For International Women’s Day, we’re shining a light on some of the impressive and driven female employees we’re lucky to have. Coming from different corners of the business, Jaclyn, Megan, Suz, and Mattie took some time to share their fascinating stories with us.
Jaclyn Dedering – Sales Account Manager
As a Sales Account Manager at EatStreet, Jaclyn uses her naturally persistent and driven demeanor to successfully manage relationships with dozens of restaurants on EatStreet’s platform. Jaclyn is a Wisconsin-native and graduated from UW-Madison majoring in Community and Nonprofit Leadership. An avid golfer and world traveler, she was one of EatStreet’s first female full-time employees in the sales department, paving the way for many more after her.
Q: How did you find yourself at EatStreet?
A: I picked up entrepreneur classes and really enjoyed it, and business classes were recommended. Matt Howard (CEO of EatStreet) came into one of my classes and spoke. I saw EatStreet at the career fair the next week, and the following week HR called me and asked if I wanted an interview. I started off as an intern for about 7-8 months, and have been full time since last July.
Q: What drew you to sales?
A: I’ve always been persistent and curious so it’s a good match for my personality. I was the second full-time woman hired in sales and, honestly, it was a concern for me [at the beginning], but everyone was so welcoming and kind. It’s really important to show that as a woman in a male-dominated field, you can hit your numbers and be on top of the sales leaderboard.
Q: Who are your role models?
A: My mom is the first person that comes to mind. She is an influential leader in our community and she started her career in sales, so we have that in common. Also, Michelle Obama is inspiring. She took her role as a First Lady and transformed it into something new.
Q: What motivates or inspires you?
A: Helping restaurants make more money and showing them what we’re able to do for them. Also, hitting my sales goals, which I knew would be difficult going in. But when I hit them there’s definitely a sense of accomplishment.
Megan Bakken – Logistics Manager
One of the longest-tenured EatStreet employees, Megan has seen some of the most changes in the company’s history. She graduated from UW-Eau Claire with a degree in Business Management and, as the Logistics Manager, is responsible for onboarding new restaurant accounts to the EatStreet platform. In her 5 years, she’s worn more hats than she can remember, but always welcomes the new hurdles that await her.
Q: What are your job responsibilities as Logistics Manager?
A: I oversee the Implementation Department, and my team specifically onboards the accounts that Sales signs. From there, we make sure any information we have from restaurants is accurate – menus, hours, restaurant logos, delivery info, etc.
Q: What helps motivate you?
A: One of the biggest things that drives me is that internal thing where I just want to do my best. I’ve had a lot of different jobs with different responsibilities, but I always try to learn and better myself as a person and as a manager. Be more, know more and not settle.
Q: Who are your role models?
A: My first job was at a bakery back home. The cake decorator there, Linda, was a really motherly figure through my teenage years. Also, my manager in college, Terry. She showed me what a good manager is through compassion and understanding, but also working your ass off. Being in there with the team during hard times and showing you aren’t above anyone.
Q: What keeps you coming back to EatStreet?
A: I’ve been with the company for almost 5 years. I feel fortunate to have a place that values me as an individual and a manager. I’m given the opportunity to expand my roles and explore different ideas within my job, as well as personally. And I’ve enjoyed watching the company grow into what it is today, Matt Howard is someone I’m so happy is leading and directing us. The company is open with us, every step of the way. I don’t think a lot of people have that.
Suz Brewer – Chief Brand Officer
Since graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1991, Suz has worked with passion-based brands, such as Ford, Jimmy John’s, Target, and most notably, she led the brand growth as the head of marketing and creative at Duluth Trading Company for 9 years. It’s now one of the most recognized brands in the country. When she’s not gardening or on the water with her 13-year old son, she’s shaping and molding the brand of EatStreet to be not only something people recognize, but love.
Q: After Duluth Trading Company, what drew you to EatStreet?
A: Matt Howard reached out to me to meet for coffee. I was taking the summer off to recharge and plan what I wanted to do next. I knew he was looking for a new CMO, and he’s such a damn likeable, hardworking, honest person that I wanted to help him grow and achieve his dream for EatStreet.
Q: What keeps you motivated after being in your career for so long?
A: [At EatStreet] It’s the first time where I’m surrounded by a younger, confident and highly capable group of people. They just want to do the right kind of work that has an impact, but also want to be fulfilled personally. I like being knee-deep in it, with people who report to me or don’t. Here, they are my partners. I like being a maker. I like making work that makes people care about EatStreet. We have an obligation to entertain, to matter a bit. I think I’m good at it, and that obligation keeps me loving this career after 28 years.
Q: How have you grown as a manager?
A: I always want to treat people how I wanted to be treated. I took 28 years of experiences, good and bad managers, and tried to apply those things on a daily basis. I love the team part, but as I found out, you get emotionally involved fighting for them, coaching, pushing and mentoring folks to get the work to a level of greatness. While I love having my own team, I like being part of a team more.
Q: How has EatStreet differentiated itself as a workplace environment?
A: I think the people here who are running the place are treating everyone fairly with compassion and empathy, and it makes a world of difference, versus a big corporate hierarchy. I like being around this group of women. Often times women can find themselves having to be competitive with each other or it’s more cutthroat, but here so much of that has been stripped away. The women here are buoyant and pushing hard, all while and also having a life outside of work.
Mattie Isaac – VP of Human Resources
From working on the Tony Danza Show, to working for a company that was sold to PayPal for $900M, to watching her mother transform into an opera singer at age 30, Mattie has pretty much seen it all. As the VP of Human Resources, she takes her breadth of experiences and knowledge into working closely with people to create a welcoming and warm work environment for everyone around her.
Q: How did you end up at EatStreet?
A: I started out as a production assistant on the Tony Danza show. I thought I wanted to be in TV production, but I eventually quit. I got a job at Seamless (which is now Seamless/GrubHub) as a Sales/Marketing associate, but decided to go back to school to get my masters in Public Administration. From that I got a job at a company called BrainTree which was eventually sold to PayPal. After that, I worked for a company called Trunk Club for over five years before landing at EatStreet.
Q: What do you enjoy the most about working in HR?
A: I really love managing people. Being able to be influential in someone’s career is important to me. I think management is one of the most difficult professional things you could ever do because you’re dealing with people, and every person is different.
Q: To you, how has the perception of women in the workplace changed?
A: What I love now is that there’s a dialogue about the experiences of a woman. As a mother, I feel there’s a lot of societal pressure to be a successful mother with a successful career. It’s this push-and-pull-thing, and it’s ok to say you need some flexibility. One of the big selling points of EatStreet was flexibility. Having an employer that can give you that isn’t always easy to find.
Q: Is there something you do to help support other women?
A: I think in situations where you might be the only other woman in the room, I want them to know that I hear their voice and that their voice is valuable. I look out for other mothers as well, I want them to know that they’ll be supported here. But also giving people of any gender a voice, and letting them know it’s a safe space to talk about things.
Q: What kinds of changes would you like to see in the future?
A: I think that it’s important that we’re seeking out opportunities for women to have even more of a voice here. We have an amazing leadership team, and we need to find opportunities to foster those voices and make this even more of an inclusive environment.
Big thanks to Jaclyn, Megan, Suz and Mattie for sitting down with us and sharing their stories. It’s people like them and the rest of EatStreet crew that leads to our successes in the past, present and future.