By: Ashley Womack, Director of Corporate Marketing, Alation
Not many companies can boast a 4.9 out of 5 rating for Culture & Values on Glassdoor. Fewer still can point to a 99% approval rating of the CEO. But Alation is not your typical Silicon Valley startup, and Satyen Sangani is not your typical CEO. He has deliberately recruited women to our leadership team and throughout the ranks of Alation.
If you’re like most women, and go straight to the leadership page on a website before you even consider an opportunity, you’re not going to see the typical gallery of all (white) men. Our C-Suite of People, Finance, and Marketing, are all women, with Joy Wolken heading up our People Team since 2018, and new addition Langley Eide taking on the CFO role this February. (And our CMO Tracy Eiler is also a founding board member of Women in Revenue!).
Since launching in 2012, the company has seen explosive growth, and our data intelligence platform is used by more than 50 Fortune 100 companies today. After announcing a Series D funding round of $110 million, and achieving unicorn status in June of 2021, the firm has hired more than 200 new Alationauts – and it’s still growing fast.
Tassia Reinhold, Stephanie Fitzpatrick, and Robyn BeDell are among Alation’s top female talent in the revenue and customer success teams. Hear from them, in their own words, on why you should consider applying to Alation today.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO ALATION?
Stephanie Fitzpatrick, Senior Customer Success Manager: The product initially. As a Global Intelligence and Information Manager for several oil and gas companies, I had the task of piecing together the capabilities that Alation provides and I was excited to see that Alation had developed such a solid solution. But throughout the interview process it was the culture and the people that sold me.
Tassia Reinhold, Mgr, Regional Sales: After almost 6 years at one of the world’s largest tech companies, I was ready for a change. I wanted to work in a place where I could make a large impact. So finding a company with a growth-oriented energy, that would push me to expand my skill sets, was important.
When I joined Alation in April 2018 we had 100 employees. Since then, I’ve seen us quintuple in size and revenue in 4 years. As an account executive, I was pushed to wear many different hats, and I’ve added dozens of customers to our family. Today, as a manager, I lead a sales team. It’s been a fantastic ride.
Robyn BeDell, Account Manager: A former colleague approached me with an opportunity. He said, come and work for Alation, you’re going to love it here. And once I started talking to the people and learning more about the company, it was hard to resist. I like working in a fast growing start-up environment. I had previously worked at Xactly for 5 years (who went public) and Host Analytics for 6 years (got purchased) and was looking for a similar environment.
WHAT’S THE CULTURE LIKE AT ALATION?
Tassia: The level of transparency and access to leadership is incredible. Our entire executive team attends weekly All Hands where they share updates and answer questions about the direction of the company. Our CEO provides quarterly updates on how we are measuring against our goals. I’ve personally had the opportunity to discuss company direction and share ideas with our C-level executives many times throughout my tenure.
As an employee, that level of openness is empowering. And the honesty and humility that that accountability creates – it trickles down to the employees and culture here in a very real way.
Stephanie: Open, friendly, transparent communication from the top down, importance of people as our greatest asset, supportive, mission and goal oriented.
Robyn: At Alation, everyone is hardworking, but also nobody takes themselves too seriously. We know how to have fun and work hard. This despite most of us are remote!
And with this mostly remote workforce, people go out of their way to connect. We enjoy our virtual watercooler spaces, like slack channels on topics like fitness, cooking, animals, TV, etc, so people can connect on things outside of work. Virtual birthday parties and bridal & baby showers are also common – and way too much fun for a Zoom call!
WHAT’S BEEN KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS?
Tassia: Growth mindset. When I hire for my team, I tell candidates that I’m looking for company builders. You don’t join a startup because the book has already been written, you join because you want to help write the story. The energy, creativity, and core desire to build something is critical to success, both individually and collectively.
Stephanie: Leadership, ample opportunity, and resources.
Robyn: Leadership, culture and teamwork. Being a woman at Alation feels like we are a part of a special club and I love it! We are highly respected within the company and it’s so amazing to see how many women are in leadership roles within Alation. And now that it’s March, we celebrate International Women’s Day all month, with special events and fireside chats. At our last All Hands meeting, we hosted a panel featuring women leaders (and our brothers) to discuss how we can better support women in the workplace.
I absolutely love how we build each other up here – and we have a slack channel that we can chat on exclusively. Alation has made me feel like I am just as important as any other man within the company.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT SAID, “WELL BEHAVED WOMEN RARELY MAKE HISTORY.”; WHAT WOMEN INSPIRE YOU? HOW ARE YOU EMPOWERED TO “MAKE HISTORY” AT ALATION?
Tassia: While cliche, my mom inspires me most. She was a badass, high-powered family lawyer in a male dominated field who earned respect and success battling it out in the courtroom and doing what she felt was best for her clients. She always instilled confidence in me, the value of being articulate and intelligent, and a willingness to express my thoughts and opinions – all qualities that I hope to bring to my job here at Alation.
Stephanie: I actually have a t-shirt with that quote, which I’ve held onto for years! But as a woman, I want to make sure I am being a colleague who is a constant contributor and who lifts others up to help them be successful too. You just have to find the strengths in others and leverage that to make history as a team.
Robyn: I’ve had the opportunity to work with and for some amazing women in my career, which has shaped me as the person I am at work. I strive to be like them. Alison Holmlund was the Chief Customer Officer when I worked at my last company, and she was extremely inspiring. She ran a large organization within the company and had 3 small children, to me she seemed like superwoman. This to me is changing history, being a mom and a successful business woman!
IN CONCLUSION
Stories like these reflect why Alation has established a reputation for its authentic and people-first culture. And diversity is becoming a central piece to ensuring that culture flourishes. The company has committed to more intentional hiring practices and more inclusive internal practices through programs such as unconscious bias training.
The numbers showcase that change in action. While we actively track all demographics of our employees, in looking simply at the metric of employees identifying themselves as male or female genders, the percent of identifying women jumped from 13% in 2020 to nearly 30% in 2021. In particular we’re proud to have more women in revenue positions, as we know how good that is for our customers and for driving revenue growth and retention.
Alation is growing fast, and hiring now! Connect with us to explore opportunities.
