Natalie Lee is a self-described coffee snob. She and her husband, Nigell, are so obsessed with java that they sold everything they owned and left their native Australia to launch an international coffee franchise in New York City. Neither had been to the U.S. before.
“We search far and wide wherever we go to make sure we find a delicious cup,” Natalie says. “My husband was the area developer of Xpresso Delight for Western Australia and when it came to the point the company wanted to launch internationally, we jumped at the opportunity.”
Natalie is Lyte’s new Revenue Operations, Senior Manager. She is our first Aussie Lyter. Natalie and Nigell have been in New York for the last seven years, building their dreams and raising their two-year-old son, Zachary.
“It has been an incredibly wild ride since then. I could never imagine learning and growing as much as I have since moving here, anywhere else in the world, really,” Natalie says.
Here, Natalie talks about supporting her fellow Lyters, the differences between Australia and NYC, and being a gatekeeper.
Maggie: You were recently in Australia. What were you doing there?
Natalie: I was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. I moved to New York City almost seven years ago now and try to get back once a year for a family visit or, in this case, a best friend’s wedding. It is basically on the other side of the world from New York, so travel time is horrible (34 hours in total this time for me with a two-year-old in tow). I feel like now that I have made that trip and came out the other side relatively unscathed I can do just about anything. Bring it on!
Living in New York compared to Australia (Perth particularly) is like the polar opposite. You basically cannot go out to dinner after 8 p.m. anywhere and it is such a chill quiet vibe. New York is so exciting; it’s never boring. You always have something to do or someone to catch up with, and we love walking everywhere to get a morning coffee and hang in the park. There are so many great Aussie cafes everywhere in New York.
Maggie: You are Lyte’s new Revenue Operations, Senior Manager. Tell us about your role.
Natalie: I feel like it has been such a whirlwind my first few weeks I have had at Lyte — and I am saying that in the best way! It was full steam ahead from day one and I really love that about my role and about the company. I would say I am like the backbone for the sales and business development team. Ensuring that we are fully equipped with everything we could possibly need to go out and speak to potential clients. Researching, investigating, organizing, planning, and strategizing our next steps. This also includes making sure that our sales pipeline is up-to-date and filled with quality prospects that are going to take Lyte to the next level.
I am also leading the conferences and events effort to ensure that Lyte has a presence at notable conferences in the industry. I’m also organizing our own events to make sure everyone out there knows who Lyte is, what we do, and why they need us.
Maggie: How did you get into finance and numbers — and why?
Natalie: It is quite funny how things happen. I guess situations just fall into place at the right time. This wasn’t always where I thought I was headed, but gaining experiences in a range of different industries (and also sometimes being thrown into the deep end and just having to figure it all out) has really allowed me to find a place now where I thrive. That is what keeps me interested and happy.
Maggie: What is your background? Tell us what you were doing before you came to us.
Natalie: Funnily enough, straight out of University I went into teaching before being presented with the opportunity to move to New York. After the initial launch, I landed a job in investor relations for $28 billion private equity firm where I supported the fundraising efforts, investor maintenance, and CRM management. I also led conference and event planning. It was an incredible ride. I feel like coming across this opportunity with Lyte was my stars aligning. I am where I am meant to be to pull everything I have learned together for an amazing company.
Maggie: Why Lyte?
Natalie: I took a little bit of time after my last corporate job to work on some projects of my own and really figure out where I wanted to move next. When I found Lyte, I was instantly intrigued about what this could be as it wasn’t an area I had previously worked in (first bonus). Also, the company was doing something new and innovative (second bonus), and when I started my rounds of interviews I just kept getting more and more excited about the role with every person I spoke to (third bonus). WIN WIN WIN.
Maggie: What are your goals at Lyte?
Natalie: I want to streamline all the backend sales processes so our talented sales team can go out and be fully equipped to do what they do best. It’s so important that the information we have about our clients and prospects is up- to-date and correct. We should know everything about them going into a meeting and we really shouldn’t be second-guessing any of it. So here I am, in the simplest way, to be the gatekeeper of all this valuable information. In addition to that, on the conference and event side of things, my goal is to increase our presence in each segment we target so that when people see our name in the media or on conference agendas and other things, they know exactly who we are. They will be excited and looking forward to what we have to say. They will want to find out where we are going next.
Maggie: Favorite live event? Why?
Natalie: Perth is basically the last location for any artist tour! I remember my first concert being Beyonce and the next one was Robbie Willilams. After that, I went to the very limited festivals during the summer – along with the rest of Perth. As time has passed, I now find myself appreciating smaller, more intimate live events, particularly acoustics. They give me a true “feel good” kind of feeling.
Maggie: What do you see in the next year for Lyte, with regard to the platform, revenue, partnerships, and other potential milestones? What are you excited about?
Natalie: There are big things coming for Lyte, and I see significant growth heading into the new year. My main role is to support this growth through several different strategies across revenue ops and partnerships, so being able to contribute to that makes me very excited and motivated to see some great outcomes for Lyte and the whole live events industry. I can’t wait.
About Lyte
Lyte’s mission is to fill every seat and make ticketing delightful, making it easier for fans to attend more events. In an industry where a “no refunds and no cancellations” policy is the standard, Lyte enables fans to return their event tickets, no questions asked, to the official point of purchase. Lyte also provides a safe and official reservation booking system, offering fans who sign up a fair price for in-demand tickets. Lyte has delivered well over $5MM in fan savings since inception. One hundred percent of the tickets bought and sold through Lyte are issued through ticketing partners and delivered directly to fans with no chance of being fraudulent. Visit lyte.com.