Meet The Team: Cody Colbert, Sales Development Representative

Tell us a little about yourself, Cody!

I like to think I’m a pretty simple guy on most fronts!

I was raised in a small community named St. Michael’s, 45km south of St. John’s, and I spend most weekends there playing board games or just hanging out with my family.

I wouldn’t consider many of my hobbies to be especially niche, but those who know me know that when I find a new interest I quickly become deeply invested (obsessed) with it—examples include cooking food from diverse cuisines, brewing the perfect cup of coffee, assembling a hi-fi music system, and playing darts (ONE HUNDRED AND EIIIIIGGGHHHHTTTTTYYYYYY for those in the know).

The simplest things in life are the most enjoyable to me, like spending an afternoon with friends doing nothing in particular. Just chatting and laughing.

I’m also a massive Philadelphia Flyers fan. The team hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1975. I was born in 1996. It hurts.

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‍How did you first get into sales development?

Most people don’t actively pursue sales development as a career path—though that’s changing, especially in tech.

My first exposure to sales development was through a conversation with a friend and former colleague who was working in sales development at Verafin. What started as a conversation about the company and the road it was paving in the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Fraud Detection industry, turned into a discussion about sales development as a business function and the role it plays in introducing the market to solutions that exist to solve mission-critical problems.

Four months later I interviewed for an open SDR role and joined the team. A big thank you to Emily for the referral and to Laurie, Jamie, and Nancy for taking a shot on an unproven university graduate with no sales experience. :)

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

In my previous role, I’d interacted with individuals who’d been at the company since its inception in 2002. They shared with me the journey of building an industry-altering solution from a scrappy team of college students to what is now: a well-respected ~800 person company, all from a not-so-well-known rock off the Canadian east coast. 

Fast forward to late 2021, CoLab raised its $17M in Series A funding and I saw an opportunity to join a company with the potential to disrupt an industry, while it was still in its startup phase. After a few conversations with the leadership team I was completely sold on the vision, and captivated by the raw passion the CoLab team has for providing a solution to a problem that is impacting almost every mechanical engineering team in the world.

The most exciting thing about working at CoLab is the degree to which all employees can contribute to the company’s strategic direction and approach to how we serve our partners. Knowing that your voice carries weight and has the potential to help the team improve how it operates is empowering, and enables everyone to feel like they’re truly contributing to a cause bigger than themselves.

‍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?

I wouldn’t last long on a deserted island—so I’m going with fried chicken and a means of watching Seinfeld. Here for a good time, not a long time, am I right?