Carving her own path is certainly one way to describe how Christina Augustine, COO at Bloomreach, has chosen to do her work. With a distinct set of experiences, beginning with a unique college thesis, to owning her own patent, and eventually leading Bloomreach through successful product launches, Christina has held her own over the course of her career. And her fortitude is now paying off. 

Christina’s natural competitiveness has not only helped her shape her own leadership abilities, but she continues to carry these skills forward. While her decision to leave Bain & Company was a difficult one, that decision has returned its value tenfold. From her role as an individual contributor to the now COO at Bloomreach, Christina has brought a tenacity that deserves attention. Check out this episode to learn how she has honed her abilities to evaluate and consciously decide where she wants to be, and how she applies her own grit to the workplace.

In this episode, we cover:

• Christina’s college thesis on the Julia set, her experience at HBS, and a look at her patent. (2:20)
• More on Christina’s background and the “gnarly” aspect of her role at Bain & Company - and why she loves volunteering at Girl Scouts. (06:18)
• Why competitiveness is a great leadership trait and how Christina puts it into practice - and why she chose to make the difficult decision to leave Bain and join Bloomreach as an individual contributor. (15:13)
• ‘It’s an every year decision’: Christina explains why she rewrites her resume and reflects on her contributions on an annual basis. (21:51)
• Powered by Bloomreach: Christina provides an overview of Bloomreach and shares her perspective on their high valuation and what it indicates as they focus on building long-term products. (26:17)
• The evolution of Christina’s roles at Bloomreach, from individual contributor to COO - and how the ‘“north star product vision” impacted the team’s decision to build a second product. (35:15)
• Christina reflects on her early days at Bloomreach and explores their product development journey - and she talks about the impact of Google’s SEO algorithm change. (45:09)
• What Christina’s mentors helped her prepare for as she transitioned into her COO position - and why it is important to know when to “do nothing.” (54:18)

Links:

• Connect with Christina
  • LinkedIn
  • Bloomreach
• Connect with Joubin
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email: gtmg@kleinerperkins.com 
• Learn more about Kleiner Perkins