Aja Anderson Email & Phone Number

Remote

In 2023 we transitioned from a blended agile/waterfall engineering philosophy to basecamp’s shape up method. The goal was to ship more software more quickly. This required a massive overhaul of all processes, both internal to engineering and the rest of the company as well as with customers - and we had less than 2 weeks to pull it off. The hardest change to socialize was moving bug squashing to a 2 week cooldown period that occurred every 6 weeks. Because of incremental back end changes… Show more In 2023 we transitioned from a blended agile/waterfall engineering philosophy to basecamp’s shape up method. The goal was to ship more software more quickly. This required a massive overhaul of all processes, both internal to engineering and the rest of the company as well as with customers - and we had less than 2 weeks to pull it off. The hardest change to socialize was moving bug squashing to a 2 week cooldown period that occurred every 6 weeks. Because of incremental back end changes necessary to prepare a complete overhaul of our web app (transitioning from rails to next.js) we struggled to demonstrate obvious improvements in every facet of the product, which led some customers to churn. However, the ARR gains we’ve made thanks to improvements in features like marketing, we’re offsetting losses and setting up for more scalable growth. From October 2023 - June 2024 I also led the engineering team as we had neither a manager nor a VP. Show less

San Francisco Bay Area

In April 2022, while performing my customer success duties, I began go to market strategy for a workflow automation product. This required cultivating a new type of management - leading through influence rather than via hierarchical power structure. I ran my first product requirements and technical planning meetings, put together a roadmap, and was finally able to schedule customer product feedback directly into my sprints. The product's scope was too broad and our team was too inexperienced in… Show more In April 2022, while performing my customer success duties, I began go to market strategy for a workflow automation product. This required cultivating a new type of management - leading through influence rather than via hierarchical power structure. I ran my first product requirements and technical planning meetings, put together a roadmap, and was finally able to schedule customer product feedback directly into my sprints. The product's scope was too broad and our team was too inexperienced in working with EHR's (electric health record management systems) and we had to paused the project in fall 2022. What I learned was to never compromise research and data collection in an effort to hit the market sooner.In December 2022 I joined the engineering team full time. I manage our email suite of products, coordinating the efforts of backend/front end engineers informed by our product led growth team, which includes marketing and C-Suite leaders. I am constantly working to find the balance between fixing bugs and adding or improving new features. I'm a flexible and realistic bouncer - I can pivot when necessary, but I protect engineering time at all costs. A combination of waterfall and scrum methodologies work best for this team, but I routinely solicit feedback from engineers to ensure we're serving their needs as builders. Show less

San Francisco Bay Area

As a mid market Success Manager for an innovative SaaS company, I cultivated relationships with clients, analyzed data and provided them with unique insights, monitored the efficacy of their solutions, and created opportunities to broaden our partnerships. I passed their feedback to our engineering team in an effort to influence roadmap decisions using real time data. While in this role I also led the workflow automation single threaded team, which involved product and project… Show more As a mid market Success Manager for an innovative SaaS company, I cultivated relationships with clients, analyzed data and provided them with unique insights, monitored the efficacy of their solutions, and created opportunities to broaden our partnerships. I passed their feedback to our engineering team in an effort to influence roadmap decisions using real time data. While in this role I also led the workflow automation single threaded team, which involved product and project management, working with engineering to map out features, delivering mvp of our new offerings for user acceptance testing, defining qa criteria, and incorporating customer feedback in ui/ux design. Show less

Santa Monica, California, United States

I manage the help desk for education tech SaaS disrupters 12Twenty. We provide career center management solutions, data analytics, and connect global recruiting professionals with top university talent.

Greater Los Angeles Area

For 8 months I supported the growth of this Series A startup in LA, closing the largest sale in the company in my first 30 days. I oversaw daily operations in two locations with a team of 6, created processes for space and people management, identified opportunities for opex reduction, and managed two major staff changes with zero customer churn.

Los Angeles, California

Building on a lifelong passion for education and talent development, I created and curated content, researched, developed, and designed blended learning and multidisciplinary training platforms. By collaborating with a team of rockstar subject matter experts, we built the company's version of a "Top Gun" academy for our high performing staff. I developed the leadership portfolio in Texas and Colorado, across the Austin, Houston, Denver, and Dallas markets, in addition to creating individualized… Show more Building on a lifelong passion for education and talent development, I created and curated content, researched, developed, and designed blended learning and multidisciplinary training platforms. By collaborating with a team of rockstar subject matter experts, we built the company's version of a "Top Gun" academy for our high performing staff. I developed the leadership portfolio in Texas and Colorado, across the Austin, Houston, Denver, and Dallas markets, in addition to creating individualized training plans, coaching for performance, providing and encouraging mentorship across all levels and functions, and forecasting talent pipelines for mobility, succession, and transition. Show less

Greater Los Angeles Area

Relocating to LA in 2017, I led a team of 40 Community employees, which grew to 60 in the year I held this position. The Director role struck a balance among people management and development, including talent acquisition and leadership training; revenue management, strategic planning and budget forecasting; operations management, from new building openings to capital improvements on legacy properties; to overseeing sales goals, empowering and developing sales people, and collaborating across… Show more Relocating to LA in 2017, I led a team of 40 Community employees, which grew to 60 in the year I held this position. The Director role struck a balance among people management and development, including talent acquisition and leadership training; revenue management, strategic planning and budget forecasting; operations management, from new building openings to capital improvements on legacy properties; to overseeing sales goals, empowering and developing sales people, and collaborating across our West region to hit and exceed targets. Show less

Greater Atlanta Area

Launched the Atlanta market and first building in Buckhead, establishing WeWork's presence in Georgia's dynamic entrepreneurial climate. Despite construction delays, we on-boarded and retained 150 founding members, the majority of whom remain within the community nearly 2 years later.

Civic Center, San Francisco

Sold and managed a new space in central San Francisco's Civic Center neighborhood. Ran facilities and operations for the building during perpetual construction. Maintained 95%+ occupancy throughout.

Berkeley

Built a community of stellar startups and enterprising entrepreneurs in downtown Berkeley, the first East Bay location for WeWork. Spearheaded aggressive sales campaign to fill the new space of 300 desks for January; opened an additional 300 in summer 2015, filled to 95% capacity in 3 months.

San Francisco Bay Area

Collaboratively managed a creative workspace on a team of four. Combined the fields of hospitality, real estate, social media, sales, PR, customer service, and event planning to best serve the needs of a community of over 700 entrepreneurs.

San Francisco Bay Area

Curated, cultivated, and supported a community of over 100 startups. Managed city social media account. Coordinated over 200 events. Facilitated connections between members and potential funders. Maintained a 115% occupancy rate fro January-November 2014.

Dc

Managed Islamic Studies Program, requiring multi-department collaboration; chief of staff to program executive. Handled budget and fundraising, focused on international financial compliance. Directed undergraduate, graduate, volunteer team, including training & mentoring.

Dc

As an assistant to two diplomats, I managed meetings, finances, travel, and research projects. I helped design and present PowerPoints for a range of visitors and research and write briefs on areas of interest, as well as summarized meetings I attended. I developed working relationships with private and public sector contacts, attended conferences in place of my attaches, and fulfilled supplemental duties such as maintaining office supplies, distributing faxes, and troubleshooting pesky… Show more As an assistant to two diplomats, I managed meetings, finances, travel, and research projects. I helped design and present PowerPoints for a range of visitors and research and write briefs on areas of interest, as well as summarized meetings I attended. I developed working relationships with private and public sector contacts, attended conferences in place of my attaches, and fulfilled supplemental duties such as maintaining office supplies, distributing faxes, and troubleshooting pesky printers. I planned events and high level visits both on my own and through collaboration with embassy colleagues, managed vendor relationships, and served as a point of contact on agriculture and justice issues. Show less

Collecting, summarizing, and cataloging journal articles and books on the topics of market entry, family business, international business, sustainable and ecologically sound business, etc.

As a member of a dynamic team, I worked as both a research and administrative assistant for Ambassador Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies. Under his tutelage I published my first articles in Pakistan Link, helped organize a conference between our office and the office of Congressman Keith Ellison to officially launch our new research project, helped design the budget for the upcoming project, Journey into America, as well as attended grant writing seminars and approached potential… Show more As a member of a dynamic team, I worked as both a research and administrative assistant for Ambassador Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies. Under his tutelage I published my first articles in Pakistan Link, helped organize a conference between our office and the office of Congressman Keith Ellison to officially launch our new research project, helped design the budget for the upcoming project, Journey into America, as well as attended grant writing seminars and approached potential donors. Show less

Eager to work on my Arabic, I spent three summer months interning at the embassy. I filled in as a receptionist at the front desk, directing phone calls and inquiries, especially on the subject on visas and travel.