Jon Marius Roald
Vince’s new CTO loves new experiences and does not shy away from a challenge. Today, she holds years of experience in technology development, shaping efficient teams, international collaboration and building and scaling SaaS-platforms. Getting here started with a dream over 35 years ago.
Lillian Flora took her first big leap out of the comfort zone when she left Bergen for Los Angeles in the late 1980s, just 18 years of age.
– I think the inspiration came from my dad. He was always traveling for work, to the United States and Japan, and the stories and gifts he brought back from around the world sparked my curiosity. I caught the travel bug and wanted to experience it for myself, Lillian says.
She pursued her goals and started her Business Administration studies. During her minor in International Marketing, she came in touch with a successful, female business owner from Hong Kong who became a mentor figure for the young Norwegian – a relationship that proved valuable when Flora later graduated.
– The US economy was in recession, which made finding work – particularly fulfilling work – hard. So, I took my mentors advice, and started a printing business together with my husband, and ran it for 10 years.
Communication is key
After founding, building and selling two companies, including a magazine, Flora joined a tech company in Los Angeles to build the company’s marketing initiative and strengthen its brand. While building the digital presence, communicating with the internal IT department proved challenging, so Lillian did what she always does: Adapt.
To bridge this gap, she went back to school to study both front- and backend programming, so she could communicate more effectively with the IT team. This was in 2013, and once again a seed was planted. From there it was all about tech – particularly software as a service – for Vince’s new signing, and her success in the field is no coincidence.
– Coming from design, I bring something different. I don’t just see technology, products and systems – I see people and collaboration. I use design thinking when I build teams, and I try to shape people’s workday so that they feel variation, both in tasks and people they interact with, says Flora, and elaborates:
– Variation breeds motivation, and motivated people leads to better results.
"Lillian brings expertise in both product development and building strong and efficient teams, on top of extensive experience with international collaboration, especially between Norway and India"
– Thormod Berger, product manager
A great match
Lillian Flora came to Vince from Kongsberg Digital, from where she boasts experience both as Product Team Lead and Product Manager for the company’s SaaS product. Her mastery of both product development and international collaboration were two key factors in Vince signing her:
– Lillian brings expertise in both product development and building strong and efficient teams, on top of extensive experience with international collaboration, especially between Norway and India, says Thormod Berger, product manager at Vince.
Vince knew of Flora, he explains, and says she made a strong impression during the interview process.
– Her background is an obvious match for us, but it also became clear that she will carry on the culture we’ve built. Simply put, a very good match, Berger says.
– Yes, the culture here is great, adds Flora. The people are enthusiastic, ambitious and not afraid of experimenting with new solutions.
Scaling up
The appointment of Flora marks a transition for Vince from startup to scale-up, according to Vince’s product manager.
– We’re growing in the number of customers, products, markets and the complexity of what we offer. Therefore, we need to put in place solid structures and processes, as well as more efficient and precise product development to meet the needs of our growing customer base. That’s why it makes so much sense to bring Lillian on board now, says Berger.
– What Vince is going through now, Lillian has been through several times before. She knows the pains and difficulties, and what we need to address to be prepared for the future, he adds.
Lillian is excited about what the future holds for Vince:
– I really believe that where we are now is just the beginning. The scalability of our SaaS solutions is very much present, and we will continue to build both our products and our organization with this in mind, concludes Flora.