039: Architecture, And: Customer Success

Episode 039: Architecture, And: Customer SuccessWhat do mid-career transitions look like, and how can individuals prepare to make the jump?Continuing our series “Architecture, And”, we interview Agnessa Todorova about her mid-career transition from architecture into technology. Agnessa will share her career pivot from working in an architecture studio to working for a technology company. She’ll explain what skills from her training in architecture are most transferable to the work she’s doing now, and what opportunities she sees for other designers considering similar career pivots. Learn why she still sees herself as an architect, and how she’s thinking about customer success in her role at Outer Labs.Outer Labs is a dynamic company that is passionate about developing technology related to the built environment.  Their work is a mixture of custom software development for forward-thinking technology companies that want to radically change the process of how buildings are created, and software development for their own product that empowers people to better engage with their physical space.  They are a 100% distributed company with people in such varied places as San Francisco, St. George, Irvine, Seattle, London and Lake Tahoe. Outer Labs believe people should lead balanced lives, and live/work from a place that brings them joy.  Guest:Agnessa Todorova, AIA, NCARB is a licensed architect working as the Director of Customer Success at Outer Labs. Since transitioning to a career in technology she has focused on using her background in architecture to help software developers and user experience designers tackle common problems faced by AEC professionals. At Outer Labs she works shoulder-to-shoulder with ambitious organizations that need their own technology to design, build, and operate real estate at scale. Prior to joining Outer Labs she worked as a Senior Director of Product Management in the Bay Area where she led the development of AEC tools aimed at digitizing transitional workflows. She earned her Master in Architecture from California College of the Arts, and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture from the University of Memphis.Show Links:Outer Labs💻 Learn about our podcast partner Monograph:Monograph is the cloud-based practice operations solution built for architects by architects. It is easy to use, beautifully designed, and helped firms streamline operations by empowering them to see project and firm-wide financial health in a single tool.  Plan your projects with schedules, budgets, roles, and team members. Track a project’s financial health with their unique MoneyGantt which takes timesheet data and makes it simple to see whether you are on track or not.  Use firm-wide revenue forecasts to make strategic decisions. With Monograph, you never have to make a decision in the dark again. 👉 Visit Monograph now.📍 Follow Practice Disrupted on Social:Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn |

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The evolution of architectural practice has been relatively slow towards change, yet modern shifts in business and design management have prompted today’s leading architects to rethink how they work. On Practice Disrupted, Evelyn Lee, an architect, design strategist, and Senior Experience Designer at Slack, and architecture business strategy consultant, Je’Nen Chastain, set out to illuminate the future of the profession to help architects remain relevant and valuable in a changing world. They will explore how technology, cultural shifts, and emerging best practices are prompting firm owners to assess their business models and make adjustments in their studios. Each episode features an industry leader, and together our hosts will explore the new frontier of architectural practice.