On January 16, 2013, Eli Lederman (a good friend and mentor) introduced me via email to the one and only Brent Grinna, Founder and CEO of EverTrue. Thus began my initial crush on the company.
Brent and I met for coffee at 290 Congress St. in Boston—the building out of which we were ironically and conveniently both working. He shared with me his vision to “build relationships in pursuit of a better world” through a mobile-first platform. I was instantly hooked given my lifetime of private education, reliance on my alumni networks, passion for technology, and addiction to the startup world. However, at that point, I was content at Brightcove, the company that ignited my desire to pursue a career in technology sales.
For the next year or so, I constantly found myself “creeping” on the LinkedIn profiles of the EverCrew, perusing the EverTrue site for more information on its products.
I’m not sure if it was Brent’s first reaction to my colored pants or the sheer brilliance behind his vision that made me realize I was destined to be part of this team. But either way, the more I “stalked” EverTrue, the more I craved to be part of it.
And that stalking paid off when, on a random Wednesday morning, I logged into LinkedIn and saw an updated career move to EverTrue on the profile of Elisabeth Bentel Carpenter: the woman, the myth, the legend. I nearly died. Ok, that’s a little dramatic…I was a theater major at Williams College, so bear with me.
Elisabeth had joined as EverTrue’s brilliant and fabulous COO. And, oh by the way, she co-founded Brightcove and is one of the most powerful and smart women I’ve ever had the pleasure of working next to.
My crush on EverTrue developed into a more serious infatuation and dire need to work there. Now the profile “creeping” had evolved into sending Brent and/or Elisabeth an email every month or so, letting them know that I was eagerly awaiting a position in Sales to free up (little did they know I’d have basically taken an unpaid internship in the mail room if I’d had to).
FINALLY, on September 11, 2013, I got a bite—an email from Elisabeth asking me if I knew any “outstanding account managers interested in joining the hottest company in town.”
Now it was time to play hard to get. OK, just kidding. But really I couldn’t raise my hand quite yet as I had just transitioned to another company, thinking that my relationship with EverTrue would take more time to develop. A couple months later, after realizing that my current role wasn’t a great fit, I reignited the conversation with EverTrue. Elisabeth and I discussed my previous experience and both decided that this role in account management might actually be a perfect fit for me; so I went for it. And boy has it proven to be a match. Yes, you can all rest assured that EverTrue and I are currently in love—I feel like I’m reciting an episode of The Bachelor right now (a past season, that is…).
As I sit here in my neon green pants, looking at my team’s EverTrue betta fish, I can honestly say I’m the most content I’ve ever been with my career. From the company retreat to Killington to the delicious team lunches we enjoy every Wednesday, it’s ultimately the smart, fun, eccentric group of people (aka avatars) and the products we’re all so passionate about providing our customers that make this experience a true joy.
If you want to experience the true joy I’m talking about, check out our GivingTree product video (SO FUN).
