Editor’s note:  As readers of our 2009 Year in Review series will have likely gathered, Bamboo is currently undergoing rapid growth.  Some of our new hires have been with us for a couple of months now, but with new faces appearing in the office seemingly daily in recent weeks, we thought it would be a good idea to introduce the new folks to Bamboo Nation.  You should expect to see many of these new faces beginning to appear regularly here in the Team Blog over the course of the year.

What is your role at Bamboo, and what are your goals for the year? 

My role at Bamboo is to take care of all of our new customers on the East Coast of the United States.  This is exciting to me because I am extremely new to Bamboo myself so at times, the client knows more than I do.  An obvious goal for me is to learn all of the solutions here inside and out.  This is a challenging task because, in the two weeks I’ve been here, I’m already seeing Bamboo’s giant library of SharePoint products grow with the impending release of Conductor.  Not only that, but there seem to be enhancements, add-ons, and updates to existing products daily.

Bob Young
Account Development – Bamboo Sales West
Direct: 703-964-2025
Toll-Free: 877.226.2662, ext. 2025
Fax: 703.481.1373
robert.young@bamboosolutions.com

What’s your professional background?

I have worked with software sales for the last 8 years.

What prompted you to join the Bamboo team?

I wanted a change of pace.  Bamboo’s philosophy of transparency was very appealing – publishing as much of the product information as possible online and having the growing Bamboo Nation community help provide support for the products on the website.  And the biggest thing is that it is working.  Also, there’s the whole team aspect.  Coming from a large company as I did, I haven’t really gotten to work closely with all aspects of what makes the company run.  Here at Bamboo, not only are you able to do so, but you’re encouraged to do so, and that close-knit feel really inspired me to make the career change.

What are some of your first impressions of working at Bamboo?

My first impression definitely involved the nature of the client base.  Having a client call in genuinely excited about buying a product was a refreshing change of pace for me.  It’s a rewarding feeling knowing that you’re helping to provide a solution that will help the customer out, and knowing they are excited about being able to utilize the solution is an added bonus.

With over 60 products to learn, do you feel overwhelmed?  What’s your strategy for getting up to speed?

Listening.  Half the time, clients already know what they want (again, props to all of the readily available product information online) so when they call in with specific questions about a Web Part, I simply ask how they plan to use it.  They will talk about it in good detail most of the time.  That puts a face on that Web Part, which will also help me with future clients who may not have a game plan.

Other than your deep and abiding love of Web Parts, what interests or hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?

I enjoy playing the drums, listening to music, and, of course, perfecting the art of being a couch potato.

 

Meet the new faces of Bamboo:

• Gina Kyriakopoulou – European Account Manager
• Mike O’Brien – Director of Customer Support
• Bob Young – Account Development – Bamboo Sales East
• Matt Robertson – Account Development – Bamboo Sales West
• Nicole Flanagan – Support Engineer