As Artisan continues to grow, the operations function has become a full time job! From hiring, onboarding, software implementation, company communication, financial reporting, accounting, forecasting, implementing new processes and procedures – the operations department is truly the glue that holds a company together, especially at a startup.
Thankfully, we have Alyson to keep us organized, timely, and moving forward!
Alyson- Tell us a bit about your experience in the industry and how you came to work with Artisan.
Alyson:
I began working in the Real Estate, Design, Build industry in 2016 at WeWork and stayed at the company for just under 5 years. My roles spanned from supporting the Chief Real Estate Development Officer, working on the Development Operations team and Development Finance team. Over the course of my tenure at WeWork, I crossed paths with Sarah in 2018 and we stayed in touch ever since.
After leaving WeWork, I went to an instant grocery delivery startup, JOKR, where I worked on the Real Estate and Build team, predominantly focusing on existing and new market expansion. Funny enough, Sarah had actually reached out to me my first week at JOKR pitching me to join Artisan. Fast forward about a year after connecting with Sarah, I began consulting for Artisan and now I couldn’t be happier to be with the team full time!
What would you say is the most tedious part about Operations? And on the flip-side, the most rewarding?
Alyson:
I often find that the operational tasks that are the most tedious and mundane end up being the most rewarding in the end. When I started consulting at Artisan, a lot of my scope was taking things from zero to one with the main focus on our financial reporting and cash flow. It was extremely tedious to understand the billables and receivables for the company since inception and ensuring our current accounts receivable, accounts payable and accounting software were accurate and tying out correctly. Throughout that undertaking, I rolled out different systems, processes and reporting mechanisms to provide visibility to leadership and help the team work more efficiently. Getting us to a place where we are today has been the most rewarding.
What is a typical workday like for someone in a role like yours?
Alyson:
Operations tends to be a “catch all” in an organization whether being at a startup or at a large firm. Most of the role is to mirror the business needs, create organization, and enable your teams and leadership to work efficiently. My workday can range from interviewing new talent, doing due diligence on a new product offering, monitoring our cash flow, generating reporting, everything and anything in between.
What are you most excited for in terms of working at Artisan?
Alyson:
I believe in Sarah and Dani’s leadership and tenacity in growing and expanding our business. They’ve built an amazing team that is very talented, have different perspectives and we all work really well together. Even though everyone has their specific areas of focus, there’s a ton of synergy between the functions that makes a rockstar team. I’m most excited for the clients and initiatives that we have in the pipeline and seeing the team conquer it all and grow along the way.
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