Employee Spotlight – Daniel Reilly

Welcome to our employee spotlight series, where we introduce a member of the Vetstoria family to you all. This month we interviewed our brilliant Chief Revenue Officer, Daniel Reilly.

Q: Could you give us an introduction to yourself?

I’m Dan, a startup guy since 2010 and a sales guy since birth, as I have always loved the art of persuasion! I was born in Queens, New York, and went to school upstate. When I graduated, I had no clue how “real life” worked, so a friend’s father got me an interview at a brokerage in the city, and I was lucky enough to get the job. I spent 6 years as a broker before moving to Spain (the first time leaving the USA – what could go wrong! 😆) to study for an MBA at IESE. I’ve worked for successful companies like Groupon and Cardlytics, a few modest successes, and one failure (my own venture) before joining Vetstoria. I was introduced to Julien by a mutual acquaintance and one of the investors in Vetstoria, so it shows you that relationships are essential in life!

On a personal level, I’ve got a great partner and a cat. I enjoy the European lifestyle and am a keen music fan. Now, this starts to sound like a dating app advert, so I’ll stop there. 😜

Q: How long have you worked with Vetstoria, and what is your role in the company?

I’ve been with Vetstoria since October 2020, so I’m still new. I’m the CRO, so I look after Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success. It’s an exciting challenge working across departments and time zones, and it keeps me busy and stimulated. The culture here is excellent, and so is the product, so it’s pretty easy to keep myself motivated.

Q: What is one thing you are proud of achieving at Vetstoria?

I haven’t done much yet, but I’m proud of bringing a few excellent people into the organization and absolutely enjoy working with the fantastic talent we already have at Vetstoria. If I can lighten the load of the existing team and help push the numbers, I’ll feel like I’ve done a good job.

Q: What do you consider to be the best part of your daily role at Vetstoria?

I love to hear the news of onboarding a new veterinary clinic. The best part of my day is when I get a notification that we’ve partnered with a new clinic that will soon be benefiting from our excellent product. It’s been happening more frequently lately, and I’m looking forward to it being a daily occurrence. 😜

Q: What does working within the veterinary industry mean to you?

We bring simplicity, automation, and a better customer experience to an industry that does a challenging and vital job. It’s a satisfaction to help them reduce stress and have a smooth working experience as they continue to help pets that need medical attention.

My cat relieves my stress. I hope my product can help provide better lives to those who keep my cat healthy!

Q: What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

I love to spend time with my partner and catch up with friends, talking about music, current events, what the future holds, and more. Additionally, I do a bit of reading, hiking, golfing, cooking, and, of course, a city break or two never hurts.

Q: How have you been coping with the recent COVID situation, and do you have any words of advice for your fellow veterinary industry professionals who are struggling with it?

Being locked down, not seeing friends and family, no local community – it has been tough! I’m a non-digital-native, so I prefer the physical to the virtual world, though I did buy a VR headset, and that’s been entertaining. 😀

In terms of advice, the classics work well – keep calm and carry on. It’s not easy, but it’ll get better, and of course, get your exercise in and limit the wine intake. 😜

Q: In your view, what’s the most important thing someone should master when working remotely?

Discipline to stay off the sofa and Youtube! I’ve worked remotely for a while now and have learned that staying self-motivated is critical. I firmly believe that our tasks won’t take care of themselves. Even if you’ve had an unproductive day, week, or even month, the future is full of potential, so you’ve got to keep increasing your pace and effort, closing the gap you created for yourself.

Additionally, going for a walk creating a bit of separation from your workstation will refresh you and clear your thinking for the next task! Even having a chat with a friend will help you put a little Intense-Relaxed mix into your day.

Q: If you could take only one animal with you to a desert island, what would it be?

Lira – she’s a moggy that we adopted last year, and she’s the best cat around! I didn’t even know I liked cats, but this one’s the top!
p.s. We didn’t name her after the old unit of Italian currency – it’s Spanish for harp. 😉

Q: Words of advice for your fellow Vetstorians?

Look back every 12 months and assess how far you’ve come, and check if it’s up to your expectations. If not, take the initiative to do something about it.

Q: What future developments are you excited about at Vetstoria?

Really keen to see how our nascent partnerships approach scales – we’re a part of an ecosystem, and leveraging the other members in it will hopefully continue to drive growth and success for our clients and us. Love seeing the wins continue to pile up as well – go revenue! 📈