Meet the Team: Carolin Gonschorrek, Customer Success Manager - Europe

Carolin Gonschorrek, zkipster’s Customer Success Manager for the European region, is from Berlin, Germany, but has been based in London for almost nine years.

Besides German, her mother tongue, Carolin speaks English and a little French. She joined zkipster at the start of 2018.

Carolin, tell us about our career before you arrived at zkipster.

“I studied for my BA in Communication Studies and English at the University of Erfurt in Germany, then moved to Glasgow, Scotland, for my Master’s in Media Management.  

“Whilst I was studying I gained hands-on industry and event experience via several internships and media placements. One key role was in publicity management for Universal Pictures in Germany, and working on press junkets, movie screenings and premieres for several months gave me my first exposure to events. I also worked in a casting director’s office, and in the marketing department of one of Germany’s biggest independent film distributors. 

“I’ve always been drawn to the media and journalistic landscape, and started working closely with journalists, media outlets and PR agencies during my internships. My first two full-time roles after completing my Master’s followed the same theme. I moved to London in 2014, and my first job was as a media researcher for a PR software company; an office-based role that involved verifying and vetting press contacts. 

“My next role was with the Associated Press - AP - as Editorial Client Liaison. I sat on the client desk in the AP London newsroom and provided editorial support to AP’s client base via email and phone: mediating between clients that subscribed to AP and the in-house editorial team, and monitoring the live feeds to advise big news channels on breaking news, upcoming stories and other content. It was a hectic, fast-paced, full-on environment, and I worked night shifts almost exclusively for a year - 9pm-7am, four days on, four days off - before I moved to a mixed rota.”

Tell us about your role at zkipster.

“After three years at AP I felt it was time for a change. Working shifts had a real impact on my circadian rhythm and my social life. I was searching for client liaison roles to build on the experience I’d gained at AP, and found a zkipster job advertised on LinkedIn. The company was looking for a German speaker for its European office and I had relevant experience in both client advisory and working red carpet events, thanks to my film industry roles, so it felt like a great fit. I met (CRO) Olivia, and the rest is history!

"When I was first hired, zkipster was just extending the remit of the Client Relations team so I looked after a variety of things - helping with sales development and account management, following up on leads, and also providing some customer support."

“We have been lucky to have Carolin’s cheerful presence on the team for the last four years. As the company evolves, she remains passionate and dedicated to serving the zkipster client base with her product expertise in the best way possible. Thanks for all the hard work you do!”

OLIVIA ROBINSON | CRO | ZKIPSTER

“I’ve since moved into a more focused post-sales role, as Customer Success Manager. I concentrate on onboarding and continued knowledge-building once a prospect has become a zkipster customer: making sure their accounts are set up properly, answering questions on different features and event use cases, advising how to maximize and extend our clients’ usage of the tool, and making sure they’re happy.

"I work closely with zkipster’s Enterprise clients across Europe to establish their goals, address pain points and offer focused, bespoke advice, to help with their overall event processes and integrations with other tools. Our clients’ needs vary hugely by industry - zkipster powers everything from high-security diplomatic and governmental receptions to sports hospitality, non-profit galas to star-studded awards ceremonies - and many follow intricate processes which zkipster can often help to streamline, simplify and automate.”

What’s the best thing about working at zkipster?

“The people. Everybody is very good at what they do and very passionate. As a team we care a lot and want to do the best job possible, and I really like that. The collaborative, community aspect and the respectful, open-minded way of working we have at zkipster also really resonates with me. I’ve always worked in international environments and I collaborated with international clients and colleagues at AP, so the opportunity to continue doing so is part of what attracted me to zkipster.

"I feel privileged that even within Europe there are so many different cultures and languages - there’s a nice variation between the different people I talk to on the client side. Being based in London means I am exposed to different perspectives, cultures and backgrounds, including those of the zkipster team members who are also based here. We’re a very spread out team, but I have a global outlook on business, and life in general, in part thanks to my colleagues.

What are the most memorable events you’ve been part of, whether for work or in your personal life?

“Working in film meant that I was involved in the premieres and press events for big American studio films - Kung Fu Panda is one that instantly springs to mind! Working with A-list talent and seeing them on the red carpet in Berlin was very cool, as was reviewing the press coverage afterwards knowing that I was there and helped make it happen.

“I witnessed some memorable world events when I was working in news, covering huge stories like Brexit and the US elections - the week Donald Trump was elected President was especially full-on - as well as more light-hearted ones. The announcement that the then-Duchess of Cambridge was in labor with Princess Charlotte came five minutes before the end of one of my night shifts! 

“From a personal perspective, I’m a big festival person, and Glastonbury is my favorite festival. After attending twice as a volunteer for the British charity Shelter and working shifts as a bartender in exchange for soaking up some of the festival for free, in 2022 I finally attended as a regular ticket holder…and it was magical. It’s peak escapism - seeing live music, eating delicious food and having a great time with friends.

“Given my love of film, the BFI London Film Festival is another favorite event of mine - it’s very audience-friendly, approachable and inclusive, and fun to go to gala screenings and Q&As. My 2022 highlights were Triangle of Sadness, which I saw complete with a long introduction from its writer/director Ruben Östlund, White Noise and She Said.”