Meet The Team: Christina Fong, Customer Success Manager

Tell us a little about yourself, Christina!

Those I’m closest to call me Bean. It’s been my nickname forever, but my family can’t recall its origins. So if my family or close friends call me Christina—it means I’m in trouble.I love being active and social, but I love quiet time equally as much. I’m not coordinated (many would go as far to call me very clumsy), so team sports have never been my thing. I prefer walking or hiking instead, and I’ll try most types of group fitness.

I love snowboarding and splitboarding in the winter, sailing in the summer, and bonus if these activities are tied into a fun travel adventure.The social being in me loves catching up and pondering life over craft beer, wine, and food. But in my quiet time (most of the time), catch me binge watching TV, reading a book (hit me up with your faves in business, self help, or a juicy fictional page-turner), or pinning recipes on Pinterest that I’ll never make.

‍How did you first get into customer success?

When I graduated from mechanical engineering, I started my career working in oil & gas here in Newfoundland and Labrador (after a blissful 3 months of traveling). My father was a mechanical engineer and worked in oil & gas his entire career, and he’s been a role model for me. But after a couple years, I didn’t feel like I was on the right path. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, but I was curious about business. I decided to quit my job and pursue an MBA full time. There, I networked a lot and learned about the growing tech sector in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 2019, I learned about CoLab. Coming from an engineering background, I felt connected to the problem they were solving. So I reached out to Adam Keating, started as a business development intern, and later became their first customer success hire (I think I was around the 10th hire!). There are many reasons why I’ve grown to love customer success, but at my core, I love building genuine connections and helping people solve their problems—and that’s a big part of what I do!

Why did you first join CoLab? What’s the most exciting thing about working here?

When I first learned about CoLab, I was intrigued by the product they were building and I wanted to be a part of the journey. Although startup life is ever-changing, the people and culture aspect of CoLab hasn't budged. It’s been inviting, welcoming, accepting, respectful, and super fun since day 1. This kind of environment is a game-changer for your day-to-day life, and it truly makes the difference. Aside from the people, we’ve only scratched the surface of what we’re doing and we’re just getting started. So it’s a fun ride!

‍If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs—such as food and water—were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?

Is there 5G on the island? I hate to say my iPhone, but here I am. I want it mostly for music, podcasts, and getting lost in internet reading rabbit holes. Although maybe I’d also start a vlog of all my adventures on the island to keep myself entertained. I know food and water are taken care of, but I think bringing a bunch of different seeds and experimenting with growing food would be cool (pending it’s a good climate for that). I have dreams of having a super sick greenhouse one day and growing all of my own fruits and veg.