Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Every organization has one. He (or she) is the go-to guy. The clutch player. At Bronto, you’re talking about Eric Boggs. Eric has been a Bronto pillar for the last four years, holding anchor positions on the sales, account management, and product management teams.

This month we say goodbye to Eric as he leaves to pursue an MBA at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Eric began his Bronto career as a combination sales and marketing associate. He was hired by Joe and Chaz directly, though back then there was only Joe and Chaz. A detailed account of his hiring can be found on Eric’s blog.

Asked about the day Eric was hired, his wife, Kelly Boggs, had this to say: “I remember when he said he was going to start working for a small start-up named after a dinosaur - I thought we were going to starve.”

As Bronto’s solitary salesman, Eric quickly established himself as the top (read: only) producer, hitting the phones with gusto. This verve would pay off over the next 2.5 years as Eric helmed the Bronto Sales team. While the rewards were sweet, failing to achieve the sales goal was often met with Draconian punishments.

The period saw the expansion of the client base as well as the addition of many current Brontos, including a young sales associate by the name of DJ Waldow. The sales training would proceed quickly, DJ aping Eric’s skillful sales methods and Eric dishing out a few leftover leads to the cheeky upstart. In November 2005, having driven Bronto forward through his sales efforts, Eric turned his attention to the Account Management team. The increased client roster called for greater support; Boggs took over as Director of Account Management, setting his sights on making all Bronto clients better marketers.

Life in account management was a change of pace, interacting with the company’s burgeoning client base and managing current Bronto Liz Daly.

“Eric had brought many of these customers to Bronto,” said Daly. “Managing their ongoing relationship with Bronto proved to be a natural extension.”

As before, he juggled multiple roles as the Director of Account Management. Working with Bronto’s clients and understanding their use of the application gave Eric visibility into what was working, and what wasn’t. This often led to collaboration with the engineering team on prioritizing bug fixes and designing product upgrades.

A year later, Bronto found itself in need of a formal product manager and Boggs jumped at the chance to broaden his email marketing resume. He had already mastered the technical drawing - see Exhibit A – making the transition very smooth. Eric was responsible for many of the both major and minor improvements to the modern Bronto.

Bronto’s newest Product Manager, Adam Covati, was effusive in his praise for Eric’s tutelage.

“I’ve been working very closely with Eric over the last few weeks. Much of his enthusiasm for Bronto and its customers has rubbed off on me; that won’t soon wash away. Unfortunately, so has much of his “Blackbeard’s Delight” cologne; hopefully that will wash out soon.”

All kidding aside, Bronto wouldn’t be what it is today without Eric Boggs. Eric helped shape the organization from multiple angles: growing the client base, supporting current clients and guiding the product direction.

CEO Joe Colopy says it best: “Eric was Bronto’s first full time employee and he has been essential to our success. We wouldn’t be where we are today without him.”

We wish him the best of luck and have no doubt of his future success in business school and beyond.

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