This week, we are spotlighting the members of our Implementation Team. This team ensures that customers experience a seamless deployment of GoGuardian and provides goals-based, tailored product configuration and Super User training. They work primarily with GoGuardian users during the trial process, but also support onboardings of new and current customers.
Today’s interview is Implementation Specialist Junior Salgado. Junior has worked in tech for 10 years, having come from Verizon, Apple, HR tech, and massage therapy platform Soothe.
What would you like people to understand about GoGuardian implementation?
We enjoy helping customers—almost every call is a learning experience for how our product affects education in a positive way. I would’ve never thought education would be where I’d land, but implementation is a learning experience that shows how we’re a solution for our customers.
What’s your favorite GoGuardian product to implement, and why?
GoGuardian Teacher, because that’s where you get the most “A-ha!” moments.
Why is Beacon implementation unique compared with other GoGuardian products?
Beacon implementations are unique because that initial conversation is very intimate, and schools bring out their vulnerable side in their conversations. They open up; you don’t get that with other products. Other products, it’s, “I’m trying to keep my kid out of trouble,” and Beacon is more, “I want to save my kid.”
What’s one team collaboration that has been very productive recently?
The GoGuardian Teacher team. I feel like any time that I’m even in a conversation with [Kevin] Behan, he has ideas and he doesn’t waste any time—you bring something to his attention, and he says, “Let’s execute this idea, how are we going to execute this idea?” And he goes, “I’m going to do something. How do you think your customers will feel about that?” You can bring anything to his attention, and he trusts you.
What’s the most rewarding overall aspect of GoGuardian implementation?
We get to connect with the customer. We’re that first step into GoGuardian. Obviously sales has the discovery calls, but we’re the ones who open the doors and get them set up. For me, it’s very unique. We do have a lot of influence on what their next steps are, especially with trials. Just being there and supporting them is beneficial for us and for them.
What is a book you’ve read or film you’ve watched recently that you recommend?
Educated is an amazing book. It’s about a girl who grows up in a very religious Mormon family in Idaho. She got accepted to Brigham Young University without any high school education. She did great while she was at school, but the family ended up disowning her because she was too independent. She and two of her brothers, who also left the compound, all earned PhDs. She titled the book Educated because of her learning and growth once she left her family. That’s when her education in life started. It’s an amazing book. Someone recommended it to me because they knew I grew up in Utah.
What’s the most interesting recipe or life-hack that you’ve discovered since working from home?
I have to get ready for the day. The days I don’t do that, I can’t concentrate. My day feels so off. I notice days when I act as if everything is normal, things are normal. Everything that reminds me that things aren’t normal, that’s when my days are just not good.
When you’re not working at GoGuardian, what are you doing?
In normal circumstances, I ride my bike, go running, go on hikes, attend shows, music festivals, theme parks, and cook healthy meals. I also travel to new places and befriend locals for the best foodie experiences.
