Talk us through an average day in your role
No two days look the same, which is honestly one of the things I love most about my role. As operations manager at a data analytics tech startup, my day revolves around people as much as it does processes.
On any given day, I could be in a strategic conversation with the CEO or CTO in the morning, working through a product or delivery challenge with the development team by mid-morning, and catching up with other project managers on R&D initiatives or customer projects in the afternoon. The startup environment means priorities can shift quickly, so a big part of my role is keeping everything and everyone aligned, even when the landscape changes. It keeps you sharp.
Woven throughout all of that are the more consistent operational responsibilities that keep the business ticking—things like resourcing, planning, budgeting, process improvement, and ensuring the right structures are in place. Those foundational elements don’t change much day to day, but they’re what everything else rests on.
How did you get started in the media industry?
I came from a completely different industry, but I’ve always had a genuine pull toward technology. Over time, I found myself wanting more—more pace, more innovation, and more of a sense that the work I was doing was building toward something meaningful.
I found that in my previous tech role, but I’ve always wanted to help build something from the ground up and make a real impact. A tech startup offered all of that. Making the move felt like a natural progression once I followed that instinct rather than ignoring it. Once I took the leap, I haven’t looked back.
What training did you have before entering the industry?
I started as a trained Agile project manager, which gave me a really solid foundation. Agile methodology is genuinely well-suited to the tech startup environment: the iterative approach, the focus on collaboration, and the ability to adapt quickly all translate directly into how fast-moving tech teams actually work.
That formal training gave me a framework from day one, but a lot of the real learning has happened on the job, working alongside developers, product teams, and senior leadership.
Why do you enjoy working in the industry?
Variety is a big part of it—I’ve never had the same week twice. But more than that, I wanted to be part of building something. There’s something incredibly motivating about working in a startup where you can see the direct impact of your contributions. The decisions you make and the relationships you build genuinely shape where the business goes.
The tech industry also moves fast, which means you’re always learning and being challenged, and that suits me well. There’s also a genuine satisfaction in problem-solving that I don’t think I’d get in a more rigid environment.
In a startup, problems are rarely straightforward. You’re often working with limited information, tight timelines, and no obvious playbook. Thinking on your feet and figuring out solutions that didn’t exist an hour ago is the kind of work that keeps me engaged.
What piece of advice would you offer someone looking to explore a role similar to yours?
Two things.
First, don’t wait until you feel completely ready. You rarely will be. The best way to learn in a startup environment is by doing. If you have the right attitude and willingness to figure things out, that will take you further than a perfect CV.
Second, invest in your relationships across the whole business early on. As a project manager or operations manager, your effectiveness is almost entirely determined by how well you understand the people around you. The more you understand their world, their pressures, and their language, the better you’ll be at your job. Get curious about every part of the business, not just your own corner of it.
