At GANDT, we are incredibly proud of the company we’ve built and the exceptional individuals who bring our vision and ideas to life. We’ve accomplished a lot in seven years, and none of it would have been possible without the diverse set of expertise and talent that our team brings to the table. To give you a bit of insight into what it’s like to be a GANDTIE, we sat down with two of our core team members to discuss life as part of the crew.
Chris has been with us for over five years. He has been a driving force of many significant developments and has played an instrumental role in defining our company culture and vision. Stephie, meanwhile, joined us early this year, fresh out of school. She has since had the chance to experiment with different roles and is well on her way to being among our top content marketing specialists. Ready to learn more about what it’s like to work at GANDT? Let’s dive in.
Entering the professional market with GANDT
Stephie Gerfin joined our Team in Zürich at the beginning of 2021. She studied Marketing and Business at the Fachhochschule Luzern, where she wrote her Bachelor thesis on Social Media Marketing in customer service for the Siemens Schweiz AG.
So, Stephie, you had just graduated, and no doubt were exploring the many options available to you. What initially appealed to you to work at GANDT?
Of course, I was weighing my options and talking to several companies. However, one of the things that initially grabbed my attention about the position at GANDT was how broad and self-directed it seemed. I felt like I would have the chance to learn about many topics and work with experts in different fields.
I thought that this kind of freedom would allow me to figure out where I wanted to be. Being so early in my career, I was eager to start working, but I wanted to be somewhere that I’d be learning and growing every day. It seemed like GANDT offered many cool opportunities to their employees, which turned out to be true.
Having freedom and flexibility is essential, especially when you’re just starting out and testing the waters. How has your role evolved over the last ten months?
Early into my days at GANDT, I was presented with two options for my career path—to either specialize in a specific area or become a project manager and cultivate a broader understanding of many different topics. I found the idea of possessing a comprehensive set of knowledge that I could use to liaise with clients really appealing.
I am very interested in content marketing, and although I wanted to strengthen my command of particular technical and data-driven insights, I also wanted to engage my creativity. The role of a project manager is more suited towards me as an individual, and I’ve been fortunate to have the support of a very knowledgeable team as I continue progressing in this position.
How would you characterize GANDT’s company culture and values?
At GANDT, you hear a lot about Working Out Loud, and it took me a little while to fully grasp what this means. In our company, everyone shares what they are doing with the whole team, there are no secrets, and all lines of communication are open.
We have dedicated Slack channels for each project and host monthly meetings everyone attends to share ideas, work through problems, and outline what is working. We also have an insights channel that helps everyone stay up to date on any news or developments in the industry—and therefore remain at the top of their game.
It took me some time to get used to putting all my work out there like that, and at first, I had to force myself to embrace the concept. The payback has been incredible, though. Thanks to the fact that everyone shares what they are working on and keeps the team up to date, I believe I’ve learned much more in this role than I would have been able to elsewhere.
What has been the most rewarding part of your experience with GANDT so far?
I feel like I’ve had the chance to cultivate my professional skills and determine areas where I want to continue building my knowledge base. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback and also constructive criticism that was super helpful in building my confidence and seeing where I have room to grow.
One thing I value the most about this company is that even if I’m not responsible for a particular task on a project, I can share my ideas, and people will listen to them. Everyone is heard, and their opinions are respected and considered—regardless of your level of experience or seniority.
Five years of growing, learning, and excellence with GANDT
Christopher Smid is a digital-first entrepreneur, online marketing expert, and marketing intelligence professional. He has been solving digital tasks for over ten years. Five of these years have been with GANDT, where he executes and markets digital products in various industries.
So, Chris, you joined GANDT almost by accident when you piqued the interest of a mutual partner in an interview for another position. Nearly five years later, how has your role evolved?
In the beginning, the role was very much about taking what comes and working with it—whether that be from a business, marketing, detail-focused expert perspective. We were working with partners who were doing all sorts of things, so my role was very flexible.
I think about a year in, I started doing more work with data and tableau and began to zero in on how to extract knowledge from data and convert it into actionable insights. This has remained my core focus. Although I continue to be a jack of all trades, I specialize in looking at a company from a bird’s eye view, identifying the problems, opportunities, and developing a plan of action.
And I think, in general, this is something that sets us apart at GANDT. On the one hand, we have people on the team who offer very high expertise in one area—they know their stuff inside and out and can compete at a very high level. They have been developing and fine-tuning their skills over time and want to be the best in that field. On the other hand, we have all-rounders, who want to learn a bit about everything, give strategic input, and help bring multiple perspectives in the decision-making process. This makes us very well-suited to meet a wide range of client needs.
You’ve been a big part of determining the work structure and company culture at GANDT. What do you think sets this company apart?
One thing that is very special about GANDT is that there are no knowledge barriers, regardless of whether you’re in an entry-level position or at the very top. We believe in complete transparency and every project that is being worked on is fully accessible to any member of the team. No one is subject to blinders or made to feel that they don’t belong in any conversation with the company.
There is no secretiveness or competition between colleagues. We don’t have a set structure that everyone is looking to climb up. Our method is designed to ensure that everyone can continue growing according to their unique professional goals. Everyone here shares a passion for the digital world and wants to continue expanding the horizons of what is possible.
What has been one of your proudest achievements at GANDT?
Honestly, I am most proud of the group we have assembled and that we can work together in the way we do. When you join this team or are part of this team, you have access to a collection of people who are genuinely passionate about their work and are incredibly eager to share their knowledge and learn from their teammates.
If I want to understand why Google Ads is suddenly behaving differently, for example, I know I have people who will take the time to sit down with me, explain, and discuss the implication of the change. Having access to such a wealth of knowledge and people who want to share it makes every day interesting and rewarding. And this is the case from the very top.
I know that Remco, our CEO, will spend hours with me discussing the intricacies of how we can develop a partner. It is very rewarding to get up to soak up knowledge from so many different angles. What I do daily for GANDT, is what I would be doing even if I weren’t working in this group.. I’m able to spend each day working on something that I’m passionate about, and I feel very lucky that that’s the case.
It doesn’t get much better than that! So looking forward, what are you most excited about in terms of the future of the company?
Well, I think everyone on the team currently has their eyes on the same thing—the opening of our co-creation space in Zurich. This has been a dream for several years now. The fact that it is finally going to be realized is very exciting (it won’t be our last, either;)). Creating these spaces will allow us to show the world what has already been happening on an internal level—to truly mobilize our value of working out loud.
We will have the time and space to come together, host events, and delve even deeper into the topics that interest us. I’m very excited to be able to take our mission of helping people understand the world we live in and work in all day one step further. This co-creation space has been four years in the making and, now the time is finally right, I can’t wait to finally see those doors open!
A big thank you to Chris and Stephie for sharing their experience! Stay tuned for an insider look at our Zurich co-creation space and more about the exciting events we have planned in the coming months!
