In September of last year, we announced Iterable’s exciting plans to expand our operations to Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). While we have long been on a path of rapid growth, over the last few years we’ve gained incredible momentum. In fact, a few months before our ANZ announcement, we celebrated surpassing the 1,000 customer milestone with NASDAQ in New York. We also have customers in nearly 50 countries around the world, and opened up our first international office in London nearly three years ago. I suppose you could say that we’re no strangers to business abroad.
While we’re certainly proud of our image as a high-speed martech disruptor, our true passion is customer success. We succeed when our customers succeed and we are driven by our commitment to providing unmatched support to our growing customer community. That’s what made our expansion to ANZ so exciting—it not only enabled our expansion in a booming region, but brought us closer to more brands and businesses that need our expertise.
Now, almost six months after our expansion was announced, I thought it was high-time I shared more about myself, Iterable’s new ANZ operations, and what makes our team (and this region) so special.
Hi, I’m Jeremy
The first thing I do when I introduce myself to my international colleagues is explain where I work: Australia. People’s reactions never cease to entertain me—there are a lot of smiles, gasps of amazement, and glimmers of jealousy because I work “Down Under”. The following few minutes are filled with questions about Australia, like, “How is the surfing at your local beach? (Most people assume I surf, which, shockingly, I don’t). It’s only after I’ve been through a few Australian anecdotes that I can give some quick fire facts:
- I’ve spent the last 16 years in the SaaS industry in the UK, EMEA, ASIA and now ANZ.
- I love the passion and energy people get from technology and how it not only helps solve business problems, but can be an enabler to do good in the world.
- One of my personal values is “curiosity.” This has always served me well as our industry is constantly innovating and we, our partners, and our customers are always pushing the status quo. I get excited about how I can help them achieve their goals.
- I’m passionate about the success of others—I want my colleagues, my team, our customers, and our communities to prosper. When I see or hear about their successes it gives me a great sense of pride!
Why I Chose Iterable
“Hi Jeremy, looking forward to our catch up this afternoon. Let me know what coffee you would like!”
This was the first message I received from Iterable CEO and co-founder, Andrew Boni. I should have known from that message that our meeting would blow me away. He was incredibly open, inspiring, humble, and kind. I left our meeting feeling excited and was “all in” and ready to lead the charge for Iterable in ANZ.
Leading Iterable’s founding team in this new region, it was really important for me that our team felt like a natural extension of the company, rather than a satellite organisation. To do so, I knew I really needed to embrace all things Iterable. There is a real sense of connection and humility across the organisation, so reaching out to other Iterators for support has never been hard.
Within the first few months, I had the pleasure of meeting so many vibrant and intelligent Iterators, both while I was in San Francisco and virtually. Iterators are renowned for their curiosity, compassion, and conviction and lean into their creative sides and entrepreneurial spirit. Every Iterator I meet reminds me of why this company is such a fantastic workplace and why it’s the right place for me and my team!
Iterable’s focus on people comes across everyday—from our focus and continuous investment in everyone’s professional development, to the launch of our global mentorship program, Iterable’s efforts have such a positive impact on the success of every individual, which in return has seen the business thrive.
The opportunity to learn and grow, work closely with customers, and have an impact on people’s careers and lives gets me excited. And, to be able to do all of this with a company that has values that align with my personal values, in an industry and region I know and love, is a dream come true.
Iterable’s Opportunity in the ANZ Market
There’s a quote from Bobby Unser, a famous American automobile racer, that perfectly answers the question of “why” when it comes to Iterable expanding to Australia: “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”
Iterable has been preparing for its expansion since the beginning. When Andrew Boni founded the company in 2013, he knew the platform would help organisations connect with their customers and drive growth by delivering joyful experiences. The company started in San Francisco, expanded to Denver, New York, and London and is bringing the opportunity of joyful experiences to Australia—a region that is ready for relationship-building and ready for Iterable.
There are so many reasons why Australia was the perfect market opportunity for Iterable, but my favourite four are, as follows:
- Value Alignment: When I became a citizen of Australia, I was introduced to the term ‘Mateship’. Mateship is friendship and camaraderie. In business, it’s equality, loyalty, and trust. There is a genuine focus here of looking out for each other and supporting each other’s successes. It’s a value that Australia—and Iterable—is built on.
- Cultural Cohesion: I’d be remiss if I didn’t also touch on ANZ’s business culture, which is incredibly relationship-centric. Customers are the only reason brands exist, so it is important we take time to listen, communicate transparently, operate with the highest level of integrity, and ensure we are there to support our customers when issues arise. Our team focuses on the success of our customers and building long lasting and trusted relationships.
- Modernization: In ANZ, brands are looking to adopt more modern technology that allows them to tap into their customer data. It’s incumbent on Iterable to meet these growing needs, which is why we’re constantly iterating on the product and how we go to market. The market is ready and Iterable, as a modern customer communication platform, is uniquely positioned to help organisations close the Activation Gap by providing brands with access to their data, allowing them to deliver joy to their customers.
- Technological Adoption: Although we are seeing a lot of uncertainty across the world, the tech industry is still very strong and we are seeing both new start ups and legacy brands pivot to adapt to newer technology. This adoption of new technology is fueled by the need for businesses to provide the best customer experience in a very noisy and competitive market.
Iterable is renowned for our focus on our customers. In fact, we were recently named a “Customers’ Choice” vendor in the Gartner® Peer Insights™ Voice of the Customer: Multichannel Marketing Hubs report. Not only do we see an opportunity to expand our customer community in ANZ, but we’re leveraging this growth to form deeper connections with our current customers in the region, build roots in the local community, and share knowledge and information with our partners in the region. Part of delivering joy to our customers is being there to iterate and celebrate alongside them..
What’s Next?
A lot has happened in the six months since we launched in Australia—our reception across the region has been fantastic. The community has been friendly, warm, and excited. They want to grow and expand and they’re ready right now.
But, as the first team in any region will know, branching out in a new area is not easy. I am so grateful to our customers we have here for being so open and passionate about our journey. We have a huge opportunity ahead of us and it’s critical that while we grow the region we continuously embody our values: Balance, Trust, Humility, and, of course, a Growth Mindset.
We have hired an amazing local team of individuals who embrace challenges, are ambitious, are highly motivated to learn, and are connected as one team. I have a deep sense of responsibility for everyone in our team and I know that we can all achieve amazing things together.
Want to see our incredible team in action? Join Iterable April 17-19 in San Francisco for Activate Summit North America.
