Angie Goldberg. Vice President of Marketing at Momentum Telecom. Atlanta, USA

Angela Goldberg

Angie Goldberg is the quintessential example of brains and beauty. If you ask anyone she has worked with, you will hear words like, “Genuine, creative, optimistic, open-minded, hard-working, strategic and intellectually curious.” She credits her success to being thrown into the proverbial deep end of Marketing right out of grad school. She was catapulted into marketing management promptly after receiving her Masters degree from Brown University.

Angie has a remarkable record of helping B2B companies throughout Silicon Valley, New York, and Georgia, achieve their marketing and revenue goals. Most recently, she has been tasked with doing just that for a leading cloud communications company called Momentum Telecom. We had a chance to sit down with Angie and learn more about her 25-year career in Marketing.

Angie, you joined Momentum Telecom in September 2020 as Vice President of Marketing. Can you tell us about your journey to the company and your 25 years of experience prior to being hired?

Like most things in life, my professional journey has not been a linear one. While I believe in having a plan and being intentional with your career choices, I also believe in embracing unexpected opportunities as they arise. Being recruited out of Grad School at to join the marketing team of a promising startup in Silicon Valley was the first of many such opportunities. Employees at Illustra, as with most startups, were expected to wear a multitude of hats, learn every aspect of the business, and take collective ownership of the company’s success. Working at Illustra gave me a unique opportunity to learn all about database technology and Structured Query Language (SQL) early in my career, along with various aspects of marketing, including Lead Generation, Public Relations, Marketing Communications, Product Marketing and Partner Marketing. By the time Illustra was purchased by Informix Software three years later, I had become the leading (and only) marketing expert on Illustra’s flagship product, an object-relational database management system, as well as the go-to person for all 25 third-party multimedia software modules that plugged into it. At Informix I was made the Product Marketing Manager for what ultimately became the Informix Universal Server and Informix Datablades. In that role, it was my job to oversee the product life cycle from developing customer insights through market and competitive research to building product specs to developing the go to market strategy to creating the positioning and messaging matrices to building sales tools, marketing materials, product launches to monitoring KPIs and providing a feedback loop to Sales and Engineering. While at Illustra I had been fortunate enough to have a brilliant leader and mentor, Bruce Golden, who later went on to become a Venture Capitalist with Accel Partners.

After Informix purchased Illustra and Bruce moved on to his next chapter, I began working for the person who would become my second mentor and my boss for years to come, Stephen Lambright, who is now the CMO of a cutting-edge technology company called AEye. Stephen recruited me to come work for him at several companies where we would team up to build out new marketing organizations, new growth strategies, and ultimately position companies for success. These experiences culminated in the opportunity for me to take the lead on building out a marketing team and strategy from the ground up when I joined the startup company, Courtroom Connect. After moving on from that role I decided to take a brief departure from technology products to consulting services and went to work for PwC and later BCG. Among other things, those roles taught me the importance of establishing your company as a thought leader in your field. I learned how to build compelling thought leadership and make content marketing the foundation of my approach to marketing. From there I went on to become the Chief Marketing Officer for a company that specialized in both product development and consulting services. It was clear to me then that everything I had done up to that point had led me to this very important role. Leading the marketing efforts for companies that build products and offer consulting services is now my sweet spot. It was in my role as CMO that I first became part of an executive leadership team and learned how to navigate my position as the only woman at the table. I also became much more data and process driven, building out a predictable and repeatable demand gen engine and monitoring and reporting on campaign effectiveness. It was in this role that I also became proficient with Marketing Automation a and building out behavior-based nurture campaigns. After several years we were purchased by another company, Sonoma Software, and I eventually moved on to hone my demand gen skills as the Demand Center Leader for the Consulting market at a project-based ERP company called Deltek. It was at Deltek that I met the two mentors that showed me how to embrace the challenges of being a woman in leadership , Gerda Yearwood, who is now an independent marketing consultant and Natasha Engan, Senior Vice President of Consulting at Deltek. These women taught me how to stand in my own power and find my voice. For that I will be eternally grateful. If not for their support, guidance, and mentorship I would not be the leader I am today. And that brings me to Momentum Telecom.

I was recruited to Momentum by an exceptional recruiting firm called Carter Baldwin. Their founder, Jennifer Poole Sobocinski, had reached out to me in the past with an opportunity that had not been the right fit. However, knowing my story and my personality and what I was looking for in a company, in a role, and in a leadership team, Jennifer believed that Momentum would be the next chapter in my marketing career. And she was right. At Momentum I have found the company culture I have been searching for but never found. Momentum’s stated mission is to “enable others to thrive” and the CEO, Todd Zittrouer, along with the entire leadership team, live those values every day. When I joined Momentum six months ago, I set out to establish our company as the leading provider of Cloud Communications, Collaboration and Connectivity Solutions. I quickly realized that we have all the ingredients to be the leader. We just need to make the world aware, and that is now my mission.

Tell us about Momentum Telecom. How does it empower clients to be the best businesses they can be?

As I mentioned, Momentum Telecom is a leading provider of Cloud Communications, Collaboration and Connectivity Solutions. We enable our clients to thrive by providing them with the Cloud-based tools and technology they need to effortlessly run their businesses more efficiently and effectively. Momentum eliminates one of the major headaches associated with running a business by taking the hassle of managing voice, data, and networking off your plate.  As the one-stop shop for all your cloud voice, collaboration, and network needs, we enable you to focus on what you do best and thrive while doing it.

Angie, Momentum Telecom operates one of the “most advanced telecommunications platforms in the world”. What would you say to anyone that is unfamiliar with the company and its services?

To truly understand why Momentum is the most advanced telecommunications platform in the world, you need to understand our history. In 2005, Momentum began offering wholesale cloud voice solutions and telephone systems for businesses. This move ultimately led to the joining of Momentum and the other top provider of fully integrated data and voice services to broadband providers, Integrated Broadband Services (IBBS) in 2014. As the two companies merged, they became Momentum Telecom.

Momentum continued to expand its unified communications offerings and network in 2015 by completing a merger with award-winning and top unified communications provider, Alteva.

The company furthered its growth, product offerings and technology, specifically in the area of managed network, by merging with three-time Inc. 5000 honoree CloudNet Group in 2018, Metro Optical and DCT Telecom in 2019 and Altus Technology in 2021.

Quite simply, Momentum’s continued growth and success can be attributed to three things: white-glove customer service, transformational technology, and a strong commitment to excellence.

As Vice President of Marketing, what are some of the areas you addressed once being appointed to the position and how have you strengthened the company’s marketing reach?

As VP of Marketing for Momentum, my first order of business was to understand the marketing that was currently in place, collect and study the campaign data that was available, and spend as much time as possible talking to employees, partners, and customers. Once I had a solid grasp of the current state of marketing, I was able to formulate a go-forward plan. What I noticed right off was that our marketing team was being pulled in a multitude of directions with no North Star to return to and no established criteria for prioritizing projects. As a result, they were working harder but not smarter. By putting together a proactive plan that would address much of the ad hoc requests they were spending their time chasing, we were able to free ourselves up to focus on more strategic marketing programs and develop a more professional approach to marketing. We immediately began developing evergreen email nurture campaigns to increase the volume at the top of the funnel and provide Sales with warm leads. The second way in which I believed we could make a big impact quickly was to find new and creative ways to market with and through our Channel partners. Many, if not all, of these partners have recently undergone digital transformations and are looking for more modern ways to market beyond traditional face-to-face events. They were delighted to know that we at Momentum are interested in working with them to develop and execute innovative, lead-generating, digital marketing campaigns. And finally, it was clear to me that we needed to raise our profile within the industry. Many of our competitors are everywhere on LinkedIn, posting religiously, but not necessarily cutting through the noise. The idea that came to me in a dream was to create a LinkedIn Live talk show that would be fun, entertaining, and feature guests from all over the cloud communications industry. By creating something new and different we would an opportunity to stand apart from the crowd. By featuring partners, customers, and industry experts we could amplify our reach exponentially. And voila, Momentum Mondays was born, a weekly Monday morning show where two of our charismatic Momentum leaders, Chuck Piazza and Shawn Nauert would discuss humorous topical issues, interview fun industry guests, and share new information about Momentum. Our tagline: Business; Breakfast; and Banter. The show launched on March 22nd, 2021 and it has been a huge hit so far. https://momentumtelecom.com

Angie Goldberg

What is your secret to thriving in the marketing industry?

I get asked this question a lot. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet. There is no single aphorism on the secret to success in Marketing – despite what millions of book sellers would have us believe. In fact, successful marketing is about doing a million little things well every day; a  process of continuous improvement, from A/B testing new ideas, following the data in your decision-making and measuring everything! I know this is most likely not the sexy answer you were looking for, but it is the truth. Just like any creative endeavor, Marketing is an ongoing process of refinement.

At the end of the day, if your campaigns are driving revenue, you are on the right track.

How has the work you have done with Momentum Telecom differed from your previous positions? 

Working at Momentum has been like a breath of fresh air. I am constantly surrounded by amazing people who believe in me and who I know have my back. That is incredibly rare and incredibly empowering. The work can only get better when you know everyone is on the same team. In fact, the motto here is “One Team. One Goal.” The overall tone here is positive and uplifting. My boss, the SVP of Sales and Marketing at Momentum, Chuck Piazza, maintains a light-hearted attitude that keeps everyone grounded, positive, and inspired. We all know that delivering results is serious business – but we never take ourselves too serious in the process. One thing I am learning and working on here is to slow down and bring about gradual change. I made the mistake of changing too much too quickly without socializing the ideas first. Now that I understand that Momentum is a much more collaborative organization that other places I have worked, I am better prepared to bring about lasting change in the right way at the right time.

What can we expect from Momentum Telecom over the next 12 months?

I would say the sky is the limit for Momentum. Although this question is above my pay grade, if I had to guess I would say you can expect continued growth – organic and through acquisition. I would imagine we will continue to add functionality to our existing solutions and continuously build on our solution set with the latest and greatest technologies as they become available. For example, we recently partnered with Juniper Networks to offer their cutting edge, revolutionary SD-WAN technology. This new SD-WAN solution is a game-changer and our CEO, Todd Zittrouer, had the vision and courage to launch this new offering before any other supplier even knew what had happened. I expect you will see more of that.

Angie, what does a day in your life look like?

As a mother of three teenagers, my day looks a lot like chaos, noise, emotional turbulence, plenty of joy and small victories. Every day, I read something inspiring in the morning, set my intention for the day and decide what I am committing to achieving, learning, and doing that day. After all that, I wake up my younger kids for school. The eldest is in college at Duke University. I then spend the next 9 hours taking conference calls, building campaigns, helping solve problems, researching new marketing techniques, developing strategies, writing and editing content, brainstorming, and doing whatever else I can to move the marketing needle day by day. After that, we have dinner and family time. And finally, I log back on around 10 pm to finish up any loose ends for the day, and go to sleep. Some days I mix in a workout.

What is something most people don’t know about you? 

Most people do not know that in my twenties, I was an avid rock climber. I have scaled walls all over Yosemite, Joshua Tree, the Painted Desert, the Gorges in West Virginia, the Grand Gorge in Morocco, and formations all over France, Spain and Portugal. I also solo-hiked El Camino Santiago in 28 days, which was one of the most exhilarating and rewarding experiences of my life. Over the years, I have learned that the best way to grow as a person is to surprise yourself by doing things you never thought you could do.

What makes you smile?

My kids. Whenever I’m feeling down, I think of them and a smile comes across my face. Raising them to be authentic, joyful, thoughtful human beings is the reason I do everything I do. When it comes to making me laugh, that’s my husband’s job. He has been making me laugh on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis for 20 years now!

What scares you?

Not living up to my potential, not living life to its fullest, and not being the parent my kids deserve – these are the fears that keep me up at night. But they are also the things that drive me to live my best life.

If you had the power to change just one thing in the world what would it be?

If I could change one thing in the world, I would make self-discovery, contemplation, and spiritual development mandatory subjects at every school for every individual in the world. If everyone in the world was working on their own spiritual enlightenment, there would be no need for misplaced hostility, ugliness, or hate. I have always believed that the only way to truly heal the world is through self-love. That is where everything good begins.

For more information, please contact Angie Goldberg at [email protected]

Photography by Bryan Danilovich

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