Samantha DoCouto

I definitely attribute my success to the way I was brought up. My parents were very, very big on making sure that I understood what success looks like, and how to be the best version of myself, and push myself. I think all of us have that little bit of a fear of disappointing our father thing, so that definitely helps. But my parents never let me get by with just good enough - excellence was what was expected, and that's something that I have carried forward throughout my career. It's always about how can I go above and beyond. When I'm going into a presentation with the C-level executives from our company, good enough isn't good enough. You actually have to be prepared for what they could ask. It's okay to say I don't know and I'll get that answer, but I don't like to do that. I like to be as prepared as possible. The other thing that my parents were really big with me on was taking accountability. I learned from a very young age about taking accountability and how important that is. I'm very big for myself and my team members that mistakes happen, but we take accountability for it, we learn, we move on. I think that is something that has really helped me grow in my career - there's that trust there with other people. They know that if something happens, I'm not gonna brush it under the rug, I'm not gonna point fingers at other people. I really take that upon myself, and I fix it.

The best career advice I’ve ever received is the consistent guidance from my parents to always aim for excellence and take full accountability for my outcomes.

Don't be afraid of failure. I think that is the biggest thing, because I think there's so many women out there that look at failure as a negative thing, but my viewpoint is failure is not trying. If you try, we're human, we make mistakes, and that's how you learn, how you grow. Not doing something because you're afraid that you're gonna fail at it, or you're not gonna be good at it, is failure within itself. That's the biggest thing I try to instill in my teams, because I do have the younger Gen Z generation on my teams, and they're all very afraid of failure and afraid of making mistakes. I want to celebrate what they're thinking of as failures, because that's how we learn. I'll tell you, my team never makes the same mistake twice, because we celebrate it, and we grow, and we talk about it. It's not some dirty secret. The other thing I think is extremely important, especially talking about the younger generation, is don't be afraid to take accountability. I learned from a very young age with my family about taking accountability and how important that is. There's that trust there with other people that they know that if something happens, I'm not gonna brush it under the rug, I'm not gonna point fingers at other people, that I really take that upon myself, and I fix it.

Right now, the biggest opportunities in my field are expanding social commerce through platforms like TikTok Shops, launching new brand e-commerce initiatives, and enhancing mobile capabilities. The main challenges involve navigating cultural shifts in younger generations, including overcoming fear of failure and strengthening accountability and interpersonal communication skills.

The values that matter most to me in both work and life are accountability, striving for excellence, being well-prepared, and learning from my mistakes.