Our sales team plays a crucial role in growing and scaling our business — letting our prospects know how we can make online transactions safer and accept payments with confidence. They work closely with colleagues across all regions to align strategies and provide top-quality service throughout the entire sales cycle.

To find out more about life at Ravelin, we had a chat with Tamara DeJohn, pre-sales manager for North America about her role.

Here’s what she had to say!

Can you tell us a bit about your current role at Ravelin?

“Of course! I’m the pre-sales manager for North America, supporting the US sales team throughout the entire sales cycle. At the moment my team is made up of five account executives spread across the US. And I work closely with my UK counterparts to make sure our efforts are aligned.

“To put it simply, my team looks at a prospect’s business, uncovers their strategy and provides them with useful information on the current state of fraud relevant to them. It’s then our job to explore what we can offer in terms of technology and demonstrate the benefits that our tech will bring. Luckily, Ravelin has so many differentiating factors in the marketplace, which makes my job of selling a lot easier.

“What I love about this role is that there is no typical day. We’ve only recently begun our quest to break into the US market, so no one has been in my shoes before. It’s a great opportunity for me to take advantage of my past experiences and use my knowledge to define new strategies and workflows.”

How did you come to join Ravelin?

“Previously, I’ve worked in both project management and sales — spending the last 15 years in the payments space. I started my search for a new job at the end of 2020, and had some very specific criteria I was looking for in a new company.

“Ravelin reached out to me via LinkedIn, and to my delight the company ticked all of the boxes. It’s an ambitious, fast-growing company — with the best aspects of a start-up still remaining. I felt I’d have the opportunity to bring my expertise and really make an impact, so I decided to press on with the interview process.

“I was impressed at how organised the recruitment process was, especially with people in multiple time zones. And it was perfectly clear what the business as looking for from a candidate, so I knew exactly what I’d be signing up for.

“I started my role in January and haven’t looked back since!”

How did you find onboarding remotely?

“The onboarding process is amazing. I’ve never had an onboarding experience like this one. The first two weeks focuses on properly introducing you to the Ravelin team, including meetings with all the founders and the VPs.

“I found this refreshing, and quickly gained an insight into who I was working with, their strategies as individuals and as a business, and how I was able to bring benefit to the company.

“I was also assigned a mentor, Alice Cheung, who I had frequent contact with and was always there to answer my questions. As a UK-based software engineer, Alice’s role is completely different to mine. This gave me a great opportunity to understand a different side to the business — helping see first-hand the importance of my team collecting and relaying the right information.”

How is it collaborating with your team across the pond?

“The thought of being a US employee working for a UK-based company can be quite scary. I had nothing to worry about though. It’s been a very smooth process so far and my UK colleagues have been incredibly helpful — I definitely feel I’m part of the team!

“The time difference actually brings some natural structure to my day, which is great. I usually collaborate with the UK team earlier in the day, then move over to the US later on.”

How has the company supported your needs while working from home?

“I’ve been a remote worker for a number of years, so I haven’t felt the impact of the pandemic as much as others. That said, I’ve still benefited greatly from the effort Ravelin puts in to support staff working from home.

“From day one I was provided with absolutely everything needed to do my job from home. As well as a generous budget to set up my home office. Everybody really wants you to be comfortable.

“On top of all the equipment provided, Ravelin provides you with a budget to invest in your education too, which has been incredibly helpful and allowed me to get up to speed with topics like machine learning, which I previously didn’t have much experience in.”

What’s the best thing about working at Ravelin?

“The number-one thing about Ravelin is the people. The culture here is amazing. The team are warm, friendly, and really care about you as a person. Some companies just want you to do what they hired you for, so it’s great to work somewhere with a family atmosphere. You can call anybody at any time no matter their title — they’re always keen to help.

“Ravelin gets down to business, obviously, but in a very compassionate way. I’d feel perfectly comfortable approaching my managers with any problems I may have, whether that’s personal or professional.

“As well as that though, it’s the opportunity to learn. Even coming from years of experience working in tech, I’ve learned so much about fraud since being at Ravelin. That’s all come from talking to the team, who come from some fascinating backgrounds, as well as the investment in education.”

What does the future hold for you at Ravelin?

“Personally, I’m very happy in my current role at Ravelin and I’m excited to continue leading our push into the US market. I love supporting the account executives, the technical aspects and being able to have contact with prospective clients.

“Going forward, I’m confident there’s the opportunity for me to hit sales targets and continue to drive growth for Ravelin in the US. And I know I’ll be rewarded for my hard work along the way!”