Catalyze Growth Partners

Founding Head of Business Development

Pilot

Investor

Upgraded

Advisor

Founding Head of Partnerships and Revenue

I head up revenue for Upgraded, a profitability operations consultancy for Canadian SME tech companies. We help unlock hundreds of thousands of dollars in working capital for each client through four pillars:

1. Government Programs/Financing (the average mid-sized company leaves $86k/employee on the table)
2. AI Solutions/Automations (47% of white collar work is automatable)
3. Tech Savings/Rewards (we can help our average company save 20 to 50% on their tech spend)
4. Financing (~50% of founders regret their VC financing)

We are completely performance based. So:
1. If we don't think we can help unlock more than $100k, we don't take on a client. It's not worth our time.
2. We only make money if you do. 
3. Our interests are closely aligned because of this.

Founding Head of Revenue

Planswell

-Promoted to Sales Manager in May 2022
-Promoted to Interim Head of Sales from July to November 2022
-Met daily in leadership team meetings from July to November 2022
-Scaled team from 11 to 32 AEs in Q3 2022
-Led team to an EBITDA-positive monthly revenue record in September 2022
-Granted 5x my existing stock options for high performance in September 2022
-Oversaw 64% growth in revenues in under 3 months (~ >$500k to ~$800k MRR)
-Guided fully-ramped AEs to 108% attainment

Stepped away from role in November 2022 due to kidney cancer prognosis and treatment.

Sales Manager / Co-Head of Sales

Trained, coached, and managed 4 SDRs while continuing to maintain the same quota as the rest of the AE team.

Achievements:
-Top AE on team in sales for all 5 months of 2022 until next promotion.
-143% to quota in first half of 2022.
-113% to quota of SDRs on my team. 
-3 of 4 of my direct report SDRs promoted to AE.
-Won 4 of 5 monthly sales spiffs.
-Only AE on team to achieve President's Club in 2022 (120% to quota over >6 months).
-Promoted to Sales Manager in May 2022.

Senior Account Executive / Business Development Manager

Achievements:
-#1 on sales leaderboard in 7 of last 8 months as AE (of 15 AEs)
-118% to quota in 2021
-2nd on team (of 15 AEs) in sales for 2021
-Granted 20% more stock options for high performance in 2021
-1st on team with 10% more dials than next closest AE in 2021
-1st on team with 21% more talk time than next closest AE in 2021
-1st on team with 23% more demos booked than next closest AE in 2021
-1st on team with 11% more demos held than next closest AE in 2021

Account Executive

CIBC

Product lead on the Strategy, Projects, and Delivery team in Digital Business Banking at CIBC. 

I have been responsible for strategy and/or project delivery on digital business banking projects related to:
-Platform analytics
-Onboarding improvement
-Client outreach 
-Market research
-Marketing and sales enablement
-Workflow improvement
-Client feedback and net promoter score
-App decommissioning

Some of the accolades we have earned as a team while I have been with the bank include: 
-Bank Innovator of the Year from the Digital Finance Institute's Canadian Fintech and AI Awards 
-Best Bank for Cash Management (North America-wide in 2019) and Best Treasury and Cash Management Bank (Canada-wide, and winner for 6 of the past 7 years, including 2019, 2020, and 2021) from Global Finance Magazine

Senior Product Manager, Digital Business Banking

Citi

Consulted for Citi Ventures with a small team of Rotman MBA students.
Created a prototype of a marketplace enabling organizations to transact anonymized, corporate IoT data from smart cities projects. 
Heavy focus on data risk management, tech strategy and infrastructure, and data compliance. 
Earned top grades on project from panel of Citi Ventures employees and other fintech professionals and executives.

MBA Innovation Consultant

Oracle

Created and validated enterprise blockchain use cases for Oracle in the telecom industry.
Final product was hyperledger blockchain-enabled C2C and B2C marketplace allowing for mobile data trading, exchange, and payments.  

In an innovation case competition judged by a panel of industry experts and senior Oracle management, my team was awarded first place in the telco sector, and second place overall.

We were invited to author a White Paper on our use case for Oracle.

MBA Blockchain Consultant

Allegheny Holdings Ltd, A Real Estate Corporation

Analyzed, reported on, and consulted on entry and exit of real estate markets and properties, including analysis of: tenancy, rental, and leasing statistics; interest and mortgage rates; market pricing trends; and socio-political, zoning, taxation, and regulatory factors in the acquisition and sale of real estate (roughly 70% commercial; 20% land; 10% residential).
Responsible for sales enablement efforts in organization: liaised with brokers to set sale prices; provided value prop and market-related collateral to support property sales.
Led organizational change initiative aimed at reducing errors leading to suboptimal investments, and instituted new investment framework within organization.
Responsible for contracts and relationship management with construction contractors, facilities contractors, real estate brokers, and others.
A family corporation.

 Director, Operations and Research

Western University

Graduate Student Teaching Assistant

Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada

Based in Arequipa, Peru, while working on a business development consulting grant from the Canadian International Development Agency (now Global Affairs Canada), administered through Niagara College.

Directed and consulted on 4 projects: 
-Led change initiative to improve fundraising and related digital capabilities for a welfare provision charity; 
-Developed and project-managed a cultural tourism marketing plan and implementation for a large municipality;
-Created a multimedia educational partnership program for an underprivileged school, procuring donations of seed money, computers, and digital cameras; 
-Developed a home-stay tourism model and marketing plan for a rural community tourism not-for-profit organization.

Economic Development Consultant

Growth 📈 @ category-defining orgs | Working on a top-secret project 🤐 | MBA @ iE | Lean 6σ Green Belt | Cancer Survivor | Girldad | Per aspera ad astra 🌌

I am the Founding Head of Revenue at Upgraded, a tech-enabled working capital advisory for Canadian SME tech companies. We help our clients access hundreds of thousands of dollars in working capital through four pillars: government programs, AI solutions, tech savings, and financing. We are performance-based, meaning we only make money if our clients do.

I have over six years of experience in SaaS revenue generation, with a track record of exceeding quotas, driving growth, and leading high-performing teams. I have an MBA from IE Business School and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. I am passionate about helping tech entrepreneurs scale their businesses, avoid layoffs, and achieve their goals. I am also a cancer survivor, a girldad, and a lifelong learner.

👹Daniel Schloss

Annette Garsteck Career Consulting

Annette Garsteck Career Consulting serves women who feel exhausted and underappreciated in their current professional careers. AGCC knows that you are so much more than your job. Let's work together to blaze a new path to fulfillment and meaning in your work. 

As the Founder, I have guided dozens of women to launch their career transition, successfully negotiate new professional terms, and land in new, challenging, and meaningful careers that accelerate their personal growth. It brings me joy to see so many women own their careers.

Founder | Career Reinvention Coach | Author

International Association of Career Coaches

The International Association of Career Coaches is on a mission to create standards, educate our members, and advocate for the profession of career coaching worldwide. The Senior and Master Professional Career Coaches serve the world community helping people discover jobs they love. 

As the Director of the IACC Insights, I will further the support and education the International Association of Career Coaches offers to the diverse coaches in our community.

Director of IACC Insights

Working Women Connection

The Working Women Connection is committed to supporting women-owned businesses and women responsible for business development by promoting their businesses and sharing referrals. Join Working Women Connection to become INSPIRED, MOTIVATED and CELEBRATED as an empowered woman and successful business owner.
Recognized as Powerhouse in June 2024, May 2024, January 2024, and January 2023.

Vice President, Cleveland Chapter

Member, Cleveland Chapter

The MetroHealth System (Cleveland, OH)

Training Consultant

Cleveland Clinic

Manager, Access to Care Training

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores

Manager, Customer Service

Newark

Inbound Sales Manager

Barnes Distribution

Customer Service Supervisor

FedEx Custom Critical

Service Facilitator

AT&T

Sales & Training Manager

​​Are you stuck in your job? Have you been passed over, again, for a raise or a promotion? 
 
It is not you! You may not know the best place to find a new job. Or the latest trends on building a résumé. Or how to update your Linkedin profile to attract your ideal job. Then there is networking, interviewing, and negotiating. Yep, it’s a lot.
 
Whether you are exploring what you want to be when you grow up, spiffing up your résumé, or preparing for that big interview, your moment is now, and I have you covered.  
 
I was a hiring manager and leader in Corporate America for 20+ years. I held Customer Service Strategy and Learning & Development leader roles at Fortune 50 and world-class healthcare organizations. I left the corporate world to design my own future in 2015 and share my career development expertise with other women. I am also a certified Senior Professional Career Coach and Senior Professional Résumé Writer. I leverage my background and training to help you makeover your career. 
 
My unique ability is to help you translate your experience and accomplishments into compelling stories that get you recognized as the candidate the hiring manager has been waiting for. Imagine being authentically you, feeling confident in your achievements, and prepared to tell the stories of how you bring value throughout the job search process, from applying to your starting the job. 
 
Guiding women on a path to accelerate their careers or helping them pivot to a new industry, all while getting paid what they’re worth, is what makes coaching so rewarding. Each Zoom session is as unique as my clients, and witnessing their ah-ha moments is electrifying. They physically shift; they sit up, have a sparkle in their eyes, and exude confidence that radiates from their core!

Here is what some of my clients have said. 
 
“The negotiating would have been super anxiety-inducing without you!!!”
 
“Not only has Annette given me résumé help but also given me career counseling and a wealth of networking opportunities.”
 
“This is the first time I've ever actually been excited for a job and a company I'll be working for versus viewing it as a 9-5 grind. I couldn't have done it without you!”
 
It’s my mission to break down the biases and barriers that hold our income hostage to the gender pay gap. We do this by seeing other women as our allies, not as competition. When you win, I win; we all win.
 
Let’s connect! If you are ready to your transform your career, let’s chat. You can message me on LinkedIn or reach me through my inbox at annette@annettegarsteck.com.

taplio

The Battle

👹Daniel Schloss

Annette Garsteck

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?