Meet Karen, driving the growth of Quizizz in North America.

At Quizizz, we hire people who are passionate about our mission to motivate every learner. We have been chatting with our team members about their Quizizz experience. This week, we met with Karen Murphy, VP of Sales, North America.

Team Quizizz (TQ): So Karen, tell us about your role; what do you do?

Karen Murphy (KM): I am leading the sales team for North America. A big part of my role involves shaping our product market strategy for schools and districts in the region. I’m currently working with our fantastic marketing team to learn how best to share the love of Quizizz that our teachers already know and understand with district and school leaders. Before Quizizz, I worked as a middle and high school English teacher, then as a sales rep across several companies, and ultimately as a sales coach building high-performing teams.

TQ: What attracted you to this role at Quizizz?

KM: Coming from a teaching background, I understood the need for educational technology to be effective AND easy to use. Teachers (and students) are so busy, and the fact that so many of them were using Quizizz daily really spoke to the needs that we address — saving teachers time, making differentiated instruction easy, and building quality practice and assessment. It is easy for teachers to drop a product like a hot potato that does not add value to students’ learning. When Connor (who leads our marketing and growth function) reached out for references for this role, the story of Quizizz piqued my interest. I couldn’t help but want to learn more, and the more I learned, the more I appreciated the unique culture of growth at Quizizz.

TQ: Interesting! What makes Quizizz unique based on your experience as a teacher and in the edtech ecosystem?

KM: Quizizz is unique in two ways:

a. We design everything around the feedback of teachers and learners. We value their satisfaction above all else.

b. We have a collaborative work culture. We positively challenge each other while centering around the learners’ needs. This approach produces more effective work without competition or silos. New ideas are always welcome as we iterate our product and teams, not always a common practice for companies creating impact at our scale.

TQ: Can you share the accomplishments you are most proud of during your time here?

KM: My team’s response to the pivot we made in 2023 was outstanding. In 2022, the last thing most tech teams across districts wanted was new technologies. After all, they had just spent two years onboarding various solutions while adapting to remote learning during a pandemic.
The extraordinary thing about growing when you have headwinds is that you can’t take anything for granted. There are no freebies. We worked hard to nurture every relationship and build confidence among our first district customers. We took feedback internally with grace and learned to work more closely with Marketing and Product. As a testament to endurance, our revenue in just the last quarter was higher than all of last year. The team that missed a goal last year has so much to celebrate this year. Each team member is a proud co-creator of the future of Quizizz, and I am grateful to have them by my side.

TQ: Amazing. We would love to know what one word you would use to describe your experience at Quizizz.

KM: Exhilarating. It’s a constant learning curve with challenges that make this whole experience exciting.

TQ: As you mentioned, this has been exciting for you; what gets you out of bed every morning? What is your daily inspiration?

KM: My family is full of educators, and we often discuss the issue of students’ reluctance to seek help. The pandemic has made it more prevalent. We are seeing increased gaps in learning levels and heightened social anxiety. Our platform empowers teachers to address the unique needs of every student. I can’t imagine anything more important than helping students succeed, and I’m excited to be part of Quizizz’s vision for making that happen.

TQ: Let’s chat more about you. How do you unwind after a day filled with crunching numbers?

KM: Embracing a flexible work schedule has given me more time for running, which I enjoy with my husband of 25 years (also a teacher). I often take part in ultra-marathons but prefer to maintain my own steady pace. Now that our children have left home, we travel a little more — sometimes to see them. Most weekend mornings, you can find me with a cup of coffee and a good book for at least a couple of hours to start the day. I love to read historical fiction, and I’ve gotten good suggestions from colleagues on our #books channel.

TQ: Any closing thoughts for folks interested in working with us?

KM: We are passionate about our mission. We learn and grow, embracing new perspectives to make an impact. This is what we look for in any talent. If they have these qualities, an educator can also become an engineer. As we reimagine how future generations learn, there is a massive potential for personal and professional growth while working here.

Stay tuned for more stories from behind the scenes at Quizizz. Meanwhile, do you see yourself thriving at Quizizz? Check out our open roles.