Ava French
I grew up in Antrim, New Hampshire, a town so small it doesn't even have a bar, raised by my dad who retired when I was born to raise me alone as a single parent. At 19, fresh out of my freshman year at University of New Hampshire where I'd planned to become a veterinarian, my dad gave me three choices: stay in school and work multiple jobs, work full-time and pay my own way, or do what I want and pay him rent. I moved out with no plan, ended up at my mom's apartment in Manchester with no car and no money, and started working at Target. After 10 days staring at those red walls, I quit and walked down the street to Bass Pro Shop, where a woman changed my life by asking if I wanted to sell boats. I absolutely loved it. I moved into car sales at 19, the only woman on a sales floor with about 30 men, many with rough backgrounds who walked all over me at first. I fell in love with performance cars, bought my dream SRT Challenger, and joined road teams as a traveling sales mercenary. When a stalker situation got out of hand, I packed everything into my Challenger, drove 24 hours straight to Florida by myself, and slept in my car for a week while applying to dealerships. I became a sales and leasing manager there before returning to New Hampshire, where I climbed to the top of the leaderboard and stayed there for years. I transitioned into B2B sales right when COVID hit, which introduced me to government accounts and built my foundation for tech. Moving to Boston was one of the best decisions of my life - it expanded my world from a small-town mindset to a big city environment filled with opportunity and diversity. At CarGurus, I worked as a closer and mentor, leading teams of 10 to 12 account executives and helping one BDR grow from 30% to over 108% closing rate. I joined Axon as a mid-city account executive, traveling across the Northeast selling technology to police departments and getting tased as part of the experience. At DoorDash, I worked as a regional merchant lead helping restaurants across New England, which brought me back to fundamentals and taught me to operate independently. Now I'm at Square, where I started in January. My dad passed away suddenly during my final week of training, which turned my world upside down, but I know he was proud of how far I've come. I've built my entire career without a college degree, something I always felt was a limitation, so I recently started taking courses at Harvard where I've earned one certificate and I'm working towards a degree program in my field. From a tiny town with no bar to earning over $200,000 a year, it's been an incredible journey, and I still feel like I'm just getting started.
• Harvard Certificate
• University of New Hampshire (attended
• Did not complete)
• Harvard University (certificate earned
• Working towards degree program)
• Golden Key Award
• Top Sales Performer
• Business Networking International (past member)
• Community Servings (Boston area)
• Feed the Children (New Hampshire)
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to resilience, grit, and drive. If you want to do something, nothing will stop you if you really want to do it. I learned early on that I had to stand my ground - I went from being the timid girl who was pushed around to being called difficult and a bitch because I stood up for myself. What I've learned along the way is that resilience, curiosity, and a willingness to take risks can open doors that you would have never imagined. I've always worked by myself, made all these decisions on my own without relying on mentorships or anyone else. Even when I was struggling financially in my early career, if someone needed $50 for gas and I had $150, I'd give it to them. I've built everything through my own determination and by never giving up, even when the odds were stacked against me.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that it just takes a lot of grit, resilience, and drive. If you want to do something, nothing will stop you if you really want to do it. I've always been the only woman on every single sales team I've joined, and I've faced a lot of harassment from the guys who hated when I climbed to the top of the leaderboard. They walked all over me at first when I was young and naive, but I learned how to stand my ground. The same coworkers who tried to hand me the worst customers eventually saw me go from beloved Ava to difficult Ava, and I was constantly called a bitch because a woman who stands up for herself gets labeled that way. But helping other women has always been important to me because I always struggled as the only one. Building connections and a network with other women matters, and you have to be willing to fight for everything and operate independently.
Locations
Block
Boston, MA