Amethyst Orosco

The best advice I ever got was from my CEO when we were in a mentorship program together. He said that it doesn't matter if you get credit for whatever idea that you have. Maybe you have this amazing idea and somebody brings it to the surface and it actually gets implemented, but you never get credit for it. What matters is the outcome that you have driven. What matters is the business direction or decision that was made as a result of your influence. That is what matters the most, because if you can continue to do that, it doesn't matter how many times your idea gets taken credit by somebody else, maybe somebody up higher than you. Nobody can ever take that level of influence from you. That will eventually be publicized, and that's a skill set that not a lot of people hold. So you have to continue to operate the way that you operate and drive influence and not expect your name to be sung praises every time.

I love mentoring the youth, the next generation of leaders, but especially women, because it's not easy out here in corporate world for women. I would say stay true to yourself - that's number one. But two, be curious, be inquisitive. Know that being curious and trying to learn things that are outside of your job description or what's in front of you for you to tackle, that is good, that is okay. That is when you start to separate yourself from the rest of your peers. Always be respectful, always be on your A-game, because it's very easy for women to be criticized in a lot of different ways. So if you carry yourself with the utmost respect and polished, you will earn the respect of your peers and leaders and superiors, and keep it, and keep that respect. You don't want to blend in with the rest of the crowd, you want to be a leader, you want to be someone who stands out. Sure, you can relate to them on a personal level, but just know when you cross the line, you can't go back. So you want to always make sure you hold the line and you create a strong and respectful perception and reputation for yourself.

Right now with EdTech, because it's education and public schools, charter schools, private schools, primarily it's funding. A lot of school districts across the nation have various funding levels or allowances, and one thing common across the country is that those fundings are getting cut. So a lot of our superintendents and C-suite executives at the district level are having to get very creative with how they keep teachers in the classroom, their pay, and how they continue to offer the events, the curriculum, the field trips - all the things that require funding for the different schools within the district. That's all having to be looked at with a fine-tooth comb. One thing too in our business specifically is we have to make sure we're following state legislature across all 50 states, because there could be a moment in time where the state decides we're not going to make parents pay for payments or pay for lunch - we're going to waive lunch costs. That's material impact to our business. So we have to in turn get back with clients to teach them about other use cases.