Q&A with Rebecca Wikman: Head of Growth at Clipchamp
Rebecca Wikman has certainly built herself an impressive resume. Boasting an extensive career in senior marketing roles, she has over 8 years’ experience delivering fast paced business growth. Currently, Rebecca is Head of Growth for video creation and editing tool Clipchamp, helping the world’s creatives produce professional quality video content. We were lucky enough to chat with her about her career journey, including her time working in London.
These are incredible professional accolades, but tell us, who is Bec the person?
I’m your pretty classic ESTJ! I love bringing people together and love leading the pack. Although, I’m very conscious of the fact that I’m also incredibly stubborn (I’m working on it!). I am not a morning person and rely on a few filter coffees a day to keep me sane. I’m at my happiest when I’m sharing red wine and Asian food with my partner and my family.
Back to your days in London, how did you find navigating the international market?
Honestly, it was the most exciting five years. It was an ever-changing dynamic environment that thrived on innovation. Jumping on calls with the team in New York City, speaking on a panel in Barcelona and jumping on the train to attend a work event in Paris were all some of my favourite ‘pinch-me’ moments. My time in London taught me such valuable lessons around localisation and more specifically how you need to tailor your product, marketing and communications to resonate with different cultures around the world. It’s important to step back and acknowledge that people see & consume things differently.
What is something that not many people know about you?
My parents named me after the female leading lady in the book Tom Sawyer.
How are you finding your role at Clipchamp differs from ClassPass? Are you discovering new passions or challenges?
ClassPass was a late-stage start up by the time I joined the team in 2017 – so they had done a lot of the hard work in laying the foundations for success. At Clipchamp, they have seen such incredible success from their SEO and product led growth efforts, but we are starting from scratch with the more ‘traditional’ areas like digital marketing, brand building and lifecycle. It’s definitely on my radar to dive further into PLG and community building – I think these are pivotal for our success as a brand and I’m excited to continue to develop my skills.
What’s the most useless talent you have?
I can remember the marketing jingles for businesses. I’m the annoying one that always sings along while the ads are playing on TV/radio.
You’re currently growing the team at Clipchamp. What tips do you have for other Heads of Marketing that are growing and developing a high performing team?
When seeking marketing team members, I’ve always looked for attitude first, skills second. In the start-up world – you need team members who aren’t afraid to fail, have a keen interest in development and are a team player. I love seeing candidates who take the time to upskill, whether that’s digital marketing courses, coding or even learning a language. I always ask candidates, “where do you want your career to go” – and I’m always drawn to people who are driven and excited about shaping their own career.
What are you currently watching/reading/listening to?
Watching: I’m currently on the Masterchef bandwagon. I love how the show has transformed with the new judges. Currently aspiring to be as well spoken and well dressed as Mel.
Reading: I’m re-reading Bryon Sharps’ ‘How Brands Grow’. Now seems super relevant for the journey we are about to go on at Clipchamp.
Listening: I’m an avid listener of the ‘How I Built This’ podcast – find it inspiring, relatable and reassuring. This week Guy Raz interviewed the founder of ClassPass which gave me all the feels!
Who is your professional inspiration, e.g. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I honestly have to say my Dad. He was the perfect example of how hard work, perseverance and risk can pay off. Besides that, with most of my career to date being in the startup world, I have been following Melanie Perkins success for many years as well as the other #girlbosses out there like Sophia Amoruso (NastyGal), Jennifer Hyman (Rent The Runway) and Payal Kadakia (ClassPass) – the female leaders out there paving the way for a diverse future.
What’s on repeat with your work playlist right now?
My go to for work is ‘Currents’ by Tame Impala. But this week I’m loving ‘Heavy Weather’ – The Rubens and Lucky – PNAU
What’s your most recommended Business/Marketing resource?
You can’t go past the AARRR framework (Pirates framework – Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral and Revenue) – I constantly refer back to it and it really helps myself and my team focus on the metrics that really matter.
What has been your biggest career challenge?
For me personally, my biggest challenge is trying to maintain a healthy work/life balance. I’m one of the 700k women in Australia that suffer from endometriosis and I’m still learning how to manage my chronic illness and making sure I give my body the time it needs. I find this hard to do when there are so many exciting and rewarding parts of my job that need more than 8 hours of the working day!
What tips do you have for anyone that may be applying for a role within a marketing team at the moment? Is there anything in particular that makes an application stand out?
Create a section in our CV that is dedicated to your highlights and how you contributed to key success metrics – this could be on anything from revenue, growth or even community. This is so important more than ever in the Covid-19 world, as budgets are tight (especially marketing). Prove your worth and show how you can track those marketing dollars.
What is next for you?
For the first time in a long time, I’m just embracing ‘the now!’ I’m so excited to be back in Brisbane with my family and friends. It’s exciting seeing how much the Brisbane market has changed in the past 5 years and I’m so proud to work for such a fast growing start-up. I’m looking forward to spending time exploring Australia – I will be on a plane to Barossa Valley or Margaret River whenever the craziness of Covid-19 calms down.
A big thank you to Rebecca for taking the time to chat with us. If you’d love to read more Q&A’s head over to our blog, we will be sharing further business success stories so stay updated with our Facebook and Instagram.