New industries, new innovations—women pioneers are everywhere. For this inspiring series, we’re asked our partner companies to submit one woman “Pathfinder” to represent their work, their products, their industry, or their values. (And often, all of the above.)
Meet Kristine Stewart, Director, Product Marketing at VTS. Her career is evidence of why it’s important to speak up and speak out to propel your career. Here’s why.
What path are you forging?
I’m forging a path that fulfills my love of SaaS product marketing with my love for my daughter and being a mom. As a single mom, it’s a constant balancing act to fuel my career, family, and myself.
What inspired you to pursue this field?
My parents started a small business when I was young, and from that young age, I knew I would want to be “in business.” I lived in a small town during my college years, and the “cool” place to work was a particular SaaS company. It wasn’t a direct path, but that job helped me to take steps that got me into the technology industry.
More than anything, I love working with skilled, technical experts, being a part of what they create, and helping it to shine. Early in my career, I was in a marketing specialist role at a company that manufactured and sold plumbing products. While it wasn’t exactly the product I dreamed of marketing, I started to build my muscle to understand complicated technology and distill it down into simple messaging for buyer and user personas.
I saw an open position for a product marketing position and thought, “If I can work with mechanical engineers and understand how automatic control valves function, how different can software and software engineers be?” I got the job and have been in product marketing ever since.
What’s a cool project or program you’ve developed as a result of your work in this area?
The project I’m most proud of at VTS is creating the brand of our tenant experience product. After acquiring two complementary products, a fresh name and brand was needed to communicate the combined value. I conducted research and proposed a name that would lead us into the future and scale across our current and future users.
Seeing the brand I helped create being announced on stage at our conference was a total highlight and reinvigorated my love of research and product marketing.
What resources or people have been influential in your success in your field?
Seeing my parents create and sustain a small business was my first source of inspiration and shaped much of my career worldview. While they may not be experts in software, APIs, AI, [insert any technology, really], they shaped my drive and ability to problem solve.
I’m beyond grateful for the incredible managers and mentors I’ve had throughout my career—most of whom have been women. Growing into a leadership position is a reflection of how they’ve shaped me, the relationships I’ve built, and everything I’ve learned and accumulated along the way.
The trust and support I’ve received from my managers has shaped how I want to be perceived by my team—I want to be human, available, and make work a bit more fun. I live by the philosophy that there are no “work friends” or “high school friends”—people are your trusted friends or they are not.
What advice would you give to aspiring professionals looking to break into and make an impact in emerging industries or technologies or at their company?
Don’t be afraid to speak up and bring solutions to the table. It wasn’t always easy for me un-mute in a room full of men or senior executives—but start small, trust in your gut and expertise, and build from there.
It’s also about the community you create. When I’m trying to get an initiative approved, I’ll make the rounds and get buy-in and alignment with “my people.” My colleagues who feel the same pains and want to drive change have always challenged me for the better and helped get things across the finish line.
