Author
June 30, 2023
As we conclude our Pride month celebration, we are thrilled to highlight another member of the LGBTQIA+ community leading our Marketing team in the US. He’s a Survivor superfan, travelholic, thespian, dog-lover, community-builder, mentor, and recreational sport enthusiast. Meet our fierce, organized, driven, candid, passionate Head of US Marketing, Justin McCoubry, and read about the work his team is doing to elevate Digibee’s brand across the US!
Why Digibee?
For Justin, joining Digibee was the culmination of three key factors. The first being his previous collaboration with Digibee’s CMO, Cait Porte. Having experienced her exceptional work ethic, integrity, and leadership style, Justin deeply respected her, trusted her, and valued their collegial relationship. He knew any professional venture under Cait’s guidance would prove to be an enriching career journey for him.
Secondly, Justin is drawn to the start-up world. He enjoys the excitement, fast pace, and problem-solving nature of young businesses. His previous successes at Care.com and Carbon Black from their early stages, through international expansion, to initial public offering, showed him firsthand that perseverance through the ups and downs can lead to transformative and pivotal moments personally and professionally. Justin also believed in the directive of bringing Digibee’s brand to the US market and disrupting the way organizations traditionally see integration through Digibee’s fresh take on solutions.
Lastly, feeling a growing sense of dissatisfaction in his previous job, Justin recognized he needed a change. He had this narrative in the back of his mind that switching jobs too frequently was negative, even though he knew his current position wasn’t the right fit. But, the pandemic shifted his perspective. It underscored the importance of seeking fulfilling work that prioritized a healthy work/life balance. That awareness, combined with the opportunity to tackle a new challenge with Cait, and make a significant impact on Digibee’s mission, was the perfect recipe for change, growth, and personal fulfillment he was looking for. Now, just over a year later, he’s glad he took the leap.
Life at Digibee
Justin is skilled at networking and building communities (more on that later), which has helped him advance in his career through peer-to-peer relationships he built, invested in, and maintained. He values management and mentoring, and is passionate about leading his team to personal and organizational success. His role requires him to have a solid understanding of a myriad of marketing channels to support his team. Justin believes the secret is in hiring smart individuals that bring their own expertise to each channel and then guiding them to collectively make an impact on the business. Managing such a diverse team has been challenging but also gratifying for him, as he navigates different locations, cultures, personalities, career paths, and working styles. Reflecting on this first year, he’s proud to say that the team has been retained, has seen many accomplishments, has made an impact, and continues to grow.
As a marketer at Digibee, Justin faces the challenge of differentiating the company’s unique value in a crowded market with established players. Justin believes in Digibee’s iPaaS, and its exceptional, cost-effective, fast, and user-friendly solution. However, as a young company, Digibee is still discovering its identity while simultaneously undergoing rapid growth. To truly disrupt the industry and gain recognition, Justin believes there are two clear priorities: establishing a clear differentiation strategy that resonates strongly with every employee at Digibee, and becoming a core part of the conversation within the IT industry and integration network. So that when people ask their colleagues and connections “what is the best solution to solve our integration problem?” Digibee will be the go-to answer.
To truly disrupt the industry and gain recognition, Justin believes there are two clear priorities: establishing a clear differentiation strategy that resonates strongly with every employee at Digibee, and becoming a core part of the conversation within the IT industry and integration network.
Given that it’s Pride month, I was grateful Justin was willing to touch on his experiences navigating companies as an LGBTQIA+ person throughout his career. Questioning whether being your authentic self can propel or limit your career growth can be difficult to answer without risk. While Justin has never tried to hide who he is, he’s never led with that either. He commented that it is “difficult to know when the right time is to ‘come out’ to your company, or more importantly, if you even need to.” Justin knows he’s been fortunate that he’s worked for many companies that were supportive of him and didn’t limit his opportunities. At Digibee specifically, Justin noted that he has been “provided with an inclusive and supportive environment. I have not sought out anything specific, but I have felt here that it actually doesn’t matter – and that matters to me.”
The Future Ahead
Justin’s past experiences in startups have given him insight into Digibee’s potential. He’s seen success when companies can take advantage of being a startup – having the flexibility to mold the brand and product to fit into the gaps and needs in the market. Justin is excited about Digibee’s opportunity to impact the market with a more cost-effective, more efficient, innovative solution, and become a major player that can ultimately change the industry.
From a professional perspective, Justin believes firmly in the importance of a strong partnership between the marketing, sales, and operations teams. He’s excited that Digibee’s leadership is investing in his team and demonstrating confidence in the crucial role marketing can play to support sales and impact long-term success. Being part of this collaboration and contributing to propelling the business forward is what excites Justin most about his future at Digibee.
Leading a mostly-remote team, Justin recognizes the importance of keeping people connected, engaged, and excited about their role in Digibee’s present and future success. He is invested in driving initiatives to support a balanced, positive, and healthy work culture.
Balancing Work & Life at Digibee
Justin is never in a pickle for finding a good hobby. OK, that’s a terrible pun, but Justin is one of the many people who have recently become addicted to pickleball. Alongside pickleball, he also engages in several recreational sports, including softball, dodgeball, kickball, cornhole, and occasionally, volleyball. Justin thrives on being a community-builder and appreciates how sports bring people together, fostering friendships and connections through shared interests. Many of the teams involve the LGBTQIA+ communities. When Justin first came to Boston, he was just coming out and had yet to fully grasp the scale and diversity in the LGBTQIA+ community. Through these experiences, he met a wide variety of people that taught him he didn’t have to “fit into any box.” It was liberating finding a safe space to be his authentic self. Now, he is passionate about giving that back. Organizing teams, and building these communities, he can help others find where they fit and feel that sense of belonging.
Justin is also a thespian – he performs, directs, and supports the theater arts. (A scene from the musical, “Avenue Q” pictured below.) As a member of the theater community living in the same area myself – I’ve actually been fortunate enough to have seen Justin’s wonderful talents both as an audience member and fellow cast-mate, and I have thrived under his incredible direction. Prior to the pandemic, Justin was extremely active in the theater scene. But, post-pandemic, he’s taken a step back and refocused his priorities. He says he’ll explore returning to the stage if the right opportunity presents itself, but for now he’s happy to be in the audience instead. He sees Broadway shows a few times a year, and supports local community and professional theater in and around Boston.
If you don’t know, there is a huge “live game community” of people passionate about reality TV competition shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race. The competition is steep to get on these shows, so what has emerged are these global, charity-based, often weekend or week-long, community versions that bring people together from all over the country to participate. Justin has played in six of them (and won two!). (Once, in Tennessee, he stepped over a snake he presumed to be dead, and after it struck and almost bit him, discovered his fortunate escape was from one of the deadliest snakes in the country!) I’ll slither away now from the dangerous aspects and mention that Justin has forged some of the most valuable relationships in his life through these games. During the pandemic, to keep people together, he started an online version once a month, resulting in 17 seasons and culminating into a big finale with all the season winners. Last year, he started his own game called “Outlast” which brought together 18 people from all over the U.S. for a long weekend competition. I am amazed by his time investment, efforts and commitment to these games. But Justin said what drives him is knowing he’s contributing to creating incredible experiences, relationships, friendships, and memories that leave a lasting impact on people’s lives.
Before I get voted off the island for making this highlight too long, I must mention Justin’s love of his two rescue dogs, Matthew and Winston (pictured above). Justin joked that he bought a house just so he could have dogs running around in the yard. These adorable pups bring him joy and friendship every day.
Justin believes ensuring a well-rounded life for himself has enhanced his skills as a marketer. Devoting time to his personal passions also fuels his professional creativity and enables him to craft compelling stories, build exciting brands, and support start-ups through the ups-and-downs of hyper-growth.
At Digibee, we have an incredible team of individuals striving to bring our innovative enterprise integration solution forward in the US and globally. I’m fortunate that I get to work on Justin’s team and experience his passion daily. It was a pleasure to interview him and include his story in this series. Keep reading our employee highlights to learn more about this amazing team of people working to make Digibee’s mission possible.
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