Stocard’s Graduate Program: Entrepreneur in Residence
I got asked about Stocard’s graduate program, and I’m more than happy to share my personal experiences!
What does a typical day as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Stocard look like?
Good question — to be honest, no day is like another, there always are some new challenges to tackle, which I really like about my role and Stocard in general — you’ll never get bored! However, if I’d have to describe the stereotypical day it would probably start with a catch-up meeting with the team to kick off the day, followed by checking the performance of running campaigns, a meeting to understand a retailers’ pain points and some brainstorming on how Stocard can best help overcome these 📈
What sort of projects have you worked on within your first year at Stocard?
Starting on day 1, you’re getting a lot of responsibility and the possibility to drive projects, some by yourself, others together with the awesome team. One of the key projects I’ve been working on in my first year at Stocard was supporting the launch of new markets — during my time in the company we’ve launched four additional Sales markets (Canada, United Kingdom, Russia and CEE). Further, I’ve had the chance to develop exciting new products and features together with our Data Insights and Development teams 📊
How would you describe Stocard’s work culture?
Open, supportive and driven. I started in a challenging time when everyone was in home office, but I was pretty impressed how well the virtual collaboration worked. Team values at Stocard are not just written somewhere in an onboarding document, but are being embodied everyday by everyone not only trying to build the best product possible, but also make Stocard a really great place to work and thrive in. We have for example expert-talks from different domains, really fun team and after-work events, as well as brainstorming sessions to bring in your own ideas. That being said, I can’t wait to go “back” to our brand-new office and to meet all these great colleagues in-person instead of just via the screen.
What will your second year at Stocard look like?
Maple syrup, ice hockey games and long weekends exploring the countryside — at least that’s how I’m envisioning life in Canada now. As part of the program, I’ll be moving to Toronto to support our Canadian team on the ground, and continue to build great relationships with retailers across the country, helping them to successfully drive traffic to their stores, learn more about their customers and explore many other opportunities. Whether you join our international offices in Sydney, London, Milan, Rotterdam, Paris, or Toronto is basically your choice — as it was one of the markets I’ve supported from the start, I decided to join our Canadian team 🇨🇦 🌍
What do you think are the top three essential skills you need to join as an Entrepreneur in Residence?
Preparing appealing presentations and working with large data sets are key for this position. However, I would not necessarily pin it down to specific skills, but rather about one’s mindset. Not being afraid of new challenges and the willingness to find solutions for those for me would somewhat describe the entrepreneurial mindset that is needed not only in this position, but generally in a startup environment. Further, with Stocard being a data-driven company, logical analytical thinking definitely is of help.
Lastly, why did you choose this program and would you recommend it to others?
That’s a good one — I’ve pretty much always shown great passion for entrepreneurship and startups. I liked the idea of graduate programs but could not really see myself working in a big corporation at this point of time, so the Entrepreneur in Residence program was a perfect alternative and I have not regretted my decision for a second! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to make an impact in a startup environment and build up a network in the retail industry 🚀
