Risky. Painful. Uncomfortable.
Rewarding. Powerful. Career-building.
So many of us use such adjectives when speaking of that ever-present topic – change. The adage “the only constant is change” is certainly holding true for the ad tech landscape as we continue to see mergers, transitions, exits, and seismic strategic shifts.
How we manage through change—professional and personal—is also an ever-shifting process. Good and bad, blessings and curses, opportunities and challenges—these are all results from our ability to handle the change-rollercoaster.
Perhaps that’s why we had a packed-house at the recent Tech Bae’s 1st Birthday Bash panel Navigating Change: A Personal Journey. It was a get-real, no-holds-barred look at change—its affects, opportunities, and challenges. No joke, the panelists shared how they have ridden the emotional roller coaster known as change. Whether it’s listening to music, renovations in the home, saying “YES” to crazy moves across the world, or relying on the understanding of family, our panel shared how they have survived—and thrived—because of their ability to seize the reigns and harness change for good.
Special thanks to our change-experts: Dina Weisberger, Jamie Calandruccio, Kelly Perone, Misha Williams, and Wendy Lee for sharing their stories, insights, photos and humor! Truly inspiring!
And what better way to celebrate one year together then celebrating change! After 4 marquis events, 1 popup event at NAB, 1 podcast with Minority Report, and 4 panels- we’ve experienced a lot of change and growth at Tech Bae. We changed formats, guest speakers, and locations. We experimented with menus, topics, and inviting men! And, we braved ever changing weather reports for each event. Throughout all this change, we have had one constant: our unwavering focus on creating a community for ad tech professionals.
During this past year, we have been blessed with awesome sponsors, and this month was no different. Thanks to Freewheel, Imagine Communications, Operative, Railroad19, and Worldwide Technology for the sumptuous food, delish desserts, and beverages. A special shout-out to the brilliant co-hosts of Freewheel Women New York; we simply couldn’t have pulled it all off without them.
We are so excited about launching Tech Bae 2.0—year two!—and daily realize how special this community is to each of us. When we hatched this secret plot one year ago to build Tech Bae, we didn’t know how much each of us would change because of it. Thank you for an incredible first year.
Brenda, Christina, Heather, Sarah & Seema