On meeting the management team at Allocadia, you could be forgiven for doing a double take. Chief executive officer Kristine Steuart and chief product officer Katherine Berry, who launched marketing performance software company Allocadia in 2010, happen to be identical twin sisters.
Steuart said working with her sister is great, because even though they’re twins, they’re very different.
“It works because we are complementary to each other, not because we’re the same,” she said. “There are areas she naturally went into, and then others I naturally went into, and so we make a great team together. It’s been like that since starting the company, and continues to be like this even as our roles have changed as the company has grown.”
Steuart added this symbiosis doesn’t stop with her sister, but is something the company prides itself in when it comes to its entire leadership.
“I also see other co-founder partnerships that work well when they have complementary skills too; you don’t have to be a twin to have this dynamic. The key is finding a partnership where you each bring something unique and strong to the table, and coming together means that you can do something together you just couldn’t do on your own.”
Steuart said the end result is a service that lets more than 130 clients keep track of their marketing resources in great detail and in real time. She gave the example of brokerage company Charles Schwab Corp., one of Allocadia’s biggest customers.
“With Allocadia, Charles Schwab’s marketing users know exactly where they stand with their spend at any given point in time.
“For example, when the chief marketing officer wants to know how much of the media team’s money is committed, a report can be generated quickly in Allocadia instead of querying different departments and budget managers and emailing numbers back and forth.”
Birthplace: Hull, Quebec
Where you live now: Vancouver, B.C.
Highest level of education: Bachelor of arts at Simon Fraser University, communication
Currently reading: Last business book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz (loved it). Last fiction book: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (couldn’t put it down)
Currently listening to: I listen to music a lot. One way to rest all the busy thoughts. I listen to all sorts of different things, from Taylor Swift to Aerosmith to Coldplay to Jay Z, etc.
When you were a kid, what you wanted to be when you grew up: I think at one point I wanted to be an astronomer
Profession you would most like to try: I love tech, I’ve always been drawn to it. But if I had to choose … probably something that involved coffee or wine
Toughest business or professional decision: There is a steady stream of tough decisions to make, but the toughest ones are when you’re building a team and have to make changes. Always the hardest
Advice you would give the younger you: Create something! Creating something that comes from you (anything: a project, an event, a campaign). It will feel great, you’ll learn a ton, and you’ll go far in your career
What’s left to do: So much to do on the path to achieving our vision of a world where marketers make every dollar count
Join us to celebrate the 2015 Forty under under 40 Awards January 27, 2016 at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. For tickets and event info visit www.biv.com/events/40under40.
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