Celtra Yearbook 2016 by Celtra Inc

2016 1

CELTRA YEARBOOK 2016

CONTENTS 6-7 LET TER FROM THE EDITOR

Leadership 1 0 H O W TO S U CC E E D AT C E LT R A

12 PORTRAIT OF MIHA MIKEK

20 ON PEOPLE DE VELOPMENT

26 THE ART OF CLOSING THE DE AL

Energy 40 ALL IN

TOP 5

D E S T I N AT I O N S TO VISIT IN ASIA

5 0 GO D FAT H E R W I T H A B R I T I S H ACC E N T

54 5 THINGS I LEARNED FROM RUNNING 100 KM

1 2 34

Success 32 VIEW FROM T H E C H A I R M A N 'S SE AT

3 4 N U M B E R S TA L K

36 TOWARDS AWARDS

Diversity 58 PORTRAIT OF MA JA MIKEK

6 6 C E LT R A D R E A M T E A M IN NUMBERS

6 8 PA R E N TA L L E AV E P O L I C Y

70 BONDING WITH YOUR NE W BORN IS NOT GENDER SPECIFIC

People 7 4 C E L T R A’ S T O P G U N ON A QUEST FOR FUN

80 PEER AWARD WINNERS

8 4 C U LT I VAT I N G A T E A M

8 8 PA S S I O N , M O D I G L I A N I & ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

92 THE ROAD LESS TR AVELED

5 6

Life 98 C'EST LA VIE!

1 0 2 T H E U LT I M AT E PA R E N T H O O D G U I D E

10 6 ASK ME(GAN) ANY THING

1 1 2 C E LT R A S TO M PI N G 9 4 M OS T L I K E LY TO…

GROUNDS

78 9 10

118 RASPBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE

Past 122 MILESTONES OF THE DECADE

Future 1 3 0 W H AT D O E S T H E F U T U R E H O L D F O R C E LT R A ?

132 RAISING THE BAR

140 PORTRAIT OF M AT E V Ž K L A N J ŠE K

Creativity 148 BEAUT Y IN THE ORDINARY

154 CRÈME DE LA CRÈME O F A D C R E ATO R

156 THE SNEAKER DIARIES

1 5 8 C E LT R A BO O KC LU B M E N U

Team

6 MIHA MIKEK

Letter From the Editor

This Yearbook marks Celtra’s 10th Anniversary. It is a special

apps changing the game?” In hindsight, I was clueless and

edition featuring highlights of our journey, introducing

not ready to get his check, but Bob was sensing a change on

stories of how this company evolved, and offering a view

the horizon… We were already in the best possible industry

into our culture, work, and much more...

of the decade, perhaps even this century, and in our prime time to learn, grow, and test our limits.

This year also marks the 10th Anniversary of the mobile revolution: the release of Apple’s most revolutionary

The early beginnings were adventurous, and the thing that

product, the iPhone. What happened then resembles the

mattered the most were the people I met. I remember our

famous Apple 1984 Macintosh commercial - a promise of a

first meeting with Matevž. He was Renderspace’s “Special

different future that actually happened in a bigger way than

Agent” for projects that required the unordinary. He flew

anyone could have imagined.

in from London to meet me in Ljubljana and hear an idea that should probably have never been built in the

At the time, Celtra was merely an idea for mobile business.

first place. That was the beginning! Much younger than

I remember receiving a call from Bob Davoli, who I didn’t

today, he was already incredibly skilled in dealing with the

know at the time. In his straight-shooting style, he first

unusual. His intricate psychological approach to figuring

asked, “Do you know who I am?” “No,” I said. It was only

out what a client needs, I only started understanding years

afterward that I found out he was an unusual star venture

later, after we had been through a few things together… I

capitalist. A few days later, we were sitting together on a

underestimated his talent and who he was as a person back

terrace at his spectacular art house in Lexington, chatting

then, and the rest, as they say, is history.

about mobile. The one question I vividly remember Bob asking me was: “How do you see the iPhone and mobile

Today I realize more than ever that we are enabling one of the most fundamental pieces of marketing. Creative is the essence, the message, the only reason for advertising to exist.

There are others who were incredibly crucial for Celtra

exist. It is also the most human element and therefore the

to take off, and the one who stands out is Jaka. He was a

most complex and boundless in its power to drive results

tall kid looking for the next hack, barely legal to work,

for marketers.

and more than convinced that advertising was one of the Internet's diseases that needed to be eradicated. After a

As a company, we have evolved from a point solution

few conversations, the challenge became stronger than his

provider that was helping ad networks and digital publishers

belief, and soon enough, he was “all in,” more than anyone

to create and deliver richer mobile ads, to nowadays a

could be. Jaka also exceeded my wildest expectations of

comprehensive Creative Management Platform provider

what he might be capable of, not only as an engineer, but

that helps the world’s largest advertisers improve the

also as a person.

quality and performance of their advertising. We turned the corner in 2017 with the Unilever and Uber deals, and

From the first mobile campaigns that we managed to sell

more importantly, with their successful activations. We set

to New Line Cinema (Warner Bros.), without even having

our course on an enormously large and wide open market

a product, the gravity of creative became too strong for us

of Fortune 500 global consumer brands to power their

to ever escape. We could have taken several paths, perhaps

digital creative and make their advertising perform better.

even some wider and faster, but once we started trailblazing

An opportunity of that size and potential allows us to dream

we never looked back.

about a much bigger and more exciting future.

Today I realize more than ever that we are enabling one

To me, it still feels like a beginning, and I can’t wait for us

of the most fundamental pieces of marketing. Creative is

to write our next chapter!

the essence, the message, the only reason for advertising to

10 HUMAN RESOURCES TEAM

How to Succeed at Celtra ...and at just about anything you do.

YOU ARE

Talented

Motivated

You have a skill or a set of skills that is exceptional,

Because it matters to you.

valuable, and constantly cultivated.

You’re willing to put in the hard work and do whatever it

You use your skills in any way you can, even in areas

takes to make it happen.

you’ve never previously encountered.

YOU ARE A

Fast&Constant Learner You actively seek new tasks to gain new skills, and you enjoy being intellectually challenged. When faced with an unknown variable, you’re quick to map out a game plan and solve a problem. You find joy and meaning in this.

Ownership

Embrace Change

You are the driver of your own success, and you take

You thrive in ambiguous and changing environments

responsibility for even the humblest of tasks.

because you sincerely believe you can make a positive

Your first thought is always “I will do it,” and not

change. You welcome uncharted territories because,

“Someone else will take the lead.”

to you, it means a new trail to blaze.

YOU TAKE

YOU ARE

YOU

YOU ARE A

Original

Team Player

You don’t have a copy-and-paste mentality. “This is

You know that helping others means helping the

typically how it is done” is an approach that is often

company, and, above all, tackling challenges with

fatal. You understand that knowledge from experience

other talented individuals is what you signed up for.

is useful, but only if applied when appropriate – not out of habit or standardized response.

YOU ARE

YOU HAVE

Not a Quitter

Integrity

You are a fighter. Your resilience is a cornerstone of

You are honest and truthful in your actions and at

your being, and “I give up” is not in your vocabulary.

your work. People trust and respect you as a person and as a colleague.

PORTRAIT

Miha Mikek Founder & CEO

T H E C E O . T H E I M P U L S E B E H I N D T H E F I R S T M O M E N T S O F C E L T R A’ S E X I S T E N C E . I F YO U W E R E TO A SK H I M A N Y T H I N G , W H AT W O U L D I T B E ?

“Tell us about yourself.” This is an unnerving request.

He switches gears to their future, a life after Celtra. “We’ve

We knew that. How do you capture your essence in just

talked a lot about what the perfect city for our family hub

a few short sentences? He admits this wasn’t a question

would be. It’s really hard; if you could combine at least

he was expecting, then he smiles and sits back, taking a

two cities, that would be perfect, but if you want just one,

few moments to frame his response. “First and foremost,

there’s always something that’s not perfectly right.” If

professionally, I’m really an entrepreneur.” Anyone who

you’re getting the impression that Miha is a perfectionist,

knows Miha knows this is an understatement.

well, that’s because he is. He’s a true believer that there is always more to be seen, done, worked on. He grinds away

Cue the modesty. “In many ways, I’m a very average person.

at the surface of every task, however humble, to reveal its

When you think about math, physics, or chemistry, I

latent diamond.

completed school without a problem; however, I'm not like Jaka or Matevž who are exceptional brains. But, I dream

As we broach the topic of happiness, he admits to this

bigger than most people, love business, and I have the grit

penchant for perfection. “I think I’m a super happy person.

to make things happen."

I really am. I’m happy with my life. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not also critical about a gazillion things. I’m critical

He goes on, opening up to us slowly, carefully. He’s getting

of myself, of the things around me. I’m always aspiring for

to the true core of his being, and you can tell he’s protective

more in all different ways. I’m never really content. I think

of this. ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS TH AT

there’s beauty in constant motion.”

DEFINES ME TODAY IS TH AT I FOUND SOMEONE I C A N RE A LLY EN JOY LIFE A ND W OR K W ITH. THE

But don’t get him wrong, he’s also engrained with a youthful

T W O OF US TOGETHER A RE MUCH STRONGER

sense of enthusiasm for life’s simplest pleasures. “I still

TH A N W E A RE INDIVIDUA LLY. That’s Maja he’s

enjoy things that I learned at a very young age. If you grow

talking about. Co-Founder and CFO of Celtra, and his wife.

up enjoying nature and sports, you think Alright, we’ve got

“I’ve known Maja since we were teenagers. When we were

to use this time to surf and do these crazy things, because at

in high school, and constantly thinking about the future,

forty, we’re going to be too old to do this stuff. I RE A LIZE

we talked so often about wanting the kind of life that we

I’M

live today; feeling no limits with what we can do and how

E XAC TLY THE SA ME W HEN I GET THE CH A NCE

far we can go, being surrounded by interesting people we

TO GO ON A KITE , OR GO SKIING, OR DO A N Y

greatly enjoy and learn from every day, making a mark on

OF THOSE THINGS I DID AS A KID. I THINK IT ’S

an industry that is changing the future, being able to live

RE A LLY IMPORTA NT IN LIFE TO H AVE THINGS

globally and adventurously.”

TH AT A RE THE SOURCE OF E NERGY TO BA L A NCE

FORT Y

NO W,

BUT,

TRUTHFULLY,

FEEL

YOU OUT. YOU H AVE TO D O SOMETHING FOR THE SOUL VERY FREQUENTLY !” 13

“I really enjoy the freedom, adventure, and excitement of creation. I love bringing ideas to life.” We redirect the topic to his work, a tem-

At Celtra, things are constantly chang-

“These people are very talented, fast

porary appeasement for his surprising

ing, and you need to be able to em-

learners who are driven and ambitious.

forthcomingness. As with most things

brace that reality and adapt quickly

They’re the no-nonsense, no B.S. type

he holds dear in his life, Miha is pro-

and easily. It’s only this mindset, drive,

people who love to be challenged.

tective over the people that come into

and resilience that can make this com-

They like when they’re overwhelmed,

Celtra. So who does he let in? What kind

pany successful.” He goes on to explain

they take responsibility, and they just

of person succeeds at Celtra? After our

how success works at Celtra through

get it done.” He talks about one of

conversation with Miha, we can confirm

the careers of those that succeeded.

Celtra’s newest employees right here in

there’s no clear answer. There is not one

“They come in as underdogs, master

the Boston HQ office, “It’s people like

single characteristic or personality trait

something, and then naturally grow

Steve who come in and say I want to

that makes you a Celtra MVP, and so to

into leaders. That is what real success

be CFO. Those are good signs.” Miha

this end, his response is not brief. “It’s

looks like at Celtra!” It’s clear that Mi-

has little patience for fluff and vague

a tough, competitive environment. In

ha’s expectations for each and every

answers. In his eyes, you should know

order to have a chance to succeed, we

employee rise far above your average

what you want to do, then do it well.

need to go fast and do things at the high-

team player.

est level. There are a number of things

But there’s another upward trajectory

that define an achiever here. Talent, mo-

One of his favorite success stories is that

tivation and hard work are at the top of

of Jaka, Celtra’s CTO. He came in at a

Miha as an important factor for the

the list; we can’t use people that come in

young age as a hacker and developer,

company’s

with a copy-and-paste mentality or a lack

starting with Celtra during his college

H AVE A N IMPAC T IF YOU ’RE A

of passion for what we do.

years. For Jaka, the gravity of building

STRONG TE A M PL AY ER , A ND A

something innovative and exciting in

DOER . Take Kyle for instance, a very

W E NE E D PEOPLE W H O N AT-

mobile that could reach thousands,

talented individual who is also greatly

UR A LLY

RE -

if not millions, of people became too

recognized by his peers, having won the

SPONSIBILIT Y FOR THEIR O W N

strong. He was spending more time

Peer Award multiple times for being an

SUCCESS, A ND STRIVE TO DO

coding for Celtra than in the classroom

exceptional teammate and enabling

SOMETHING TH AT H AS A TA N-

and he knew what needed to be done.

others to do their jobs successfully.

GIBLE IMPAC T. W E NEED PEO -

Jaka quickly became the youngest

When people have a reputation for

PLE W HO C A N STA RT IN IT I A-

member of Celtra’s Executive Team

being truly helpful to others, that’s a

TIVES

and an absolutely crucial counterpart

huge deal, and it can bring you further

OUR

to Matevž in developing a world class

much faster.”

BEST TA LENT THE FREEDOM TO

product. Miha continues to describe

DO THE UNUSUA L .

what these success stories look like.

WA NT

AND

DRIVE

COMPLETION.

TA KE

THEM GIVE

Celtra

that

success.

recognized “YOU

CAN

PORTRAIT / MIHA MIKEK

So how does Miha lead this top talent he so desires? We

CELTR A

FORGING

ITS

OWN

PATH.

ask him directly, Why should anybody believe that they

NOT A COMPA N Y TH AT E ASILY FITS INTO A N Y

should be led by you? With the attention back on himself,

C ATEGORY. IT IS IN A C ATEGO RY O F ITS O W N.

his inherent modesty seeps back into his responses; a stark contrast from the sharp and intense reply to our previous

It goes without saying that, to Miha, this is more than a

inquiries. He salutes the Executive Team that he has built,

job. This is 2:00 AM, 3:00 AM, and 4:00 AM emails, this is

emphasizing that the company’s trust in his leadership is

sleepless-nights-turned-early-mornings filled with new ideas

really a trust in this team. “It’s up to me to bring together

and new plans of action, this is a constant ascension to an

and create the conditions for this group to be successful on

ever-changing, ever-burgeoning goal. When thinking about

a continuous basis. It’s up to me to ensure we're constantly

Celtra’s success, Miha attributes it, in part, to catching the

growing and evolving. I see myself as the chief creator of

right wave at the right time with the right group of people.

opportunities for the entire team and the business. So

Now, over a decade later, surfing with this group is still a lot

when I think about Celtra’s leadership, I think about the

of fun. At this point, it’s the skill and the years of dedication

credibility, capacity, and strength of our executive team. I

and the craft-honing that keep Celtra within the swell. For

think about what we’ve accomplished so far, and our great

this lifelong surfer, his endless pursuit to chase waves is

potential for outperforming others in the market. So I

just beginning. And once this wave reaches its shore break,

think there are plenty of reasons to be led by us.”

Miha will be quick to find another. That is, if he doesn’t have one scoped out already.

Anyone who has worked at Celtra for some time knows that being led by this team does not bring you down the same path as any other company.

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS / MIHA MIKEK

I’d much rather be respected.

Would you rather be respected or feared? When do you feel like you’re most yourself?

Quite often. I don’t really feel like I’m often out of that zone.

What was something you failed miserably at?

Nothing so dramatic that would set me back from my plans.

How do you approach change?

Change is one of the biggest excitements in my life.

When have you been most satisfied in

I’m pretty satisfied right now. If we’re healthy and can get out and

your life?

do things and aren’t constrained by things that most of the world is, if I can do what I want and at the same time spend time with my family, it’s tough to say that’s not satisfying.

On a scale from one to ten, how weird

Oh, I don’t know. I wouldn’t give myself a high score there. I’m not a super weird person. Maybe a five?

are you? How lucky do you consider yourself?

Very lucky. For now, way luckier than most people. But then again, I have had moments where I’ve felt completely the opposite, and I think everyone has that from time to time. But generally speaking, yes, quite lucky.

What’s something that bothers you that

I’m quite visual, so I don’t like when things are dirty, messy, broken,

Miha Mikek other people don’t seem to mind?

unorganised… unless I am going for an adventure, for instance

kiteboarding in the DR or traveling in Asia, then I can switch my mind

If you had all the money in the world, what is the first thing you would buy?

If you needed to get out of jail, who at

and deal with anything.

I would go shopping for interesting companies that are changing the world. Maja, and ask her to call “her friends.”

Celtra would you call?

What’s your guilty pleasure?

What’s your favorite TV show?

What’s your power suit?

Yachts. I don’t watch TV. Jeans.

Book.

TV or book?

Green juice in the morning, and sometimes Classic Coke,

Soda or juice?

only from a glass bottle.

If you were to name one role model or

I like to surround myself with people who I believe are ahead of me.

mentor, who would it be?

From an early age, my biggest role model was my older brother who became a medical doctor, then a very successful entrepreneur. He became our first angel investor, then a pilot, and most recently, a great jazz piano player. He was always learning, growing, pushing new boundaries. Of course, I’ve also met many very accomplished people in business over the past few years, and several of them became my mentors and role models. Lastly, for so many things, it’s Maja. A house is essential, I love great architecture and design!

Nice car, house, or yacht?

Fly.

Would you rather have the power to be invisible, or fly? Would you rather be permanently

Into the future, for sure. [Different answer than Maja for that one!]

transported 500 years into the future, or 500 years into the past?

Oh come on, Maja, 500 years into the past? Do you know what a miserable life that was? [She said she wanted to be with da Vinci.] Oh my God.

What’s your best advice for closing a deal?

Having options.

What’s something you’re good at teaching

How to dream big!

others how to do?

WRIT TEN BY COURTNEY CANNON-BOOTH Executive Assistant, Boston Courtney joined Celtra in May 2016 and brings a unique perspective to our culture through her previous experience in CSR and her passion for anything fitness.

GREGOR SMREKAR

On People Development

O N E O F T H E M A I N C H A L L E N G E S A F T E R CO R P O R AT E G RO W T H I S E N A B L I N G E V E RYO N E TO CO N T R I B U T E , W H I C H , U N F O R T U N A T E L Y, D O E S N O T H A P P E N B Y I T S E L F . I T I S T R U E T H A T G O O D E M P L O Y E E S A R E T H E C O M P A N Y ’ S M O S T I M PO R TA N T A S SE T, A N D F I N D I N G A N D H I R I N G T H E R I G H T PE O PL E I S A N I M PO R TA N T TA SK F O R W H I C H W E SPE N D A LOT O F T I M E , E F F O R T, A N D F I N A N C I A L R E SO U RC E S . B U T T H E N AG A I N , A R E W E T RU LY U SI N G T H E I R F U L L POT E N T I A L?

In a company that experiences rapid

customer meetings because they don’t

picture. And because of this, they are

growth, it’s common for people to con-

have enough experience speaking with

involved in all important projects; it

tribute much less than they are capable

customers. They can’t work on a crit-

would take a lot of time merely to ex-

of. This is not because they wouldn’t

ical feature because it is so important

plain this all to someone else.

like to. On the contrary, it’s the smart,

that only the most senior developer

talented, right people that would re-

can do it. They can’t compile the deck

Consequently, the top performers get

ally like to contribute more.

There

because it has to be done ASAP, and

even more knowledgeable and even

are many reasons why this happens.

there is no room for mistakes. They

more exposed. The gap between them

They don’t understand the big picture;

can’t take on a complex task because

and the rest increases.

what is the project they are working

we can’t afford the time for potential

top performers become bottlenecks.

on trying to solve, why are we doing

rework. And the list goes on. As a re-

Tired, they cannot move on to some-

it? They are getting involved late in

sult, important contribution is limited

thing new since there are no capa-

the process, when decisions are made

to a small group of top performers

ble hands to replace them. Personal

and brainstorming is done and there

who are diligent, hardworking, great

growth stops. Meanwhile, on the side-

is no time for implementation of new

doers, exposed to customers, the mar-

lines sit many good people with high

ideas and creativity. They can’t attend

ket, trends, and understand the big

potential.

In time, the

ON PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

"It rests with the leaders to create such a culture in their teams." These individuals become frustrated by their inability to

doing, we must ask questions and understand why we are

contribute. To be clear, this is quite normal. It happens all

doing it, and how this will influence the performance of

the time, despite healthy culture and openness to knowl-

the company.

edge sharing. I can still remember myself, nearly 20 years ago, leading a team of 50 software engineers. I had to be

Second is the general principle and expectation that per-

involved in every detail. I was the only one who could talk

sonal development and growth is a must for everyone. This

with the client on important topics, find bugs most effec-

means not only improving the productivity and quality of

tively, write the complex spec, and troubleshoot produc-

what you do now, but also learning and trying new things

tion installation. I did not take the time to train the team,

so that you can improve the processes, teams, product, and

to mentor them, to ensure and insist on their development

make significant contributions. It rests with the leaders to

and growth. As I became more proficient with a particular

create such a culture in their teams. Simultaneously, we

project, my personal growth effectively stopped. I ended

must all be ready to go the extra mile, push ourselves out

up working 80 hour weeks. My wife began mentioning the

of our comfort zone, and be ready to make some mistakes.

word divorce. And, several good people left the company because they felt they could not add value.

Third, and key to success, is the resolve of the top perform-

BRE A KING SUCH PAT TERNS C A N DR A M ATIC A L-

ers. They must be motivated to find time to onboard, men-

LY IMPROVE THE PERFORM A NCE , TE A M W OR K ,

tor, coach, and review. Their time is precious because they

A ND MOTIVATION IN THE COMPA N Y.

are top performers, but the investment is surely worthwhile. Undoubtedly, the first few tasks will proceed slower than

There are three things to emphasize in this respect.

usual, and some rework will be necessary. But, after time, the number of people that can contribute will grow. They

First is the ability to understand the big picture and why

will be able to work as a team, brainstorm, and be creative.

things are being done. Whether that is company strategy, strategic initiative, a certain feature, approaching a specif-

A ND AS A RESULT, TOP PERFORMERS W ILL BE

ic potential client, or preparing a pitch deck. If there is a

A BLE TO DE VELOP THEIR OPER ATION A L SKILL S

wider understanding, smart people will be able to innovate,

FURTHER , A ND CONTRIBUTE ON A N E VEN HIGH-

suggest, improve, and show creativity. Such understanding

ER LE VEL .

and focus on the why is everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job. Whatever we are

"Simultaneously, we must all be ready to go the extra mile, push ourselves out of our comfort zone, and be ready to make some mistakes."

GREGOR SMREKAR COO, Ljubljana Gregor joined Celtra in 2013 leading our engineering team, recently expanding his role to oversee global operations.

HARRY ROBINSON

The Art of Closing the Deal Introduction One of the myths of SaaS is that the

sell themselves. Strong enterprise sales

of enterprise sales is about helping

products are so good, so easy to use,

is critical to capturing market share.

customers get through their own

so quick to deploy … that the product

internal buying processes. Even the

sells itself. Given the popularity of

Because selling an enterprise-wide

best and most popular product can’t

try-before-you-buy and freemium-to-

deal is a lot like getting a bill passed in

make a typical enterprise buyer change

premium models for software as a

Congress.

the way it does procurement.

Decision-making in large organizations

And just because we have landed a

is a long, tortuous process due to legacy

Fortune 500 client doesn’t mean it

But as many startups discover, as have

technology

internal

will keep that sliver of business, let

we in so many cases, that after they

politics,

homegrown

alone upsell, cross sell, or sell across

“land” users and try to “expand” to

solutions, sunk cost of integrations,

more divisions that can span multiple

more departments in a large company,

account

geographies.

this is far from the truth. Even with

vendors, and the sheer size and scale

early viral growth, SaaS products don’t

involved. In many ways, the purpose

service, it’s easy to see where that myth comes from.

deployments, entrenched control

incumbent

What sales is really about Some

people

think

that

sales

I think this is especially true for a

Creative Management Platform? Of

person’s job is to communicate value

startup or growth company that’s

course there is no budget for a Creative

to customers. To these people, sales

addressing a new market or trying to

Management Platform, the market

is about buying a bunch of search

solve a complex problem like Celtra.

hasn’t been established yet."

adwords or mouthpiecing a company’s

That’s

message.

requires a well-developed process and

My job is to go out there and show

They’re wrong.

guidelines.

customers a different but better way of

why

enterprise/SaaS

sales

THE TRUE PURPOSE OF SA LES

doing creative execution.

IS TO CRE ATE NE W VA LUE FOR

Do you know how often I hear clients

CUSTOMERS.

say: "Look, there’s no budget for a

E V E N T H O U G H T H E E N T E R PR I SE S A L E S PRO C E S S H A S M A N Y S T E PS A N D S TAG E S , I T U L T I M A T E L Y H A S T O A N S W E R T H R E E Q U E S T I O N S F O R T H E C U S T O M E R : W H Y B U Y, W H Y U S , W H Y N O W .

“ WHY SHOULD I DO ANYTHING?”

THE KE Y HERE IS TO SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTA ND A ND THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD.

The easiest way to help a potential customer answer this

The problem with telling a potential customer what we

question is to identify their important initiatives.

think they need before we understand what they think they

Every large company has strategic business initiatives that

need is:

are always going to be funded and that are driving its

• We’re basing our position on a known set of requirements

investments. Once I’ve uncovered these initiatives (as well

from a broad base of companies instead of unknown specific

as the critical capabilities that need to be in place for the

opportunities.

initiative to be successful), I can begin to define the unique

• It positions us as more of a commodity or just a vendor

value proposition.

— as opposed to a partner that can help transform the way they manage their digital creative.

“WHY OUR SOLUTION (VS. OUR COMPETITORS’

THE ART OF CLOSING THE DEAL

At times, it’s also critical to bring in the right people.

SOLUTION)?”

No one in the market knows more about AdCreator than we do, so I should be the one helpfully consulting with the prospect to craft what success looks like. By doing this, I am more likely to win the criteria-setting battle, because I’m essentially pre-positioning and differentiating our product over that of competitors. This helps block the

This is key because our biggest competition isn’t just our competitors, perpetually licensed on-premise packages, We constantly find ourselves in a constant battle against the prospect’s urge to do nothing.

“WHY NOW (VS. INVESTING IN ANOTHER AREA OF THEIR BUSINESS)?”

competition and set traps that they have to compete on as we both step through technical validation.

homegrown solutions, or incumbent vendors. It’s inertia.

Once we’ve eliminated the competition and are on the path to technical validation, we have to turn the value proposition

My job here, therefore, is to help a potential customer define

into a quantifiable business case. I think the advantage of this

success in three distinct buckets: (1) business criteria; (2)

kind of “ROI diagnostic” as a selling tool is that it:

architecture/scale criteria; and (3) feature and functional

•

criteria.

benefits, and financial value with the company’s key strategic

Aligns and maps AdCreator’s capabilities, operational

initiatives. This helps our enterprise-wide proposal compete This is also the best time to prepare messaging, metrics, and

for capital with other proposed initiatives, programs, and

marketing to address three audiences: (1) enterprise-level

projects.

(C-suite, senior vice presidents); (2) workgroup-level (VP’s,

• Improves visibility into the current operations environment,

directors, managers); and (3) user-level (groups of individual

by providing a snapshot of operational inefficiencies and

contributors and their direct managers).

challenges. Besides showing the company we understand what matters to them, this approach helps insulate us from pricing

At this point of the sales cycle, there are many sub-processes

pressure.

and activities that have to be quarterbacked, such as “sales

• Ensures that the plan for implementing our solution delivers

engineering,” and “sales management.” Personally, I feel my

on the most important business objectives first, which in turn

ability to do both of these well has some of the biggest impacts

ensures a shorter time to value.

on success or failure.

Conclusion To conclude, SaaS is a winner-takes-all market involving a

powerful sales tool there is: a good reference. And while

“land-and-expand” sales strategy. However, landing doesn’t

new clients are important, the best place to sell something

necessarily mean expanding and winning.

is where we’ve already sold something.

Staffing up with customer-facing resources, from “studio”

To this end, it’s crucial that we turn early customers into

to customer success and client enablement, at this stage,

unassailable external references and internal advocates.

is an investment that will pay off not only in expanding

Because good products don’t sell themselves, and our

our footprint inside an account, but in building the most

champions can help sell them for us.

HARRY ROBINSON VP, Brand & Agency Partnerships, New York Harry started with Celtra in 2013, working in London before relocating to NYC in 2015 to focus on brand & agency sales.

2 31

TIM WRIGHT

View from the Chairman’s Seat As Chairman of Celtra for over six and a half years, I have

In the nearly seven years since then, we have built a business

witnessed first hand the incredible evolution from a true

with industry leading technology. We have truly defined

incubated start-up to the thriving business Celtra represents

and evolved the business of advertising to the consumer.

today.

In that same time, we have gone from a business that did a couple hundred thousand in revenue to one that will be

This amazing journey is far from over, and the company has

north of $40 million in revenue this year. Even still, that

never been stronger than we are now.

doesn’t quite tell the story.

For perspective, some history might be helpful. If we go

Celtra has built a reputation for creating the highest

back to the fall of 2009, Miha had a compelling vision for

quality products, which we back up with industry leading

the platform Celtra had to become, and I quickly gained

service. Reputations are hard won and easily lost; constant

confidence in Maja’s operational strength. As with all the

innovation, focus, and vigilance are core principles for

best deals, they weren’t looking for money at this stage, but

Celtra.

promised to come back when they were. This year promises to be a truly transformative year for Fast forward to the Fall of 2010, when I met Matevž and

the company. Evolving the business model to better meet

Jaka for the first time. Celtra did everything it had outlined

the demands of an increasingly sophisticated operating

in 2009, Matevž was clearly a rock star, and Jaka could build

environment is one of the toughest challenges any business

anything. From that point on, I was hooked.

will face. I

CONFIDENT

CELTR A

H AS

THE

RIGHT

TE A M IN PL ACE W ITH THE PRODUC T TO LE A D THE BR A NDS INTO THIS FUTURE . AS RICH A RD BR A NSON SAYS, “EMBEDDING PURPOSE INTO YOUR BUSINES S W ILL HELP IT TO STA ND OUT, A ND A LIGN IT W ITH CUSTOMERS W HO H AVE THE SA ME VA LUES.” TIM WRIGHT Chairman, Celtra Board of Directors Tim is a General Partner at GrandBanks Capital. He joined Celtra's BOD in 2011 as our lead investor during our Series A financing.

LO W E ’ S CO M PA N I E S , I N C . G E N E R A L M OTO R S CO R P T H E B L AC K S TO N E G RO U P C A L I F O R N I A S TAT E LOT T E RY T E L E I N C . CO M C A S T CO R P O R AT I O N A M C N E T W O R K S I N C . A M E R I C A N E X P R E S S CO. V E R I ZO N U K LT D S U B W AY R E A LT Y T I R E C E N T E R S , I N C . N I K E , I N C . D E L L I N C . C H I C K - F I L- A , I N C . A M E R I C A N H O N D A M O T O R C O . , I N C . T H E P R CO M PA N Y M I C ROS O F T , I N C . T I M E WA R N E R I N C . C H I P OT L E M E X I C A N G R I L L , I N C . K E N T U C K Y F R I E D C H I C K E N (G R E A C O R P. F I A T G R O U P A U T O M O B I L E S U K L T D P A N D O R A M E D I A , I N C . A B B G R O U P G O L D E N G A T E C A P I T A L B A I N C A P N O R T H A M E R I C A , I N C . E E LT D PH I L I PPI N E S A I R L I N E S D I C K ’ S SP O R T I N G GO O DS I N C A SI C S U K LT D YO U T M O B I L I T Y B R E I T L I N G U S A I N T E L C O R P. A S I C S A M E R I C A C O R P O R A T I O N S E L E C T C O M F O R T C O R P O R A T I O N Y U M I N C . S O N Y CO R P O R AT I O N C B S CO R P O R AT I O N VO DA F O N E G LO B A L E N T E R P R I S E J P M O RG A N C H A S E & CO. D R E N .V. J C P E N N E Y C O M P A N Y, I N C T O Y O T A M O T O R C O R P O R A T I O N E M I R A T E S A I R L I N E L T D C B S C O R P / W A R N E R B E N T E R T A I N M E N T C O R P. W A K E F E R N F O O D C O R P O R A T I O N B & Q A M E R I C A N F A M I L Y I N S U R A N C E G R O U P L A N D W O R L D W I D E H E I N E K E N U K LT D PA N E R A B R E A D CO. S M I T H F I E L D F O O DS , I N C . N AT I O N A L S O C I E T Y F O R T H E P R E C O R P O R A T I O N C I T I G R O U P I N C . O F F I C E D E P O T , I N C . H E I N E K E N N . V. M A R K S & S P E N C E R G R O U P P L C V T E C H H C O . T H E G O L D M A N S A C H S G R O U P, I N C . U . S . G O V E R N M E N T E & J G A L L O W I N E R Y I K E A L T D S K Y P L C C A N O N , CO R P W E S T F I E L D I S O N D I S T R I B U T I O N LT D B I C U . K . LT D S U N TO RY H O L D I N G S L I M I T E D J E T B LU E A I R W AY S T D B N O R D I SK PH A R M AC E U T I C A L S , I N C . P OT B E L LY S A N D W I C H W O R KS , L LC S TA PL E S , I N C . DA I S Y B R A N DS , E N T E R TA I N M E N T GOV E R N M E N T O F O N TA R I O SP O R TC L I P S A B BOT T L A BO R ATO R I E S AC A D E M Y SP O R TS + O U T D O S . P. A . M E A D J O H N S O N N U T R I T I O N A L S S T A T E O F V I R G I N I A A M A Z O N . C O M , I N C . E S S I L O R I N T E R N A T I O N A L E X X O I N C . T H E M O N RO E CO U N T Y TO U R I S T D E V E LO P M E N T CO U N C I L M AT T E L , I N C . B E D B AT H & B E YO N D I N C . H E N N E A I R L I N E S G RO U P I N C . A D I DA S U K LT D A M C E N T E R TA I N M E N T, I N C . / R E G A L E N T E R TA I N M E N T G RO U P R I N N A I A M LT D H A R M A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L I N D U S T R I E S , I N C . L’ O R É A L U S A C A P G E M I N I U . S . U N I L E V E R PLC G A R M I N I N T E R V U I T TO N G O R V I N G , I N C . E S D E V I U M G A M E S LT D L E V I S T R A U S S & CO. X L E A R TAT T S G RO U P M I L L E RCO O R S CO R P O R AT I O N O ’ R E I L LY A U TO PA R T S A & E T E L E V I S I O N N E T W O R K S ROS AT I W I N D O W S H B O KO R E A A I R D E C K E D W I G H T C O . , I N C . V I T A M I N W A T E R H O L L Y W O O D F O R E I G N P R E S S A S S O C I A T I O N A L L S T A T E C O R P. O R A N G E M O B S A F I T B I T, I N C . DY S O N TA N G E R I N E F O R W A R D B A N K I N G E B AY I N C . D E XCO M DA N O N E U K LT D K A RG O M T V N CO R P O R AT I O N C H A R L E S S C H W A B & CO, I N C . B AC A R D I U . S . A . I N C . F O C U S F E AT U R E S A M E R I C A N B LU E R I B B O N B U R E A U WA LG R E E N CO M PA N Y S O N Y CO M P U T E R E N T E R TA I N M E N T E U RO P E LT D M I C H I G A N D E PA R T M E N T O F H E A LT I N C . S TAT E O F I L L I N O I S L LOY DS B A N K I N G G RO U P G E N E R A L M I L L S , I N C . C E N T U RY L I N K T E S CO P LC E D F E N E RG I N C . AC T I V I S I O N B L I Z Z A R D, I N C . M A S CO CO R P O R AT I O N S TA R W O O D H OT E L S & R E S O R T S W O R L D W I D E , I N C . J E L W O R K WA R E H O U SE J A R D I A N C E PH I L I P S U K LT D W O O D M A N L A BS , I N C . A B E RC RO M B I E & F I TC H S T X E N T E R TA I I N C . SC J O H N SO N & SO N I N C . I H E A R T M E D I A M I C H A E L KO R S H O L D I N G S L I M I T E D M ATA L A N LT D SC H OT T E N S T L LC G I L E A D SC I E N C E S , I N C . R E C K I T T B E N C K I SE R PLC N E T F L I X I N C . PR E SI D E N T ’ S C H O I C E F O O DS G E E LY H O I N T E R N A T I O N A L P E T S M A R T , I N C . M O R E L A L T D T H E N E I M A N M A R C U S G R O U P, I N C . N I S S A N M O T O R C O . , L T D . P V ( H E A LT H & B E A U T Y C A R E ) LT D G E O RG I A LOT T E RY CO R P O R AT I O N Y I L D I Z H O L D I N G A . S . M Y E R S A U TO M OT I V E G RO U L LC D O L E F O O D CO. , I N C . ROYA L C A N I N U K P H I L L I P S VA N H E U S E N LG G RO U P CO M B E I N T E R N AT I O N A L LT D S B E N C K I S E R G M B H L A N D RY ’ S R E S TA U R A N T S , I N C . L I O N S G AT E U K LT D S M O OT H I E K I N G F R A N C H I S E S , I N C . CO LU M D R U G S TO R E P RO D U C T S I N C . S TA R B U C K S CO F F E E CO M PA N Y ( U K ) LT D T E S T T H E N E W S C H O O L PAY PA L LT CO M PA N Y B E I E R S D O R F, I N C . N OVA R T I S AG L E ROY M E R L I N N AT I O N A L F O OT B A L L L E AG U E ( N F L ) PRO PE R T I E S , I N C . T E VA P H A R M AC E U T I C A L I N D U S T R I E S LT D. M O N ROV I A N U R S E RY CO M PA N Y U N I V E R S A L H O M E E N T E R TA I N M E N B E A N , I N C . S TAT E FA R M I N S U R A N C E B LO W PRO M E D I A W O R L D V I S A U S A , I N C . S U N OV I O N PH A R M AC E U T I C A L S I N G M B H S TAT E O F CO LO R A D O I TO C H U CO R P O R AT I O N W E L L S FA RG O & CO. C & A C LOT H I N G T H E J . M . S M U C K E H O L D I N G S O F A M E R I C A S , I N C . S T R I P E S CO N V E N I E N C E S TO R E S V F CO R P O R AT I O N C I B C U B I S O F T E N T E R TA I N M E M T D P RO D U C T S , I N C . XQ S U P E R S C H O O L T H E W E N DY ’ S CO M PA N Y MD ANDERSON CENTER TELE2 NETHERLAN I N C . T H E P R I N C I PA L F I N A N C I A L G RO U P A A R P U N I V E R S A L P I C T U R E S I AC W H I T B R E A D G RO U P P LC I C E L A TRADING M A S S AC H U S E T T S M U T U A L L I F E I N S U R A N C E CO M PA N Y G E N E R A L E L E C T R I C CO M PA N Y S Y N C H RO N Y F I N A I N C . L E G O A / S T H E C LO ROX CO. V I TA L FA R M E G G S T H E B A N K O F N OVA S COT I A U N E F O N B LO O M I N ’ B R A N DS , I N C O F M A S S A C H U S E T T S M A Z D A M O T O R C O R P. C O L U M B I A P I C T U R E S S T A T E O F M I C H I G A N N E W B A L A N C E A T H L E T M O N D E L E Z U K LT D F I N A N C I A L T I M E S LT D A PPL E , I N C . T R A D E F R A M E N O R T H W E S T LT D S U BZ E RO A N D W O L F SH U S A C A S E Y A U T O S T O R E R E N A U L T T R E X C O M P A N Y, I N C . C O T Y U K L T D W E S T E R N U N I O N H O L D I N G S , I N C . B E S T B B R A N DS , I N C . F E R R E RO S PA C A M E LOT U K LOT T E R I E S LT D LOS A LTOS R A N C H M A R K E T D I G N I T Y H E A LT H G L A XOS S U PE R M A R K E TS LT D LG E L E C T RO N I C S U K LT D B I G T E N N E T W O R K V I A N T P S A PE U G E OT C I T RO Ë N T H E W I N DS LT D B M O G LO B A L A S S E T M A N AG E M E N T S E L F R I D G E S & CO. LT D AVA N I R P H A R M AC E U T I C A L S T X U CO R P O R AT I O N G RO U P Q B E I N T E R N AT I O N A L I N S U R A N C E LT D S A M S U N G E L E C T RO N I C S CO. , LT D. Q U A K E R T R A D I N G LT D N RG CO R P O R AT I O N RO L L I N T E R N AT I O N A L CO R P O R AT I O N M O H E G A N T R I B A L G A M I N G A U T H O R I T Y KO O D O O L E N OVO G E U R O P E L T D L O R I S S A’ S K I T C H E N N E W E R A C A P C O E N E R G I A A C C E N T U R E S O C I É T É B I C S A H A N C O C K F A B R I C S I F O O DS S T R I P E S A M O R E PAC I F I C A U S T I N CO N V E N T I O N & V I S I TO R S B U R E A U C E N T R A A L B E H E E R A E A I N V E S TO R CO R P O R AT I O N D I S COV E R F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S , I N C . H A R L E Y- DAV I DS O N , I N C . C A N A D I A N C RO W N CO R P O R AT I O N S F O R LO N D O N B O B E VA N S FA R M S , I N C . PA R A M O U N T H O M E E N T E R TA I N M E N T U K T H E S I S T E R S O F M E RC Y H H G R LT D R E Y N O L DS G RO U P H O L D I N G N U T R I C I A LT D A D O B E S Y S T E M S E U RO P E LT D P H I L L I P S 6 6 CO M PA N Y O RC H A I N T E R N AT I O N A L LT D COT TO N , I N C . CO M E DY C E N T R A L N E T W O R K P OS T F O O DS L LC N O R DS T RO M , I N C . L E X U S U P E R M A R K E T J E W E L E R ’ S M U T U A L M C D O N A L D ’ S R E S TA U R A N T S LT D T H E S COT T S M I R AC L E - G RO CO. J AC K I N T H E B O LT D M I N N E S OTA O F F I C E O F TO U R I S M S Y LVA N L E A R N I N G , I N C . O C E A N S P R AY C R A N B E R R I E S , I N C . M A R C H O N I N C . B A RC L AY S B A N K P LC W .C . B R A D L E Y CO. M A RC J ACO B S I N T E R N AT I O N A L ( U K ) LT D M A R K S & S P E N C E R U LT D S T R AY E R U N I V E R SI T Y H A R D RO C K C A F É I N T E R N AT I O N A L KO C H I N D U S T R I E S T I A A G LO B A L A S SE T M A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L FA I LT E I R E L A N D D E R M O D E X PR E V E N T A SH L A N D, I N C . N E W S L I M I T E D D M G M E D I A LT D A PE RO L A U D E R CO M PA N I E S I N C . A B C ( A M E R I C A N B ROA D C A S T I N G CO M PA N Y ) S U T T E R H E A LT H S U P E R C H E A P A U TO FA R M E R S O F C A N A DA I DA H O P OTATO CO M M I S S I O N H U TC H I S O N W H A M P OA L I M I T E D ( H W L ) P E R F U M E S H O P LT D CO M M E RC E M A R K E T I N G /G OV E R N M E N T O F D U B A I B E V E R AG E S E R V I C E S LT D E R E W A S H U P H O L S T E RY LT D H E A LT H Y G RO U P ( I AG ) V E RO M I A LT D B P P LC G O O DY E A R D U N LO P T Y R E S U K LT D G R E E T Z LU COZ A D E R I B E N A S U N T T I R E T E L E F O N I C A C H E V RO L E T U K LT D H A L I FA X G RO U P P LC A N H E U S E R - B U S C H I N B E V T H E T J X CO M PA N I E S , I N C CO M PA N Y S TAT E O F N E VA DA L E N N OX I N T E R N AT I O N A L , I N C . M AG N O L I A P I C T U R E S CO C A- CO L A E N T E R P R I S E S I N C . M A X X I U M U K LT D A D E M E H Y U N DA I M OTO R CO. LT D. S I D N E Y F R A N K I M P O R T I N G CO M PA N Y T I M E X CO R L T D V I R G I N M E D I A L T D A M E R I C A N H E A R T A S S O C I A T I O N N A T I O N A L C E N T E R F O S S I L G R O U P, I N C . C A M P B E L L S O U P CO

Numbers Talk

E P H O N E A N D DATA S Y S T E M S , I N C . T E X A S LOT T E RY CO M M I S S I O N P OS T M E D I A R E D B U L L G M B H U N D E R A R M O U R Y LT D S U P E R VA LU , I N C . T R AC F O N E W I R E L E S S , I N C M A R S , I N CO R P O R AT E D M A R R I OT T H OT E L S LT D L E S S C H W A B R O C T E R & G A M B L E C O M P A N Y W N B C U N I V E R S A L , N E W S C O R P. , P R O V I D E N C E E Q U I T Y P A R T N E R S , W A LT D I S N E Y A T B R I T A I N ) L T D I K E A S V E N S K A C A P I T A L O N E F I N A N C I A L C O R P. D E U T S C H E T E L E K O M A G V I I V H E A L T H C A R E S O N I C P I TA L PA R T N E R S L LC B M W O F N O R T H A M E R I C A , I N C . C V S C A R E M A R K CO R P O R AT I O N TA K E DA P H A R M AC E U T I C A L S U B E R E D O R I G I N A L A D S M O V I L C H E V R O N C O R P O R A T I O N U N I T E D H E A L T H G R O U P I N C . I N G B A N K N .V. B E L L M ! B R A N DS , I N C . N E S T L É U S A W H ATA B U RG E R , I N C . P E PS I CO I N C . N OVA M E D I A D R P E P P E R S N A P P L E G RO U P E A M W O R KS L LC F O O D A N D D RU G A D M I N I S T R AT I O N P O L A R I S I N D U S T R I E S , I N C . F I AT C H RYS L E R AU TO M O B I L E S B ROT H E R S A I R B N B , I N C N B C U N I V E R S A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L LT D TOYOTA (G B ) P LC PA N D O R A G RO U P L I O N S G AT E O ’ L A K E S , I N C . W H O L E F O O DS M A R K E TS , I N C . PE R N O D R I C A R D U K LT D C A N C E R R E SE A RC H U K H I LTO N E V E N T I O N O F C RU E LT Y TO C H I L D R E N D I AG E O B E L L C A N A DA M IZ K A N A M E R I C A S , I N C . R E V LO N I N T E R N AT I O N A L H O L D I N G S , LT D. M C D O N A L D ’ S CO R P O R AT I O N L A S V E G A S CO N V E N T I O N & V I S I TO R S A U T H O R I T Y T H E H E R S H E Y , I N C . B E L B R A N DS U S A Z E N I M A X E U RO P E LT D DA R D E N R E S TA U R A N T S , I N C . C AT T E R TO N PA R T N E R S S O F T B A N K B A N K F I N A N C I A L G RO U P D U N K I N ’ B R A N DS , I N C . BOSE LT D PE R F E T T I VA N M E L L E U S A I N C . B E L U K LT D N OVO I N C . D O C TO R ’ S A S SO C I AT E S , I N C . TOYS ‘ R ’ U S I N C . R E Y N O L DS A M E R I C A N I N C . W O R L D W R E S T L I N G O O R S T W E N T I E T H C E N T U RY F OX F I L M CO M PA N Y LT D T H E W H I T E W AV E F O O DS CO M PA N Y B A R I L L A A L I M E N TA R E O N M O B I L C O R P. D I S H N E T W O R K L L C W I N D S T R E A M C O M M U N I C A T I O N S D E U T S C H E L U F T H A N S A A . G . H O M E D E P O T , E S & M A U R I T Z A B S W A ROV S K I CO R P N AT I O N A L A S S O C I AT I O N O F R E A LTO R S H E W L E T T- PAC K A R D CO. A M E R I C A N E R I C A I N C . B M W ( U K ) L T D J . W A G N E R G M B H , M A R K D O R F L U X O T T I C A G R O U P S . P. A . T H E N O R T H F A C E ( E U R O P E ) R N A T I O N A L , I N C . B A Y E R A G L O B L A W C O M P A N I E S L I M I T E D D E C A T H L O N U K L T D LV M H M O Ë T H E N N E S S Y L O U I S L LC J O H N D E E R E LT D F O R D M OTO R CO. C H I L D R E N ’ S H OS P I TA L CO LO R A D O J AG U A R L A N D ROV E R LT D B OS E E R S B R A N DS PA R A M O U N T P I C T U R E S U K 2 1 S T C E N T U RY F OX T Y S O N F O O DS , I N C . G RO U P E DA N O N E C H U RC H & B I L E E Q U I FA X , I N C . S U P E RC E L L A LT I CO R I N C . Z I F F DAV I S B O OT S U K LT D ROA R K C A P I TA L G RO U P L I V E R P O O L FVERED CALIFORNIA CW NET WORKS LIBERT Y MEDIA N E T W O R K S C O X E N T E R P R I S E S , I N C . A L L Y F I N A N C I A L IONU C .T O CO H O L D I N G S , L LC T H E S H E R W I N - W I L L I A M S CO M PA N Y H A L L M A R K C A R DS , I N C . DA L L A S CO N V E N T I O N & V I S I TO R S L TN EDYI SCNOE M Y PA N Y TH AND HUMAN SERVICES FUJIFILM THE WA LT W DAI S H O L D I N G S C O R P. D E B E E R S L T D . T H E G A P, G Y C U S TO M E R S P LC S TA R Z M O N D E L E Z I N T E R N AT I O N A L , I N C . H O N DA ( U K ) LT D T W I T T E R T R U T V M E RC K & CO. , L LY B E L LY C A N DY CO M PA N Y M E I J E R I N C . K E L LO G G CO M PA N Y TJ X E U RO P E LT D S TAT E O F C A L I F O R N I A M A R K ’ S I N M E N T U B E R , I N C . A T &T I N C . I T A U U N I B A N C O H O L D I N G S . A B E R K S H I R E H A T H A W A Y I N C . E L E C T R O N I C A R T S , E I N S T O R E S C O R P. R O Y A L D U T C H S H E L L P L C S O N Y E U R O P E L T D D E N N Y ’ S C O R P. B A N K O F A M E R I C A F A I R L I F E , L D I N G G RO U P M A R R I OT T I N T E R N AT I O N A L , I N C . DA I M L E R AG B E R KSH I R E H AT H AWAY I N C . / 3 G C A PI TA L S T I H L V H C O R P. B N P P A R I B A S A D I D A S A G T R A C F O N E F O X T V N E T W O R K I N T E R A C D A R T Y G R O U P P R O C T E R & G A M B L E U P C E U TA H E A LT H C A R E LT D H A S B RO, I N C . T I F FA N Y & CO M PA N Y E L L E N P S E C U E S S I LO R LT D A N Y T I M E F I T N E S S S H I S E I D O I N C . PA R F U M S C H R I S T I A N D I O R ( U K ) LT D S A N O F I -AV E N T I S G RO U P C A S E Y ’ S G E N E R A L S TO R E J O H . A . M B I A S P O R T S W E A R CO M PA N Y M AC Y ’ S I N C . P E R N O D R I C A R D U S A S TAT E O F N E W YO R K K I A M OTO R S ( U K ) LT D L I L’ T D PA N D O R A J E W E L L E RY U K LT D T H E K RO G E R CO M G M R E S O R T S I N T E R N AT I O N A L T H E N E W YO R K T I M E S I N C . D I N E E Q U I T Y , I N C . TA K E -T W O I N T E R AC T I V E SO F T WA R E , I N C . N E W E L L RU B B E R M A I D I N C . PI E R 1 I M P O R TS , T D I S T R I B U T I O N LT D YA H O O ! I N C . B E I N M E D I A P E P S I CO I N C . / U N I L E V E R J O I N T V E N T U R E L’ O R É A L U K LT D L . L . N C N O R AU TO E N T E R PR I SE H O L D I N G S , I N C . C A R R E F O U R M E RC E D E S - B E NZ LT D S AG E PRO D U C TS , I N C . L I D L U K E R CO M PA N Y L’ O R E A L U S A D O G S T R U S T K I M B E R LY- C L A R K CO R P O R AT I O N I RO B OT CO R P O R AT I O N TOYO T I R E N T I N C . M A Z DA M OTO R S ( U K ) LT D B U F FA LO W I L D W I N G S , I N C . L I L C R I T T E R S V I TA M I N G U M M I E S H O M E GO O DS N DS BV M I N N E SOTA LOT T E RY B L AC K RO C K I N V E S T M E N T M A N AG E M E N T ( U K ) LT D GO O G L E , I N C . F O OT LO C K E R , A N D F O O DS LT D OVAT I O N B R A N DS , I N C H O R M E L F O O DS CO R P O R AT I O N C I V B S T E I N H O F F A S I A PAC I F I C A N C I A L L I V I N G E S S E N T I A L S A N O N Y M O U S CO N T E N T D E C K E R S E U RO P E LT D V I ACO M I N C . C A R L S O N CO M PA N I E S K E N T S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y YO U V F N O R T H E R N E U RO P E LT D S U N W E B J O H N L E W I S PA R T N E R S H I P CO M M O N W E A LT H T I C S H O E I N C . C I T RO E N U K LT D F U J I H E AV Y I N D U S T R I E S LT D. M E D E L A S T R A U S S G RO U P LT D / P E P S I CO I N C . H O W R O O M M A N U L I F E F I N A N C I A L W A L- M A R T S T O R E S , I N C . A X A U K PLC U N I T E D B I SC U I TS ( U K ) LT D B U R B E R RY U Y C O . W I L L F I X I T S T A T E O F M O N T A N A W E I G H T W A T C H E R S I N T E R N A T I O N A L , I N C . S T A R B U C K S C O R P. C O L L E C T I V E SM I T H K L I N E / RO C H E H O L D I N G LT D. J O I N T V E N T U R E U LT I M A F O O DS C E N T RO L LC V E R A WA N G LT D. S A I N SB U RY ’ S O R S TA R YO U M AG A Z I N E D E M A N D LO C A L B O L .CO M S E V E N & I H O L D I N G S CO. C H A N E L , I N C . P OS T O F F I C E N R E V LO N , I N C . T H E CO C A- CO L A CO M PA N Y OA K L E Y ( U K ) LT D S P E C S AV E R S G O L D E AG L E CO. T H E P R I C E L I N E G E N E R G Y, I N C . M A S T E R C A R D E U R O P E U B S A G S O N Y M O B I L E C O M M U N I C A T I O N S M A N A G E M E N T L T D T A R G E T G RO U P LT D R E P U B L I C O F I R E L A N D B E E R W I N E SPI R I TS K R A F T F O O DS G RO U P , I N C . A M E R I C A N E X PR E S S SE R V I C E S I N C . S H O P D I R E C T L I M I T E D S F R YO P L A I T ( U K ) LT D D E S T I N AT I O N D C C A J U N O P E R AT I N G CO M PA N Y B E A R C R E E K S L P U N I T E D CO N T I N E N TA L H O L D I N G S , I N C . M O B I L E F U E L A U TOZO N E , I N C . B R I T V I C S O F T D R I N K S LT D R E G I S S M A R S F O O D U K LT D E N S P I R E P U M A U K LT D VO L KS WAG E N AG J O N E S F I N A N C I A L CO M PA N I E S L L P T R A N S P O R T R E G G A I R B U S O P E R AT I O N S LT D L B R A N DS , I N C . TO OT S I E RO L L I N D U S T R I E S , I N C . H U A W E I T E C H N O LO G I E S CO. , A R D S U P P LY H A R D W A R E S TO R E S CO R P O R AT I O N T H E S TAT E O F O H I O C A R M A X , I N C . S TAT E O F M I S S O U R I N OVA U S O F C A LG A RY H O M E B A SE LT D G P S (G R E AT B R I TA I N ) LT D D E B E N H A M S PLC K A RC H E R ( U K ) LT D PR I C E R I T E OX INC . FOCUS BR ANDS, INC . WGN AMERIC A W YOMING OFFICE OF TOURISM LUF THANSA GERMAN AIRLINES UBS N E Y E W E A R LT D SO C I E T E G E N E R A L E G RO U PM N E S T L É P U R I N A P E TC A R E ( U K ) LT D P E TCO A N I M A L S U P P L I E S , UNWASH INC . SPE C T RU M B R A N DS , I N C . D I XO N S C A R PH O N E F LU N C H T I M E I N C . ( U K ) LT D T I M B E R L A N D ( U K ) N AG E M E N T PF IZ E R , I N C . G A M E SH O W N E T W O R K L LC N AT I O N A L B A SK E T B A L L A S SO C I AT I O N M A R K A N T H O N Y O L E U RO F O O D B R A N DS LT D T U F T S M E D I C A L C E N T R E F I V E B E LO W D FS F U R N I T U R E CO M PA N Y LT D T H E E S T É E U N I V I S I O N CO M M U N I C AT I O N S , I N C . B I G E N PA R K M O B I L E M G M H O L D I N G S , I N C . M O N T B L A N C ( U K ) LT D E G G T V L A N D M C C O R M I C K & C O M P A N Y, I N C . M E T C A S H T R A D I N G L I M I T E D T A L E N T I D E P A R T M E N T O F T O U R I S M A N D D E L A W A R E V E R I ZO N CO M M U N I C AT I O N S I N C . C A R H A R T T I N C . R E D B U L L CO M PA N Y LT D I N T E R N AT I O N A L A I R L I N E S TO RY LT D S C R I P P S N E T W O R K S I N T E R AC T I V E I N C . I N T E L CO R P O R AT I O N ( U K ) LT D V S P V I S I O N C A R E B E L L E C . T H I N K T H I N PRO D U C TS H E N K E L KG A A L I N DT & SPRU N G L I G L A XOSM I T H K L I N E PLC GO O DY E A R T I R E & RU B B E R S LT D W O O LW O R T H S Z A A M E R I C A N G R E E T I N G S CO R P O R AT I O N S TAT E O F O R E G O N CO N S T E L L AT I O N B R A N DS , R P O R AT I O N F U R N I T U R E R O W L LC A B VO LVO G R O U P 3 0 3 M O L S O N CO O R S B R E W I N G CO M PA N Y ( U K & I R E L A N D) O . N O R T H G A T E G O N Z Á L E Z M A R K E T S F I E S T A R E S T A U R A N T G R O U P, I N C . B B C W O R L D W I D E A M E R I C A S D V R P C P H I L I P S

C E L T R A

P O W E R S

4,000 + Brands are

500

F O R T U N E

Companies

50 BILLION A D S

I N

2 0 1 6

Towards Awards The byproduct of brilliant and progressive ideas.

EFFECTIVE MOBILE MARKETING

2016 People's Choice Awards for Ad or Marketing Tech Platform Celtra has been recognized for its continued global success in developing groundbreaking formats with mobile-native features such as vertical video.

THE IMMIGRANT LEARNING CENTER

2016 ILC High-Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Miha Mikek was one of 42 nominees, who immigrated from 26 countries, with businesses in Massachusetts. Great job Miha!

EFFECTIVE MOBILE MARKETING

2016 People's Choice Awards for Mobile Marketer of the Year Jonathan Milne was recognized for helping to champion the role of creative in mobile advertising, and for overseeing Celtra's international growth. Well done Jonathan!

IAB TECH LAB

2017 Service Excellence Award For his contributions to MRAID 3.0. GaĹĄper Kozak has contributed in developing the viewability solution and defining key features for user experience, pre-loading, and ad readiness. Way to go GaĹĄper!

3 39

All In COURTNEY CANNON-BOOTH

AT C E LT R A , W E GO ‘A L L I N ’ O N PR E T T Y M U C H E V E RY T H I N G . TO ME, THAT LIFEST YLE EX TENDS INTO TRAINING MY BODY TO B E S T RO N G E R T H A N E V E R , A L M OS T E V E RY DAY.

WORKING OUT HAS ITS BENEFITS BOTH IN AND OUT OF THE WORKPLACE- INCREASED HE ALTH,

HAPPINESS,

CONFIDENCE

AND

INDEPENDENCE, LASER-SHARP FOCUS, AND MENTAL TOUGHNESS. I’D SAY WE C AN ALL AGREE

THAT

NEED

THOSE

THINGS

SUCCEED HERE AT CELTR A . W E AL SO KNO W THAT IN ORDER TO SUCCEED WE NEED TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THE JOB.

FOR

THOSE

YOU

THAT

CAN’T

GET TO THE GYM AT 5AM OR 9PM (C ALL ME CRAZY), I’VE DEVISED A LITTLE PLAN FOR YOU THAT YOU C AN DO IN 15 MINUTES; WE ALL HAVE THAT. PLUS- THIS IS CELTR A . WHO WANTS TO OPT OUT OF THAT CHAMPAGNE CELEBR ATION OR S L I C E O F C A K E O N B I R T H D AY S ? N O B O D Y.

THE CELTRA BURNER As many reps as possible in 15 minutes.

Air squats

10 Push-ups

ALL IN

Burpees

15 Jump-rope reps*

100

*50 Double-unders for those that can.

COURTNEY CANNON-BOOTH Executive Assistant, Boston Courtney joined Celtra in May 2016 and brings a unique perspective to our culture through her previous experience in CSR and her passion for anything fitness.

Butterfly sit-ups

44 WEN VO

Top Destinations to Visit in Asia for FOOD & CULTURE

Vietnam I

may

biased

because

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m

Vietnamese, but Vietnam is the most beautiful country in the world. It has a little bit of everything; mountains, beaches, cities, and more. You can never get bored. The best part about Vietnam, however, is the food. There are so many dishes to try with so many variations, your tummy will never go hungry.

MUST SEE : HOI AN SAPA VALLE Y HA LONG BAY

for THE BEACHES

Philippines

The Philippines is a totally underrated destination. When you think of beaches in

Asia,

your

mind

automatically

curates images of Phuket or Bali. The Philippines has some of the best beaches in the world, with some of the most incredible diving.

for ART & MUSIC

Malaysia If you’re an art and music junkie, travel to Penang where you’ll be teleported back in time. Georgetown is a UNESCO world heritage neighborhood that gives you a glimpse into the vintage Asian neighborhoods. You can find great street art on every corner, and beautiful live music in every shop you enter. Apart from the art and music, Langkawi is an archipelago wonder. Right outside of the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park, the water is so calm with the stretching horizon in the background. It’s so colorful and surreal, you’ll feel like you’re in a Dalí painting. 45

MUST SEE : PENANG LANGKAWI

MUST SEE : CEBU PAL AWAN

for ADVENTURE

Indonesia

For adventure seekers, Indonesia is the destination for you. The beautiful country is known to have the best volcanic mountains with the most incredible views. Make sure you time your hike properly to catch glimpses of Blue Lava at night.

MUST SEE : LOMBOK YOGYAK ARTA

Not all that glitters is gold.

TOP 5 DESTINATIONS IN ASIA

for NIGHTLIFE

Hong Kong Nightlife is all about the energy and the vibe. Hong Kong is a city up in the hills rolling with high-end retail and Maseratis. It can be described as organized chaos with a little bit of grime. Go to Hong Kong if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for a little bit of trouble.

WEN VO Sr. Account Manager, APAC Wen started with us in 2016 as our very first hire in Singapore.

JONATHAN MILNE

Godfather with a British Accent 50

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED ABOUT JONATHAN'S HUSH HUSH?

"I have an overarching craziest party memory, but I can’t share it." WHEN ARE YOU MOST PRODUCTIVE?

HOW DO YOU BAL ANCE TIME WITH YOUR

The serious answer is early in the morning. The probably

FAMILY WITH A BUSY TR AVEL SCHEDULE?

true answer is when slightly buzzed. You can pick

Badly. It’s impossible to balance it. I have a supportive,

whichever answer you want.

understanding wife. Maybe she doesn’t like me that much now that I’m thinking of it?

WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP? GO TO BED? I wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 AM. The time I go to bed varies greatly. I don’t need much sleep.

DRINK OF CHOICE? DRINK YOU DESPISE? That’s a tough one, because there are many. Depending on the scenario, it could be rosé, it could be a great dry white wine, it could be a mojito, it could be a gin and

WHAT ’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU LOOK FOR WHEN HIRING SOMEONE IN SALES? It’s probably chemistry. Do I feel a connection with this person? There’s a ton of stuff, but that’s the most important. When you meet someone for the first time and you feel that instant connection, that chemistry, that’s the way a client will feel with the person when they meet them for the first time. Plus, you want to work with people you like and want to spend time with.

tonic, it could be a Godfather. "A GOD FATH ER IS A W OND ERFUL DRINK ." To make it you take equal parts bourbon and amaretto over ice. But sometimes, it could be a beer. I guess, if I had to choose one drink before I died, it would be a Godfather. But it would have to be a very long drink. The only drinks I don’t like are the ones I’ve overindulged in. For me, this is a Purnod Black.

GODFATHER WITH A BRITISH ACCENT

BEST TIP FOR CLOSING A

BEST CELTR A PART Y

FAVORITE PL ACE TO

DEAL?

MEMORY? CR A ZIEST PART Y

TRAVEL TO?

I’ve always found that if you really

MEMORY EVER?

I would say Sydney. I love everything

understand your client’s business,

The best Celtra party memory has

about it, from the attitude of the

really make it about them and not

to be last July in Ljubljana. George

people, the feel of the town, the

us. Then, when you suggest how you

Paone, sitting there, drinks coming in,

general work-life balance people seem

could help them, you have all the

with half of his front tooth missing.

to have, the weather. I also like New

context you need, and it becomes

That is a definite highlight. The other

York. It’s a fun, vibrant cosmopolitan

more of a partnership than a vendor-

would be in Miami. I took the UK

place, a bit like London. I also like

client relationship.

team out to LIV Nightclub. We came

Miami. The problem with Miami is

back to my hotel room, and I had half

that whenever I go, I just party all the

the company in my room. It was great.

time.

WHAT ’S YOUR MANAGEMENT ST YLE?

" W HEN YOU H AVE A BRITISH ACCENT, YOU A R E AU TO M AT IC A LLY

Dictatorial. No. Probably

T W ENT Y PERCENT SM A RTER IN E VERYONE ’S E Y ES."

collaborative. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT

DO YOU THINK YOUR

C E LT R A’ S E VO LU T I O N ,

ACCENT MAKES YOU

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO

WHAT MAKES YOU MOST

LIK ABLE AT CELTR A?

DO THAT YOU HAVEN’T

PROUD ABOUT WHERE IT

Totally. When you have a British

DONE YET?

IS TODAY?

accent, you are automatically twenty

When I was younger, I really liked the

The great thing about Celtra is that

percent smarter in everyone’s eyes.

idea of being a school teacher. It’s not

it’s constantly reinventing itself, and

You sound more trustworthy. It’s such

really on my bucket list, but I really

moving forward with the times. The

an advantage.

liked the idea. I guess maybe sky-

fact that we still do that, and our best

diving. It sounds like so much fun.

days are definitely still ahead of us, that is something to be really proud of.

JONATHAN MILNE CRO, London Jonathan started with Celtra in 2011 as General Manager EMEA, has worked to expand our London presence to 25 employees, and has been instrumental in the strategy, planning and growth of our Sales and Services teams.

I'LL HAVE WHAT JONATHAN'S HAVING.

5 0 % UNDERSTANDING WIFE 2 0 % ACCENT 2 0 % CR A ZY PARTIES 10 % POOR SLEEP

54 RICHARD KNOTT

5 Things I Learned from Running 100k

IT IS A CLICHE, BUT THE ONLY LIMITS YOU HAVE ARE THOSE YOU PL ACE ON YOURSELF. 5 Y E ARS AGO I COULDNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T RUN DOWN THE STREET, NOW, AT 10 0KM, IT WAS HARD TO STOP.

SUSTAINABLE IMPROVEMENT C AN ONLY

OCCUR

H O L I S T I C A L LY . YOU HAVE TO TRAIN YOUR HE ART, LUNGS, LEGS, BR AIN AND DIET TOGETHER. FOCUS MORE ON YOUR MEDIAN PERFORMANCE, LESS ON YOUR PE AK . GROW THAT AND THE PEAK WILL LOOK AFTER ITSELF.

4 3

REMEMBER THE WISE WORDS OF THE GRE AT PHILOSOPHER, FERRIS BUELLER: “IF YOU DON’T STOP AND LOOK AROUND ONCE IN A WHILE, Y O U C O U L D M I S S I T .”

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WHO KNEW REPLACEMENT TOENAIL S GRO W UP WARDS, LIKE A L AWN, NOT OUT, LIKE A SLIDING COVER .

4 57

PORTRAIT

Maja Mikek Co-Founder & CFO

I T ’ S A M O D E R N - D A Y L O V E S T O R Y, R E A L L Y. G I R L M E E T S B O Y, T H E Y F A L L I N L O V E , F A L L O U T O F L O V E A N D I N A G A I N , G I R L M A R R I E S B O Y, A N D T O G E T H E R T H E Y S T A R T A N I M M E N S E L Y S U C C E S S F U L S O F T W A R E C O M P A N Y. S U R E , T H E R E ’ S M O R E TO I T, B U T T H AT ’ S O N E SI D E O F T H E S TO RY T H AT M A J A M I K E K T E L L S U S A S W E ’ R E SI T T I N G W I T H H E R I N A CO N F E R E N C E R O O M I N C E LT R A’ S B O S T O N O F F I C E O N A L AT E T H U R S D AY A F T E R N O O N .

As she sits there in her office chair, barefooted and leath-

courage each other to push ourselves to the best of our

er-clad, knees curled up to her chest, nothing about this

abilities, while creating a working environment that is stim-

woman exudes ordinary. She insists she’s like an onion; that

ulating and ambition-supporting.”

peeling it off one layer after another will reveal her complexities and her depth. She makes an intricate peeling mo-

Keep in mind, this is all coming from a CFO. It might seem

tion with her hands. Of that statement, we certainly don’t

strange, but, once you get to know her, it’s really not. Maja

need convincing. She’s the type of person you could spend

has crafted her unconventional position at Celtra very

hours contemplating the universe with, indulging in top-

thoughtfully.

ics of both substance and trite. TO BE SURE , SHE ’S A DRE A MER , BUT SHE ’S A L SO A TRUE GO - GET TER .

“I PRIDE M YSELF ON H AVING GOOD, INSTINCTIVE BUSINESS LOGIC A ND BRUTE COMMON

Before we begin, she’s showing us photos of a recent fam-

SENSE . I TRY TO K EEP THESE FACULTIES POINT-

ily vacation. FOR M A JA , IT A LL STA RTS A ND ENDS

ED A ND PRECISE , SO I C A N I SOL ATE A ND DIFFER

W I T H HE R FA MILY. But for this once-aspiring social

IMPORTA NT FROM NOT IMPORTA NT, ORIGIN A L

worker, it’s more than that; she’s a true people lover, and

FROM FA KE , DOERS FROM TA LKERS.”

this attribute comes out in everything she does. As you can tell, Maja not only takes a deeper, more hu-

“I often think as to why am I on this planet. What is my pur-

man approach to her relationships at Celtra, but also to

pose? I had all of the schooling, and the degrees, and the

the numbers. SHE C A LL S THIS MINOR SUCCESS

good grades, and I thought, ok, people will believe I can do

“BUSINESS AS USUA L ,” A LWAYS LOOKING TO

something. And I thought by being a social worker, I could

SIMPLIF Y THE NUMBERS A ND A LLO W THEM TO

start small, helping individuals, and then perhaps influence

BACK UP THE S TORY, NOT M A KE UP THE STORY.

policies and do something good in the world. Here at Cel-

“The expense side of Celtra’s budget, for business as usual,

tra, I have the means to implement the policies that align

is easy to figure out pretty precisely, especially if you are in

with my deepest value system, policies that are - in my eyes

touch with the company on a daily basis like I am. But, if I

- a must for the company. If it matters to me, I go make it

want to add any value when we discuss what we’re betting

happen. And I am by no means alone in this decision-mak-

on investing and innovating, I need to understand quite

ing process. Throughout the years of working closely with

well what is and what will be impacted, such that I can trans-

members of the Executive, Finance, and Human Resources

late it immediately into a few financial scenarios. And that

teams, there is a small coalition that we have built, which

is what I try to do as the CFO.” When it comes to employee

identifies areas we believe need a different regulation, a

and company expenses, she takes the same approach as she

better system. And we tend to be quick in executing these

did during the company early years. She goes through every

objectives. I am proud that Celtra is a place where we en-

single one before it is approved. A true digit wrangler.

The fact that there is success, though,

the doors you can unlock in another

what makes me more raw or more ba-

is not lost on her. We asked her to

person that allow that person to thrive,

sic. I think that I will offset the fakeness

describe the company in one word.

be wider, have more fire.

of the world if I am more honest, more

“Life,” she says. But, she can recall a

IT ’S A BOUT LOOKING BE YOND

natural, more pure. In Boston, there

time when it didn’t feel that way, and

THE

exists a sense of intellectual snobbism.

the sacrifice and perseverance it took

NUMBERS, A ND RE A LLY TRY ING

And a rebel in me who wants to op-

to get here. She attributes a lot of this

TO SEE THE QUA LITIES TH AT

pose this oddly thinks that biting my

to Miha and Matevž. “It was their rela-

A RE AT THE CORE OF A PERSON,

nails will do just that [laughs]. So I bite

tionship which was proving to be very

THEIR TA LENTS; THE DISCOV-

my nails, which I don’t like, and Miha

creative and innovative and fruitful,

ERED ONES OR BET TER STILL ,

hates it, but that’s just who I am. It’s my

that made me believe that, perhaps,

THE UNIDENTIFIED ONES.

way of pushing back against this air of

SURFACE ,

BE YOND

we were on to something. In my opin-

triteness [laughs]. I know, I am reveal-

ion, they are true visionaries. And I

Once you spot those talents, you can

ing too much.”

am an excellent supporter in this sto-

go from one role to a completely dif-

ry. It’s important to have such people

ferent one, and develop them. I think

It’s this acute, unapologetic self-aware-

leading the company, people who dare

this need for elevating others comes

ness that makes her so infectious and

to believe the company will define or

from being the empathetic human that

attractive. Our conversation veers to-

even redefine the future.” More than

I thrive to be, from becoming a moth-

ward the topic of weirdness and a sly

that, she recognizes their value on a

er and from getting older and more

smile sneaks its way across her face.

more fundamental level. “I haven’t

mature; it makes you evaluate and em-

She’s either about to tell us something

met people in business with the level

brace people much more comprehen-

she thinks will surprise us, or wrap her

of integrity that Miha and Matevž have,

sively than just one or two core compe-

analytical brain around a fluffy concept

and they’re not trying for it, they sim-

tencies that people may have or decide

and dissect it piece by piece. This time,

ply have it. It is because of them and

to put on their resumes.”

it’s the latter. “ON A SC A LE FROM ONE TO TEN, I H AVE THE C A-

because of the entire executive team, that I try to keep up and be better ev-

And if you stopped just there, you

PACIT Y TO BE W EIRD AT A TEN .

ery day.”

might try to pin her, at best, as a nat-

I would say currently, which might also

ural caregiver, at worst, a meddler. But

make me a little bit boring, I am at a

You can see that she has it; the intan-

peel another layer deeper into the on-

three. Though, I wish to live between

gible quality that she uses to describe

ion and a more pungent side of her

five and seven. I think being slightly

her colleagues is something that runs

personality will reveal itself. The soci-

weird is an important thing. Managing

deep within her. She takes her role, a

etal rigidity of an Eastern European

weirdness is like managing the volume

financial and social crossbreed, as an

upbringing in the mid-1980’s doesn’t

on the radio. It’s crazy, out of the box,

opportunity to discover more about

circumscribe her. She’s not as clear-cut

creative, losing it a little bit. I love it,

others, to help them unleash the pas-

as her image may suggest. In fact, she

and it’s great if you can stretch to ten

sions and talents within them, and to

might be anything but that. We begin

and also bring it down when bringing

create a stage for them to develop on.

talking about pet-peeves, her response

it down is required.”

“I love when I can, whether through

is immediate. “I hate fakeness and pre-

conversation or through work, identify

tension. I think, perhaps, that this is

PORTRAIT / MAJA MIKEK

As for working with her husband on a daily basis, it wasn’t

It was the best time. It was the thing that kept bringing us

always roses and hearts and romantic lunchtime getaways

together. With Miha, to me, it was like soul mates. When we

at L’Espalier. Truthfully, it’s still not exactly that. But what

were little, I thought, we will always be friends, but not mar-

they do have, works. “In the past, with Miha, it always felt

ried. He always made things happen. I probably took him

like it needed fixing, you know? I felt in the beginning that

for granted. I thought we would always have each other.”

Miha and I were not compatible for working together.” But

She drifts off to a time she remembers with both sadness

now, two children and a thriving business later, you’d think

and fondness. “I am way more in love with Miha now as a

the stress of it all would be suffocating. In fact, it’s just the

person and physically than I was when I was in my twenties.

opposite. “It’s important having a partner, married or not,

I am in love with us today, and with our life. When I think

simply having one and the bond that doesn’t constantly

about a man and what he needs to be for me to fall in love,

need to be fixed. It can rock, but you don’t need to fix it

Miha is more and more of that.”

every time it rocks, you trust that in the long term you’re solid, that they’ll be there until the end. The fact that we

To anyone who knows them, it’s clear that their business is

can work together and consider Celtra as our life, that’s the

run with just as much passion as their relationship. That,

fairytale I always dreamed of living.” She points back to his

plus equal parts entrepreneurialism, optimism, and perse-

office as she’s saying this. He’s there even if he’s not.

verance. “All of the obstacles you see, you will find a way to get around them, to reach the goals you set for yourself.

“W HEN W E W ERE YOUNG, W E W OULD SIT A ND TA LK FOR H OURS, DRE A MIN G A BOUT W H AT W E COULD DO A ND BECOME ONE DAY.

Miha and I were both raised like that.

PORTRAIT / MAJA MIKEK

It’s the people who manage to find the

gether with no schedules, and it’s just

ant things are in life. If this were all

ways, but also the people who can very

us kind of laughing or falling asleep

to go down one day, the bottom line

quickly, and in a smart way, determine

all together. Or, it can be Dekyi and I

is that we are all net positive because

what matters and what doesn’t matter.

going through what we believe needs

of the social capital that has come out

You can always overwhelm yourself

to be done in the upcoming week or

of this.”

with being busy, lots of motion, mak-

month.

ing to-do lists.

“I always thought I had to have a pasOr kite-surfing in the waves know-

sion related to work, but I think your

Regardless of the movement, the re-

ing the kids are playing with Miha on

passions, the things that get you excit-

sults need to be there.” Maja claims

the shore and waiting to see me jump

ed, whatever they are, can be brought

that for anything you want to do in

[laughs]. It’s the inner peace that I

into your work in whatever you do. It

life, you must invest a decade. Con-

very much connect with happiness.

does not necessarily need to originate

templating the number of decades in

By nature, I am not a peaceful person

from the work, but you can, and you

one’s workable life on her nail-bitten

[laughs]. Even if I’m calm or reading a

should, bring them into work.” With

fingers, she notes that her theory pro-

book, a lot is happening within me. A

that comes keeping it real, and, yes,

vides enough time for a person to do

run would usually help me. I’m awake

maybe a little raw. “Let’s not be com-

five great things in a lifetime. As she

on many levels, and it requires an ef-

pletely sterile. Let’s be in an environ-

says this, a realization descends that

fort for me. But yeah, it’s the kids, and

ment where we can feel free to talk

she’s nearing her second epoch, and

the relationships with those closest to

and express. I don’t want the company

you can tell that her wheels are spin-

me.”

to shut people down. We need to be

ning.

aware and be respectful of people’s One might writhe at the thought of be-

feelings, but let’s stay alive. I want ev-

But at the moment, she feels like she’s

ing so keen, so invariably conscious of

ery day to be colorful and as meaning-

right where she needs to be; with her

the many moving parts that surround

ful as we can all make it.”

life, her work, her mindset. It’s happi-

not only a life, but also a business. Maja

ness, and it’s cherished. “I used to hate

earnestly deems this positive stress.

IT ’S BEEN NE A RLY T W O HOURS,

the word happy. I think it’s an Amer-

“When it comes to business, I am al-

A ND SHE H ASN’ T CH E CK E D H E R

ican obsession, people constantly ask-

ways slightly on. It will be very rare that

PHONE ONCE . Suffice it to say, al-

ing you, “Well, are you happy?” When

I don’t fall asleep with my thoughts

though our conversation today was

I first came here [to America] I wasn’t

on the company, even if it’s just how

particularly excavating, it’s not hard to

in the place where I could say I was

somebody feels in the company. I don’t

imagine that this attention, this care,

completely happy, and it really both-

see Matevž very often, but I constantly

goes into all of her conversations. CFO

ered me to take it lightly. When are you

contemplate how he must be feeling.

or not, she will always crave that need

truly happy? Back then, I really had an

I understand we’re not heart surgeons

for genuine human interaction, a need

issue with that. But today, it’s so easy

here, but yeah, I think about how peo-

that called to her long ago, and that

for me to spot when I’m truly happy.

ple feel. But I’m rational enough to

she has honored ever since.

It can be the four of us, the family, to-

give appropriate weight to how import-

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS / MAJA MIKEK

Watch TV or read a book?

Book.

Drink soda or green juice?

Green juice.

Have a nice car, nice house, or nice yacht?

Yacht.

Be permanently transported 500 years into

Past. For sure. Wait, when was da Vinci? Like 400 years ago?

the future or 500 years into the past? Power suit? Guilty pleasure? Favorite TV show?

I want to be with da Vinci in Italy. Black. Sometimes red. And when in good skin, show that skin. I would go for a massage whenever I can, and I do. Suits and Billions. Can’t really say which one I like more. Very, very lucky.

How lucky do you consider yourself? Role model?

My dad. He doesn’t speak English. A few years ago he came to Boston for a week, and saw a poster showing that a close by playground, where his grandkids like to play, will have a “spring cleaning” type of a day on Saturday. He showed up there as a manual worker to help, of course the

Maja Mikek

first one in the morning. By the time I came to see him, he ended up

being the ring leader, main organizer of the park cleanup. That’s my dad.

Wherever you throw him, he will find the thing that he is most useful in and

he will find the means to do it. “That’s the best gift I could come up with for your kids”, he used for explanation.

Go-to superpower?

If you had all the money in the world, what would you buy?

Health and empathy. Get into other people’s shoes and understand them. I’d make a school to teach not the little virtues, but the great ones. My

guidance would be the Italian writer Natalia Ginzburg, as she says in her

essay "The Little Virtues" what are those virtues: “Not thrift but generosity and indifference to money; not caution but courage and a contempt for danger; nor shrewdness but frankness and a love of truth; not tact but love for one’s neighbor and self-denial;

not a desire for success but a desire to be and to know.”

I want every day to be colorful and as meaningful as we can all make it.” WRIT TEN BY BRIT T ST. GEORGE Associate Legal Counsel, Boston Britt is Celtra’s Associate Legal Counsel. She also manages Celtra’s social channels. In her spare time, you can find her writing, photographing, or running (or penning mini-novels about her colleagues, like this one).

WHAT, WHERE , WHO

Celtra Dream Team in Numbers BY DEPARTMENT

4 % MARKETING

11 % SALES

16 % PRODUCT

13 % FINANCE & HR

2 0 % CUSTOMER SUCCESS 36% ENGINEERING

ALTOGETHER: 157 66

BY LOCATION 15 % 11 %

16%

NEW YORK, NY

35% BY GENDER 67

34 % L JUBL JANA, SI

BOSTON, MA

SAN FR ANCISCO, C A 20%

LONDON, UK

S Y D N E Y, A U S

1 % SINGAPORE, SG

65%

68 MAJA MIKEK

Parental Leave Policy In 2016, we announced a new U.S. policy for parental leave. We call it a policy, but really, it’s more than that.

With these values in mind, and with

It’s a right. At Celtra, we believe that

the aim of providing our employees

both parents, mothers and fathers

with what I believe are essentials, we

When thinking about this policy we

alike, have the right to bond with

implemented

industry-leading

did not start from numbers, nor from

a newborn child during the most

policy that puts the whole you first. It

industry benchmarks. This policy is

important,

emotional,

provides six months of paid bonding

HUMAN centered because that is

and rewarding time of a young family’s

time with your newborn. This expands

how it should be. Extending these

life.

our current policy of three months

benefits as a gesture of empathy to

paid maternity leave by adding six

our employees will last more than six

weeks of parental leave and six weeks

months. These are vital moments that

of reduced work, all while continuing

will stay with them for a lifetime.

challenging,

to receive the same salary and benefits.

MAJA MIKEK Co-founder & CFO, Boston

AT CELTR A , W E BELIE VE TH AT BOTH PA RENTS, MOTHERS A ND FATHERS A LIKE , H AVE THE RIGHT TO BOND W ITH A NE W BORN CHILD DURING TH E MOST IMPORTA NT, CH A LLENGING, EMOTION A L , A ND RE WA RDING TIME OF A YOUNG FA MILY â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LIFE .

70 MARK DORMAN

Bonding with Your Newborn Is Not Gender Specific In March, when I read the email announcing the then-new Parental Leave policy, my wife was six months pregnant and I immediately sent dozens of frantically-excited texts to her about it. One of which was something along the lines of This $&@#ing changes everything! I was ecstatic. I could not have received better news than knowing I would be able to spend extended time with my family, at a time more important than ever before. I knew even then that time would be invaluable. I spent a few weeks almost entirely disconnected from work and focused entirely on my son, Max, and my wife (and didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ignore our dog either). I changed lots of diapers, washed bottles, went grocery shopping, and most importantly, acquired world-class swaddling skills. I spent hours holding him, watching him, and being completely overwhelmed. But, I had the time to start to love being a dad. After those few weeks, I slowly transitioned back into work; a couple weeks working 20-40%, 40-60%, and finally 6 weeks of 80% back to work. Being home those early weeks was incredibly important, not only to bond with Max, but also to support my wife. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s absurd to assume that either partner should, or in some circumstances even could, care entirely for a newborn on his or her own. It would have been unfair to my wife, and I would have missed moments with Max that I would never again have the chance to experience.

Recently, I heard a segment of a top sports radio show in

When I did return, my suspicions were confirmed; my

Boston discussing paternity leave, and one outraged host

team and colleagues had held everything together in my

was stating that men who took extended paternity leaves

absence. Everyone should be able to step away temporarily

had a lesser work ethic and didn’t appropriately prioritize

and it’s important to build teams, develop employees, and

work. What a ridiculous take. The need to spend time with

share your knowledge so that colleagues around you can

your newborn is not gender specific. Focusing solely on

adequately cover when important life events happen.

your family above all else for a period of a few weeks is no indication of the priority placed on work at all other times. It’s an outrageous perspective without even considering the potentially prejudiced attitude implied. My work is very important to me. The people I work with and for are very important to me, and my ability to provide for my family is very important to me. The same, of course, is true for my wife. Even still, focusing entirely on family at times, like after the birth of a child, is more than reasonable – it’s just normal.

"I spent hours holding him, watching him, and being completely overwhelmed. But, I had the time to start to love being a dad."

MARK DORMAN VP, Finance, Boston Mark is Celtra’s VP of Finance. He has been with the company since 2014. Mark is also a proud father.

5 73

74 JAKA JANČAR

Celtra’s Top Gun on a Quest for Fun It is a normal Silicon Valley day. The

the passenger’s physical condition,

“Downtime is actually exciting.

weather is warm, but not hot, and ev-

Jaka takes it upon himself to manage

that you want it, but it is a fun chal-

eryone is glued to their devices with-

the logistics of this crisis. He communi-

lenge. You have a problem to solve

out making eye-contact. Jaka Jančar,

cates with the police and the BART au-

and you need to be super rational at

Celtra’s longest serving employee and

thorities about the emergency: the car

approaching it. At the same time, you

Chief Technology Officer, is debating

number, their approximate location,

have to be very high level and low lev-

whether to call an Uber on the way

the stations they are passing, and oth-

el. You’re approaching the problem

home from the airport after a flight

er information about the passenger’s

from all sides, and you have to balance

from Ljubljana or whether to give

condition. “I was determining what to

the curiosity with the business conse-

BART a try—just how “rapid” is “rap-

relay to the authorities. Signal versus

quences, short term versus long term.

id transit,” anyway? Jaka makes the

noise. It was a super-intense adren-

Downtime is like any other bug with

fateful decision to board BART and is

aline situation. I felt this sense of re-

the added drama of time sensitivity,

minding his business as the train plods

sponsibility in how I well performed,”

which makes it like an action movie,”

along when suddenly a woman toward

describes Jaka. “IT M AY SOUND

explains Jaka.

the back of the car starts yelling “Help!

CR A ZY TO SAY, BUT I FELT THE

Help!” At first, everyone in the car ig-

SA ME FEELING IN TH AT BA RT

The icy-cold resolve that he displays in

nores this minor disturbance without

TR A IN TH AT I H AVE W HEN CEL-

the face of an emergency, whether on

looking up from their devices, assum-

TR A’S A DCRE ATOR PL ATFORM

public transit or in the face of platform

ing there is just a crazy lady on the

OR A DS A RE DO W N. You cannot

outages, is a skill that has been honed

train. Just a normal day in San Fran-

panic. You have to be calm and figure

over time. Growing up as a geeky kid in

cisco. But then, Jaka notices the wom-

out what is important, what is not, what

Slovenia, Jaka spent his childhood as-

an’s husband slumped over in the seat,

you should communicate, what you

piring to be a fighter jet pilot like Tom

sweating and drooling. He realizes that

should not communicate, who should

Cruise in the 1986 action film, “Top

this passenger’s husband is in need of

do what, division of duties. In some

Gun.” He craved the adrenaline rush,

immediate medical attention, and he

sense, downtime prepares you to be

but supremely analytical even from a

springs into action.

better in these kinds of high stress situ-

young age, “soon realized that the Slo-

ations,” concludes Jaka.

venian army didn’t have any fighter

As another good Samaritan tends to

Not

jets so that wasn’t going to happen.” In

other words, “Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.”

he ever gave software as a service any real thought). His gaming innovation included a full inventory management

Jaka would need to find another way to fill the need, the

system and production pipeline, which was “super success-

need for speed. Luckily, he was introduced to coding in

ful economically, to the point where the game was not fun

fourth grade and took to it quickly. He recalled his first

anymore and managing an organization of five employees,

coding projects using Logo, a drawing program deploying

logging in every day, and making sure everything was going

simple commands to draw various shapes, and the excite-

fine became a serious chore.”

ment he felt when he realized that you could draw a circle by repeating two commands: “go forward” and “rotate by

However, through this project, Jaka learned an immense

1 degree.” He also recalled an early project where he was

amount about software design which was directly applica-

tasked with writing a computer program to prepare fried

ble in the creation and development of the AdCreator Plat-

eggs using prose, not code. He understood exactly what

form. In particular, he learned “how to create multi-tenant

the assignment was trying to accomplish (e.g. “Open cup-

software with different accounts and subdomains and com-

board. Crack eggs.”), but unfortunately, he didn’t know

pletely separate data for each. So when it came to Celtra,

how to make eggs.

and we were designing AdCreator, I knew exactly how to do this.” His EVE Online design experience was translatable to

These early assignments paved the way for Jaka to embark

AdCreator one-to-one.

on the two major coding challenges of his life to date: the massive multi-player game EVE Online and the Celtra Ad-

JA K A’S MOVE FROM ONLINE GA MING TO A D -

Creator Platform. As a passion project, he (and several

VERTISING IS NOT SOMETHING HE W OULD H AVE

other Celtronians) spent three years “separated from real

FORESEEN. When asked if Celtra was the first time he

life and living in the EVE Online world” to develop a full

really thought about ads, Jaka laughed and replied, “No. I

inventory management system and production pipeline

had quite a negative opinion of ads before.” Pressed fur-

within the EVE environment. Within the game, materials

ther, he explained that it took “several weeks of corporate

were mined, produced, and sold, and prior to Jaka’s inter-

dating” with Matevž [Klanjšek] for him to convince me that

vention, this process was primitively coordinated through

ads are not totally evil. It goes hand-in-hand in Slovenia.

chat. Instead, Jaka built an online store where players could

If you are a geek, a kind of internet enthusiast, you must

list products, pricing, take orders, track delivery, receive

be into open source, a bit into privacy, a bit anti-copyright

payments and deliveries, and even licensed this software to

and everything commercial. Hating ads just goes with the

other gamers in a “do-it-yourself SaaS model” (long before

standard.”

Growing up as a geeky kid in Slovenia, Jaka spent his childhood aspiring to be a fighter jet pilot like Tom Cruise in the 1986 action film, “Top Gun.” 75

CELTR A’S TOP GUN ON A QUEST FOR FUN

From that viewpoint, it may seems sur-

also right. Jaka was coming to Celtra

our ads are usually my favorite.

prising that Jaka and Matevž would be-

with experience in phone technology.

These two were pretty cool.”

come wingmen – Celtra’s “Goose” and

“This was at the point when iPhones

“Maverick” – but even from the begin-

came out, and it was this completely

From these early campaigns, Jaka has

ning, Jaka was impressed by Matevž’s

new screen, new channel, completely

stretched to solve even bigger, more

creative approach. “Celtra had another

new experience. It was clear we could

complicated problems at Celtra. When

product before AdCreator, actually. It

do something here.”

pressed about where and how he finds

was a marketing platform for a coordinat-

meaning in his work, he rejected the

ed, multi-channel campaign . . . speak-

IN CELTR A’S E A RLY DAYS, JA K A

premise of the question: “I wouldn’t

ing about it now, it seems like the future,

A ND M ATE V Ž W ERE PERSON A L-

say I find “meaning” in it. I’m not sure

not the past, so maybe we shouldn’t have

LY INVOLVED IN M A N Y OF THE

if I find meaning in life in general. The

killed it [laughs]. You would see some-

MOST INTERESTING, GROUND -

only meaning for me is to have fun.

thing on Facebook, then you would get

BRE A KING

A ND

But I find a lot of challenges and inter-

a phone call and then you would get

THEIR CRE ATIVE INTELLIGENCE

esting things, certainly. The challeng-

a message, and Matevž was explaining

A ND PASSION FOR PUSHING

es are always different, and through

some creative campaign executions

BOUNDA RIES

the years, it has changed. I have a big

that they had for movies. There was

PO W ER CELTR A’S INNOVATION

passion for distributed computing. In

one involving Carmen Electra. She was

A ND SUCCESS TODAY. In particu-

advertising, you get to work with an

on the Jay Leno show talking about her

lar, Jaka remembers fondly personally

order of magnitude more scale than

boyfriend, and then using voice actors,

hand coding an interactive video cam-

on websites, because there are way

she would say your name and call you

paign for Mercedez-Benz and a very

more ads than page views You get to

from the TV show and at the same

cool, viral social campaign that Matevž

play with highly scalable stuff, but with

time, your phone would start ringing.

designed for Angry Birds. “The new

much less responsibility than financial

It was like, ‘What the hell? This can-

Angry Birds game was coming out and

technology. That has always been fun.”

not be happening.’ You are looking at

it wasn’t yet announced what it would

More recently, Jaka has enjoyed work-

a Youtube video, you hear your name,

be, but the idea was that an egg that

ing on Celtra’s incrementality frame-

and then get a call with a voice actor

was about to hatch, and you will soon

work “which is a bit psychological.

on the phone. To me, this was just cra-

find out what is in the egg. You could

zy. I didn’t even know that you could

volunteer yourself to carve the egg,

IT IS INFLUENCING PEOPLE A ND

consider this ‘advertising.’ Once the

and you would build your own bird.

HO W THE Y THINK A ND W H AT

perspective changes from what ‘adver-

It used a photo and you could post it

THE Y DO. THIS IS A COOL THING,

tising’ is – from just squares to some-

on Facebook, and then your friends

SO IT GOES BE YOND TECH BUT

thing cooler – it is hard to hate this

could also volunteer. And then more

INTO HO W YOU C A N CH A NGE

stuff.”

and more birds would be added on the

W H AT PEOPLE A RE THINKING.

photo to defend the egg. It was the

IT IS KIND OF COOL .”

C A MPA IGNS,

CONTINUE

The timing to push this innovative,

first social, viral generated thing on

expansive approach to advertising was

AdCreator. The ‘firsts’ executions of

Dear egg, please crack. 78

CELTR A’S TOP GUN ON A QUEST FOR FUN

H E A L S O R E C A L L E D A N E A R LY P ROJ E C T W H E R E H E W A S TA S K E D W I T H W R I T I N G A CO M P U T E R P RO G R A M TO P R E PA R E F R I E D E G G S U S I N G P ROS E , N OT CO D E . H E U N D E R S TO O D E X AC T LY W H AT T H E A S S I G N M E N T W A S T RY I N G T O A C C O M P L I S H ( E . G . “ O P E N C U P B O A R D . C R A C K E G G S .” ) , B U T U N F O R T U N A T E L Y, H E D I D N ’ T K N O W HOW TO MAKE EGGS.

This comes as no surprise given that Jaka is most intrigued

You leave on Friday after work, get there by midnight, ski

by multi-disciplinary technology which combines software

on Saturday, and leave on Sunday after spending the day

tech with another hard-science based learning, and the in-

skiing. This completely changes you. If I could say some-

crementality framework is a way to combine another disci-

thing [to my younger self], I would say, ‘Drive around Eu-

pline with ad tech.

rope more. Don’t just fly into places. Actually drive around. Four hours in the car is nothing. You will survive.’ It is not

NOT W ITHSTA NDING HIS JOURNE Y FROM ENGI-

crazy. It is a completely different experience when you get

NEER NUMBER T W O TO C TO, IN M A N Y WAYS,

to see everything in between.”

JA K A IS THE SA ME A DREN A LINE -SEEKING KID W ITH ASPIR ATIONS TO STA R IN THE AC TION

Whether he is experimenting with drones, finding the per-

MOVIE OF HIS O W N LIFE . Looking back, he would

fect slice of Neapolitan pizza, or contemplating the possi-

not change the trajectory of his life: “I’m sure if I wanted

bility of space travel (in case you’re wondering, he would

to optimize my life for success, I could have done that, but

“totally go” even on a one-way trip to Mars, and thinks any-

I never wanted to optimize my life for success. I wanted to

one who would not volunteer for this mission is crazy), Jaka

optimize my life for fun and enjoyment. So I think I did

is always analyzing, optimizing, and very often, laughing.

that pretty well,” declares Jaka (and can you blame him?

His solutions are elegant and his creations beautiful, but

Being a 30 year old CTO is pretty badass). His only advice

you will never hear him pause to brag about his missions.

to his younger self would be to explore and travel more.

Celtra’s fighter jet pilot and one of AdCreator’s architects is

Jaka explained how moving to San Francisco changed his

too busy chasing the next challenge and pushing the limits.

perspective of geographic scale, as compared to his childhood in Slovenia. “From San Francisco, you drive for four hours and go skiing in Tahoe, and it is completely casual.

WRIT TEN BY MEGAN ST. LEDGER Sr. Legal Counsel, Boston Megan has been with Celtra since December of 2015 and is our first in-house legal counsel.

2 0 1 6

A W

J U

E R

W I N

Megan St. Ledger Congratulations!

Megan joined Celtra six months ago

take the initiative to make an impact

We witness Megan going above and

as the first internal legal counsel

across all fronts.

beyond her responsibilities, and

and quickly distinguished herself as

going out of her way to help her

a strong performer and an excellent

Megan quickly stepped up and has

team player.

shown a great interest not only in

peers.

how to succeed in her current role,

She has an entrepreneurial spirit

What I admire about Megan, as

but also in how Celtra succeeds as a

and continues to show us how hard

well as what I believe won her the

business. She is a doer, consistently

working, talented and fun she is.

recognition of the Peer Award,

taking action rather than talking

begins with her great efforts to

about it.

She is an extraordinarily positive

understand the business and really

addition to our team.

Megan is great to work with. She's always very responsive and gets things done way ahead of schedule. I've worked with multiple legal teams and she's the fastest I've ever worked with! She also always takes the time to walk me through any questions and is willing to hop on the phone with clients to discuss as well. She just makes life easier!

MEGA N IS A LWAYS PROMPT A ND COURTEOUS TO RESPOND, PROVIDING THE SA LES TE A M W ITH FA NTASTIC SUPPORT FROM A LEGA L PERSPEC TIVE .

Fantastic help and quick turn around of contracts we've been dealing with in EMEA. A true super star!

MEGAN HAS BEEN A TRUE PLEASURE TO WORK WITH. SHE IS SMART, SUPPORTIVE AND ALWAYS AHE AD OF HER GAME.

Since Megan joined Celtra she has been adding tremendous value for our internal Legal department from day 1. From her response time on legal requests, assisting with sales questions & pushing MSA's forward - you would think we

MEGAN PUT TOGETHER Thank you for being a great partner

A GRE AT PROCESS OF

to the Finance team! Your knowledge

CONTR AC TS MANAGEMENT

and sense of team work is greatly

WHICH

appreciated!

GRE ATLY IMPROVED THE QUALITY OF WORK.

had a team of 4 people in Legal! She is also a pleasure to work with, understands the business side and makes things work.

For a second year in a row, we are thrilled to announce

We are proud to have you on the team and appreciate

Kyle Madden as the winner of the most recent Peer

the positive impact that you have on those around you.

Award!

Kyle consistently shows a willingness to pitch in and assist clients with

KYLE IS AWESOME!

questions or work internally with colleagues with their questions on

HE WILL HELP YOU AT ANY

every feasible occasion. He brings an outstanding technical knowledge

TIME NO MAT TER WHAT.

of the platform and has the ability to speak to a client from a technical

HE IS NICE AND POLITE...

standpoint or speak to a technology neophyte to help them understand

I C AN ALWAYS COUNT

functionality in laymen terms.

ON HIM.

K Y LE IS A ROCK STA R A ND I HOPE HE GETS THIS AWA RD.

I am nominating Kyle for his contributions to his team, ability to think outside the norm, and overall great team attitude.

This is the second year in a row that I've nominated Kyle. He still stands out as the one employee who is also willing to help and come up with a creative solution to problems. He's also solutions oriented and will work across all departments to get things done. The Celtra swiss army knife does it again. Thanks, Kyle!

Besides learning that Kyle was a highly competitive amateur basketball player and a self taught guitar player, he has been one of the best resources on the Technical Services team. Kyle is methodical and detailed with his work. He has a pleasant way of making the most technical of subjects easy to follow and then goes the extra step to make sure the client feels comfortable with solution and the follow up process. Sometime the subject matter can be painfully bland and boring, but Kyle manages to provide detailed explanations and additional support whenever necessary. 82

2 0 1 6

E C E MB

AWA

W I N NE

Kyle Madden Congratulations!

84 DEKYI LHAZE

Cultivating a Team

HOW WOULD YOU

Day to day, I make sure my team

WHAT ARE SOME

DESCRIBE YOUR

knows what is expected of them and

INDIC ATORS THAT

MANAGEMENT ST YLE?

I give them the space and tools to

SOMEONE IS READY

I enjoy teaching and I think the roots

grow. If I give them a quarterly review

F O R T H E N E X T S T E P,

of my management style come from

and they are surprised by it, then I

WHETHER THAT ’S MORE

this fact. What I know, I will teach,

am equally at fault for this because

R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y, L E S S

and I also strongly encourage my team

I should have been communicating

OVERSIGHT, AND,

members to learn from each other.

clearly all along.

P O S S I B LY, A M A N A G E M E N T

"I A M A L SO AWA RE TH AT I

ROLE THEMSELV ES? Overall, I think it all comes down

I think there are three factors I look

to treating my team as I would like

for when someone is ready to be

to be treated. I try to put myself in

unleashed. First, your work needs to

their shoes: as a younger person,

be accurate. Because we deal with

how would I want my manager to

numbers, getting to that point is

treat me? I think back to my prior

hard, and if I can’t trust the accuracy

It gives me the opportunity to learn

work experiences and my former

of your work, I can’t give you more

from them as well.

managers, and I want to be better

responsibility. Second, you must own

than that for my team. We spend a

your current tasks, one hundred

When new hires join my team, I will

lot of time together, so if we don’t

percent. That means not having to

hand hold them closely, giving lots

create a healthy, productive work

follow up with that person about

of direction and reviewing their work

environment, we won’t enjoy coming

their work, but rather, trusting that

diligently. But, once they prove they

to the office and spending eight hours

they will get the job done. The third

can work without much guidance,

or more together. The human aspect

factor, which I feel is so important, is

they will start to work independently.

is so important. Sometimes, we can

having the right attitude. You need

Then, the onus is on them to make

have challenging situations where

to have the mindset that you want to

sure they reach out to me if any

things are not going in the right

grow and make an impact on the team

of their work needs my review or

direction. It is always uncomfortable

and on the company. Once you have

approval. At this point, I trust they

to be the “tough manager.” But when

these things, you’re ready for the next

will make the right judgement

these times arise, if you make it clear

stage. That’s where I come in: to help

calls, and, as their manager, it is my

to the team member that you are

empower that person to unlock their

responsibility to make sure there are

having this conversation because you

next level of potential, to ask them

no roadblocks for them to get their

really care about them, then it’s an

where they see themselves going, what

job done. I need to empower them.

entirely different interaction.

tools they need to get there, and how

DON’T KNO W E VERY THING, A ND TH AT M Y TE A M MEMBERS A RE MORE KNO W LEDGE A BLE TH A N ME IN CERTA IN ASPEC TS. I A M OK W ITH TH AT."

they might better help the team and Celtra.

CULTIVATING A TEAM

I try to put myself in their shoes: as a younger person, how would I want my manager to treat me?

WHAT ’S YOUR TE AM DYNAMIC ? WHAT STAGE DO YOU FEEL YOUR TE AM IS AT NOW? My team members are very young, much younger than me at least. I almost feel like I am a parent to them. I’m strict, as I want them to grow and excel. I set high standards. I don’t take excuses. But when they prove themselves, I love to reward them. It’s a milestone for both of us, you know? I’m completely invested in them and in their success. I feel so fulfilled when I see one of my team members succeed. Many of my team members have been with Celtra for a long time and I hope they feel empowered. They know what they need to do, and they know what their individual impact is to the team and the company. They’re hardworking and they’re passionate. I don’t have to tell them to stay and work long hours when deadlines need to be met, they just do it. I feel very proud of them and what they’ve become.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT MAKES CELTR A

If you are excellent and you work hard and deliver, you

A GRE AT PL ACE TO WORK?

will be noticed, you will be recognized, and you will be

I think passion drives passion here at Celtra. When I go to

promoted.

different offices, I feel this everywhere. There’s so much belief in the company, and in the leadership team. There

Finally, at Celtra, we really care about our employees.

are so many people who go above and beyond to help

I know this because I’m close to the decisions we make

the company achieve its goals. Seeing this energy breeds

that put policies in place with the intention to reward

passion in others. I feel proud to work with people who

and incentivize employees. For example, if you look at

have such drive.

the employee benefit package, it’s an amazing package. It’s the kind of package that companies with really deep

Furthermore, at Celtra, we will always make room for

pockets institute. This is because Celtra truly cares for the

overachievers. By that, I mean we give room for people to

individuals working here.

make an impact, no matter what role they come in for.

" W E KNO W W E A RE IN THIS TOGETHER . I THINK THIS IS W H AT M A KES CELTR A A GRE AT, UNIQUE PL ACE TO W OR K ."

DEKYI LHAZE VP, Controller, Boston Dekyi joined Celtra in July 2012 and has been the driving force behind our Finance department’s evolution and impact on the company.

88 RUDINA SESERI

Passion, Modigliani & Artificial Intelligence Sketches of a morning conference ride with Rudina Seseri.

I T ’ S 8 : 3 0 I N T H E M O R N I N G A N D R U D I N A S E S E R I I S I N T H E C A R W I T H H E R F A M I L Y. S H E L I K E S T A K I N G H E R C A L L S T H I S W A Y, S H E S A Y S . W E ’ R E A B O U T T O D I S C U S S A P R O G R A M O F L O F T Y T O P I C S , B U T T H E E D G E O F T H E DAY B R E A K D O E SN ’ T O BV I AT E H E R E F F O R TS . T H E R E ’ S E XC I T E M E N T I N H E R VO I C E . T H E R E A R E A L S O N O T E S O F S I N C E R I T Y A N D K I N D N E S S . I ’ V E N E V E R S P O K E N W I T H H E R B E F O R E T O D A Y, B U T I C A N SE N SE T H AT SH E ’ S T H E T Y PE O F PE R SO N W H O G IV E S YO U H E R F U L L AT T E N T I O N . A R A R I T Y, I ’ M S U R E , F O R S O M E O N E W I T H H E R R E S U M E .

Our first undertaking: erecting a

by advising and contributing to the

familiar tech patrons and laypeople

portrait of who she is, outside of work.

hospital and its fundraising programs.

alike.

do what I do [a venture capitalist],

Rudina’s husband prompts her to

Her tone becomes more serious, yet

you have to be passionate about

divulge her pastimes; they’re a part of

palpably more invested. It’s here where

it. My work and my life are one.

her, even if they are temporarily latent.

her

When you work with start-ups, you

“In my nonexistent spare time, I like

Intelligence represents a whole new

can’t pick and choose which time

to run. But right now, having launched

wave of disruption, very similar to the

of day there will be good news, or

a new firm, working long hours, and

disruption that was social mobile and

when there will be challenges.” She

having a family, that’s more of an

the Internet.

surreptitiously qualifies this statement

aspiration, and not a reality. I also

with a declaration of her other “job,”

love to paint. I do abstract painting,

"IN M Y OPINION, A .I. W ILL

motherhood. “I’m a mom! I have my

and I work with acrylic. With artists,

BE E VEN MORE IMPAC TFUL

family,” she says, the harbingers of

I’m totally post-modern; Modigliani’s

A ND E VEN MORE

devotion running thick through her

portraits, Dalí’s surrealism.”

TR A NSFORM ATION A L TH A N

“Oh my God [laughs]. When you

dwells.

“Artificial

THE PRIOR WAVES."

conviction. “I have my family and I

fascination

have my work.” I leave her with a bit of

Her kaleidoscope shifts again and she

silence, and another layer of her self

resumes talking about her trade. “I have

In the next five to ten years, we will

manifests. “I’m someone who wants to

an informal commitment to seeing the

feel the impact of narrow, or applied,

have a role in making the world a better

Boston start-up ecosystem really live

A.I., which manifests as capabilities

place. I work with Boston Children’s

up to its potential. I do a lot around

such as visual recognition, speech and

Hospital, a cause very close to me.” A

this.” One tenant of this commitment

natural language processing, social

bit of research reveals that she sits on

is her work surrounding Artificial

cognition, and more. In my view, all of

their Board of Overseers, a group of

Intelligence, and, more specifically,

the aforementioned will be powered

individuals who advocate for Boston

championing

by machine learning. ”

Children’s within their communities

cryptic subject into digestible form for

and

packaging

the

“I have an informal commitment to seeing the Boston start-up ecosystem really live up to its potential. I do a lot around this.”

“If you think about Celtra, and the

recognition will be a particularly im-

In these new iterations of the start-up,

power of creative programmatic, A.I.

portant factor in this process.”

machine learning experts and A.I. ex-

will come into play with the ability not

perts will have a role. This will also cre-

only to leverage machine learning and

When I ask her about the potential

ate a generational predisposition. Data

make predictions about what consum-

consequences of A.I., she’s equal-

scientists, and individuals who can re-

ers will prefer and digest, but also to

ly as armed with understanding and

ally contribute to Deep Learning, are

perfect in real time a highly-person-

well-formulated opinions. “I think it

quite young. It creates an interesting

alized piece of advertising and subse-

will have ramifications around what

cultural dynamic between rising ma-

quently understand the reaction the

the start-up of the future looks like,

chine learning experts and traditional

consumer has to the content. Visual

in that A.I. will be an enabling factor.

start-up figures.”

PASSION, MODIGLIANI & ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

“If you project twenty, thirty years from now, the decisions

On advice to Celtra, she has this to say: “I’m quite proud of

we make need to be thoughtful. This is true of any technol-

what Miha and the team have achieved with what I would

ogy, and particularly relevant to A.I., when machines reach

call unwavering focus and execution. But, if someone asked

a whole new paradigm. Soon, A.I. will drive automation of

for advice, I would say continue to maintain the agility that

many roles and professions. In the short term, it will merely

this team has shown over time, adjusting to new market

augment what humans do. In the medium to long term, it

opportunities and changing environments. I think being

will redefine professional functions and do away with oth-

a successful company from the inception of the idea to be-

ers. And, for the first time, I think it will cause a disruption

coming a market leader, as Celtra has done, is less about

of the highly trained, highly skilled upper-middle class,

having the right idea from the get-go and more about exe-

like doctors and attorneys. So, something we need to think

cuting with a sharp eye, being adaptable.

carefully about is what societal impact this will have, and how we will need to respond as a global society.”

CELTR A H AS DONE THIS IN A N INCREDIBLY STRONG WAY, W HICH IS W H Y IT H AS RE ACHED THE M A R KET POSITION IT IS IN TODAY. I SEE NO SIGNS OF DECELER ATION IN ITS FUTURE ."

WRIT TEN BY BRIT T ST. GEORGE Associate Legal Counsel, Boston Britt is Celtra’s Associate Legal Counsel. She also manages Celtra’s social channels. In her spare time, you can find her writing, photographing, or running (or penning mini-novels about her colleagues, like this one).

92 98

ALEŠ GABROVEC

The Road Less Traveled How I Learned to Stop Wearing Black and Talk About Commercials WHAT INITIATED YOUR TR ANSITION

WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT THE

FROM THE PRODUCT SIDE TO THE SALES

PRODUCT TEAM?

SIDE?

The addicting process of crafting involved in creating

From what I know, the idea originated with Miha last

something very tangible, impactful, and simply cool.

December to help Sales execute on our bet on brands and the new SaaS subscription business model. HOW DO YOUR SKILL S TR ANSL ATE FROM PRODUCT TO YOUR NEW ROLE WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST

AS E VP OF STR ATEGIC BUSINESS

SUPPORTER IN THIS TRANSITION?

DEVELOPMENT?

United Airlines Mileage Plus program.

When you build a product, you tend to focus on delivering value. Similarly, in my new role, this is also

W H AT H AS B EEN THE B IGGEST CH A LLENGE

the case, but it’s focused more on determining and

W HI LE M A KIN G THE CH A N GE?

articulating the value of AdCreator to our potential

A COLOURFUL WA RDROBE .

customers.

ALEŠ GABROVEC EVP, Strategic Business Development Aleš joined Celtra in 2011 and now helps define product strategy and user experience design on key Celtra products.

MOST LIKELY TO...

LEND A HAND

Kyle Madden He can do his job and yours too... wait, do I still have a job?

FIX ANYTHING

Anthony Westmoreland Next project: America

BE FOUND IN THE KITCHEN

Matic Makovec He’s crunching on numbers, not chips.

DRESS TO IMPRESS

Maja Mikek Can we just talk about her shoe game for a second?

COORDINATE A HAPPY HOUR

Mojca Janežič It’s all about employee satisfaction.

CRACK A JOKE

Vuk Lau Most likely not to laugh: everyone

BREAK OUT INTO SONG & DANCE

Andrew Heald & George Paone Does this call for a dance-off? I think so.

BE HEARD ACROSS THE ROOM

Brian Hans What was that? Can you speak up a little bit?

TELL IT LIKE IT IS

Jaka Jančar Whether you want him to or not.

E AT, SLEEP AND BRE ATHE CELTR A

Miha Mikek This survey was rigged.

LEAVE THE OFFICE L AST

Aleš Gabrovec So, his hobbies include Celtra, working at Celtra, hanging out at Celtra and not having other hobbies.

6 97

WALL OF RECENT LIFE EVENTS

C'est la Vie! M A N AGED TO STAY SINGLE F OR 1 Y E A R!

Married one of our clients.

Alen Krmelj

Diane Sanderson

KID NO.2 IN THE MAKING. Vuk Lau

Necker island Wen Vo

I FOUND M Y INNER PE ACE , GOT 3 C ATS. Žiga Vučko

TRAVELED AROUND BURMA!

Leonel Silva

I BOUGHT M YSELF M Y O W N HORN... A ND THEN I TOOTED M Y O W N H O RN. Benjamin Robertson

I RAN MY FIRST HALF MARATHON!

Raushida Vasaiwala

Bought a house, adopted a dog, had a son. Mark Dorman

100

C'EST LA VIE

HELPED TO GET UBER SIGNED ON! Jack Burke

I nearly finished a juice diet. Monica Carvalho

BOUGHT A CO NDO, STA RTED LIVING BY M YSELF, VISITED ITA LY Mike Adamson

102

The Ultimate Parenthood Guide COLLECTIVE WISDOM ON PARENTHOOD FROM THE MOTHERS AND FATHERS OF CELTRA.

102

up in a little bit”. He literally thanks me and runs back to his bed to sleep. Double whammy: I’m the hero all over again when I get to tell him there’s actually no school. Oh, he totally stops and thinks about how twisted of a joke it was but, honestly, he should’ve caught on by now - that’s on him.

Take time to be with your kids, be really present when with them, open your heart and learn from them.

GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES

AND TALK WITH YOUR KIDS E YE-TO -E YE .

Everything is temporary (which is sometimes great, sometimes terrible). D O N ’ T W A I T F O R T H E C H I L D U N T I L H E / S H E I S “ O L D E N O U G H .” G O O U T A N D R I D E A B I K E , S U P, S U R F , R U N , R O L L E R B L A D E , TRAVEL WITH THE BABY !

Don’t move to a new house during pregnancy, no matter how much you think it makes sense beforehand!!! But try to live closer to your parents so they can help too :). 103

AND EN JOY E VERY SINGLE MOMENT.

mommy?”.... You’re damn right there’s school! “Yes babe, but you can lay back down. I’ll wake you

DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP

On weekend mornings when I’m dying to sleep in, my little boy will ask “Is there school today,

Get a babysitter. Take it easy, babies pick up your energy so if you are calm and happy they will be too.

with your partner!

Adopt.

Learn how to switch off (from your kids and work).

Make sure you have a great relationship

And if it makes you happy to work they’ll feel it and you shouldn’t feel bad for it.

L O O K F O R W A Y S T O F I N D J O Y E V E N I N T H E M U N D A N E , R E P E T I T I V E PA R E N T I N G TA S KS . F O R E X A M P L E , A N Y T I M E YO U R K I D S AYS “ O N E M O R E ” W H E N I T CO M E S TO BOOKS, RE AD THE STORY AGAIN, E VEN IF IT ME ANS HAVING E VERY SINGLE CHILDREN’S BOOK MEMORIZED (AND I DO!).

“ YOU MUST BE SHAPELESS, FORMLESS, LIKE WATER. W H E N Y O U P O U R W A T E R I N A C U P, I T B E C O M E S T H E C U P. W HEN YOU POUR WATER IN A BOT TLE , IT BECOMES THE BOT TLE . W HEN YOU POUR WATER IN A TE APOT, IT BECOMES THE TE APOT. W A T E R C A N D R I P A N D I T C A N C R A S H . B E C O M E L I K E W A T E R M Y F R I E N D .” BRUCE LEE

104

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop living.

105

106

MEGAN ST. LEDGER

Ask Me(gan) Anything

P U T T I N G C E LT R A’ S F I R S T I N - H O U S E L A W Y E R , M E G A N S T. L E D G E R , T H R O U G H C E LT R A’ S V E R S I O N O F T H E I N T E R N E T ’ S FAVO R I T E PSE U D O N Y M O U S Q U E S T I O N -A N D -A N S W E R F O R M AT.

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU ARE

HOW DID YOU GET SO AWESOME?

QUALIFIED TO BE HANDING OUT

Growing up a ginger means that you can’t take yourself

ADVICE?

too seriously. You have to be ready with a witty retort

Wow, what an aggressive start to this AMA! By questioning

when someone calls you “Pippi Longstocking” or accuses

my authority, you probably thought you could shake my

you of stealing their soul. That gritty upbringing on the

confidence and deter me from boldly opining on topics

mean streets of Wilmington, North Carolina left me with

about which I have no actual knowledge. Unfortunately

no option but to become awesome. #thestruggleisreal

for you, I’m a former college athlete with an Atticus Finch-

#blessed

complex. In other words, “nevertheless, she persisted.” HOW SHOULD I NEGOTIATE MY HO W DO I RE AD A LEGAL CONTR AC T

COMPENSATION PL AN?

WITHOUT SKIPPING HALF OF THE TEXT?

Say “thank you” and sign.

Don't! If each of you started actually reading things, I would be out of a job. Your apathy is my job security. DO YOU THINK IT IS POSSIBLE TO W RITE LEGISL ATION A S A COMPUTER HO W DO YOU BECOME THE BEST

ALGORITHM?

VOLLE YBALL PL AYER?

Is it possible for me to write legislation or contracts in

Don’t follow my lead by maxing out at 5’2” with no ups.

the form of an algorithm? Absolutely not. Do I have faith that one of Celtra’s brilliant engineers could figure this out? I’m optimistic that you could. I think the more

107

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A “PERFECT

difficult question is whether (or to what extent) we should

CRIME”?

allow ourselves to make decisions based on the results of

There are no perfect crimes, only imperfect prosecutors,

algorithms when it is highly unlikely that a given question

unpredictable juries, and limited resources to investigate

has an objective, single right answer. As we know,

and solve them.

machines will break our hearts.

ASK MEGAN ANYTHING

HOW TO “LEGALLY ” GET

importation of potatoes from Poland

and in theory, they will work through

AWAY WITH MURDER?

(the U.K.).

these differences until they arrive at a compromise measure which will,

Sorry, Shonda Rhymes is already working away at this one, but she

THE RE ASON SOME THINGS

almost by definition, be imperfect.

could not be reached for comment.

A RE LEGA L , BUT NOT LOGIC A L

This results in numerous laws which

Check out ABC On Demand.

C A N BE TR ACED TO HUM A N

may be designed to address one

N ATURE .

problem, but which in practice create more problems with respect

WHAT MAKES AN APPLE PIE

The rule of law is a bedrock principle

to implementation and enforcement.

TRULY GRE AT?

of civil society. In the Massachusetts

Take for example, criminal sentencing

The flaky crust is the most critical

Constitution of 1780, John Adams

legislation in the wake of the 1980s

component of a truly great pie, and as

enshrined the principle that we

war on drugs. Elected officials wanted

a matter of law, apple pie should be

should be “a government of laws and

to look “tough on crime” to avoid

served warm with vanilla ice cream.

not of men,” and Winston Churchill is

losing their seats to more law and

When making the crust, you should

often credited as saying, “Democracy

order candidates. This resulted in

keep all ingredients cold, use the

is the worst form of government,

draconian sentencing guidelines

least amount of ice water possible,

except for all the others.” These

which created significant disparities in

and avoid over-kneading the dough,

statements reinforce the foregone

the federal penalties for crack cocaine

which will make it tough. I also

conclusion that humans are by nature

versus powder cocaine. There was no

recommend using a mix of sweet

fallible and it is only through our

logical reason that someone caught

and tart apples (Golden Delicious,

collective civil action that we can

with five grams of crack would receive

Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith is my

overcome these failures to create a

a mandatory minimum sentence of

go-to combination) to add depth of

free and just society.

five years, where someone caught with

flavor and texture to the filling.

cocaine would have to possess 500 The frequent divergence between

grams to receive the same five year

legality and rationality flows quite

prison sentence. These disparities

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS

naturally from this flawed humanity.

were not based on scientific research

WHICH ARE LEGAL, BUT

In the United States, we call upon

or logical reasoning, only fear of the

NOT LOGICAL?

535 elected legislators – with no

crack epidemic ravaging America’s

There are numerous lists devoted

substantive qualifications other than

cities. Over the next three decades,

to the “wackiest” laws on the books,

being at least 25 years old and a U.S.

this legal but illogical sentencing bias

and I’ll leave you to your own search

citizen – to draft our legislation.

persisted, until Congress passed the

results as to which state only permits

Each legislator brings to the halls

Fair Sentencing Act in 2011 which

bars to serve alcohol from mini

of government competing interests,

retroactively adjusted the penalties for

airport bottles (South Carolina)

constituencies, and implicit biases,

crack versus cocaine possession.

or which country prohibits the

"Apple pie should be served warm with vanilla ice cream."

What are the best pubs and restaurants in Brooklyn? 1. A L DI L A TR AT TORI A - the most perfect northern

4. BUT TERMILK CH A NNEL - go for the duck meatloaf

Italian fare

and stay for the buttermilk fried chicken with cheddar

2. MISSION DOLORES BA R - a former tire shop

waffles

converted to a dog-friendly beer bar with pinball machines

5. GREEN W OOD PA R K - gourmet snacks, beer and

3. ONE GIRL COOKIES - for the most perfect carrot

bocce courts

cake and whoopie pies

109

ASK MEGAN ANYTHING

WHERE SHOULD I MOVE TO?

to win the high stakes game of finance. (Caution: The

I recommend traveling as much as possible and moving

remainder of this answer may contain “Billions” Season

to a place where you can accomplish your professional

2 spoilers.) If lawyers were smart and fearless enough to

goals but when you step outside, you still feel alive. Bonus

crush it on the NYSE, they would be parked at Axe Capital

points if this place is also within driving distance of free

waiting for Dollar Bill Stern to hand them duffle bags full

grand-parental babysitting.

of cash in exchange for signing off on a report justifying Axe’s short position Klaxon, even though the numbers don’t bear it out. Instead, most lawyers spend their

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO STILL USE

professional lives billing clients in 6 minute increments

MICROSOFT WORD?

until they drop dead at their desks. #livingthedream

In response to our Chief Trolling Officer’s inquiry, every time I draft a document, it is like stepping into a time capsule.

TELL ME YOUR SECRET TO BOOST YOUR W O R K E N E R G Y T H R O U G H O U T T H E D AY. COPIOUS A MOUNTS OF COFFEE A ND L ATE -9 0S

C AN YOU LOOK AT MY TERMS AND

HIP HOP, in particular Sisqo’s “Thong Song Radio” on

CONDITIONS FOR MINIMELLO WS AND

Pandora and Nelly’s YouTube channel.

LET ME KNOW IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT IS MISSING OR SHOULD BE AMENDED?

CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME PRENUP

I definitely attempted to research this question, but I can’t

ADVICE?

determine if you are seeking advice on the best way to

No, I’m Celtra’s lawyer, and conflicts of interest prevent

consume tiny marshmallows or if you want me to check

me from advising any of you in a domestic capacity.

out your Etsy store where you specialize in customized

#sorrynotsorry That said, unless you are currently in

baby onesies. Please advise.

possession of a lucrative trust fund or are confident that you will be inventing the next PokemonGo, Flowbee, slap bracelet, Snuggie, fidget spinner, it is probably not

HOW DO I WIN AT THE STOCK MARKET?

worth the stress or expense of arguing over who gets to

Here is a deep, dark secret of the legal profession: most

keep your collection of beanie babies or IKEA furniture.

lawyers are terrible at math and totally risk averse. In

Unless you have substantial assets worth dividing, you are

addition to compliance with insider trading laws and

probably better off saving those prenup-drafting legal

attorney ethics rules, lawyers often need to get approval

fees for a super nice make-up dinner at Peter Lugar’s

from their law firm ethics committee before buying or

Steakhouse after your first big fight.

selling stock, which can really put a damper on your ability

110

Questions that didn't make the cut 1. How do you always respond to emails so quickly? :) 2. As I’m relatively new to the concept of breakfast Burritos, I would probably get advice on how much Hot Sauce is enough? I heard not enough but I’m still not sure. 3. Do fish ever get thirsty? 4. What kind of things do you keep in mind to keep yourself out of legal trouble in your personal life and for Celtra? 5. What is the way through the contract jungle? 6. How legally binding was our lottery ticket agreement at the Manager Training in Boston? 7. Can you please explain me how AMERICAN football works? 8. Are you single? No- but I’ve reported your question to HR based on your IP address. 9. How do you manage your time and always look so well put together? 10. Just that - anything! She would give sound advice on any topic ;-) 11. How can I sue my neighbor for not contributing to take care of our joint property. 12. How do you get out of a speeding ticket? Cry or call Uber. 13. What is something we don’t realize you do? Write a Celtra advice column. 14. How to evict a roommate :*( . But really, what is the latest podcast that I need to be listening to. Startup; S-Town; Crimetown; Missing Richard Simmons; 2 Dope Queens; Reply All; Pod Save America. 15. 10 fish are in a tank. 2 drown, 3 swim away, 4 die. how many are left? there’s always 10 fish in the tank no matter what happens).

MEGAN ST. LEDGER Sr. Legal Counsel, Boston Megan has been with Celtra since December of 2015 and is our first in-house legal counsel.

(pssst ...

112

Celtra Stomping Grounds WANT TO LIVE LIKE A LOCAL WHEN VISITING A CELTRA OFFICE? MAKE SURE TO HIT UP OUR FAVORITE SPOTS.

New 17

13 12 6 10

11 3

Celtra 14

4 9

AC TI V I TI ES 9 UNION SQUARE MARKET 10 H A P P Y H O U R A T P U N C H 11 M A D I S O N S Q U A R E S T R O L L 12 B O â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S 13 E A T A L Y D O P E R O O F T O P 14 R A I N E S L A W R O O M

RESTAUR A NTS

15 G L O B E 16 J O H N D O R Y O Y S T E R B A R

1 PN WOOD FIRED PIZZA

17 T H E V I N E

2 ESQUINA 3

DIG INN

4 UNION FARE 5

SHAKE SHACK

6 OXIDO 7

York 2

113

INDIKITCH

8 KO FOO

San RESTAUR A NTS 1 SAMOVAR TE A LOUNGE 2 FANG'S 3

A LTA C A

Celtra 4

5 1

AC TIVIT IE S 4 UNION SQUARE MARKET 5 LO U N G I N G I N T H E H I LTO N

Francisco 6 FERRY TRIPPINÂ´

114

Ljubljana RESTAUR A NTS 1 SUSHIMAMA 2 LO L I TA 3

VA LVA S ' O R

4 JULIJA 5

SORBARA

6 AS

SKRITI KOT

8 THAI INN

AC TI V I TI ES

9 FEASTING IN ZVEZDA 10 S N A C K I N G I N T A B A R 11 A F T E R H O U R S I N P A R L A M E N T 12 D R I N K I N G I N C U T T Y 13 S T R O L L I N G I N T I V O L I P A R K

12 1 Celtra 9

14 2 10

14 E N J O Y I N G D A K T A R I

3 4 8 5

115

Boston RESTAUR A NTS 1 DIG INN 2 GRILL 23 3

JUGOS

4 B.GOOD 5

B &G OYSTERS

6 PA R I S H C A F E 7 S A LT Y PI G 8 LIQUID ART HOUSE

Celtra

10 11

3 7

5 AC TI V I TI ES 9 WATC H I N G SK AT E BOA R D E R S FA L L I N CO P L E Y 10 R E A D I N G I N B O S T O N P. L . 11 W A L K I N G N E W B U R Y S T R E E T 12 R U N N I N G B O S T O N C O M M O N 13 R U N N I N G O N E S P L A N A D E B Y CHARLES RIVER 116

London 1

Celtra

5 8 RESTAUR A NTS

1 K I N TA N 2 ROKA 3

C H OT TO M AT T E

4 MAKE MINE 5

YOOBI

6 HAWKSMOOR

AC TI V I TI ES 7 BOUNCE 8 S H O P P I N G I N COV E N T GARDEN 9 CO P I TA

117

118

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake MAKES 10 SERVINGS

INGREDIENT LIST CRUST 3 cups (21 fl oz) wafer cookies crushed 9 tablespoons unsalted melted butter

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C).

CRUST Combine crumbs and butter. Press into and up sides of 9-inch (23 x 3 cm) round nonstick springform pan. Bake 12 minutes. Cool. Reduce temperature to 300 F (150 C).

FILLING AND TOPPING 2 cups (16 fl oz) fresh raspberries, divided

FILLING AND TOPPING Puree 1 cup (8 fl oz) raspberries, straining into a small bowl.

2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

Discard seeds.

1 cup (8 fl oz) plus 2 teaspoons sugar

Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside.

38 oz packages cream cheese, room temperature

Beat together cream cheese and remaining sugar on low until blended. Add remaining vanilla.

3 large eggs Â˝ cup (4 fl oz) sour cream Mint leaves for garnish

Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream. Mix until blended. Spoon half of batter into the crust. Drop half of raspberry puree by teaspoons into batter. Swirl. Repeat with remaining batter and puree. Bake 50 minutes, until edges are just set and center jiggles slightly. Turn oven off and partly open oven door. Cool cake in oven 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool completely. Chill in refrigerator overnight. Garnish with remaining raspberries and mint.

CECE RADGOWSKI Client Compliance Specialist, Boston Cece joined the Finance team in August 2014. She loves doing yoga and baking sweets.

120

7 121

Milestones of the

122

123

NY office opening Celtra MKT / Celtra's first B2B

Won MassTLC award

platform product

for AdCreator

Started

Won JumpTap -

at Babson

Mobext -

first large ad

first agency client, key for our

network account

Won xAd

business validation in 2010

account

Rapid expansion of

AdCreator release

Celtra publisher

We made a very important

reach

strategic decision to be distribution agnostic

Mashable first coverage

RSG financing

of Celtra

(May 2009)

Won Millennial

(No SDK approach) key for becoming kings of mobile rich media!

(FunkyCall launch)

Won Amazon account

Media account

Series A

Hyper growth

Financing Won AOL account

30 London office

FunkyCall

opening

Sony music -

Reached

Ljubljana office

Won Viacom

1 billion monthly

opening

account

impressions

first business inbound

TD Bank campaign -

Won Shazam -

first display campaign

the first large publisher account

New Line Cinema - first cold

in November

Won Kargo account Started partnership with

call that brought us business

Mindshare

(ran several mobile marketing

campaigns for movie releases

Starbucks campaign for MTV

including Sex and the City )

(won AdAge Coverage for one of the best mobile campaigns)

Won Opera MediaWorks account

0 A D I MPRESSIONS I N B I LLIONS

2006-2009 INCUBATION PHASE

2010

Won AdTheorent account

2011

Continuous Hyper growth

2012

125

Celtra attempted to expand by selling to media agencies (failed) Reached 5 billion monthly San Francisco

impressions in December

office opening

First global brand SaaS license deal with Unilever Company Celebration in Miami Sales strategy correction and team reorganization

Won iMedia ASPY Award

Won Uber as the second global SaaS license customer

Won Amobee account

Celtra first time at Cannes Lions

The rise

Series B -

of programmatic

Softbank

Launched

buying

Programmatic Creative

Celtra Won Best Platform

Lots of trying with Sales

Sydney office opening

management hiring

Category in 2016 Effective

(current APAC center)

Mobile Marketing People's

Launched Interscroller

Choice Awards

ad product

Won bronze and silver

Japan office opening

MIXX Awards (IAB)

Celtra's first annual commit deals: Kargo, AdTheorent

2013

2014

127

2015

2016

128

8 129

SURVEY ANSWERS

What Does the Future Hold for Celtra? Close your eyes and imagine the future of Celtra, what do you see?

Space travel ads 130

TREEHOUSE OFFICES

CELTR A PRIVATE JET 131

ROBOT COLLEAGUES

2016 OVERACHIEVERS

Raising the Bar Overachieversâ&#x20AC;¦ we hear this word A LOT. And it seems to resonate differently with all of us.

132

OVERACHIEVERS

There are people all over the world, working for all different

We are a team, an organization, a driving force pushing full-

types of employers, doing all different types of jobs. Some

speed toward bigger and more challenging feats. Each and

are working for a paycheck, coming to the office to put in

every person at Celtra is part of this mission, this journey

their 8 hours of work and call it a day. Some are pushing

toward success… and the outcome of our efforts really

themselves to learn more, to take on more responsibilities,

comes down to what each individual is willing to invest.

to stretch themselves beyond unimaginable measures to

And so, we celebrate the overachievers among us who

make an impact… we’re talking about the type of employees

have gone above and beyond in 2016 to work hard, work

who, no matter what you put in front of them, they give it

smart, maintain a Celtra-first mentality and effectively drive

all they’ve got. They know what they can get by doing, but

results.

they do more. Those are overachievers.

Gefen Lamdan Harry Robinson

Mark Dorman Patrick Candela

YOU ARE WHAT MAKES CELTR A STAND OUT AMONG THE CROWD.

134

135

136

137

OVERACHIEVERS

138

There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions – in a way that serves the world and you.” RICHARD BRANSON

139

140

PORTRAIT

Matevž Klanjšek Co-Founder & CPO

140

M AT E V Ž K L A N J ŠE K I S A N O R D I N A RY PE R SO N . H E TO L D M E T H AT H I M SE L F.

Matevž also told me that he has a

reer on. Because just like the itch on

It’s not a category I’m particularly in-

deep appreciation for Holden Caul-

your back that you can’t scratch, Mat-

terested in. In terms of human expe-

field. If you paid attention in ninth

evž is present, unwavering. His un-

rience, I see a lot of people who are

grade English Literature, you’d know

deniable enthusiasm for being, as he

very flat.” He draws a horizontal line

that Holden Caulfield called himself

calls it, is palpable; I can feel it from

in the air with his free hand. “But

a terrific liar. He said he’d be walking

3,269 miles and a computer screen

some,” he says, “have richer lives.”

down the street going to the store,

away. “It’s very simple,” he says, “I like

His hand traces great peaks and val-

and if someone asked him where he

to be. I very, very much like to live. I

leys. “It’s about one person’s capac-

was heading, he’d say the opera. Just

have a massive hunger for it.” As he

ity for experience. Sadness is as im-

like that.

says this, his body bobs up and down

portant as happiness in that sense. If

with conviction; an emphatic ovation

someone’s capacity for sadness is very

from his soul.

shallow, so, too, will be that person’s

When I ask Matevž to describe himself, who he is, his visceral reaction

141

capacity for happiness. I’d rather be

to the question belies a delayed,

Matevž Klanjšek is an ordinary per-

extremely sad, than just a little bit

yet pre-packaged response. “I’M

son. He doesn’t do happiness or any

happy. There’s more life in that. Pan-

THE

BACK

of the conventional feels. He holds

das are happy [laughs]. IF YOU ’RE

YOU C A N’T QUITE RE ACH TO

up a crystal glass, a marigold-hued

NOT A BLE TO RE ACH A DEPTH

SCR ATCH.”

substance swishes around its base.

OF E XPERIENCE , YOU ’RE JUST

“This makes me happy [laughs].” It’s

GOING A BOUT YOUR LIFE LIKE

This is a theme he’ll carry through-

10 PM London time. He’s meeting

A PA NDA .” Holden might have

out our conversation together. It’s a

his colleagues after this. He goes on,

used the word phony. He takes a sip

theme that he’s built his life and ca-

“Happiness is just a category for me.

of liquid from the thick rim of crystal.

ITCH

YOUR

And, just like any other ordinary person, Matevž is one of those all-or-nothing types of people. I ask what success is to him, and he declares brazenly, “It’s being the Duchamp or the Picasso of the twenty-first century. Anything less is failure.” If you can believe it, his nose isn’t pitched in the air as he confesses this. In fact, it manifests more like a burden, weighing him down physically and mentally. He describes how we are social beings, how the thing we want most in life is to see reflections of our actions in society and learn from them. As he tells me this, I realize that this is his earnest belief. What might be to some an abstract ideal, regurgitated into the world for its ostensibly noble ambition, is an actual, tangible objective that he holds himself to each

Picasso, Duchamp, Klanjšek. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

day. It’s why his goal as a founder of Celtra is to make advertising better. Not to reach an arbitrary pecuniary milestone. Not to travel around the world and live this, as he

Tangential to his theory on success is his theory on learn-

calls it, jet-setter life. To make advertising better. Picasso,

ing. He draws a line in the sand between experience and

Duchamp, Klanjšek. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

wisdom. “Most people think experience is enough. For the most part, it’s not. It’s internalizing the experience, con-

The second part of his answer, though, almost stuns me.

stantly, almost manically, reflecting on it, rethinking it, pro-

And it’s not just an answer, it’s a theory: “When I think

cessing it. That’s the hard part. You need to convert experi-

about success, intimately, and what it means to me, it’s re-

ences into hard knowledge, into facts and memorize these

ally figuring out what success even is for me and why. It’s

facts. Today, we don’t practice this enough because we can

the thing we’re all searching for. Answers to ‘whys’. Why we

always search for things. Facts are your working memories

are. Not what we want and how we can achieve it, but why

that allow you to connect the dots, come up with ideas,

we are. It’s all about knowledge. To put it simply, success is

solve things. Learning is memorizing lots of things, and

to be able to say, I know something.” Go ahead, rack your

processing these things over and over again.”

brain; I’m sure you’ve asked the question before, whether to yourself or to someone else, maybe to someone you look

These notions seem strange, almost incongruous, com-

up to. What is success? It’s happiness, they say. It’s feeling

ing from someone presumptuously deemed The Creative

financially comfortable, they say. It’s retiring at 65 with a

Guy. He smokes cigarettes and only wears white t-shirts

house on a lake in a retiree community in the center of

and doesn’t give merit to the concept of happiness. His

Central Florida, they say. Can you imagine the humidity?

corkscrew hair is bouncy and unruly and evocative of some-

Like I said before, Matevž is an ordinary person. He told

thing you’d expect from your standard-issue Starving Art-

me that himself.

ist. But he’s not; not starving, of course. One can surely survive off Coke Zero and a pack of Phillip Morris’s finest. He’s living proof.

142

PORTRAIT / MATEVŽ KLANJŠEK

But even if I can’t pin him as The

When I want to think, I go for a

the type of person who would rather

Creative Guy, there’s no denying that

walk for three or four hours, smoke

think than act.

he can create. The burning question,

a couple packs of cigarettes, and I

though, is how he continues to grind

come back with some good ideas.”

So I had to discipline myself to start

through the steely white noise of an

He remarks that the tactile effect of

acting much faster, thinking less, fo-

over-diluted ecosystem of proffered

an object in his hand is almost like a

cusing on perfection less. Less day

ingenuity and churn out products

lightning rod sparking brain activity.

dreaming [laughs]. I still dislike ac-

that are, somehow, fresh and novel;

He notices I’m holding a pen. “Effec-

tion for action’s sake. But overall, this

needed, even. He says it’s because of

tive,” he says, “but not nearly as styl-

has been a very positive challenge for

a deep-seated hunger for both knowl-

ish as a cigarette.”

me.” And acted fast he did. Eleven

edge and creation, in conjunction

143

years later, and you might even say

with an appreciation for the process.

Ordinariness is subjective. Just like

his goal of making advertising better

Perhaps the most surprising is his

beauty. You know, eye of the beholder

is manifesting. He’d say there’s still

view on what I can only seem to call

and all that boloney. Holden Caulfield

work to be done.

The Times. “When things are so bad,

asked, “How do you know what you're

socially and politically, contrasts be-

going to do till you do it?” Matevž is

It’s this hyper-awareness of a multi-fac-

come clearer and edges sharper, and

like that; constantly showing you who

eted self that makes him so intrigu-

that’s a good thing. It’s hard, but it’s

he is, never definitively this or that,

ing. Like Holden, he’s the anti-hero;

very good for creativity.” His process

but, nevertheless, authentic. When

true to his being, no struggle through

though, couldn’t be simpler; at least

I ask him what his biggest challenge

turmoil then revelation through vir-

in the way in which it appears to an

has been throughout the evolution of

tue and epiphany. Likeable. Un-pin-

outsider. “I don’t enjoy brainstorming

Celtra, he says, in his characteristical-

nable. Modest yet unpretentiously

too much, it’s just a bunch of people

ly uncharacteristic way, “I’m general-

driven by purpose.

in a meeting going back and forth.

ly not a very disciplined person. By

It typically doesn’t lead anywhere.

nature, I’m quite lazy. Hard-working,

Matevž Klanjšek is an ordinary per-

BUT I DO LIKE PASSION ATELY

but lazy. I can work 16 hours a day,

son. He told me that himself.

FIGHTING. A GOOD, PROPER

and I do. But I have a natural affinity

DEBATE IS SOMETHING I EN -

and appreciation for laziness. I like

JOY VERY MUCH.

to postpone action when I can. I’m

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS / MATEVŽ KLANJŠEK

Go out.

Go out or stay home? Coke or Pepsi?

Coke. No wait, Pepsi. Just for the fun of it. No, don’t publish that.

Have a nice car, nice house, or nice yacht? Alone for the rest of your life or always surrounded

A nice pub. Or a club. Annoying people.

by annoying people? Invisible or fly? Be permanently transported 500 years into the future or

Fly. I never want to be invisible. Future.

500 years into the past?

WRIT TEN BY BRIT T ST. GEORGE Associate Legal Counsel, Boston Britt is Celtra’s Associate Legal Counsel. She also manages Celtra’s social channels. In her spare time, you can find her writing, photographing, or running ( or penning mini-novels about her colleagues, like this one).

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Ceci N'est Pas Matevž Klanjšek 145

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9 147

DINO KUŽNIK

Beauty in the Ordinary D O N ’ T C A L L D I N O KU Ž N I K A PH OTO G R A PH E R . I N FAC T, D O N ’ T L A B E L H I M AT A L L . I F YO U ’ R E GO I N G TO C A L L H I M A N Y T H I N G , T RY C U R I O U S O B S E R V E R . H E C A P T U R E S CO M P OS I T I O N S H E F I N DS P L E A S I N G , A N D D O E S N ’ T B E N D TO T H E W I L L O F T H E A L L - P O W E R F U L “ L I K E .” T O H I M , I T A L L C O M E S D O W N T O F I N D I N G B E A U T Y I N M O M E N T S O T H E R S F I N D M U N D A N E A N D O R D I N A R Y.

We sat down with Dino to get his take on art in the digital

basically do all the advertising for them. Exclusivity is key

age and how his fascination with capturing fleeting mo-

here, and I think it's an interesting social behavior. I’d like

ments plays a role in his professional life. He even gave us a

to figure out how to transfer that idea to digital.

preview of some of his most recent work, which landed him on the shortlist at the Sony’s World Photography Awards in the Landscape category.

HO W DO YOU INCORPOR ATE YOUR LOVE FOR ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY INTO YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE? YOU ARE, AFTER ALL ,

WHAT 'S YOUR VIE W ON CRE ATIVE IN

A F U L L-T I M E D E S I G N E R AT C E LT R A .

(MOBILE) ADVERTISING, AND HOW

Every day, to and from work, I photograph people I encoun-

IMPORTANT OF A ROLE DOES IT PL AY?

ter on the street and in the subway. I have been doing street

I think that creative should be the most important thing

photography for quite some time now, and I challenge my-

in advertising, but as we see, most of the time, it's not.

self by trying to get super close to my subjects, or just doing

There are brands out there that advertise in innovative,

something that pushes me out of my comfort zone. It’s how

fresh ways, like guerilla advertising or commissioning

I make my commute interesting. I can easily entertain my-

experimental artists and using different mediums. But

self like that, as New York is such a melting pot of different

these things don’t happen often enough. I am especially

cultures and characters. Some days, I’ll even wake up early

amazed with brands, that don’t do any advertising at all,

and walk to work from where I live in Brooklyn and try to

but just the mention of their name or a drop of their new

catch interesting people or situations. The city really has a

product triggers a frenzy amongst their fans, who then

different vibe when it's waking up.

SH OTS TA K E N F RO M T H E SE R I E S A R I Z O N A PA S T E L S , 2 0 1 6 148

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TELL US ABOUT THE AWARD YOU WON FOR P H O T O G R A P H Y. Because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m super critical about my work, I was never confident enough to send any of my photos to competitions. I gave in after a few of my friends encouraged me to submit some work, and I actually won something for my first two entries. For the Photo Plus International Expo here in New York, I won best photo in the Brooklyn category, and for the Sony World Photography Awards, one of the biggest competitions in the world, I was shortlisted as top ten in the world in the Professional Landscape category. I gained some exposure from the Sony Award, and it opened a few doors and quite a few requests for prints, which I am super happy about. It was a surreal experience, and I was humbled to be exhibited alongside one of my favorite photographers, Martin Parr.

FOLLO W DINO O N I N S TAG R A M @ D I N O KU Z N I K

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Crème de la Crème of AdCreator Matevž Klanjšek hand picks his favorite digital ads. DOWNLOAD THE MIRAGE AR9 APP FROM THE APP STORE OR GOOGLE PL AY STORE AND SEE THEM COME ALIVE .

TOM FORD – LIPS & BOYS (2016)

Kisses in Colours Girls like it because it features gorgeous boys and boys like it because they think it features gorgeous girls. Masterpiece of manipulation and seduction.

NETFLIX/STRANGER THINGS (2017)

The Fear Effect Cute little ad-within-an-ad. So meta. It's been done a million times before, but for oldfashioned postmodernists like me, this never goes out of fashion.

KNORR/HOMELAND (2017)

Bon Appetit! Clumsy and utterly ugly, yet bizarrely attractive in its honesty. On brand, on message and authentic to the core. Vernacular at its worst and its best.

UBISOFT / FOR HONOR (2017)

Knight, Viking or Samurai? Oh, vertical video! Oh, 360 video! Oh, dynamic

creative! Oh, A/B testing! It has it all. Great case study, if we are gentle. Vulgar display of power, if we are not.

5 155

COC A- COL A / DRE AM GET-AWAY (2 017 )

Tasting Summer The best Coke ad running on Celtra was always going to make this list. I wish I could rave about it. It's decent. At least it doesn't have its logo pixelated or cut off.

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The Sneaker Diaries

DON'T MESS WITH STYLE!

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Before jumping into it, I figured I’d

HIGH-TOP SNEAKERS

sure to keep your socks below your

tell you a little about myself. I’ve been

Everyone needs a pair of classic high-

shoeline.

here at Celtra for over a year now and

top sneakers in their closet.

Similarly to high-tops, slim-fit or

run the global Sales Operations team -

I recommend a neutral color palette.

skinny-fit jeans are recommended.

sure I’m the only one on the team but

A neutral color palette will allow them

Some classic low-tops I recommend

it sounds more impressive like that.

to be worn with many different types

are: 1) Vans Authentic (pictured in

Many of you know that I love getting

of outfits. However, DO NOT, I repeat

white), 2) Keds Champions,

requests about how to do simple tasks

DO NOT even think about wearing

3) Converse All-Star low,

in Salesforce (sarcasm), but what you

your “relaxed-fit jeans” or “bootcut

4) Vans Old Skool,

may not know is that I LOVE SNE A K-

denim” with any high-tops, better

5) Adidas Stan Smith.

ERS. My current collection of sneakers

yet do not wear either of them at all,

stands at just above 30 pairs, and this is

you’ll thank me later. Realistically you

why I am taking responsibility for your

should be wearing either slim fit or

footwear choices going forward.

skinny fit jeans here.

W HEN CONSIDERING A N Y PA IR

Some high-tops I recommend are:

OF SNE A KERS, THERE A RE RE -

1) Nike Air Jordan 1,

A LLY ONLY 4 C ATEGORIES YOU

2) Nike Dunk High,

NEED TO CONSIDER: 1) Wear-

3) Vans Sk8 Hi,

ability - ability to be worn with many

4) Nike Blazer SB,

different types of outfits; 2) Comfort

5) Converse All-Star Highs.

- level of comfort based on fit & mate-

RUNNING SNEAKERS For any trainer or more athletic-type sneaker, you’re going to get more tech involved in the shoe. Many will be more lightweight, tighterfitting, and tend to have a more sleek look to them. This is currently the most popular sneaker segment with many brands like Nike and Adidas

rials used; 3) Cost; and 4) Street Cred - basically will you get the head nod of

LOW-TOP SNEAKERS

approval, blend in, or end up on being

For low-top sneakers, the most

laughed at on a teenager’s Snapchat

important thing is to keep it simple

story. We will cover three basic sneak-

and clean for the warm weather

er categories: high-tops, low-tops, and

months and more neutral or earth

athletic/trainers/running. Not only

tones during the cold weather

will I tell you a few sneakers (or similar

months. For this purpose we are

ones) that you should own, but I also

focusing on warm weather. If it's warm

took the liberty to tell you what shoes

outside, don’t be afraid to go with

you should never own and what I think

white or light colored sneakers or

of you when you wear them. Enjoy.

show some ankle, but if you do, make

BENJAMIN ROBERTSON Sales Operations Specialist Benjamin joined Celtra in 2016 and is now managing all sales operations for Celtra's Global Sales team.

157

ATHLETIC / TR AINERS/

doing limited edition colorways and collaborations with other famous brands. Trainers I recommend are: 1) Adidas Ultraboost, 2) Yeezy Boost 350, 3) Nike Roshe, 4) Nike Air Presto, 5) New Balance 247s, 6) Adidas NMD XR1, 7) Nike Air Max 90, 8) Adidas NMD.

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Celtra Bookclub Menu LONG LIVE READING! WHAT ARE CELTRA PEOPLE READING?

158

Starters NON-FIC TION The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 by Rick Atkinson The Art of War by Sun Tzu What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff & Sharon Mazel Celtra Yearbook 2014 or anything else with pictures David & Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell How Music Got Free by J. Witt Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald My Struggle, Trilogy by Karl Ove KnausgÃ¥rd Just Kids by Patti Smith #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

Main courses FA NTASY & SCI-F I Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling Goosebumps by R. L. Stine The Originals by Julie Plec American Gods by Neil Gaiman The Stand by Stephen King IT by Stephen King

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Side dishes FIC TION Satin Island by Tom McCarthy anything by Viet Thanh Nguyen Reamde by Neal Stephenson Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy anything by David Baldacci The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera Atonement by Ian McEwan

Desserts BUSINESS Zero to One by Peter Thiel Rules For Revolutionaries by Guy Kawasaki Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki How To Find Free Time by Raushida Vasaiwala Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure In Silicon Valley by Antonio Garcia Martinez Creative Mischief by Dave Trott The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson Digital Marketing for Dummies by Ryan Deiss & Russ Henneberry

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READ ENJOY YOUR MEAL!

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Boston

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MAJA MIKEK Co-founder & CFO

MIHA MIKEK Founder & CEO

Boylsto

JADE BURKE HR Operations Specialist

CECE RADGOWSKI Client Compliance Specialist

BRITT ST. GEORGE Associate Legal Counsel

Beantown MARK DORMAN VP, Finance

MEGAN ST. LEDGER Sr. Legal Counsel

168

n DAPHNE CHEN Jr. Accountant

MIKE ADAMSON Manager, Talent Acquisition

DEKYI LHAZE 169

VP, Controller

MONICA LEAL CROMBE Inside Sales Representative, Media Partnerships

RO D N E Y A LVA R E Z VP, Talent Management

STEPHEN BERRADA Business Intelligence Analyst

170

171

WILL LEACH

Fenway

Accounting Manager

JONATHAN MILNE Chief Revenue Officer

COURTNEY CANNON-BOOTH Executive Assistant

ERIK FORTUNE Director, Media Partnerships

IRIS ZHANG Accounting Manager

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New

174

York

175

ALEÅ GABROVEC EVP, Strategic Business Development

Big Apple ERIN DONAHUE Account Manager, Customer Success

176

BEN ROBERTSON

BRIAN HANS

Sales Operations Specialist

Sr. Account Manager, Customer Success

CHENFANG HSIEH

CRISTY EBERT GARCIA

Product Designer

VP, Marketing

Mad GIUSEPPE FURCOLO

GLORIA WU

Sr. Product Designer

Office Manager

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HARRY ROBINSON

JACK BURKE

VP, Brand & Agency Partnerships

Manager, Client Enablement

Men

ANDRE J VENTA Art Director

GEORGE PAONE Director, Media Partnerships

Fifth GAÅ PER KOZAK Engineering Director, Ad Delivery

180

Ave

LEAH DONG Product Manager

NATALIE ROBINSON ARNDT Director, Customer Success

182

J U L I O VA S Q U E Z Sr. Product Specialist JEAN LORENZO Designer, Marketing

KYLE MADDEN Director, Technical Support

KELLY C ARMODY Account Manager, Customer Success

DINO KUÅ½NIK Product Designer

Concrete DIANE BOHN SANDERSON Director, Media Partnerships

184

LEILA CUTSHAW Director, Product Marketing

Jungle 185

PATRICK BR ADY Sr. Partners Integration

NIGEL CERDEIROS Designer, Marketing

186

187

PATRICK C ANDEL A

P E R L A VA L E N T I N

VP, Media Partnerships

Technical Support Specialist

RO C I O F I D A LG O VA S Q U E Z

SONNY YOON

Jr. Account Manager, Customer Success (L ATAM)

Manager, Digital Marketing

188

VA N J A B A J C B R Z I N Director, Product Marketing

STEVEN GEHRHARDT Jr. Motion Graphics Producer

Flatiron 189

ZORA ZHOU Designer

Ljubljana

190

191

Tivoli GREGOR SMREKAR COO

ALEKSANDER KMETEC VP Engineering, Authoring Tools

park 192

MOJCA JANEŽIČ

ANDREJ OBLAK

HR & Administration Manager

Sr. Software Developer

ANA HRIBERNIK

ANINA BENULIČ

HR & Administration Intern

Designer

GAŠPER JEKLIN QA Engineer

DARKO BOŽIDAR Software Developer

DOMEN GABER Test Automation Engineer

194

DEJAN LEVEC

DENIS GRGIÄ&#x2020;

DevOps Engineer

QA Engineer

196

GREGOR FARTEK Technical Support Specialist

GREGOR PRAPROTNIK Sr. Software Developer

GORAN DODIG Engineering Director, Video

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LONDON OFFICE

Celtrab 198

bration 199

MARKO PUŠNIK Software Developer JURE COTIČ Sr. QA Engineer

MARKO ČAVDEK Software Developer

M A R KO N O VA K Lead Software Developer

200

201

GREGOR SUÅ EL J

JORIK KOOL

Sr. Data Scientist

Sr. Data Insights Engineer

A N Ž E B R VA R Sr. Software Developer

ANTON SEMPRIMOŽNIK Sr. Software Developer

City of D BLAŽKA JUR JAVČIČ Jr. Designer

BLAÅ½ VIZ JAK Technology Lead

Dragons 203

AR JAN TOPOLOVEC Sr. Software Developer

ALEN KRMEL J Sr. DevOps Engineer

ROK ZUPAN Jr. QA Engineer

A JDA ROTAR URANKAR Designer

204

205

MATJAŽ URŠIČ Sr. Software Developer

MARTIJN JOCHANAN DIJKHUIZEN Lead Software Developer

TANJA UŽMAH MOSQUERA Designer 206

MATI JA ZUPAN

MATIC TRIBUŠON

Copywriter / Video Producer

Sr. Software Developer

MIHA RUGEL J

MIHA KAVČIČ

Sr. Software Developer

ROK PENŠEK Software Developer

MITJA KUŠČER Front-end Developer

208

NATALIJA JAGODIC Sr. QA Engineer PETER US Software Developer

ROK BURGAR 209

Lead Software Developer

U ROŠ KO VA Č Lead QA Engineer

UROŠ PIRNAT Engineering Director, Dashboard

Emera ROK PILTAVER Software Developer

Å PELA BUDA Sr. Designer

ald-green 211

SIMON JAZBAR Project Lead, Engineering

URŠA KAČAR

VUK LAU

QA Engineer

Director, Technical Support

212

213

ŽIGA ŠEBENIK

ŽIGA TARTARA

Software Developer

QA Engineer

ŽIGA VUČKO Software Engineer Intern

Ž I VA CO T M A N Sr. Product Marketing Manager

DOMEN KOŠIR Sr. Software Developer

ŽIGA LESAR Software Developer

Rožnik

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AsiaPacific 217

CEIRIN HUNTER Account Manager, Customer Success

CARL BAKER Creative Product Specialist

Syd

PETER BRAY Director, Business Development ANZ

ney

RICK KNOTT Regional Director APAC

221

JARROD JENKINS Creative Strategist

Sing

gapore R A U S H I D A VA S A I WA L A Director, Business Development INSEA

WEN VO Sr. Account Manager, APAC

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225

Lo 226

JONATHAN MILNE CRO

ondon MATEVŽ KLANJŠEK Co-founder & CPO 227

ANDREW HEALD Director, Brand & Agency Partnerships EMEA

ALEX BUTLER Sr. Account Manager, Customer Success

DAVID WHITE Account Manager, Customer Success

JAMES CHRISTIE Brand Product Specialist

228

CLEMENT FREY Director, Media Partnerships EMEA

CLIONA BARNES Head of Client Services EMEA

The LOLLY MASON VP, Media Partnerships EMEA

AGNE MIZARAITE Business Administrator

Heath 230

L E O N E L S I LVA

MARIA HERCULES

Director, Media Partnerships EMEA

Director, Customer Success EMEA

M O N I C A C A R VA L H O

NATAN NIKOLIÄ&#x152;

Manager, Marketing EMEA

VP, Product

FRANKIE MORGAN Account Manager, Customer Success

DAVID CHEUNG Technical Support Specialist

EMMA GUILLOUX Account Manager, Customer Success

232

Big Ben 233

GERLINDE RUDELSTORFER Account Manager, Customer Success DACH

DAVID ROÅ½AC Director, Platform Growth

234

AMY ROSENBERG Sr. Account Manager, Customer Success

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236

237

Cup of

NEELPA ODEDR A

RENNIE ETHERIDGE

Account Director, Brand Direct

Account Manager, Customer Success

TILMA SAEED Technical Support Specialist

239

ROB FEAR

Tea

Manager, Client Enablement EMEA

San Fran

240

ncisco

241

JAKA JANÄ&#x152;AR CTO

242

JACK HALLAHAN SVP, Brand & Agency Partnerships

GEFEN LAMDAN SVP, Product 243

ELENA ALENGOZ QA Engineer

JURIJ VIDMAR Engineering Director, Quality Assurance

GREGA KESPRET Engineering Director, Analytics

244

415 JOSH JOYCE Technical Support Specialist

JASON YANG Developer

245

DARA MONASCH

KEN TAN

Product Specialist

Sr. Data Scientist

LIZ CHEN

LENA TASHKEV YCH

Office Manager

Data Scientist

246

MALLIKA MATHAI

MARK ZEGARELLI

Sr. Account Manager, Customer Success

Sr. Technical Writer

POLONA ANTONČIČ Engineering Director, Project Management Office ROSA TRIEU Technical Writer

ŽIGA VIDIC Sr. Software Developer

ANITA KNEZY Sr. Product Designer

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249

ASHNA KOTHARI

NICK ROGERS

Sr. Product Manager

Technical Support Specialist

250

BISCUIT Oï¬&#x192;ce Pup

CASEY OHNGREN Sr. Designer

ALEX LITTY Software Engineer ALEKSANDER PEJČIĆ Director, Engineering

MATIC PELCL VIL JEM ŠKORNIK Lead DevOps Engineer

Sr. Product Manager

NorCal 253

Mom 254

ments 255

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Fin