Welcome, Arnaud! Please tell us about your professional journey which led you to SoftAtHome.

Greetings, it’s a pleasure to meet you.

I embarked on my professional journey 25 years ago as a management consultant. Over the years, I discovered that my true calling lies in marketing technology. I have a deep passion for tech and, more importantly, the positive impact it can have on end users, enriching their lives significantly. Working as a consultant has been a remarkable experience, allowing me to delve into various topics across different companies relatively quickly. This exposure has given me a broad perspective on the market and organizational dynamics.

After spending a decade as a consultant, I was privileged to lead a team to establish a new company exclusively focused on Connected Home solutions. The company, now known as SoftAtHome, is a software provider catering to Telecom Operators seeking to offer services beyond essential connectivity. Leading the marketing team at SoftAtHome is a daily thrill as we constantly innovate and shape the connected home experience of the future.

What lessons would you like to impart from the 15 years of journey as VP of Marketing in terms of martech?

As the Marketing VP, there are several valuable martech lessons I would like to share. Martech presents an incredible opportunity to leverage technology to improve marketing efforts. However, it is crucial to remember that martech is just a tool and should be treated as such. Its primary purpose is to enhance efficiency, not become an objective in its own right.

Furthermore, it is essential to ensure that martech initiatives align with the broader business objectives. Understanding how technology investments can support and enhance marketing efforts is crucial to the organization’s success.

While SoftAtHome is a technology company that appreciates and uses technology daily, we recognize that end-customer satisfaction remains paramount.

In order to thrive in this dynamic landscape, it is essential to stay informed and adaptable, embracing new tools and adjusting strategies to keep our martech stack relevant and effective.

What are the key challenges and opportunities you see in the telecom and broadcast industry for SoftAtHome?

The telecom and broadcast industry has consistently faced disruptions. These are valuable learning opportunities and drive the need for constant adaptation. Our sector encounters numerous challenges and opportunities, and overlooking the potential impact of the next disruption can jeopardize a company’s survival. To keep pace with the rapidly changing industry, continuous software innovation is essential to meet evolving demands.

Users must be at the core of all endeavors. New services must hold meaning, relevance, and value to them. Additionally, exploring how to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create personalized experiences while ensuring privacy management in an increasingly interconnected world is a critical consideration.

Open-Source Software (OSS) has continued to permeate our ecosystem since our creation over a decade ago. Initially a challenge, especially from a monetization perspective, OSS has become a fantastic opportunity. Software reuse lowers development costs and carbon footprint while raising quality through peer review and testing. SoftAtHome has always seen itself as a club of operators, and by spearheading open-source initiatives like prpl, we have helped to foster a community around the best home network software for operators.

Effectively navigating all these challenges and opportunities in the telecom and broadcast industry requires a profound understanding of the market, customer needs, and technological trends. By remaining agile, innovative, and customer-centric, we firmly believe that SoftAtHome can establish itself as a leading force in the telecom and broadcast software industry.

Can you provide more insights on the concepts discussed in your article regarding the future implications of AI and the convergence it has with edge computing?

The article discusses the future of AI in the telecom and broadcast industry, emphasizing the growing role of edge computing. AI and Machine Learning traditionally required vast computational resources and data, typically processed in data centers or the cloud. However, with the rise of edge computing, data storage and processing are brought closer to the point of interaction, enabling devices like Connected TVs to employ AI for tasks like improving video and audio quality without heavy reliance on cloud resources.

The edge computing paradigm offers several advantages, including enhanced privacy, reduced latency, and increased user trust. As consumers become more privacy-conscious, processing data locally at the edge ensures more secure ways of handling personal information. Furthermore, low-latency responses have become an expectation in voice-assistant interactions, and edge computing facilitates faster decision-making.

The article emphasizes the need for operators to adopt edge computing solutions, with Broadband Home Gateways playing a central role. Telecom operators can manage these gateways as powerful edge computing systems through federative learning, enabling model training without accessing raw personal data. Overall, edge AI complements cloud computing and offers energy-saving benefits, making it a promising area for operators to explore in the evolving AI landscape.

How does SoftAtHome’s hybrid product approach impact its marketing strategy?

Our company started solely focused on embedded software solutions. Transitioning the relevant software part to the cloud became a game changer considering factors like real-time processing versus massive computing. The hybrid approach is now central to SoftAtHome’s marketing strategy. It involves integrating both cloud computing and edge computing within the context of AI.

This approach has enabled us to meet customer expectations regarding privacy, security, and the ubiquity of our solutions. Additionally, it has increased our agility over time and improved the energy efficiency of our software offerings.

By adopting the hybrid approach, SoftAtHome has positioned itself as an innovative, reliable, and customer-centric partner for telecom operators. We now provide a comprehensive suite of AI-powered solutions tailored to the evolving needs of our customers. We are moving together to a more connected and efficient future in the telecom industry.

How does SoftAtHome measure its marketing campaigns’ success in customer acquisition, engagement, and retention?

We are a B2B2C company, and critical metrics for our operator customers include subscriber acquisition, engagement, and retention. Tracking new subscriptions through sign-ups, demos, or trials is therefore essential for them. Existing customer engagement is measured through website traffic, click-through rates, and social media interactions.

LinkedIn is the primary social platform used between our operator clients and us. We carefully analyze interactions and engagement for a comprehensive view of campaign success.

SoftAtHome uses other marketing automation and CRM systems for streamlined data analysis. This data-driven approach fosters lasting customer relationships.

What advice would you like to give budding marketers struggling to make a mark in the industry?

Building a successful career in marketing takes time and effort. Be customer-focused; focus on your unique selling proposition, stay committed, be patient, and consistently strive for improvement. With dedication, passion, and continuously developing your skills, you can make a mark in the industry and achieve your goals.

How do you anticipate the future of martech unfolding and the impact it will have on the telecom and broadcast industries?

I anticipate the future of martech to be transformative for the telecom and broadcast industries. Rapid technological advancements, particularly in AI and data analytics, will continue to revolutionize how businesses approach marketing.

Martech will play a pivotal role in enhancing customer experiences and personalization. AI-powered solutions enable targeted content delivery, real-time data analysis, and more efficient customer engagement. Data privacy will remain a top priority, and martech will offer innovative solutions to address these concerns, building greater trust with consumers.

In short, it will be marked by cutting-edge technologies, increased personalization, and a strong focus on data privacy and customer-centricity.

Tell us about your journey and how you landed your current role as the CRO at Fintel Connect.

My background is actually in finance and economics, but I was connected with our founder around 11 years ago and fell in love with what she was building. Those in affiliate marketing know that the channel is a perfect match between advertorial and PR, and what attracted me to this industry was the inherent foundation of partnership where everyone wins—brand, affiliate, and consumer. The opportunity to work at a technology company that really specialized and offered ways to scale and create efficiency with this type of marketing was exciting. Fintel Connect emerged from another business that we ran in a different industry. We recognized a huge opportunity in financial services and evaluated whether we could really make a difference and create value by bringing a new solution to the space. My background and career have focused on growth, which means leveraging scrappy marketing and creating meaningful partnerships and relationships. As a result, I took on the responsibility of driving the growth of the business forward.

What key strategies do you implement at Fintel Connect to drive revenue growth?

We strongly believe in creating value for our clients and our industry. Therefore, we strive to offer thought leadership, educational materials, and insightful content that is engaging. This approach establishes us as a destination for individuals seeking such insights, and we aspire to be known as the foremost provider of growth marketing solutions for financial brands. By fostering strategic partnerships and delving deep into this niche, we are working to solidify our credibility and expand our presence. However, we consider ourselves to be only at the beginning of our journey.

What works better for revenue generation during an economic downturn—sticking to the basics or doing something out of the box?

I believe it’s important to be realistic about what truly makes a tangible difference for your business. In our case, we understand the formula that works, so we focus on strategies that can have the greatest impact. For us, thought leadership revolves around creating valuable content, providing education, and sharing insightful perspectives. However, other businesses might achieve it through different direct channels or paid avenues for broader awareness. The key is to strive for predictability. While the basics are important, it is crucial to leave room for experimentation. You never want to fully commit your resources. But experimentation is valuable because you never know where an opportunity might arise. Of course, it should be well calculated. You need to set clear goals, measure the results, and adapt as you go along. The most important thing is not to put your business in a state of discomfort or at risk. So, striking the right balance between tried-and-true methods and calculated experimentation is the way to go.

Familiarize us with the technologies you leverage to accomplish Fintel Connect’s revenue objectives.

Well, as a B2B business operating in the financial services industry, our sales cycles tend to be quite lengthy. To manage our processes effectively, we rely on CRM tools like HubSpot. In fact, we recently implemented their marketing solution, which has been beneficial for our email marketing campaigns and overall workflow. To stay organized, we utilize tools like ClickUp, which helps us manage our time and development tasks. Speaking of development, we make use of platforms like GitHub and DevOps to streamline our development processes.

When it comes to channels for communication, LinkedIn takes the lead as the primary digital channel for engaging with our target audiences. We also leverage Twitter to establish ourselves as thought leaders in the industry. We also use SEMRush for web optimization purposes. However, in terms of importance, our email marketing campaigns and CRM system are key tools for us. So, with these tools in our arsenal, we are able to enhance our operations and effectively reach our goals.

How does Fintel Connect ensure the best experience for its customers?

It all boils down to understanding the pain points of our customers and creating products and solutions that effectively address those challenges. We firmly believe people are willing to invest money to eliminate pain or friction. With our specialized approach, we have diligently identified and defined these friction points in terms of growth and compliance. We have developed tools and features that are intuitive, user-friendly, and designed to alleviate those pain points.

We are not ones to shy away from feedback. In fact, we actively seek insights from our clients, end users, and publishers to gather direct feedback on how we can enhance our offerings. Their input is invaluable in making improvements that simplify their lives, empower them to excel in their roles, and have a more significant impact. This feedback constantly informs our development roadmap, ensuring that we are always evolving and delivering the best possible solutions. After all, our goal is to make a positive difference and enable their success.

How do you ensure alignment of sales, marketing, and customer success teams to keep revenue goals on point?

Communication plays a pivotal role in effective leadership. We make it a point to cascade specific targets, insights, and information about what is working and what is not, ensuring everyone is on the same page and understands their role in the organization.

In our company, we view marketing as an extension of the sales team, as their efforts directly contribute to sales performance. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that marketing’s success is also dependent on feedback and input from the sales team. It is a collaborative relationship where both teams work hand in hand. When we onboard new clients, our customer success team plays a vital role in gathering insights and understanding the unique motivations and priorities of our clients. This valuable information is then shared with the marketing and sales teams, ensuring we are all aligned and working towards the same objectives.

By maintaining this open line of communication and feedback loop, we create a cohesive environment where everyone understands the needs and goals of our clients. This approach allows us to provide the best possible solutions and ensures that all teams are working together harmoniously toward customer success.

How do you measure and optimize the effectiveness of your revenue growth initiatives?

We focus on aligning our efforts with revenue-related metrics and understanding the key factors influencing them. We analyze both activity-based and results-based metrics to assess the effectiveness of our efforts and the impact on our growth.

From an activity standpoint, we measure metrics related to volume and quality. We set targets for each business area that generates net new growth opportunities. It’s essential to evaluate whether we are reaching the right audiences and if our marketing efforts are generating the desired volume of opportunities. Moreover, we assess the conversion rate and quality of these opportunities from a sales perspective. We consider factors like messaging frequency, number of touchpoints, pipeline development, and conversion rate of the pipeline.

In addition, we also track metrics related to cross-selling and upselling to our existing clients. This allows us to maximize opportunities within our client base and further contribute to our revenue growth.

By consistently monitoring and analyzing these metrics, we can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of our strategies and make informed decisions to drive sustainable growth.

How are Fintel Connect’s solutions transforming the fintech landscape for the better?

Our overarching vision as a business is to become the digital backbone for financial brands. Right now, we specialize in customer acquisition and tools to provide transparent insights into their marketing efforts. We’ve since evolved our solutions to meet compliance and monitoring needs as fintechs and brands expand their marketing efforts. Our future vision is to allow finserv marketers to have all the data, transparency, and protection they need at all stages of the funnel—from acquisition to conversion to retention and beyond.  

Ultimately, our goal is to enhance people’s access to exceptional products and brands. We aspire to support these brands in their innovation journeys, enabling them to continually deliver outstanding solutions to the market.

Can you walk us through the journey that led to the inception of Fintel Connect?

Like every great journey, it started with a problem. About a decade ago, Enterprise Bank in Canada approached us, seeking our expertise to manage and run their affiliate program. This marked our introduction to the world of financial services and affiliate programs. I don’t think Fintel Connect could have existed as a business specializing only in financial services back then. The changes in technology, consumer appetite, the way people use mobile phones, and the additional layers of security involved have allowed for the existence of digital account opening and loan origination systems. These advancements facilitate the power of Fintel Connect because we leverage all those things.

Being female-founded and female-led, how does Fintel Connect differ from other organizations?

The distinction, in my opinion, lies not in our female orientation but rather in our deliberate approach. Like many other businesses, not necessarily limited to this field, we place great emphasis on culture, team building, and making meaningful contributions. We are committed to making a difference.

How do Fintel Connect’s partner management technologies sort things out for organizations?

Our tool, Fintel Performance, offers scalability by providing a solution for financial clients who wish to access multiple affiliates without the need for custom handling. Additionally, it serves as a destination for numerous affiliates seeking high-quality financial products. Essentially, it is a classic affiliate technology that enables both sides to leverage their capabilities. However, our focus lies in catering to the specific and specialized requirements of the financial services niche.

As the world is turning towards AI, how do you plan to leverage it for your business goals?

We are already implementing it. We have compliance technology that leverages AI and machine learning to streamline complex processes and remove the burden of manual tasks. I often compare it to the evolution of calculators, which were once considered advanced technology but are now considered tools. Therefore, I believe that AI and machine learning should be viewed as tools rather than substitutes for intellectual ability. They allow us to leverage their capabilities and enhance our operations.

What organizational and business strategies do you implement to sail through economic downturns like the one right now?

The practicality of managing inflows and outflows of money must be closely monitored to ensure value is delivered. We aim to address real problems and provide meaningful solutions on behalf of our clients. This purposefulness in our relationship is not manufactured; it genuinely holds utility and impact.

How do Fintel Connect’s solutions stand out from the other rival products in the fintech space?

I firmly believe that our strength lies in the fact that we are part of the community and dedicated to serving the community. This distinction sets us apart from other solutions that may also engage with the financial industry but lack the deep immersion we have achieved.

What major disruptions do you foresee happening in fintech in the near future?

In my view, the trajectory of technological disruption remains uncertain, and it appears to be an ongoing continuum. We have not reached the end point yet. However, what I find intriguing is the intersection between fintechs, which focus on addressing specific and customized challenges, and their collaboration with banks, who operate as generalists. This dynamic presents a fascinating landscape to explore.

What advice would you give budding female entrepreneurs trying to make it on their own?

As an entrepreneur, I believe there is a fallacy in thinking that you can achieve success solely on your own. It is the community around you that plays a crucial role, whether it consists of your early founder team, business partners, or supportive friends. None of us truly embark on this journey alone. I do not know what it would be like to be a male founder because I am not one, but I think the key lies in recognizing your own strengths, being resourceful, and acting with intentionality.

From your experience as a CMO, how do you wish to implement business best practices at Sensedia?

When I joined the team and looked to introduce best practices, I found it most effective to share how those practices were relevant to the company. Sensedia has a rich growth mindset. The company invests in education, leans into a learning culture, and already adopts many best practices. My task is to connect the dots and customize new practices to fit Sensedia’s needs and goals.

When implementing any new process, there are three phases: crawl, walk, and run. In the crawl phase, I brought in third-party strategies and offered case studies to help the team determine how adopting new practices would look at Sensedia. As we moved to the walk phase, it was better to show than tell. For example, we held a nurturing and progressive profiling workshop to learn how to better reach and understand our ideal customers. Next, I worked hands-on with the team to draft content, personalization strategies, and, ultimately, implementation. 

What are the biggest challenges faced by SaaS companies during current economic disruptions, and how do you plan to tackle those?

Most private companies are focused on high growth right now, and Sensedia has been growing at +40% year over year, so we fall into that category. When raising capital and finding funding, there’s money to be made, but to investors, efficiency metrics matter, especially in an economic downturn. The challenge comes when companies strive for high growth while simultaneously driving to remain efficient. For Sensedia, that means upping our digital marketing game, continuing Work Where We Belong—our thriving virtual work environment, and getting creative and scrappy with our demand and lead generation. Foremost, we’re investing in customer and prospect experience. Sensedia places lead quality over quantity, and we optimize the touches—looking at the source and deep lead analysis instead of throwing money at the top of the funnel to get a high volume of leads and see what sticks.

How does API management help enable businesses in times of economic downturn like the one we have now?

Every business is unique, with different data sources, partners, and platforms. Managing APIs is becoming more complex, and a hybrid approach is critical for agile business strategy. API analysts have told us it’s becoming more important that API management technologies support the full life cycle of APIs, enable a well-governed API development process, meet distinct organizational needs, and be adaptable. Businesses must embrace a hybrid approach to their API management solution by adopting dedicated technology components to compensate for limited or missing capabilities in their current API management suite.

As companies become more connected, open, and complex, there’s no such thing as best-of-breed in API management. We’ll see hybrid platforms that take a full lifecycle approach providing different offerings for different needs. One size no longer fits all. Sensedia is the most efficient and value-based solution out there and a recognized leader in API Management Solutions.

Sensedia focuses on helping our customers become more efficient through agile architectures and better integrations by ensuring enterprise-grade API governance and an outstanding developer experience while working to meet their unique needs. Our customer journeys could include a combination of improving agility and efficiency by enhancing their consumers’ or partners’ digital experience, connecting ecosystems for new business models, modernizing legacy data and systems with greater cost-effectiveness, and realizing new revenue streams through open finance options.

Sensedia’s expertise guides customers on their journeys to deliver products and new experiences faster and better, positively impacting revenue, customer acquisition, and loyalty. It can be challenging to adapt to ever-changing markets and technology, and innovative businesses look to us to speed up their integration process. By working with Sensedia to build an agile architecture, companies can shift swiftly, simplifying the connection and adoption of new tech. When our customers rely on Sensedia as a strong strategic partner to manage their API platforms and microservices, they are more productive and better able to focus on a strategy that seizes the moment and advantageously leverage change.

Finding the right API management strategy gives companies an edge to be more responsive to market demands and improve resilience. Companies trust Sensedia to help them unlock data and technologies through APIs to drive better experiences and bring in new revenue streams and heightened customer loyalty.

Name three critical aspects of Sensedia’s products/services that act as a competitive edge for the brand.

Adaptive Governance

APIs are everywhere and can present a security risk if not governed properly. Sensedia has the edge by providing our customers with adaptive governance. Our platform creates a well-governed, flexible, scalable API strategy without slowing innovation.

Developer Experience

As companies build private or public ecosystems, they open up innovation and share data with partners. Many businesses struggle with complex API management platforms. Sensedia excels at streamlining and simplifying the developer experience while keeping security robust.

Open Capabilities

Sensedia’s global experience in open banking and open insurance, coupled with our expertise in bringing best practices into companies to create Banking as a Service (BaaS) or embedded insurance, makes us unique. Sensedia has enabled open strategies that increase revenue. We have years of expertise connecting ecosystems, and we provide an exceptional onboarding experience that accelerates innovation. Sensedia’s Open Finance Solution includes consent management and centralized configuration built upon industry-recognized standards, allowing quick API wins in weeks vs. months. The solution also includes Ignition—expert services and a playbook to configure and rapidly adopt the most critical API technical standards.

What processes do you follow to ensure the marketing, sales, and customer success teams work hand-in-hand?

Sensedia involves the right players in collaborative planning. We’re incorporating consistent messaging across teams. APIX, Sensedia’s annual customer conference, held online and in-person each June, is now the world’s largest API event. At APIX, departmental walls come down, and the whole company focuses on the customer experience.

Sensedia has recently announced the launch of SPIN, a global distributor partnership program. So, how is it benefiting technology, service, and distribution channel companies?

API management market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 34.5% through 2031. As a high-growth company, Sensedia helps our SPIN partners build their ecosystems by working together to solve the big needs of driving more efficient architecture and better integration for more adaptability. Partners can join us at APIX to gain exposure beyond their borders. We’re co-marketing and co-selling to jointly grow our customer base.

Sensedia has over 90 organizations as partners, so how do you plan and execute channel marketing initiatives?

We’re marketing to partners, with partners, and through partners. Ninety sounds like a lot, but we’re in the very early stages of this initiative. We’re excited about these strategic partnerships and working with partners across the globe through a combination of co-marketing and co-selling. Sensedia has been recognized for our global leadership and for playing a key role in helping customers drive innovation and build solutions. Sensedia is activating marketing across all prongs of a partner strategy so that through partners, we can equip, empower and enable efficient growth globally.

What do you think about the future of API Management Systems?

APIs are everywhere. We’re seeing interest from new industries like AI-based Cyrano, leveraging our efficient and scalable API platform to innovate their customer experiences. AI is only one of many technologies that can benefit from APIs. The future is APIs and beyond—more modern integration platforms that offer businesses expanded composability and agility.

Sensedia supports microservices and service mesh along with API strategy to help composable businesses build once to eventually build many. The right strategy simplifies change and improves managing broader integrations. APIs will be relevant in many business architectures, and modern companies will require APIs to be more adaptable, resilient, and efficient.

What marketing tips would you give the upcoming marketing leaders grappling to make their brands stand out?

Be the master crafter of your position and message. Be the chief unifier and work across departments. Look at product launches and customer success holistically. And don’t be afraid to fail. Try, test, learn, and adapt. Things are changing fast, so it’s a growth mindset or no mindset.

As leaders, we work for our teams; they don’t work for us. Yes, we need to set the vision and strategy, but then we need to get out of their way and let our teams shine. And when setting the strategy in this fast-paced world, interactive planning works better than big marketing plans. Have an annual vision and strategy but make shorter plans quarterly or monthly to move forward. Reevaluate your strategy often. Ask, “Is this ideal customer persona right? Are metrics realistic?” Businesses seek more agility, and marketing leaders should too. We must learn to adapt and be flexible—more like scrum masters.