Employee Spotlight: Making meaningful connections with Sarah Blau

Meet Sarah Blau, a Durham-based Account Executive at Canto. In this spotlight, Sarah reflects on the perks of a supportive team, building connections with customers and her passions.

Let’s get to know Sarah.

Tell us about your role here at Canto.

I am an Account Executive at Canto. My team and I help enable creative and marketing professionals to reach their long-term goals. We want to make buying software simple and fun! If I’m making people smile and feel supported throughout the buying process, I’m doing my job right.

I’ve been working at Canto for a little over a year. It’s been super exciting to see the growth of this company and I’m proud to be part of a team that is so hardworking and close-knit.

What do you like most about working at Canto?

Canto prides itself on teamwork and its family-oriented atmosphere. It’s rare to find a team that is growing so quickly but also genuinely cares about each other.

Our sales, implementation and account management teams work hand in hand and we all love each other – we share that love with customers too! That’s notable in sales, but also the tech space in general. It’s also what attracted me to Canto. The atmosphere is so friendly and supportive. I’m so happy to be a part of it!

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from your role?

My role at Canto has taught me is to approach every conversation – whether with a potential customer and or someone new to the DAM space – in a kind, friendly way. I try not to focus on, you know, making them buy our product, but making sure that they feel supported along the way.

Our goal is to build relationships with our customers and make sure everyone has the best experience that they can imagine with Canto!

Can you tell us about an exciting project you’ve worked on?

There have been a lot of cool projects! As an AE, the first deal I closed was the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. They are the largest symphony in the southwest and will be celebrating 125 years in 2025! They are doing incredible things and it’s cool to support companies transitioning to remote working.

It’s been interesting to see the kind of positive impact we have on our customers, especially in the past year. COVID exacerbated a lot of foundational issues many companies struggle with. We’ve helped teams streamline their processes and transition to this “new normal.”

Speaking of working remotely, do you have any tips to share?

Working from home is tough. My biggest recommendation is to take breaks – stand up, walk around for five minutes, or even go outside and you’ll feel a lot more refreshed.

At the end of the day, make sure you have a hard stop because that can be harmful to your work-life balance if you don’t. Remember to find time for yourself, but make sure that you can stay focused and organized at home as well.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning before work?

I am a regular at a coffee shop in Raleigh, North Carolina – shout out to NoRa Cafe! I go there every single morning to get my coffee. I drive there, music blasting, order an iced latte and say hello to my favorite baristas to start up my morning. I guess it’s a bit of normalcy I’ve kept during COVID.

How do you spend your time when you’re not working at Canto?

I love collecting vinyl albums. I have a massive collection and my prized possession is an original press of Abbey Road – it’s my pride and joy! I’m a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, or really any music I can get my hands on.

One of my biggest passions is volunteering at an animal rescue and fostering kittens. It’s kitten season right now, so I’m preparing to take in some new kittens soon. I’m really excited about it!

What’s something most of your colleagues don’t know about you?

Something my colleagues probably wouldn’t expect from me is that I love heavy metal. I love going to metal concerts and just rocking out! One day I want to go to Germany and explore its awesome power metal scene.

Any last thoughts?

I love Canto and I’m thrilled to see so much positive growth in the company. We have so many new team members and they all have the best attitudes. It makes me happy to see new colleagues get excited about Canto just like I did! That’s special to me.

Want to make an impact with Sarah? Check out our open positions here!