Sarah joined Yellow Canary in July 2021 and has held multiple roles in the Customer & Growth team. Originally starting out as YC’s first ever Customer Success Associate, after quickly proving her abilities, Sarah moved into a Customer Success Manager role. The technology and product side of the Customer team really piqued Sarah’s interest. With leadership and coaching support Sarah recently became YC’s first Product Owner, which is a role which is an important conduit between the Customer and Engineering teams.  

What was your background before coming to YC?

Originally, I worked in government as a practicing lawyer after I graduated university.

I then moved into working at a top tier law firm in an “Integrated Legal Solutions” team.  This involved helping out managing document review and making it more efficient with technology, which introduced me to an appreciation for how technology can make things more efficient for lawyers.

What does a day-in-the-life for you look like?

A day in the life at YC has been really varied - no two days have been the same since I started over a year ago. On any day I might be:

• Understanding client needs and the CX (Customer Experience) journey
• Working cross-functionally and communicating needs to our Development and Data teams
• Implementing pay rules with our 'no code' solution
• Ensuring products exceed customer needs and expectations, and are fit for purpose internally

What has surprised you most about working at YC?

Seeing how much the company has grown in the last year. I have had a real opportunity to contribute to the growth of YC and have had more autonomy, with less red tape, which is a refreshing change coming from law.

I have learnt about so many different areas - there are so many new things to learn that I didn't expect, from payroll and long service leave, industrial regulations, to coding languages, and setting up success for your customers and team.

What advice would you give for someone wanting to break into tech or customer success?

The hill is not as hard as you think.

Even if you are in a totally different area (like law), anyone with an interest and passion in technology and drive can enter the space. This is especially the advice I'd give to other young women.

There are lots of different groups and mentoring programs you can join if it’s something that interests you. It’s a great way to get exposure if you think start/scale-ups or tech/customer success might interest you, and it provides helpful background into all the different areas.

What are you looking forward to in the next few months?

I am always excited for when the full YC team can get together, which happens quarterly.  This is where we come together to talk strategy and develop our goals for the whole team. It's great to get everyone together and collaborate on ideas. I love seeing everyone in our team as well and meeting all the new faces.

Where can we find you outside of work?

Not at the gym (but maybe one day).

Otherwise, you'll find me going for walks in nature, on the couch catching up on the latest tv shows, reading on a beach somewhere, or on a deck or rooftop bar with a cocktail.