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With Natasa Cvijanovic With Natasa Cvijanovic

Work tirelessly now, reap the benefits later

By Natasa Cvijanovic Mom, self-starter, passionate go-getter, entrepreneur
Tesla Payments and a wannabe pro-cyclist (laughing) are all words that
describe me, but they're a little vague, and since I don't
want to risk an unenthusiastic response from you all, I'll
[Editor's note: With this article, we are delighted to introduce Natasa
Cvijanovic, co-founder and CEO of Tesla Payments. Her strong leader- elaborate.
ship qualities and charisma leap off the page in this debut as Street From passion for marketing to passion for payments
Smarts author, and she's eager to engage with you to explore topics
central to your business success. So reach out to her; it's going to be a Years ago, while working for Citibank, I had my first
spirited year.] experience on the credit card issuing side of the business.
few months ago, I was at an industry event Yes, it was interesting, but my true passion was marketing.
Several years later, I was working in marketing, doing
dinner with a colleague. You know, the kind of what I loved for a small publishing company on Hershey's
colleague that is always connecting people— Chocolate Avenue. That, I'm sure, was the catalyst for my
A what I like to call a "serial networker." And chocolate addiction, but that's another story for another
while I won't name names, chances are you've met him or day.
been introduced to someone by him.
Like so many of my colleagues, I got into this industry
This colleague had been a Street Smarts writer more by accident. As is usually the case in life, we have no
SM
than once, and over dinner, he suggested I become a Street way of knowing what the future holds. Our interests and
Smarts SM contributor, as well. I had time to think about it, desires change as we grow wiser, and my road led me to
but I didn't have to: of course, I jumped at the opportunity Maine. I landed a job as director of marketing for a startup
and decided to do it. What an honor it is to be able to merchant services company. I had no idea what that meant
follow in the footsteps of industry experts, colleagues and or required, but knowing I enjoyed marketing, I began my
fantastic writers.
adventure in merchant services.
"Your first article should focus on you and your Although I started off in marketing, I quickly became
background," was the advice I received. However, as involved in all aspects of this startup—from legal to
anyone who knows me well knows, focusing on myself is operations to sales. Unbeknownst to me, I was quite good
arguably my greatest challenge. I'd much prefer to write at sales, hiring salespeople and building relationships.
about something else, but since our fears are typically
trying to tell us something, I'm going to befriend my My experience in this industry would be incomplete if I
dragon and see what I learn in the process.
hadn't encountered dishonest people and a subsequent
total loss of residuals. At the time, it was practically a rite
of passage in our industry. Fortunately for me, following

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