Flite Announces New SVP of Sales and Business Development and Additions to Advisory Board

Today, I am thrilled to announce that Tim Krozek has joined Flite as SVP Sales and Business Development. Tim joins Flite after a record 2011 for Flite and brings with him deep experience building digital media businesses. 

In addition, Jeff Epstein, ex CFO of Oracle and DoubleClick, and Matt Yorke, President of IDG Global Solutions, joined Flite’s Advisory Board.

Both Jeff and Matt bring a wealth of relevant experience to Flite and we are thrilled to have them on board.

Progress!

Flite Elevate Award

Flite guest blogger: Brittany Brown Ceres, Director of Human Resources

At Flite, we support our workforce with enthusiasm.  One example of this is our Flite Elevate Award which was created to recognize employees who contribute to the business and improve our culture. 

The award is given out to two employees twice a year and anyone can be nominated.  The awardees are selected by the previous winners based on submissions over the past 6 months.

We announced our current Elevate recipients last month and are proud share their stories with you.

John Skinner, Ad Operations Manager, joined the team in 2008 and has helped develop the product into what it is today. He is a great resource across cross-functional teams and is known for his diligent, professional attitude.  If you ask John a question, you can trust that he’ll respond promptly and thoroughly, and make sure that you get what you need.

Rob Lennon, Office Manager, provides attention to detail in every aspect of the office that creates an all-around higher level of cubicle happiness. From all-hands meetings to office decor to snacks, everyone in the office benefits from Rob’s willingness to go the extra mile.

The inaugural winners were Andy Yang and Michael Villaseñor.

Andy did a tremendous job working on the website launch in March 2011 as a Principle UX Designer.  He operated with polish even during times of high-pressure.

As a Creative Services Manager, Michael nurtured a strong team to create ads that impressed clients over and over.  He played a big role in growing relationships with our earliest customers.

We’re excited about how far we’ve come as a company and the great people who work here everyday.

The Importance of Prototypes

Guest blogger: Grant Lee, Lead Engineer

The famous architect Frank Gehry was known to use construction paper and tape to quickly build dozens of prototypes for his buildings. In a similar vein, Flite’s Engineering team builds prototypes to develop software for a powerful cloud-based ad platform.

The two major benefits of prototyping in the context of software development are:

1. It can help stakeholders confirm the direction that the product is taking.
    
2. Engineers can identify potential technical pitfalls and limitations early on in the development cycle.

The real benefit is that a prototype is a small investment you can afford to lose.  It doesn’t matter if the prototype fails or is imperfect. Why? Because the prototype’s failure closes the door to undesirable options early on, which is better than investing in a specific path and having the product fail at the final stage. These small “failures” actually lead to the success of a product and help to guide it’s direction. 

Prototypes are inexpensive and provide value. Teams can learn a lot without huge financial repercussions or strain on engineering resources. One of the most impressive things that we do at Flite is prototype using our own tools and products. We create prototypes or mocks of anything from marketing landing pages to mini-CMS systems using our platform. 

Of course, we also use prototyping in the sense of traditional software engineering, but these examples are a testament to how our products help people and organizations succeed through the power of agile methodologies.

Flite Desk Swap

Here at Flite, we are all for open-mindedness and trying new things.  

Recently our Director of Services, Godwin, sent around an article from the New York Times about cubicles and suggested swapping desks with team members in various departments.  The idea was to change your physical environment for a fresh perspective.  

This inspired several people in the office to swap desks for a day.  We got a chance to catch up with Godwin and Joel, a Senior UX Designer at Flite, to hear more about what it was like.

What inspired you to try this?

Godwin: I noticed that the Flite crew was mainly interacting within their aisles and I wanted to show that I was committed to collaboration.

Joel: I was inspired by Godwin’s email. 

Why did you choose to swap with each other as opposed to other people?

Godwin: I didn’t know where Joel sat so I thought it would be an adventure!  

Joel: I responded to Godwin’s email and I was happy he wanted to switch with me. I spend most of my time working with UX Team and engineers, so I thought it would be cool to work amongst people I don’t interact with daily.

How was your new environment different from your day-to-day one?

Godwin: Fewer stains because I didn’t have time to spill enough coffee and food.

Joel: Instead of Engineering-speak, I got to eavesdrop on Services-speak while I worked. I was busy with my own tasks, but it was cool to hear in passing about the other things that happen at Flite during the day.

Was there anything unexpected that you discovered during the desk swap?

Godwin: Flite engineers like to have fun, joke around, know of great restaurants, and enjoy shooting each other with Nerf branded foam projectiles.  They also communicate well verbally, as well as, in binary.

Joel: Godwin’s desk faces where I sit, so it felt like an out-of-body experience seeing that side of the room from a different perspective.  There’s also a big happy frog next to Godwin’s desk that I didn’t notice until the end of the day.  Awesome!