Absolutely Electric!

Sales kickoff with the Aryaka team

I love clubbing. I LOVE clubbing.  There is something incredible about the experience of the club.  The beat.  The people.  The dancing.  The energy.  It is electric!

When you are at the club, you become a part of something bigger than yourself. Total strangers connecting, becoming one.

BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!

You get outside of your own mind … not in a crazy, psychedelic way, but almost in a Buddhist, ethereal sense.

You’re not worried about the troubles of daily living.  You’re not thinking about gas prices or whether your kid is on her iPhone too much.  You’re not stressing about that email that you need to send or the upcoming QBR.

You are just 100% present.

Completely, undeniably, in the moment.

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Be Real

I just got back from my first Sales Kickoff with the team at Aryaka.  It was much more than just a sales kickoff because we had people from all over the company, Europe, India, Japan and the US.  Sales and marketing, product and engineering, operations and support.  While we didn’t have everyone from the company present, it was a great cross-section of teams.

It was … amazing.

It started out awkward and unusual, as a team coming together in person for the first time in two years predictably would.

Do I hug or shake hands?

How do I pronounce your name?

Wow, you are much shorter than you look on Zoom. 

But as the first day progressed, you could feel the energy build.  Engagement.  Stories.  Honest and direct language that few had ever heard at events like this.

Matt, our CEO, stood on stage and said, “Listen team, we will win.  I know it.  But I need for you all to do something for me.  I need you to be real.  Leave all the bullshit at the door.  Our customers don’t want bs.  YOU don’t want bs.  I need for you to be bold, and courageous, and unconventional.  But most importantly, I need you to be REAL.”

As leaders across the company began to share their stories, you could feel the energy build.

The tales of great success and humble failures. REAL challenges.  REAL concerns.  REAL opportunities.  There was a shared recognition that this was a different kind of Sales Kickoff.  You could see the excitement.

Vikas, the operations veteran who was with the company since its earliest days talking about the blood, sweat, and tears poured into a company that boasted five 9’s.  Carter, a brand-new business development manager, called-up on stage without notice to talk about his pitch … and absolutely crushing it.  Wow.

BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!

It was … electric.

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Made for THIS Moment

This company is special.  It is going to change how enterprises think about network and security.  It truly will defy convention.  Telcos five years from now will look back and say, “Why didn’t we build that?”

The thing is, they can’t.  They don’t have what we have.  What I saw this week was what makes us untouchable.  What makes Aryaka so uniquely extraordinary.

It’s not because of the technology.  Which is insanely great.

It’s not because of the roadmap.  Which will blow Gartner’s mind.

It’s not even because of the customer experience.  Which is, hands-down, the best in the world.

It’s because of the people.  These people, from all over the world, from every part of the company, are amazing.

Aryaka was made for THIS moment.  We are present and here and together as one.  And I could not be more excited for what’s up next.

BOOM! BOOM!!  BOOM!!!