Lyte presents “Womxn at Lyte,” a series of conversations highlighting the voices of our womxn.
Interviewer: As a child, what did you think you wanted to be? How do you think you came to that decision?
Analisa McMahon: I wanted to be a marine biologist – and I had a lot of conviction about that. I think I was so drawn to it because it always felt so positive. Once I figured out what a day to day would be like in that career, it wasn't something I wanted to go into. I don’t think being in a lab was for me. Being engaged with people is more my style, and what I wanted to do with my life.
Interviewer: What would your younger self be most surprised about how you live your life today?
Analisa McMahon: That I live in California and have built a life away from all of the comforts that I grew up with. I moved to San Diego last year from the East Coast with essentially no family on the West Coast. When you feel really comfortable, a big life change can feel overwhelming but it's where I have noticed the most growth in myself. I grew and learned more about myself this past year than I have in the past several years of my life. I used to resist change and now it excites me.
Interviewer: What do you think is the hardest part of what you do for a living?
Analisa McMahon: In partnerships, I get to work with and know a lot of different businesses, which is great experience and exposure long term. The challenge comes in understanding how those businesses are incentivized and how they like to engage with their partners. Everyone is different and I have to find how to get the relationships to a point where they are mutually beneficial, but it isn't one size fits all. To find the right approach, I get to work with and learn from colleagues who are extremely experienced and get their feedback. Another challenge is taking those different perspectives and putting my own spin on it.
Interviewer: What do you love about working at Lyte?
Analisa McMahon: I love that all of us are pushing in the same direction towards a bold mission, to make the ticketing experience really positive and flexible for fans. You don’t see such a strong sense of purpose in a mission at every company. I also like that we don’t pretend that this is going to be an instant change, but making the fan experience stronger is top of mind for everyone here. Also, the support is incredible! I have gone through some major life changes this past year since joining and the team has been with me every step of the way.
Interviewer: What lesson took you the longest to unlearn?
Analisa McMahon: You can be nice and positive and still succeed in your career. You don’t have to totally change your personality or downplay your strengths to succeed or to feel respected. You don’t always have to be the stern one, you know, to get your point across. You can be your true authentic self and see things through a positive lens and still get the result that you want.
Interviewer: What have you accomplished recently that would’ve shocked you a year ago?
Analisa McMahon: Switching industries. I think it’s overwhelming early in your career to be like, “I did something for X amount of years, and now I want to go try something new.” It’s a really scary leap when you have only known to do something a certain way. If you find a great team and you like asking questions, it can be done, which is great.
Interviewer: What are you more afraid of, failure or success, and why?
Analisa McMahon: Failure – I never have liked to fail in sports, friendships, board games you name it. I’ve always been competitive. Even when I watch sports today, I feel more emotion towards the team that lost vs the team that won. At the moment, it’s hard for me to recognize that a failure could be positive.
Interviewer: What’s a non-negotiable in your life?
Analisa McMahon: Being happy. It’s obviously really broad but there are a lot of aspects in life that you need to work hard at to bring you happiness. Work/life balance is tied to this because family and life outside of work has always brought me a lot of joy. When that side of my life is strong & healthy, it allows me to enjoy my work even more. Being a part of a company that I believe in and that I feel supported by makes it easier to find that balance--- because I know they see the value in finding happiness in multiple areas of life.
Interviewer: What can womxn create together? Or what do we want to create together?
Analisa McMahon: Whatever we want, or need! In 2020 there was a lot of darkness; but personally, I was so inspired by reading about womxn in business during that period of time. There were a lot of hardships but it was equally paired with stories about womxn triumphing while working from home, homeschooling their kids (alone or alongside their partners), and returning from maternity leave to a remote workplace. Womxn were getting promoted and launching companies from home to follow their passions when they realized they were not fulfilled in their current role.
All of that was really impressive to see through the lens of Zoom cameras and seeing my female coworkers thriving in those moments. If womxn can excel and thrive during something as hard as the past few years have been, truly womxn can do anything.
Interviewer: What’s the most exciting improvement for womxn in the industry or in general?
Analisa McMahon: What I have come to learn about this industry is that being yourself is not only accepted, but it's essentially mandatory. It’s encouraged to be your full self and put your opinions out there and encourage other womxn to do the same. We all build off of each other. I think what’s exciting about it, too, is we’re moving away from the stigma of, “I’m a womxn, so I feel like I can’t do X.” It’s really like, “I’m a womxn, so I can do A, B, C, D, E, F, G ”. I don't feel like there are limits, which has been a really powerful shift in mindset.
Interviewer: What title would you give this chapter in your life?
Analisa McMahon: Sponge. I am surrounded by so many amazing people both personally and professionally who I admire. They all have different backgrounds & perspectives that I can learn from and build off of. I don’t want to ever feel like I know everything or get stuck in my ways. I want to soak in all the experiences that I’m getting right now to grow even more in my next chapter of life. Not just in my career, but it’s advice about how to be a better friend and partner. I had a really great field hockey coach in high school who talked about how life has seasons, and I go back to that a lot. It's important to recognize what season or chapter you are in so you know when it's time to move onto the next. I want to build on each chapter and be more proud of the next than the one I was in, whether it was an easy or hard chapter.
Womxn at Lyte featuring Analisa McMahon, Manager, Partnerships at Lyte