To say Eddy Popat hit the ground running when he joined GitLab would be an understatement.
After consistently exceeding his quota as a business development representative, he was promoted to the role of senior BDR after just six months, which eventually led to the role of team lead. For a year and a half, Popat refined his BDR skills before becoming an account executive.
He considers the recognition he has received so far to be “out of this world,” sharing that it has strengthened his commitment to the company and his overall career goals. As Popat has grown, he has honed his ability to connect with people, think strategically, negotiate and more, all while leaning on encouragement from others.
“The support and motivation received from my team and managers has allowed me to grow more and much faster than I could have imagined,” he said.
While Popat has been pursuing his professional goals, he has benefited from the company’s focus on work-life balance to make time for what matters the most, such as spending quality time with his family. This support, coupled with countless opportunities to broaden his knowledge, have made him eager to continue building his career at GitLab, where he feels “beyond valued and important.”
Below, Popat shares more about his career growth journey, how the company has empowered him to evolve and what he’s most excited to accomplish next.
About GitLab
GitLab’s AI-powered platform enables teams to deliver software more quickly while deriving insights through visibility across the software delivery lifecycle. The company’s platform also offers built-in security and compliance and enables organizations to embrace a multicloud strategy.
Give us a snapshot of your career so far.
I started my career at TD Bank in various customer-facing roles before transitioning to tech sales as a sales development representative at Salesforce during the pandemic. I joined GitLab as a BDR and quickly found my stride. Consistently exceeding quota led to a promotion to senior BDR after six months, which then led to becoming a team lead, where I mentored new hires. After a year and a half mastering the BDR role, I transitioned to being an account executive for small and medium-sized businesses. This progression has given me a complete view of the sales funnel and a strong foundation for the next step in my career.
How does working for GitLab help you make progress toward your career goals?
The culture of work-life balance at GitLab allows for me to prioritize my family and hobbies, ensuring that my cup is full and I have the motivation and drive to put into my team and clients at work.
The amount of room for growth and moving up in the company is extremely motivating. The degree of support and recognition for reaching quotas and goals is out of this world and makes me as an employee feel beyond valued and important, further enhancing my commitment to the company and my overall career goals.
“The amount of room for growth and moving up in the company is extremely motivating.”
What makes GitLab a unique place to work from a professional development perspective?
We are provided with a budget for ongoing growth and development training that enhances our knowledge and skills. Our team is being flown out to Austin, Texas in the fall for a professional development sales conference. The quality of these events and training opportunities is next level.
How have you grown professionally at GitLab? What skills have you learned?
I’ve moved from a BDR role to a team lead and to an SMB role in the last few years. Each of these roles has allowed me to enhance my prospecting skills and my ability to negotiate, run discovery calls, and manage complex sales cycles. I have grown significantly in terms of my capacity to connect with others, be curious and think strategically.
What professional development tools and resources, informal or formal, have you utilized?
I’ve used our professional development budget to engage in a sales course that helped me build on the above mentioned skills. I’m looking forward to our upcoming sales conference to learn more about strategies I can use to leverage my toolkit.
Managers as Both Coaches and Advocates
According to Popat, managers play a critical role in their direct reports’ career development, playing the part of both coaches and advocates. “They help identify individual strengths, growth areas and long-term goals not just within the context of the current role, but also regarding where we want to go in our career,” he explained. To do this, managers host regular check-ins and feedback sessions to keep a pulse on their direct reports’ growth trajectories.
How has joining GitLab positively impacted your professional and/or personal journey?
The support and motivation I’ve received from my team and managers has allowed me to grow more and much faster than I could have imagined. It is so rewarding to reflect on my professional growth and how much I have learned. In terms of my personal life, having the ability to work fully remote and having unlimited PTO has allowed me to spend a significant amount of time with my wife and our two young daughters and be a part of special moments during their first years that I wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise. We have been able to travel for lengthy periods of time, creating meaningful memories that will last a lifetime. I’ve also been given the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas for our annual sales kickoff and Aruba for our President’s Club trip, both of which were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
What are you excited to accomplish next?
My next goal is to work toward becoming a mid-market account executive. I’m looking forward to mastering my current role and developing new skills and knowledge in a new role.
