Boxer Spotlight - Erica Brings Her Inspired Self to Work
"Bring Your _______ Self to Work" is an important pillar of our Box culture. We're a pretty mixed bag of different backgrounds and values around here, so the blank is different for each Box employee. In this series, we'll interview one of our own to give you a look at our diverse family of Boxers around the world.
Our subject this week is Erica Lubtiz, a Sales Engineer based in our San Francisco, California office. Here's our interview:
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do at Box.
I'm originally from New Hampshire and love pretty much any DIY or art project. I started at Box in April 2014 (hey, my Box-iversary is this month!) My college friend David Lasher, who leads the Demo Engineering team, referred me to my first role here. I really enjoyed it - I was a Sales Development Rep on our inbound sales line. About 20 of us were on the queue answering the phone to every part of the world. Now, I'm a Sales Engineer and not much has changed - I get to work alongside the best folks at Box and each day is different.
How does what you do contribute to the success of Box?
I try to emulate the best qualities of my co workers and match the mindset of our clients. I make an effort to learn something from everyone because we have a true team mentality here. I also get involved in our community projects. That's the fun stuff -- we volunteer, go to a ballgame, or help out on a shift at a conference together and we always feel motivated after.
What has been your most exciting win at Box?
We announced Box Keysafe in February of last year and I knew my customers in the Healthcare industry would recognize its benefits immediately. My client, a healthcare provider and insurance company, needed a solution that could improve their business workflows and simultaneously help them meet really strict data requirements. I love winning a customer that was initially skeptical about cloud! Landing that deal was a proud moment for our Healthcare segment, it was our vertical's first ever Keysafe deal, and validated our security model.
What has been the high point of your career?
I've held four sales roles at Box and all of them have been different. I'm wrapping up my first quarter as a Sales Engineer and I'm so excited about growing into this role - so this is the high point of my career! I get to marry my sales tenure at Box with my past life in graphic design to help customers visualize a better business on Box.
What do you love about Box as a product? Why do people buy it?
I think the really magical thing about Box is that even though it's incredibly powerful, the user experience is simple and hospitable. Every company has to take jumps toward the future so they can be more productive and meet the needs of their own customers. People buy Box because it helps them do that.
Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, what's been the most difficult challenge?
Working with every industry in all kinds of time zones can make your head spin. Sometimes I get hung up on tiny details and I'm trying to have more of a "big picture" mindset to get more done.
2017 is a big year for Box, what is your biggest goal for this year?
I support the Midwest and Southeast so I want to get a bunch of my customers to come to BoxWorks in October and meet them in person! My next goal is to become a morning person...but I don't think that one is going to happen.
Aaron is such a core part of this company, do you have a fun memory to share?
My favorite Aaron memory happens is from my very first week at Box HQ. At our all-hands lunch, Jared Leto joined Aaron on stage for an unscripted fireside chat about Box, the music industry, and the irreplaceable community at our company. That was the day I realized how spirited Aaron is about Box and how much he cares about us. Plus, nothing beats his sense of humor.
Hear more from Boxers working in Sales on the Muse!