High-growth startup Payfirma is making sure its new chief marketing officer already has a deep understanding of the Vancouver tech scene.
The credit and debit payment processor for small-to-mid-size businesses announced Monday (July 20) it has hired Robin Jones to fill out the ranks of its leadership group.
Jones was mostly recently the CMO for fellow Vancouver-based tech startup QuickMobile.
In May, Payfirma announced it had raised $13 million in a financing round led by Dundee Capital Markets. CEO and co-founder Mike Gokturk told Business In Vancouver at the time he planned to double the company’s 45-person workforce within six months.
“They’re right in the phase of growth that plays into my strengths,” Jones said in an interview.
The U.S.-born executive added she’s looking forward to building a marketing team, similar to what she’s done at previous positions at QuickMobile and The Active Network.
“The further you move through your career, the more clear you’re on, on what you enjoy doing and what you’re good at doing,” she said.
“And for me, this plays right into that.”
Gokturk told BIV in May he anticipated expanding the company’s presence to Toronto and New York in the near-term and was considering an initial public offering to fund the company’s growth further.
Jones said QuickMobile already had a strong brand in North America when she joined the company, so she’s looking forward to the challenge of expanding Payfirma’s name in new markets.
“I get to take it to the next level and create that brand presence in the U.S. and then grow it in Canada,” she said.
“We’ll be moving very, very quickly here. So (QuickMobile) definitely readied me for this role. It’s going to be fun.”
