“As a manager, my first objective is to set-up my team for success.”
Discover our Qonto Insiders of the month: Maria Fossarello, Revenue Growth Director at Qonto.
1. What did you do before joining Qonto (your education, professional experience etc.)?
I studied International Relations in Rome, Paris and London. I then had the opportunity to enter the tech scene working at BlaBlaCar where I covered several roles for more than 7 years, from Marketing intern in the Italian office to Head of Growth for Western Europe.
One year ago I left BlaBlaCar to start myexperience in Qonto!
2. Why did you join Qonto?
I was looking for a new challenge that would allow me to broaden my professional scope. I saw at the time the “Head of Revenue Growth” job ad at Qonto and applied directly. What struck me first was the company’s ambition: Qonto grew super-quickly with very high goals for the future.
I was also impressed by its focus on mastery: how each team keeps challenging the industry’s standards to improve themselves, through the Qonto Way. I found it very interesting.
3. How would you summarize the recruitment process?
First, it was super efficient: I was always aware of what interview step I was in and every one of them had a specific purpose; it went super quickly. Secondly, my Talent Acquisition Manager gave me feedback after each interview, helping me clarify and providing me with a fair view of the company and role expectations. It was greatly orchestrated, definitely the best recruitment process I ever experienced!
4. What stood out for you about the onboarding process?
As a newcomer, it was great to have the company’s vision and priorities clearly in my head from day one. The introduction on the world of Fintech was super helpful (for someone coming from a different background).
Each team came to introduce themselves. It was good to put a name on everyone and get a clear idea of the organisation and the key roles of each vertical, know what are the key projects. I specifically asked to shadow the Customer Success team and it was very nice. I had worked as a freelancer before and used Qonto as a bank but it was good to put myself further in the client’s shoes. It enabled me to better understand some of the pain point and how the team uses the client feedback.
5. Tell us about what you do as a Revenue Growth Director at Qonto.
The Revenue Growth team has two main objectives: managing the global customer lifecycle and building the technical bricks to boost our growth.
6. What are the qualities required to be a successful Revenue Growth Director?
At Qonto, I am leading a team of 24 persons — and still growing — so my biggest role is to make sure everyone is set-up for success.
I need a strategic mindset to understand our revenue levers: what are our ways to increase them? How can we play with what we currently have? Which new levers could we consider? And also an analytical mindset to make sure all our decisions are data-driven.
Finally, a big part of my role is stakeholders management. Because revenue growth is at a crossroad, we always work closely with plenty of other teams and it’s very important to find the best ways to work with them in the most efficient and effective way.
7. How would you summarize your day-to-day life as part of the Qonto Growth team?
As a manager, my first objective is to set-up my team for success. It begins with hiring the best talents and following-up with continuous sessions of coaching. I then need to make sure I clearly explain the strategy to them and cascade the objectives of the company, so they can make the best choices having the big picture in mind. Simultaneously, as mentioned before, I have to build the best connexions with the other teams.
8. What has been your biggest challenge and/or greatest success as a Revenue Growth Director?
In 2021, we ran a cross-team funnel initiative that brought together the Acquisition team, the Product team, the Customer Success team and the Revenue growth team. The objective was to maximise the number of clients ouf of the people arriving on our website. For that, we needed to crack the best team structure rituals and collaboration processes.
All these teams worked toward the same objective so we needed to make sure that we had one source of truth, that everyone was looking at the same KPIs and improving the performance together. It implied a huge teamwork effort with a big effect on the whole company.
9. Which of Qonto’s 4 values (Ambition, Mastery, Teamwork, Integrity) resonates with you the most and why? What do you appreciate most about the Qonto Way?
Teamwork is definitely the underlying principle. The Qonto Way is how we increase our mastery. I found it interesting because in most company, we don’t dedicate a lot of time reconsidering the way we work and how to better work ourselves or with the others. Whereas spending time on this allows you to actually improve the impact of your work as well as your work/life balance.
Why? Because when you have a clear view of where you’re adding value or not, it allows you to better understand where you should focus most of your attention. You spend less time looking for information or trying to understand what your team is doing, which reduces the level of anxiety. Then you can refocus on what’s really important and where you can add value.
10. If you could speak to potential future Qonto candidates, what would you tell them?
Don’t be afraid to be ambitious! Qonto is a fast-moving rocket and there are plenty of challenges or responsibilities to take on. If you’re driven and motivated, it’s your place.
11. Do you have a fun anecdote you would like to share about your time at Qonto?
My best memory here is the Flower Power party we throw last September in a great location. Having fun all night with colleagues dressed up as flowery hippies felt really special! Events are a big part of Qonto’s life, with international teams coming to join. We should always celebrate our successes!
