Always Learning, a Bias for Execution & Building Events From the Ground Up: Why Sarah Cascone is #BlueToTheCore
At Bluecore, we put our people front and center in everything we do. To better understand what makes our diverse team tick and really get to know the individuals that make up our people machine, we decided to find out why different Bluecorians are #BlueToTheCore.
Today’s interview is with Sarah Cascone, Senior Events Marketing Manager. Sarah first joined Bluecore in November 2014. She loves food more than most humans probably should — eating is her favorite thing to do as well as yoga and traveling.
Tara Sussman: Tell me about the path that led you to Bluecore.
Sarah Cascone: I was working for the eTail eCommerce event when someone recommended me to Bluecore. I had never thought about “crossing over to the other side,” but I decided to go in for an interview. When I got there, I could see how the team was taking a different approach in terms of its technology and how they were marketing themselves, and the rest just fell into place.
TS: What does your typical day at work look like?
SC: My role is actually very broad even though my focus is events, so I work with people across departments. One minute I might be communicating with our PR team about media coverage and another I might be working with our sales and customer success teams to find customer initiatives we can highlight and help them coordinate what’s happening on the ground at events. I also work closely with our department heads to make sure our events support our business goals.
TS: What differentiates Bluecore from other high growth companies?
SC: This is my first startup, but I think that our senior leaders are unique. We see that especially with our CEO Fayez, who is very committed to creating a supportive, open and transparent culture. Even peers at different companies notice how he champions the culture.
TS: Which Bluecore value do you most represent?
SC: Bias for execution, because I am a doer and will make happen whatever needs to get done. But I’ve learned how to balance that with agility over the years. Because we’re growing so fast, I need to balance getting things done with thinking through the impact and strategy behind it all. So my bias for execution has turned out to be both my gift and Achilles heel.
TS: How well do we walk the walk when we say product and customer first?
SC: There’s no doubt about the fact that our customers are a driving force in developing our product. We have always listened to our customers and taken that insight to heart to solve their pain points, and we still do business this way. The customer is always top of mind for us. Any new product feature we develop is designed to solve pain points we’re hearing from customers.
TS: If you could switch jobs with anyone, who would it be?
SC: I love my job so much, so that’s a tough one! But it would be interesting to be an engineer because what they do is so different, and I love how they serve the customer by solving problems for them.
TS: What about Bluecore do you value the most?
SC: The opportunity to grow my skill set and progress in my career faster than I thought was possible. And I get to work with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met.
TS: What are you most looking forward to accomplishing this year?
SC: Elevating my ability to collaborate and work collectively with other department leads on goals that directly impact the business.
TS: What are you most proud of, either personally or professionally?
SC: The Bluecore Summit. I had the opportunity to build the event from the ground up, and that was huge for me. I’m especially proud of the content I’ve helped build for it. Content is not necessarily my area of expertise, but it was a great experience to be able to hone in on messaging and positioning for such an important event.
TS: What keeps you at Bluecore?
SC: I’m still learning every single day and the people I work with continue to impress me!
