Monthly Archives: April 2022

Orange is the New Blue

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Have you ever made a decision, then watched as everything around you seemed to fall perfectly into place ─ and step by step you saw, felt, and just knew in your heart it was the right choice? Well, let me tell you a story about the last few weeks…

It’s certainly not the first time I didn’t see the curve ball coming my way. I had just been promoted, and was happily humming along my merry way. One Friday afternoon, at the end of a very long week, my wiser half reminded me that there’s a big (Orange) world out there. In an attempt to prove his point, Mr. @AustinNexus asked me to make a phone call. After the last 12 years together, if I’ve learned anything at all, it’s to always do exactly what Mr. @AustinNexus says to do.

That 15-minute phone call turned into another, and another (thank you, Sona Akmakjian)…and before I knew it, I was falling in love with the thought of taking a leap, of joining a hungry team, of building something that years from now we’ll look back on with incredible pride, and most of all, of wearing Orange and officially becoming an Avalarian!

Today I begin a new chapter, as I accept the role as Director of Global Strategic Accounting Partnerships at Avalara. As the kids would say, I’ve got all the feels. I’m anxious to dig in and get to work building out our strategy. I’m excited to partner with new teammates and have the opportunity to learn and grow. I’m so looking forward to getting back on the road, finally, and being able to make eye contact and sit in the same room again with accounting partners. I’m quite frankly petrified that I’ve forgotten how to walk in stilettos (people, it’s been 25 months since my last business trip!).

Amid all these mixed emotions that I’ve navigated the past several weeks, three reminders have sustained me and become the perfect tag lines for this season:

Everything happens for a reason

I’m fully confident that although change can be uneasy, stressful, and even uncomfortable, God put me right here, right now for a very specific purpose.

Timing is everything

I’ve known Avalara longer than I’ve known Mr. Austin, and even talked about joining the “A Team” several times before (always indebted to Marshal Kushniruk), though it just wasn’t the right moment of harmonic convergence…until now!

The best is yet to come

If we don’t get uncomfortable, we don’t grow. I can’t wait to see all the ways I’ll be stretched for the better in the new role. I’m looking forward to this next season where I get to become the best version of me!

Remember Every New Beginning is Some Beginning’s End

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On October 28, 2013, I tweeted a tweet I never expected to tweet. It was a photo of my new Intuit badge, sent from an amazingly outfitted campus in beautiful San Diego, where I sat for my first day of new hire training. And, eight and a half years later, I’m sharing something I never expected to share, as I turn in that same badge today. Funny enough, the caption remains the same:

Remember every new beginning is some beginning’s end…

For those who haven’t known me that long, the story of my joining Intuit is one that I’ve often compared to “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”. I really wasn’t that interested, but with each conversation I had with tenured Intuit employees, I became more excited about the company, more enamored with the culture, and more impressed with so many of my future colleagues.

In some ways much is still the same, yet in others, everything has changed. When I got to Intuit I had just turned 30, and was racing to make all the accounting profession “lists” (much in part thanks to my then boyfriend, who I often referred to as my publicist). I had a few years of experience with large firms, and was anxious to continue building my personal brand with the incredible accounting professionals that had so graciously adopted me into their community. Today, as I prepare to say goodnight and sign-off one last time, I do so as Mrs. Austin (marry the guy who always makes you look better than you are). I succeeded in landing on the list of all lists (THREE times!),and before I’ve hit 40, I can talk about the decade of my career that I’ve devoted to serving top firms, and helping them reach their goals. I guess you can say that I grew up at Intuit.

I’ve been fortunate to work with some incredible people over the past eight years – some still here, and others have moved on as well. I found myself posing with Intuit CEO Brad Smith at the top of the rock in New York City, celebrating the top achievers at Sales Club (and would have had more of those adventures if not for Covid). I traveled all over the US – from Hawaii to Florida, and just about everywhere in between – sharing how QuickBooks Online can change firms’ practices, and accountants’ lives. I snapped selfies with Intuit Founder Scott Cook in a packed cafeteria one April 15th while we both participated in the TuboTax LifeLine “all hands on deck” week. I spoke at national conferences, and I was able to give back by investing in the future of the profession while working with firms’ internship programs and guest-speaking to high school and college students. I had an amazing mentor, and I was privileged to be able to mentor a handful of my teammates too. To all of you who have been part of my Intuit story – thank you from the bottom of my heart, and know that I’ll forever have your imprints on me. I truly hope that I’ve made an impact on you as well!

Anyone who had the honor of serving at Intuit under Brad Smith knows the power of “Bradisms”. As I tried to find the right things to say today, it’s no surprise that I went straight to Brad’s words – to a personal note he left me here on this blog, shortly after he stepped down as CEO, which ended with one of his familiar mantras, and some of the best advice I could echo:

“Work Hard – Be Kind – Take Pride!!!“

To be continued…