & CEO, Colossus SSP
• Lior Shvo, VP of Marketing, Primis
• Joanna Burton, CSO, ID5
• Pamela Ibarra, VP, Partner Management, InMobi
• Rikki Decker, Head of Client Services, Blockthrough

How did you start your career in ad tech? How have you grown?

Ashley: When I started my career in ad tech, I took a bit of a risk. And in doing so, I also managed to convince someone to take a risk on me. When I applied for the role at Rubicon Project, I had a little bit of digital sales experience, but virtually no programmatic experience at all, which was a stretch since the role I was applying for effectively required me to be a programmatic consultant to publishers. The hiring manager at the time tasked me with proving to him that I’d be able to learn and grow into the role. He asked me to do some research and write him a 2-3 sentence thesis on the industry and where it was headed. For anyone who works in programmatic, you’ll know that’s a nearly impossible feat to try and summarize an entire industry’s worth of information into a few sentences. So I wrote my 2-3 sentences, and then attached a 6 page, fully footnoted essay to accompany them. I was told I got the role, in part, because I went above and beyond what was asked of me. I learned a lot through that process — namely, to not be afraid of risks and to always go the extra mile when you feel it’s necessary — and I have tried to live by those learnings as I’ve grown in my career

Christina: I started on the TV side of the business right out of college working for Nickelodeon. It was one of the best experiences and where I learned a ton not only about the industry but also about business relationships. My first manager was someone whom I try and emulate in my management style. Her entire goal was to teach me enough to help me get to my next role and that’s exactly what she did. I stayed in the company for 6 years and grew a lot during that time. I was young and naive and made a ton of mistakes. From that time I’ve grown into learning how to handle certain business situations and conversations better. Reactions can determine final outcomes and it’s important to understand how to approach things professionally.

Lashanne: I graduated in IT and have always been passionate about tech industry. When the opportunity came by to consider a career switch from finance industry to ad-tech industry, I took the leap of faith and dove straight into it. I have to say it’s probably the wisest decision I’ve made. The decade worth of business development experience from finance industry was a blessing to ease me quickly into the role in ad-tech. The ever-changing ad-tech industry created constant learnings. With PubMatic, I’ve been fortunate to be given opportunities to grow from regional to global role. The experience is one in a lifetime, enabling me to gain perspective of the nuances from each region, broadening my views and sharpened my strategic mindset.

Lashawnda: My career in ad tech started after touching two specific areas in the programmatic ecosystem. I started off as a trader and then as a seller within a publisher. So in thinking about the next step for me, the best thing was to take what I had done in my previous roles and continue to try new things which is how I entered the ad tech space.

Lior: I began my career 15 years ago as a media planner at UM, a McCann agency. Due to my love of data and technology, I was drawn to the more technical side of digital media. A couple of years ago, I moved into ad tech when I joined Primis to manage Sellers.guide (a free ads.txt cleaning and analysis tool). I soon took over the marketing department management as VP. I grew exponentially as I transitioned to a new industry, new markets. It forced me to step outside of my comfort zone and find new passions.

Joanna: I began my online advertising journey at Asserta Home (now Zoopla) in the marketing department. Since then, I have accumulated 22 years of experience working in the industry across a variety of roles in marketing, PR, and strategy within several different companies including ID5, SpotX, and Rubicon Project.

I was fascinated with the early days of the dot-com boom, with the development of new business models funded by advertising and partnerships. It was interesting to see how, a decade later, the industry changed with the arrival of programmatic advertising, creating increased efficiencies for businesses and enabling the growth of data-driven advertising. A decade on from that, identity, data protection and doing more with less data are driving a new wave of innovation in the advertising business.

I have loved being a part of this never-ending journey. Over the years, I have grown in a multitude of ways as an adtech professional, and it has been nothing short of a fulfilling experience to have made it to where I am today and establishing myself as a respected voice in the space. At ID5, I have had the pleasure of building our initial portfolio of publisher clients as well as developing and spearheading the adoption strategy for our solution.

Pamela: Like many in this field, I tripped and fell into ad tech. My degree is in Creative Writing, so initially my focus was on book publishing (and reading poetry at open mic nights). But there were no jobs in publishing when I graduated, and I had a friend who got me an interview for a temp job at Google. And then unexpectedly I had a career in front of me! Ad tech changes so rapidly, so there’s always new problems to solve. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Rikki: I was very interested in consumer behavior when I started college and ended up pursuing a dual degree in Marketing and Finance with the aim of working in an analytical marketing role. I was introduced to the concept of programmatic retargeting in a college class and was intrigued by the complex and fast pace nature of the digital advertising ecosystem. I landed my first job in AdTech as a campaign manager at Millennial Media, and later moved on to a more analytical trading role at MiQ. My first foray into Customer Success was at The Media Trust, where I had the opportunity to build up an AdTech platform-facing team from scratch.

My focus at Blockthrough has been fostering a consultative approach to partnerships and client services, leveraging Blockthrough’s innovative product insight and my own passion for analytics to forge strong and sustainable client and partner relationships. I appreciate that a career in AdTech doesn’t have to be linear—I’ve had the privilege of working in diverse roles and various organizations throughout the ecosystem and I’ve found that the perspective I’ve gained can always be applied to the next role, no matter how different on the surface. At this point, I find it most rewarding to share my experiences with my team and see how they iterate and apply these learnings in new ways.

When you began your career many years ago, did you ever imagine that you would have a leadership role in this profession/organization?

Ashley: When I first applied to that job posting, I never would have believed that my career at Rubicon Project and now Magnite would have evolved as it has. I remember feeling so incredibly grateful for that first role, and so excited to be a part of such a dynamic, ever-changing industry. In that moment, I think I tasked myself more with understanding ad tech inside and out, and proving to my hiring managers that the faith they put in me at the start was the right choice to make. In a lot of ways, I still feel that way. Leadership wasn’t necessarily what I was aiming for at the start of my career, but was rather a more organic consequence of throwing myself into the ad tech landscape and trying to figure it out from the ground up, and then wanting to help others do the same.

Christina: Never. Quite frankly I expected to be a stay-at-home mom once I started a family. It never really seemed like there was the option to do both. I assumed I had to give up whatever career I built to be there for my children. Because of that, I always focused on being an individual contributor in a sales role. I wanted to make as much money as possible while I could and build a reputation and foundation that would allow me to come back to a role once I had a steady family life.

Lashanne: There is certainly the desire to grow into a role that enables me to contribute beyond an individual contributor. However, the discovery of leadership elements came along the way.

Lashawnda: No, that was not the intention. Initially, the opportunity was geared towards traditional sales but after further conversations with Mark Walker, our co-founder of Direct Digital Holdings, we were able to create a leadership role at Colossus SSP that allowed me to deliver on the strategic objectives to rebuild the company from the ground up. This leadership role has grown over time and allowed me to evolve my career by pulling from my experiences across strategy, business development and sales.

Lior: Yes. As my mom always told me, “Do everything you do to the best of your ability”. This motivated me to grow, to move on. Everywhere I go to, I want to excel in what I do and do it the best way possible.

Joanna: If I wanted a position of leadership, I knew that I was certainly going to have to work for it, and that’s exactly what I did! As well as putting in the elbow grease, I made sure that I was present at every key industry event, speaking to other professionals, building my contact list, essentially getting myself noticed and remembered. Today, I have strong connections and friendships across the industry in multiple markets, and this has been a real contributor to some of the great opportunities I have landed throughout my career.

Pamela: No? I was sort of shocked to be there in the first place, around so many smart and interesting people. It was a few years before I even realized there was a ladder, and a path up.

Rikki: I didn’t necessarily imagine it but I definitely aspired to a leadership position. I grew up watching small business owners in my family–my grandmother has owned and managed a hair salon for 35 years and my father has maintained an independent consulting business for over 20 years. I saw them forge ahead with tenacity and drive in the face of the unknown. I sought to follow in their footsteps and eventually be in a position to help build and optimize a business from the ground up.

What motivated you to step up and become a leader?

Ashley: I was very fortunate to have a wonderful mentor and role model as my own manager for a large portion of my tenure at Magnite. I saw first hand the impact a good leader can have on someone’s personal and professional development and their commitment to a company. In many ways she encouraged me to take on new challenges in my career and inspired me to want to help foster others as she helped foster me.

Christina: Once I realized I could balance a family and a career, I knew I wanted to lead. I found that I got more out of work when I was helping someone. I started quickly learning the jobs I was in and being that person that people would come to when they had questions and that was my favorite part of the day. It’s exciting to watch someone succeed with a piece of advice or tip that you shared with them. It became more exciting than my own wins. Not only that but being an advocate for a team and helping in making their roles easier with cross-departmental discussions is very rewarding.

Lashanne: The feeling of winning as a team has been a fueling mechanism and affirming the commitment to lead. Being able to work as a team, share knowledge, mentor young talent, and develop winning strategies together are big motivations.

Lashawnda: I had some amazing female leaders in my previous roles and looking at how much they poured into me, I knew that it was my turn to do the same thing. I also knew that being in this role with a certain kind of power, I didn’t want to take it lightly. I have the opportunity to introduce other people to this space, and I really enjoy being able to help the next generation who could give those chances to others.

At Colossus SSP, we’ve been able to really grow a successful organization with individuals that were hungry and really have the yearning and tenacity to deliver.

Lior: Influence and recognition are two of my strongest motivations. When my work doesn’t have a real impact on business and people don’t see it, my inner fire dies. Both motivations are fulfilled best in leadership roles. I also knew that if I saw something done wrong and wanted to change it, I had to take my seat at the table and do it myself.

Joanna: I am passionate about the industry I am in. When digital media began I found it incredibly compelling, and I wanted to be a part of it. My goal of moving into a position of leadership was so that I could drive real change in an industry that I love. I also wanted to inspire others to find passion in their work, as well as mentor young women to achieve the best of their ability in their careers as well.

Pamela: I’ve always had a leader persona. In elementary school, I would invent clubs and little societies (like I hated packing my own lunch in fourth grade, so I convinced all the girls in my class to empty their lunches onto the table, and we’d all share and make fun concoctions. Tuna with BBQ chips on top! Salami wrapped around carrot sticks! It became a thing.) I taught children’s classes, coordinated a youth dance summer trip to El Salvador, elected class Vice President – all that stuff. However, even with natural tendencies, you still need to advocate for a leadership role, especially the first one. My first management role was at a new company that was skeptical about hiring someone who didn’t bring a track record of manager success. I had to advocate for myself – all my professional and personal experiences – to tip the scales. Of course, there is always the aspect of the right place/ right time.

Rikki: I’m the oldest of 3, and my siblings would tell you that I’ve had a lot of practice. I love having the autonomy to build processes, streamline workflows, and coach colleagues and I felt that a leadership position would be the best opportunity to pursue these passions.

What are the benefits of having women in leadership?

Ashley: Within any organization, it is beneficial to have a number of diverse perspectives that can contribute to the overall strategy and introduce unique ways of thinking. Women in leadership add to that diversity.

Christina: It’s really important to have women leaders in a company. There is a perspective that is different from men and can really make a difference in decisions that affect an entire organization. I’ve had a few women managers and leaders who I could look to as examples for myself, but the ones I’ve had made so many more things seem possible for my own future. For me, it’s important to show women balancing work and family. There is a ton of pressure as a mother and what that should look like, and even more pressure as a working mother and what that means to your commitment at the office. When young women see women leaders seemingly accomplishing everything they want in their own careers, it gives a real sense that it’s possible and builds confidence in those young women that they, too can accomplish anything they want.

Lashanne: Many women leaders I know are great at multi-tasking and highly organised. They are meticulous and have strong analytical minds. They are rational and compassionate. They are focused and determined. Having these elements as a leader enabled women leaders to efficiently work with a wider spectrum of profiles.

Lashawnda: Diversity and equality are one of the founding pillars here at Colossus SSP. I’m proud to be a part of an organization that recognizes the disparity and takes action and onus to do something about it! Having women in leadership roles not only helps bring balance in decision-making or diversity of thought but provides opportunities for mentorship to the next generation.

Lior: One of the biggest benefits of being a woman in leadership is that other women can look up to you and believe that they can also reach that position. In addition, it creates a societal change; women who lead create a much more equal home with their partners. The partners take a larger role in raising the kids, performing house chores, and so forth.

Joanna: Having women in leadership roles gives professional women a voice and establishes the position they deserve in the workplace – it’s fulfilling to see more and more women in C-level roles, which was rarely the case in the past. In turn, this also influences the positive development of more diverse workplaces and inspires those from all different backgrounds to aim for roles that they may have previously stayed away from.

Pamela: Women in leadership in many cases still set precedents. It says to other women that it is possible to reach higher. And there are a million studies about how diversity of all kinds (gender and race) increase revenue and performance in companies. Statistically women do better in school, graduate in higher rates, have higher GPAs, get higher degrees, yet we do not hold an equal rate of leadership roles, C-suites or on board seats. So we have some work to do.

Rikki: In interfacing with decision makers within client organizations and being a decision maker in my own organization, I’ve found that awareness of differing perspectives is critical to problem solving and ensuring sustainability for desired business outcomes. Because of this, I highly value cross-functional teamwork. On a tactical level this typically involves collaboration between stakeholders within different business functions. However, individuals are more than just the role they are fulfilling at the moment. Employees bring their whole identities to work, and embracing that provides an opportunity to leverage differing perspectives as they relate to communication and relational intelligence.

A lack of women in leadership leads to a gap in perspective, which becomes an opportunity cost for an organization. It would be an obvious risk to allow a single department to make all the decisions for a given organization without input from other departments. By the same token, I see it as a risk to allow a single demographic to unilaterally make decisions for an organization.

Seeing women represented in leadership can help to inspire the next generation. I’ve found it incredibly inspiring to see more senior women in the industry leading in a way that feels authentic to them, regardless of if it matches the precedent laid before them.

What advice do you have for women looking to grow in their career?

Ashley: My advice adheres closely to the things I learned when I initially started my career in ad tech — take risks, don’t be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone, and when in doubt, always try to go the extra mile.

Christina: Never doubt yourself. Always ask the question. Remember that when you are pursuing something in your career, it’s never a no, it’s a not yet. Keep working at it, and you will get there.

Lashanne: My advice for women is to be true to yourself and be confident in sharing your opinion objectively. Maintaining the desire to learn, advance and give back.

Lashawnda: You have to be your biggest cheerleader. Often, we are our biggest enemy. We critique ourselves the most and pull everything apart. Secondly, you also have to be the one to take control of the trajectory of your career.

Lior: Embrace change without fear. It is through change that we grow and become stronger. No matter what happens, you will learn so much about yourself from it, even if you fail.

Joanna: As mentioned, growing my list of contacts has been a true benefit to my career. My advice to women aiming to grow in any industry is to make yourself known: go to events, reach out to those you admire, create a presence on social media, and do your research. All of these tips will contribute to you making a name for yourself and getting noticed.

Pamela: Identify your strengths and lean into them. Capitalize on what comes easily and where you shine. And seek feedback honestly and often.

Rikki: I would encourage women looking to grow in their career to leverage their network as much as possible. It can be easy to fall into the trap of imposing unfair self-criticism. In my experience the best way to combat this is to have trusted advisors that you can check in with to help validate your strategies. Building confidence is an important foundation for leadership, and getting an objective understanding of your current strengths and opportunities for growth are key to building that confidence.

Finally, what advice would you give your 25-year-old self?

Ashley: Probably to trust myself more. I questioned myself a lot when I was in my 20s and often those doubts would prevent me from speaking up and offering my perspective on things. Confidence eventually came with maturity, but if I could go back in time, I definitely wish I could have accelerated that process for myself.

Christina: I would tell her to enjoy that body of hers because she will never see it again after kids. Kidding (ish). I would tell her that there are a lot of really good things to come and not to dwell on the mistakes or the bumps. There’s a lesson in each of them that will add to your growth and turn you into the leader you will end up wanting to be in the future.

Lashanne: Taking the leap of faith – especially after researching and analysing, your instinct still says yes. I’ve learnt over the years, contemplating made me missed many good boats!

Lashawnda: Give yourself a little grace. I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get it right. We need to realize that we can course correct and by doing so, we can remove that bit of the stress. When we’re 25, we think we know it all, but in reality, we’re just starting our careers.

The other piece of advice I would offer is to take chances. It’s hard especially when you are in an entry-level role, and you’re around colleagues that are seasoned – there’s always a comparison. Sometimes we need to make those tough decisions that are uncomfortable and move on to try something new.

Lior: Conflicts should not be feared. Starting my career, I was afraid to voice my opinions to defend my place. I was once told that when you think about a conflict, think of a match and a matchbox; their conflict creates fire, energy, which has an endless potential to do great stuff.

Joanna: My top piece of advice for my 25-year-old self would be to remain open to change. It is impossible to grow by remaining stagnant. I have been fortunate enough to be part of some amazing opportunities and experiences, and many of those wouldn’t have happened without me being willing to say yes to shifts and deviations in the road I had set out for myself. It’s important to take risks to allow for your continuous evolution.

Pamela: Work hard. Don’t take it all too seriously. Also, start wearing a blazer to work. Those jeans and tee shirts are not giving “promotion candidate” to your superiors.

Rikki: A mentor of mine often told me “don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good!” and that has stuck with me ever since. I would encourage my 25-year-old self to take career risks and not be afraid to take on challenges outside of my current skill set or comfort zone. No matter the outcome, there’s always a lesson on the other side.

As we learned from this interview, the incredible women in our industry in leadership are inspiring and truly disrupting all corners of our industry and are constantly sending the elevator back down to elevate the next group of women. For International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, consider supporting a female-owned business, donating to a women’s nonprofit, or even sending a message to a woman who inspires you. 

Hello everyone 👋!

Welcome back to Inside Freestar, where we introduce you to all of the people that make Freestar such a great place to work.  

So far you’ve met Amber, Tim, and Christina.

Today, I have the honour of introducing to you Wariana Contreras, Yield Manager at Freestar. Warianna has spent the last few years in ad tech growing her career in yield management. She’s a born and bred New Yorker that can be found whipping up a new recipe or catching flights around the globe. 

Ready to meet Wariana? Let’s go! ⚡

Editor’s note: The following has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Trish: Hi Wariana! Let’s dive right in — can you tell me a bit about what you do at Freestar?

Wariana: I’m a Yield Manager which involves working closely with Customer Success Managers to optimize yield for our publishers. This involves reviewing ad placement, monitoring reporting, ensuring all tech is working on a publisher’s website, and suggesting optimizations such demand partners and new products to increase revenue.

Trish: What does your day-to-day typically look like?

Wariana: I usually spend my mornings checking reports to ensure that nothing is broken on a publisher’s website and if something has, I address the issue right away. Throughout the day, I’m on publisher calls and those are scheduled on a regular cadence as monthly or weekly meetings. I do have one-off meetings occasionally if there’s a question that arises or something that needs to be discussed right away. I also meet with Customer Success Managers to make sure we’re on the same page, reviewing reports together and discussing more granular details about an account. For example, enabling or disabling a specific demand partner or seeing what optimizations would make the most sense.

Trish: What do enjoy about your role?

Wariana: I really enjoy that I’m able to be client-facing. It’s great to be able to talk with so many different people and the benefit of doing so is that nothing is lost in translation. It’s much easier to hop on a call and explain things in lamens terms and visually demonstrate something when it’s technical.

I also enjoy that this role requires me to be detail-oriented. I’m going admit that it can get tedious at times but I enjoy being in the data and numbers.

Trish: Next question is what is a fun fact that people might not know about you?

Wariana: A fun fact that people might not know is that I love to travel and enjoy the perks of working remotely. Last summer, I was in Barcelona and then in Dominican Republic for a few months to spend time with family. I’ve also worked out of Egypt and I’m headed to Mexico City next.

I often get asked how do I work remotely and it’s very similar to how I do it at home. My days are spent working but I like to take advantage of my location. I work out of co-working spaces or coffee shops which lets me be immersed in the culture while I’m working. The evenings are spent exploring the city and really being a tourist.

Trish: When you aren’t working, what can we find you doing?

Wariana: You can find me in the kitchen cooking. I’m trying to connect more with my roots specifically food with Caribbean and Latino fusion and flair. Whenever I’m watching a cooking show, I’m interested in the different techniques whether that’s chopping a vegetable or even how to properly use a knife. I’d love to overall be better in the kitchen.

Trish: Tell us a little bit about why you chose Freestar.

Wariana: I’ve been with Freestar for over a year now. I was in a similar role previously and what attracted me to Freestar was the culture. At my previous place of employment, I think my biggest concern was that the people weren’t invested in me as an employee and in my growth. It’s the complete opposite here at Freestar. Everyone is invested in watching me progress and grow in my role. If I have any ideas, everyone is supportive of getting me to that point. The people at Freestar are invested in you as an individual and not just as an employee.

Trish: Finally, what advice do you have for prospective Freestar candidates?

Wariana: I think the best step for a prospective candidate would be to connect with a Freestar employee via LinkedIn. It’s good to ask questions about the organization and get to know the team and culture before you start the job application process. If you’re able to build rapport with an existing employee, there’s the possibility that they can refer you.

WANT TO JOIN WARIANA ON FREESTAR’S YIELD TEAM? WE’RE HIRING! CHECK OUT OUR OPEN ROLES HERE.

Hey everyone 👋!

I just chatted with a key member of the Freestar team, and I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s one of the reasons that makes Freestar go-round. Have a question about an event? She knows the answer. Can’t seem to find a document? She knows where to look. The list is endless.

In this edition of Inside Freestar, I am so excited to introduce you to Amber Master. Amber is the Senior People Operations Manager on our People Operations team. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Amber heard about the culture and growth at Freestar. She started by connecting with a few Freestar employees online to learn more and then made the switch to Freestar. She was so energized by the level of engagement and growth available at Freestar, and to honest, we don’t where we’d be without her.

Ready to meet Amber? Let’s go! ⚡

Editor’s note: The following has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Trish: Hi Amber! Let’s dive right in — can you tell me a bit about what you do at Freestar?

Amber: Sure, I’m on the People Operations team. We do all kinds of things – from interviewing, hiring, training, and of course, employee engagement. We try to make the workplace a fun and welcoming atmosphere. It can be tricky to keep people engaged, being a fully remote company. We have to innovate and find ways virtually to keep people engaged and maintain an enjoyable workplace.

Being a startup, People Operations does wear a lot of different hats. I also help with some of the travel management (coordinating travel and events) and also act as a systems administrator for our various platforms. Those are the large buckets that most of my work falls into, but there’s a variety of other things as well.

Trish: What does your day-to-day typically look like?

Amber: It varies kind of across the different things that we do in People Ops. I’m more productive in the morning so I usually try to jump in and start tackling tasks and get the important things off my to-do list before the day gets started. Later in the afternoon, I usually have a couple interviews on the books and internal calls working with people on various projects. I also receive ad hoc requests from different colleagues especially around systems admin or training. And then, you know, there’s always long-term projects that you have on the to-do list. My long-term projects are usually focused on improving current processes we have in place, or ways that we can elevate training internally – what we can do to help employees learn and grow, etc.

Trish: Can you tell us about the structure of the People Ops at Freestar?

Amber: We’re kind of a small but mighty People Ops team. Generally, Christy (General Counsel and Chief People Operations) focuses on contracts and legal aspects at Freestar. She’ll do department-wide initiatives, planning for what’s coming next and our team goals. Then, there’s Megan who is focused on recruiting. She reviews resumes, sets up interviews, and works on the hiring of new employees. Megan also takes charge of our Women’s group and our Diversity group. I tend to focus more on training plans, employee engagement, continued education, and helping Megan with our recruiting efforts.

Trish: What is a fun fact that people might not know about you?

Amber: I’m a twin which is always fun. My brother and I are not identical. (I tend to get asked that after sharing I’m a twin.) We’re still pretty close and he actually lives right down the road so I see him quite often.

Another fun fact is that I was a badminton state champion. I was a softball player and in the off-season, we were required to play another sport or do weight training. I wasn’t a fan of the idea of weight training with all the football players. I decided to try badminton since it didn’t seem too hard to learn. It was fun and I really got into it. Being really competitive, I ended up being a state champion which is cool to say. It’s such an obscure sport to have said that you were good because everybody kind of giggles.

Trish: When you aren’t working, what can we find you doing?

Amber: I’d probably be spending time with my four kids (ages 18, 16, 13 and 10). They keep us pretty busy. They’re all involved in different sports and activities. Our Junior was a drum major in the marching band so we went to Friday night lights and had the chance to just enjoy the football games. Our 13 year old does a bunch of different sports – cross-country, football and basketball. Our daughter, Micayla, does gymnastics. During the downtime, we just enjoy time with them and try to stay active. We’ll go rock climbing or go on walks or do various fun stuff with them.

Trish: Tell us a little bit about why you chose Freestar and the career growth you’ve experienced here.

Amber: What initially drew me to Freestar was the people. I got a chance to meet a couple people on LinkedIn and just really enjoyed the conversations we were having. I really liked how down to earth everyone I spoke to was and just really engaging and generous with their time.

So when I was looking for a new role, Freestar was one of the companies on my short list. It seemed like they were a cool company, growing quickly and had a lot of great things going for them. The people are just amazing to talk to. That hasn’t changed at all since I’ve been here. 

It’s so cliche, but in all of the recruiting interviews, I get asked “what’s your favorite part about Freestar?” I know I’m in People Ops and I’m supposed to say this but it’s definitely the people. Everybody’s really down to earth: they say what they’re thinking, and there is none of that corporate BS or posturing. I’m lucky to just get a chance to work hard with people that are excited about the same goal and passionate working towards the same thing. 

For how I’ve grown Freestar, I mean, there are a lot of things that I’ve kind of come across in my journey that I didn’t know how to do initially. I just sort of had to do some research, figure out the options, make the best decision with the information I had and move forward. There have been a lot of projects and things that I’ve taken on that I hadn’t done before but jumped in and figured it out. I like that there’s that opportunity to really learn and grow and try new things. I’ve been able to expand my skill set here.

Trish: You might have already answered this, but maybe you have a different response to share. What’s one of your favorite things about life here at Freestar?

Amber: Definitely, the people. To add on to it, I would say that it’s fun to work at this level of velocity. We’re a quick growing startup and means things happen quickly. We’re trying to stay competitive from the tech side. We’re trying to provide great service on the people’s side, and all of that requires momentum and effort. 

When I jump on internal calls with the people at Freestar, I’m often like “wow, they were really impressive,”. The people on our team are subject matter experts and they’re really talented, and super smart. It’s fun for me to walk out of a meeting being a little bit intimidated and a little bit challenged. I think to myself “I have to step up my game to keep running with these people.” and I love that challenge. 

Trish: Finally, what advice do you have for prospective Freestar candidates?

Amber: I believe the people that do well at Freestar are people that are very self-motivated – when they don’t have the answer, they go out, research and find the answer. They’re able to really be proactive towards things. Ad tech is always changing and our role is always changing. The company is growing and that requires a lot of learning, developing and continuing to be different and a little bit better than yesterday. 

Internally, we often talk about being that one percent better each day. It’s really necessary. I think there are people that love to be lifelong learners and continue to expand their skill set. Those are people that see a lot of success at Freestar and on top of it, have the core value of “own the outcome” instilled within them already. 

WANT TO JOIN AMBER ON FREESTAR’S PEOPLE OPERATIONS TEAM? WE’RE HIRING! CHECK OUT OUR OPEN ROLES HERE.