Happy International Women’s Day! We celebrate this day the best way we know how, by giving kudos to the women in our industry. We sat down and asked our Director of Sales, Misha Inglis a few questions about working for Eden App.
Q: What has been your most career-defining moment that you are proud of?
A: My most career-defining moment would have to be when I headed the launch of 5 U.S. cities for Eden – Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee. For the first time in my career, I was given a larger than life goal and complete autonomy of how to achieve it. I got hooked on new applications to maximize my efforts (shoutout to Phoneburner and Yesware), refined my hiring process for a small sales team, orchestrated launch parties, and successfully activated all five markets within a year.
Q:What motivates you everyday to work in an industry mostly geared to men?
A: I don’t see the landscaping industry as one that is geared towards any gender. Part of the beauty of the industry is that it has little to no barriers. If you are hard-working, care about your customers, and willing to learn – you will have what it takes to succeed as a landscaping professional. What motivates me in my work with Eden is seeing small businesses flourish with the help of our app. I have seen companies with one single snow route grow into having three or more. As Eden grows, we are aiding the community of contractors around us to grow with us.
Q: Who has been your biggest advocate/mentor in the workplace and why?
A: Eden founder, Ben Zlotnick without a doubt has been my biggest advocate/mentor in the workplace. Working at a small company, it is particularly important that you enjoy working with your boss and peers since you interact so often (and Slack = life). Ben leads by example and is always on the cutting edge for technology. He is always introducing me to new apps and software. In my three years working for him, I have been able to thrive creatively, which I don’t think a lot of workplaces encourage you to do – but should. Ben’s mentorship has been invaluable to my career growth and I look forward to our future endeavours with Eden.
Q: What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?
I don’t think there is a problem with getting girls or women to be interested in tech, it’s a matter of getting them in the door. Tech is an exciting space garnering tons of media attention nowadays and women are just as excited about the space as men. It’s the office culture that keeps them from entering. Building inclusive workplaces that people want to spend their times in will attract more talent of any gender.
Q: What challenges do you face being a woman in the contractor and technology industry? How can we change this?
A: Instead, I tend to embrace the positives of being a woman in my industry. For example, I tend to find that I am less likely to get hung up on when delivering my cold call pitch, therefore that’s 30 more seconds I have to sell to the company that my male counterpart doesn’t have. There are always going to be challenges and difficult people along the way, but if you are steadfast in your resolve, you will persevere not only as a woman but as a leader in your industry.
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