We recently had a chance to sit down with our Client Success Manager (recently turned Product Manager) Robin Witte-Crowell to talk about her life inside and outside aytm. From tackling market research projects to championing client success, and now stepping into the dynamic world of product management, Robin is the true embodiment of the aytm spirit of growth and exploration. But did you know she also shares her home with a fascinating collection of tarantulas and a boa constrictor? Join us as we delve into Robin's journey, discovering the passion for learning that fuels her career and the unique blend of interests that make her an invaluable member of the aytm team.
Can you tell us a little bit about what you do here at aytm?
In my role as Client Success Manager, I worked directly with midmarket and key accounts to execute their market research initiatives. Performing preflight quality checks, optimizing their surveys to function best on the platform, and partnering with the sales and panel operations teams to ensure seamless experiences are all part and parcel to my role.
But on August 19th, I began a new role at aytm as a Product Manager. One of the things I appreciate most about working at aytm is the opportunity to explore different paths and challenge myself to grow in totally new directions. I’ve managed teams, programs, and projects at this point so far in my career and I’m so excited to leverage this experience to grow further into managing products as well. Having worked closely with product managers over the course of my career, it’s always been something I found interesting and now I’m getting the opportunity to flex in all new ways!
How did you decide to get into your field?
It was happenstance in a lot of ways. I finished my M.A. in Communication Studies back in 2016 and after years of thorough exposure to the research process and engaging with various methodologies throughout obtaining my degree, I knew I needed to do something with that. I also spent a lot of time studying video games, technology, and how people engaged with different tech mediums; it was all fascinating to me, and after finishing my degree, I wasn’t ready to stop learning. I needed to figure out a way to keep research and technology part of my trajectory.
I landed at a full-service market research agency in July of that year; they needed a project manager with research savvy and knowledge of both the gaming and tech industries. I was grateful they took a chance on me, being freshly thrown back out into the “real world” and I gained so much meaningful experience during my time there. I worked in lots of different verticals, but primarily spent my time engaged with major players in the gaming and tech spaces, managing market research projects from inception to completion. It was this role that started it all, and eventually led me to my career at the intersection of market research and SaaS, which I’ve spent the last 5 years steeped in.
What’s something you’re passionate about?
Learning. I get a little bit obsessive over deepening my knowledge and find myself going down rabbit holes aplenty. If I’m not learning something new, I get listless, antsy, this lingering feeling that I’m not realizing my full potential. To that end, I constantly look for ways to continue learning and deepen my knowledge not only in the space of my career but also with my hobbies and interests.
For example, music is a huge part of my life. There are some genres that I just hadn’t engaged with at any depth for most of my life, having been raised around a lot of classic rock, 90s alternative, and golden oldies. I love that I was raised this way and with that background, I’ve learned to appreciate so many different styles, eras, and artists across the spectrum from Johnny Cash, to The Fall, to Die Antwoord, to Teenage Bottlerocket, and so on.
What’s your current learning kick?
I’d always been adjacent to hip hop but never fully engaged with it merely because it wasn’t actively played in my house. Over the last couple of years, I’ve spent a lot of time educating myself on the history of hip hop and understanding different regional styles, deep diving into the catalogs of West Coast favorites to East Coast game-changers, like 2pac and Wu-Tang Clan, respectively. The great thing about music is that the deeper you dive, the more you find—and it’s been a lifelong journey that I don’t anticipate ever finding myself far from.
There’s always something else to discover and I keep that thought close to me in everything I do.
What’s something about you that might surprise people?
I don’t know how surprising this would be to people, but… I’m a bit of an animal lover. I went to an environmentalism magnet school during my K through 5 education. There was a large focus on being good stewards of our environment, respecting all its creatures, and understanding the importance of caring for our planet and all its inhabitants by maintaining the health of our ecosystems, biodiversity, etc.
This school sounds awesome—tell us more!
Our science classes were pretty all-inclusive. We didn’t have a “science classroom,” we had a resource room—both indoors and outdoors. We could see so many different kinds of animals, plants, and wildlife as a result and my fascination with creatures of all kinds started pretty young. For 5th graders, the big culmination of elementary school was the chance to go on a week-long oceanography trip to North Carolina (which was where I got the worst sunburn of my life snorkeling in the sound by Cape Lookout, spawning my still current obsession with sunscreen EVERYWHERE at all times even in winter). It was an incredible experience and I’m so glad I was one of the lucky 36 who were able to take advantage of the opportunity.
I was also one of the only students who would actively volunteer to work with the reptiles and creepy crawlies, which brings me to my larger point; I have quite a houseful these days…
We were all thinking it: Tell us about your pets
At the time of this writing, I have a BCI (boa constrictor imperator), two cats (they’re… cats, nothing “special” except them being perfect angels and deserving everything), 11 tarantulas (all different species), and a jumping spider. Invertebrate and reptile keeping was another lifelong goal of mine that I was finally able to realize in 2022; I got Kaa, my boa, in August of that year, and Varys, my first tarantula—a Grammostola pulchra—in October of that year. The rest is history and getting to exist with these animals daily in my own home is one of the most rewarding things I’ve experienced in life thus far.
How do you balance your career and personal life at aytm?
Very carefully.
I find some days easier than others to maintain work/life boundaries, especially being fully remote. But I’m lucky in that I have a separate office—once I shut the door and leave the office after logging off for the day, I’m mostly able to keep work at work. Sometimes I’ll find myself spending too much time in the evenings responding to Slacks and emails during my winding-down time, but I don’t let it get too far (well… most of the time anyway).
With no commute in the mornings and evenings, I’m able to put in the extra time when I need to without worrying about bus or train schedules or traffic keeping me from getting where I need to be. I can use that time on other things, like caring for my brood, or reading up on whatever topic I’ve decided to fancy that day. And if it’s been a week of very long days where you’re putting in a lot of extra time outside of what’s “normal,” there’s no harm in flexing on a Friday and giving yourself some of that time back.
It’s also important to leverage benefits like flexible time off, as being able to step back and recharge is crucial to staying effective. I try not to lose sight of that in the rigmarole of the day-to-day grind.
How has aytm helped you in your career development?
I’ve had exposure to so many different areas of the business and since we are a rapidly growing company, so much opportunity comes with that. The ability to really be on the ground floor and help shape processes and products that will allow us to scale and move upmarket can’t be understated as a huge benefit to my (or anyone’s) career development. These chances don’t come up all of the time, so being able to get my hands dirty and be a part of that has been a boon to my development—and I’ve only been here for six months!
Which aytm Core Value is your favorite and why?
Empathy, hands-down. We can’t truly function as a broader aytm team without seeing one another as human. This applies both to customer relationships and the relationships we have here internally. Going remote was a hard adjustment for many since it removed that tangible, in-person experience of one’s colleagues. At a fully remote company (from the start!), it’s critical to understand where our teammates, cross-functional partners, and clients come from. Sometimes, perspective is everything. Without empathy, perspective can be hard to come by.
Ultimately, we all have the same goal and are working toward the same ends: landing and expanding customers while ensuring successful engagements with our products and tools. Level-setting that we all ultimately want the same things and are striving for the same things can be that great equalizer in aligning people to a unified cause. The root of success is often understanding, which can certainly be more difficult in a digital world.
What advice would you give someone just starting out at aytm?
Meet people and lots of them! Since we aren’t a huge company (...yet), we have such a tremendous advantage in that we can see into multiple parts of the business just by meeting people and building those internal relationships. You’ll get key people to meet as part of onboarding, but I tend to ask THOSE people who they recommend I also speak with. Build that network early and try to expand it often.
Use your resources and don’t be afraid to ask TONS of questions. Things change and evolve—it’s a fact of life both in our work lives and personal lives. As human beings, we simply don’t know what we don’t know. You’ll likely encounter unique scenarios regularly to which no hard and fast rule applies. Don’t be afraid to make judgment calls when needed, but nobody will fault you for getting a quick gut check on said judgment calls as you find your footing.
Leverage opportunities to learn and engage as much as you possibly can. This is made easier by the breadth of content available in our learning and onboarding platform “Lighthouse Academy,” and there are so many opportunities to get in on testing new solutions and tools in active development. Raising your hand for these opportunities is a great way to stay abreast of new and upcoming product launches while also expanding your own knowledge and growing your toolkit. And who knows, your feedback may be what a new product needs to truly deliver the experience our innovations try to foster.
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