Two months ago, I embarked on a new adventure, taking on a role to lead ATC’s customer success team. Every career move is complex. It becomes even more challenging when you’ve relocated to a new country (🇨🇦→🇺🇸) and invested two years of your life in earning a Master of Urban Planning. After graduating from USC, I faced the daunting task of finding a role that could accommodate both my fresh graduate status and my extensive background in urban planning, customer service, and digital innovation.

Here’s why ATC stood out and convinced me to become a part of their exceptional team:

My passion for public policy has been a driving force throughout my life. At the age of 13, I was chosen to work alongside elected officials as a Legislative Page. In University, I led debate in Canada’s House of Commons. Eventually, I worked my way into government relations and had an amazing opportunity to work for the City of Toronto.

Yet, what has always has driven me is city and placemaking, with a particular emphasis on access to housing, and affordable housing at that. This passion led me back to school, focusing my studies on the acute housing crisis in Los Angeles.

What I have learned from both my education and my experience working in municipal government is that uncertainty is a major obstacle for private sector investment. Working with the government can often feel like navigating a black box, with complex and challenging procurement processes. This is especially true in the realm of real estate development and land use permitting, where the processes in cities like Los Angeles and Toronto are time-consuming, opaque, and frequently delayed.

However, as someone who has rented for many years and witnessed the rising cost of living, it’s crucial for me to contribute to the housing crisis and making a difference.

ATC’s founders share my commitment to making a difference in this sensitive area. They refuse to accept the status quo and believe in addressing these pressing issues by providing the data and information developers, attorneys, and land use consultants need to make decisions and ultimately, build. This shared purpose resonated deeply with my professional ethos of making overly complex systems more accessible and user-friendly.

  • Their product aggregates important information that can be hard to find

Let me tell you, I’ve spent countless hours navigating government websites in search of specific documents and plans. Sometimes even resorting to physically visiting offices, only to come up empty-handed. What impressed me about ATC is its ability to aggregate data and documents, even those that I, as someone with a penchant for intricate policy matters, sometimes find challenging to find.

I recognized the potential after first using the platform and saw the opportunities for its growth and development. And I was excited to be on the ground floor. I saw a chance to create closer relationships with users and potential users—incorporating their feedback to create a product that helps them make decisions faster and with more clarity.

As ATC integrates more industry verticals and jurisdictions, there are exciting opportunities to add to or diversify the current product and for me to help solve newer and bigger problems for users. Growth of the company and personal growth go hand in hand. Personal growth to me means doing things I have never done before or deepening the skills that I already have. There are a lot of “firsts” that I expect to handle in this new role, which I am excited about!

  • They provide the work flexibility I need to excel

When I considered my job options, company culture was a critical factor in my decision-making. I wasn’t just looking for the typical perks like work lunches, on-tap beer, or wellness rooms. I was looking for a culture that fosters flexibility, embraces remote work, values teamwork, and promotes mutual respect.

The terms “start-up” or “tech company” often carry specific stereotypes, but ATC doesn’t fit those preconceptions. They not only provide my need for flexibility but have also ensured that I can maintain a healthy work-life balance—an essential aspect of my career journey. Throughout the interview process, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of transparency. The ATC team took the time to provide a detailed overview of the day-to-day responsibilities of the role, emphasizing that in a startup, everyone wears multiple hats. They effectively addressed my concerns and provided the reassurance I needed.

In summary, my decision to join ATC was not made lightly. It resonated with me both professionally and personally. I’m excited to be a part of a team that is driving real change in the real estate industry.

Since I joined, I’ve had an opportunity to hit the ground running. I’ve met many of our amazing customers and had an opportunity to see first-hand how they use ATC to supplement their expertise. Last week, we launched ATC Insights, which will include a growing collection of content written by me!