Teamwork drives everything that The Launchpad does, stands for and accomplishes.
And this isn't some ragtag team thrown together for the latest project. This is a team with depth, a team that has been working together for years, a team that has weathered failure and success, a team that has built an operation of resiliency.
"We know how to work well together," said The Launchpad CEO Tonya Turrell. "We've got, not only deep-rooted experience in the space itself, but with one another."
The experience of The Launchpad team is especially relevant now that this lead generation startup has abandoned the agency model in favor of its new virtual marketplace, TechnologyMatch.com. Operating under The Launchpad umbrella, TechnologyMatch.com is a "matchmaker" establishing relationships and opportunities for IT buyers and vendors as it repositions the lead generation industry.
"As we are winding down the agency and scaling the SaaS side of the business, it's requiring us to shuffle roles around, consolidate roles, move people into other areas of business," Tonya said. "In some cases, we have a couple of decades of experience with some of these people, so we know what their strengths and weaknesses are. That takes some of the trial and error out of filling these critical new roles. I know exactly who to put where, because of having worked with them for 10,15, 20 years in this business and the two previous businesses I've owned."
Examples of those with deep relationships at The Launchpad include:
President Paul Turrell, with whom Tonya has been working with for more than two decades.
VP of Operations Corry Della Valle, who has not only worked with Tonya since 1997 in two previous companies, but was also once her boss early in her career.
Director of Customer Experience Adam Damiano, who has worked with Tonya since 2011.
Director of Marketplace Client Onboarding Brenda Stephanopoulos, who has worked with Tonya in three businesses since 2006.
CTO Jacob Kapostins, who has worked with Tonya since 2017 and has known or worked with members of his team since 2009.
Director of Strategic Partnerships Rawle Charles, who held the same role in Tonya's previous company.
Director of Customer Service Jamie Hogan, who has also worked with Tonya since 1997.
Senior Account Managers Vicki Todd and Tiffany Daniels, who both worked in similar roles in two of Tonya's previous companies.
These well-established relationships, among many others, are a source of strength for The Launchpad as it brings innovation to an industry that has remained stagnant for too long. Also, The Launchpad's "matchmaking" strategy is responding to new trends driven by Gen Z and millennial players in the game.
"Some of the team has been with us through bankruptcy and failure; the launch of a new business and success; a five-year break where some of them continued to work for the buyer of my last business, and some went their separate ways," Tonya said. "And then we all just came back together. As we built out our leadership team at The Launchpad, it definitely had the feeling of getting the band back together."
Illustrating how the strong bonds among colleagues at The Launchpad drive success are its customers-which include Disney, Verizon and Lockheed Martin. Technology clients include IBM, Apple, Microsoft, HP and Dell. Overall, The Launchpad maintains relationships with 1,200 vendors and 7,000 buyers, with 17,000 unique connections to date.
Looking ahead, Tonya is filled with anticipation for the future that she and her colleagues have begun to build.
"What's really exciting now is how we get to build our team as we scale, and all of the growth and opportunities it creates," she said. "It's also genuinely so much fun to do this with people I love."
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