For some, coming to Indiana is coming back home. For others, like Amanda Banach, coming to Indiana is a matter of circumstance, like the result of her fiance’s job transfer. Little did she know about the growing tech scene and the vast potential for new career opportunities.

With past experience in retail purchasing, merchandising, marketing, eCommerce, and vendor relationship management, Amanda was eager to reevaluate her career and explore new options.

Amanda Banach

Amanda BanachCampaign Manager

“My move to Indiana allowed me to take a fresh look at what I saw for my future in a career,” says Amanda. “The retail industry — most notably brick and mortar ― is feeling the effects of eCommerce growth and AI-driven services like Stitch Fix, Le Tote, and many others. Adjustments are being made, but not fast enough.”

When she arrived in Indianapolis, Amanda Banach didn’t waste any time in getting connected to people who could help. “Through a mutual connection, Amanda was referred to me to help her find a potential role in tech as she moved to Indianapolis,” said Sara Croft, Director of Communications at TechPoint. “We chatted about potential career paths, and I thought her experience with retail would suit a customer success role quite well.”

After the conversation with Sara, Amanda was eager to enter the tech scene and also thought her experience would be a good fit. “Based on what I knew about Indianapolis’s growing tech culture ― as well as my marketing degree ― I thought that a career in marrying marketing and technology would fit my skill set very well and set me up for success,” says Amanda. “Sara helped me translate my skills into companies that she thought would be the best fit, one of which was SmarterHQ because of my retail experience.”

How Ladies in SaaS Helped Amanda Land a Job

To break into the tech scene and meet some new connections in technology, Amanda attended an event for Ladies in SaaS, a group dedicated to networking with female peers in the technology community. During one of these events, Amanda was connected with Kristen Hamerstadt, director of marketing at SmarterHQ and co-founder of Ladies in SaaS. Because of her attendance at one of these events and her follow-up with Kristen, Amanda was eventually hired at SmarterHQ as a campaign manager in May of 2017.

Amanda Banach and Jenn Lisak at Ladies in SaaS event“I joined the Facebook group for Ladies in SaaS based on a recommendation from a networking meet up,” says Amanda. “At the end of April, Kristen posted on the Facebook page that SmarterHQ was hiring, so I reached out to her to convey my interest in the company and find the right fit for my skill set. At the beginning of May, the campaign manager role was posted, which described my skill set perfectly. I reached out immediately to convey my interest, I interviewed, and the rest is history.”

According to Kristen, this is one of the reasons why the Ladies in SaaS group was started. “I started Ladies in SaaS about a year ago because I wanted to help women who are in tech know that there are roles for us that aren’t developer positions,” says Kristen. “You can go into HR, marketing, sales, customer success — like Amanda — and it’s not just developers who are in the tech space.”

Kristen Hamerstadt

Kristen HamerstadtDirector of Marketing

“Alternatively, when I started here at SmarterHQ, I started to realize that if you didn’t work at a big technology company, you don’t have much of a network in tech outside your coworkers,” says Kristen. “I wanted to bring together all of the different women who are in tech to, once a month, be able to network, get to know one another, learn from each other, and have the opportunity to connect.”

Amanda took full advantage of the group. “Once you go to some of these events and you continue to show up, people get more invested in you,” says Amanda. “If you put energy into it, you will get things out of it.”

Sara Croft

Sara CroftDirector of Communications

According to Sara, Ladies in SaaS was critical to Amanda’s job search. “Amanda proved herself to be an amazing networker, and she relied on Ladies in SaaS to help put faces to names as she was adamantly looking for that new role,” says Sara. “Ladies in SaaS was instrumental in moving her job search from email to in-person and ultimately helped her find her role at SmarterHQ.”

“This journey has been very exciting with new opportunities and people at every turn,” says Amanda. “I love my role as campaign manager, and the company and culture at SmarterHQ are very exciting. This is exactly what I was hoping for when I began my search, and I feel so fortunate to be here and contribute to SmarterHQ’s success.”

Connect with Ladies in SaaS

Interested in attending a Ladies in SaaS event in the future? Connect with Ladies in Saas in their private Facebook group, which promotes their upcoming events and generates conversation about other women-focused events, articles, and opportunities.