Wonolo
Please introduce yourself.
I’m Susan Dimaculangan and based in San Francisco. I’m the director of marketing helping businesses learn more about Wonolo, our mission, and how we can help them.
What events in your life have brought you to your current role today?
I started out my career in interior design, and that’s what I thought I wanted to pursue. I worked in an interior design and architecture firm in Manhattan and realized that it wasn’t my passion. I quickly decided to move to California. I had interned there one summer and fell in love. I moved out there and found a place to live without a job. I landed a job pretty quickly doing client services at a tech company and I’ve been in tech ever since. I’ve worked in a variety of different types of companies, as well as startups, and a lot of different corporations. A few years back, I hit a crossroads, and I was looking for something a little bit different. I wanted to work for a company that felt like there was a purpose, was fulfilling, and a great culture of working hard, getting things done, and celebrating yourself. I was fortunate to have worked with Lori Macias, who is Wonolo’s CRO, at a previous company and we both had a great working experience there. She went to Wonolo and said only fantastic things. The more I learned about the company and the more I met people, the more I wanted to work there. Fortunately, we found the right fit in marketing and I have been at Wonolo ever since. It’s been about a year, and it’s been a great, fun ride.
When you have to make a difficult decision, what do you lean on?
When I have to make a difficult decision, I like to take a step back and internalize my thoughts without over-analyzing, which can be challenging. I like to block out the noise and think about the options that are ahead of me. I also look at what the pros and cons are for each option. That helps point myself in the right direction. I also like to talk things out. I rely on my family and friends when I am faced with a difficult decision. I talk through the options and get their input because they know me well. The last thing I lean on is my instincts. I think with a lot of decisions, you know which one is the right decision to make. It may be hard, so I try to listen to my gut and then also think about what the different options are ahead of me.
What is one life advice you can give to anyone?
I don’t know if you want life advice from me, but I would say the best piece of advice that I’ve had is that you can’t control what you can’t control. What you can control is how you respond to those things. Life doesn’t always go according to plan, and things come up that are unexpected. You just have to think about what’s best for you. Think about what you can control, and how you want to come out of things at the end of the day. Also, trusting your instinct. I think we tend to know what the right thing is. My two pieces of life advice would be trusting your gut and being able to let go of what you can’t control.
Please finish this sentence: If you really knew me, you would know that…
If you really knew me, you would know that I am quite shy. It’s something I’ve actually had to work on a lot. I try to remind my friends and the people that know me well of what I was like when I first met them. I don’t like speaking in front of other people. I like to keep to people that I know and it has taken years to work on my shyness, but I’m actually quite introverted.
