@DBPardes
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 2:47

SXSW: Welcome Val Vacante ! Let’s talk Tech with a Heart

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One of my goals here in this conversation is to really ignite people's interest in knowing that the sky is really the limit when you imagine who you could be and what you could be in the world. But it's micro movements that really make the difference. It's about relationships. So we're going to kind of dig into where she comes from, how she built her career

@ValVacante #sxsw #swellinterview #conferenceconnections

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@ValVacante
Val Vacante
@ValVacante · 4:35
That was with a company called Mutual Mobile. So they're also part of the WPP network. And then I decided to Pivot. I found a passion for connected toys and games. Yeah. Like watching my son play and how he was interacting with gaming and physical digital experiences. I really saw the opportunity there. We were fortunate to work with some of the biggest players in the space from your Disney, your Hasbro, your hotels of the world doing early prototyping and then kind of fast forward a bit
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@ValVacante
Val Vacante
@ValVacante · 2:42
Right. And that's what I'm excited about as well. What is happening now as a commonplace policy, exactly like the most forward companies are really embracing it. We are seeing where some companies are wanting people to go back in the office, but I think it needs to really focus on the people. So in your intro, you talked about customer experience. I also think employee experience is really important, so where people can work for their best
@ValVacante
Val Vacante
@ValVacante · 0:53
I shouldn't misrepresent you. A, do you still consult? B, are you with Merkel as a consultant? Are you they're as a full time human and help us understand that hybrid that you have to juggle or continue to juggle with
@ValVacante
Val Vacante
@ValVacante · 3:50
And I liked it because for me, it was important that I could bring my entrepreneurial experience to a big company and really be an entrepreneur and be able to, like, have a real work. Yeah. And be able to create change really for the better. And I was really charged with a couple of key things
@DBPardes
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:47
There's something beautiful about working with a team, right? And when you're an entrepreneur, you're on there on your own, you're investing your money, you're taking risks. And when you're an entrepreneur, which is my new favorite word, you're working with a team and Merkel gives you how long is the lease for you?
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@ValVacante
Val Vacante
@ValVacante · 2:18
So it is a little bit of a structured process. I think that most innovative companies know that if you have too many roles, too many processes, too many constraints, you're not going to get the innovation that you want. I always call it a freedom in a framework where you have some guardrails, we'll call them to work with. Construction of freedom, right? Yes, exactly
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@DBPardes
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:06

Diversity in design

I love the phrase lightweight prototyping because it's really smart and it made me think about diversity. How the female mind works. How the male mind works, how someone who is less abundant financially than someone who has a lot of money to spend, someone who's a single mother with three kids pulling out their leg, how do they focus when they're shopping? How do you profile the end user and solve for their problems and anticipate their problems?
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@ValVacante
Val Vacante
@ValVacante · 2:31
It's $100. You're an executive at a big company, to the parents who get pizza on Friday night and download a movie, and that's their treat for the week. And if they're in your target audience, those are the people we need to keep in mind. And it might seem like a very vast world, but if that's your customers you're talking about, we need to live in their shoes. Say that one more time. If that's the customers
@DBPardes
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:02

Future trippong

It takes a lot of I hate to use the word bowls because it's inappropriate, but it takes a lot of, like, courage to introduce topics that might slow slow things down because it requires more thought. But I would would like to ask you about the future tripping. I would love to go with you just for a second to close this out and have some questions come in from College students, from other products people
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@ValVacante
Val Vacante
@ValVacante · 3:10
And we're all partners in a lot of ways because algorithms tell everybody's story. So there seems to be a fit there. I'm but I'm glad that human beings like you are driving this and caring about it. So thank you. And I look forward to hearing some more questions
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