Rokt Rewind with Ashley Firmstone and Daniel Wright

In honor of Rokt’s 10-year anniversary this year, we’re taking a moment to reflect on all our milestones and accomplishments from the past decade. Rokt Rewind features the voices of Rokt’stars who have been part of the Rokt journey since the very beginning. Read on to hear their story and thoughts on Rokt’s past, present, and future.

Meet Ashley and Dan

Ashley joined Rokt back in 2014 as an Account Manager, helping the Customer Success team find solutions to help Rokt establish its US presence and grow the business globally. Since then, she has become a leader for the GTM team that is passionate about developing customer-centric ecommerce strategies in collaboration with industry leaders. Ashley has been a true Rokt’star for 7 years and counting, and she has become an integral part of Rokt’s team as the SVP of Customer Success in the New York office.

Daniel joined Rokt in 2016 as the Head of Partnerships in Sydney, Australia. Since then, he’s been a part of the company’s international growth and team expansion in the US and APAC. From customer success to operations and solutions, he has played an influential role in building teams and strategies for Rokt. Daniel has been a team player since day one, and is now the VP of Solutions in the New York office.

Reflecting on Rokt

What do you like most about working at Rokt?

Ash: What I love about Rokt is that every day challenges me to solve new problems, so I feel like I am constantly learning – still after 7 years. I also get to solve these problems with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met, so the work is enjoyable and rewarding. 

Dan: I love working with people like Ash, and everyone else! I’ve honestly never been around such an amazing bunch of people – it is really unique to have a group of people with no egos, so many diverse skills and intelligence that laugh at my jokes ~30% of the time. 

What are some of the key changes you’ve seen since you started working at Rokt 6-7 years ago?

Ash: There has been so much positive change over the last 7 years – our client portfolio has expanded rapidly with new verticals that we’ve seen success in; we’ve built many new processes internally, upgraded our tools and technology, built out additional teams, and our culture has not necessarily changed, but has expanded exponentially which is wonderful to see. 

Dan: Rokt changes daily so it’s hard to pinpoint the ‘key’ ones! The most memorable one that comes to mind is probably all the office changes over the last 6 years. I started in the North Sydney office in 2016 (it had styrofoam walls and my ‘standing desk’ was 15 reams of paper I stole from the print room), then to the first NYC office (a WeWork), to the Flatiron office, to the amazing office on Varick Street. Each time my standing desk got slightly better – so it’s great to see progress happening along with all the change. 

What’s your favorite memory from your time at Rokt?

Ash: There are too many to just have one, but one that does come to mind is our GKO (Rokt’s Annual Global Kickoff Event – learn more here) in Thailand and the awards ceremony that Friday night. This event was above and beyond anything that I ever expected to experience at Rokt and I was personally blown away by the whole week. What hammered it home was seeing some of my team members receive rewards of recognition that night – it was such a proud moment for me.  

Dan: There’s honestly too many to really have a favorite. Rokt GKO in Thailand is probably the most recent (despite being pre-pandemic) – we spent a day on a private island, enjoying our own beach. Everyone there was happy, meeting and getting to know Rokt’stars from around the globe – it was actually paradise! 

What is  your favorite Rokt tradition? (GKO, TGIF, Wellness Week, etc.)

Ash: GKO without a doubt, I love connecting with the whole company face-to-face. 

Dan: GKO is amazing. Can’t wait until we are back. 

What Rokt value do you most identify with?

Ash: Conquer New Frontiers – I have learned to take on new challenges fearlessly at Rokt and each year has brought on new and exciting opportunities to do so both internally and with our clients.  

Dan: Smart with Humility. There is something that really speaks to me about a group of people having no ego – for a company to wear that on its sleeve as a core value, it is quite simply a place I want to work. I’m still doing my best to develop the “smart” portion of this value, which has been harder to identify with. 

What are you looking forward to in the next three to five years at Rokt?

Ash: Watching my team and our clients grow even faster than we have already. We’re hitting a tipping point in our technology and deepening our relationships with clients. Where I see us taking our integrations & relationships over the next few years will open up so much growth for the business and the Customer Success team. 

Dan: In my interview with Bruce in 2016, he asked the same question and my answer hasn’t changed. The product we have right now is incredible – it genuinely gets me excited every day to see the things this platform does, powered by the group of people behind it (that’s YOU). With half of our employees dedicated to developing the product – I can’t fathom the things we will be doing in 5 years time, but it is going to be epic. (As the ‘bar raiser’ process has developed significantly in its scrutiny since 2016, I imagine that answer would probably now get me knocked back. Thank goodness I went through it back then.)

Want to be part of our growing team? Check out our open roles here.