Please introduce yourself.
My name is Olga Lykova. Actually, it's Olga Ivanou. I'm newly married and getting used to using the new last name.
I currently go by three titles. I work at Workspot and I have recently been promoted to run all of the go-to-market. I'm responsible for cloud partnerships with companies like Google, AWS, Microsoft, Intel, and NetApp. I also run our business development team and partner marketing, so a lot of the initiatives with C2C are under my realm.
I'm also a founder of Women in Industries, which is a 10-year-old network. The network is known for their annual panels featuring executive women leaders who share their experiences in an open forum to help professionals discover how to build their dream career, overcome obstacles, build their support bench, find mentorship and sponsorship, and navigate specialization change in pursuit of a "dream job." It is rare that we can have open discussions about what an ideal career looks like. In the last 10 years we had multiple C-level executives from Google, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Adobe, and even the NBA join our panels, sharing their diverse experience with our network.
My third title is Thought Leader for Forbes Business Council, I write articles on business trends and leadership insights.
What is your secret to managing a team of people?
I think this is a twofold concept. First is managing the partners, and second is managing the team. Managing partners is about determining what drives them and what their key motivators are, which has helped me a lot. Working with C2C, I view you as a partner, and it's about bringing the right customers that will share an exciting story or thought-provoking content. I think about what a partner needs and then build a go-to-market strategy surrounding that. For companies who have a great product that fills a gap for a well-known brand, the best way to generate revenue is to attach themselves to the partner. It is a very different way of marketing because you have to become an extension of a different sales team, speak their language, and ensure ongoing transparency with customers and partners.
When it comes to building my team, I don't usually state a salary range when interviewing. My favorite question to ask is, "what would make you happy?" We define ourselves in a title role as well as the monetary component, and I don't want to limit people to a certain number. I want to figure out what makes them happy in that role. That's been my winning formula to get the right people who also feel appreciated by the company. I also always want to recognize the work of people who go above and beyond. When people get creative and push for new ideas, I try to recognize them in front of the executives on a weekly basis.
How has your journey been becoming an official member of the Forbes Business Development Council?
Every time I went to events, I would bring my notepad. At my first company, Apttus, I suggested the idea of turning my notes into a blog post about post-event content. When I joined Copper and was working with their marketing team, I thought we could elevate content further by discussing the journeys of start-ups, since we were working with many of them at the time. One of the CMOs suggested that I should write for Forbes, since I was already writing about webinars and doing a lot of content output. I applied, did the interview process and now I've been writing for them for 4 years.
It's all about different topics, and I love how it's open. It's similar to what C2C advocates for about sharing insights and best practices and staying away from a sales pitch. It's easy to start making content look like a sales pitch, so I have to take a step back and remember to talk about what customers are asking for. My favorite article was writing about top tips I've heard over the years from leaders. A tip that has still stuck with me is anytime you have an issue, don't hide behind an email. Pick up the phone and talk to the other person, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Works every time!
What is the best advice you have ever received?
One of my biggest motivators is Corinne Sklar, Vice President of Marketing at IBM Consulting. We worked together on multiple panels, and she has really inspired me. She once said, "do you have that crazy feeling of being excited and nervous in your stomach when you are doing something?" I said, always. She goes "keep that feeling, because that's your motivator, and that's how you know that you're learning". When I feel nervous about not knowing how to do something, I realize I'm actually in the process of learning and figuring it out.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I think the industry that Workspot is in is at a pivotal point. The industry is on a peak of change, and I never worked for a company that had a product that was so ahead of the game until I worked at Workspot. I think the biggest opportunity for us is to amplify that message. The challenge I want to figure out is, while the industry is changing, I want to see how customers react to it and how we tackle industry changes.
On a personal level, I've always wanted to create a one-stop shop where people can come and thrive. I started writing a book called "Rules to Thrive." I was looking at the definition of thrive, and the word itself means "to grow vigorously, flourish, gain wealth or possession, and prosper". I think that definition incorporates learning, growing and achieving success. I don't believe it's an end destination, because we're always trying to grow. Once you achieve one dream, you start dreaming again. I want to unite young professionals and small businesses together to become that one-stop shop for successful career growth. The end goal after 5 years is to be that one place where people can network about a variety of subjects and topics through referrals as well as advocating for things that work.
What is your favorite aspect of being a keynote speaker at our events?
In that room, you have people who want to be there. It's a gathering of people who are curious and want to do better for their company. You are in a place where the mindset is amazing, because they are not required to be there, they want to be there. My favorite part is not only do we get to talk about the lessons we have learned, but we also get to share things to avoid. We get a chance to be transparent about what's possible and what's not possible. I always encourage our customers to share what didn't work and what could have been done differently. In the audience, I'd say one out of 5 people may have been considering a similar project, and as speakers we are giving them the tools to learn. I think when you share what didn't work, they walk away with something tangible, where they can re-evaluate how to tackle something. Also, it's just really fun! You feel like you're a part of a community, not just an event.
How does Workspot empower female employees?
I think it's about who wants to step in and help. I don't think we differentiate who it is and who wants to do it. We know what the issues and gaps are within the company, and it's about people who raise their hands to get stuff done. I think there's room to grow, but for many people, it has to do with the ability to ask for it. I think many of us think, if I don't fill two out of five requirements for a job, I'm not going to apply for it.
Just recently, my mother was applying for a job and then didn't want to apply because she didn't fit all the requirements. I told her that you can learn on the job and the company can teach you. This is the mindset that needs to change, because you don't have to fit all the requirements for the job description, you just have to have the willingness to learn and to be able to ask questions. Workspot enables employees to do that, you just have to ask for the opportunity.
What inspired you to become a founder of the Women in Industries Network?
Apttus, now Conga, was the first tech company I ever worked for, and I didn't really understand how to evolve in my role. Partnerships and go-to-market was a new concept for me, and these are newer roles in the industry all together. For me, I wanted to learn from my partners and start creating a community. We started doing events, and the first one was at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, with around 50 people in attendance. After the event was done, I felt super motivated and received the insights that I wanted. A few months later, people were asking if we were going to do this again. It then evolved into more sessions, and just last year we hosted a female panel that talked about making six figures. Another topic that was covered was how we can help people to land their dream interview and prep them on how to stand out. It started from my own natural curiosity and then turned into a few thousand members10 years later.
