Jay Wolff / SVP Revenue at KERV Posted on August 09, 2021
Jay Wolff is currently the Senior Vice President, Revenue at KERV Interactive leading revenue and partner growth for the world’s first AI shoppable and seamless commerce video advertising company. Jay most recently served as CRO of Varick Media and Chief Growth Officer at Boostr, the first end-to-end revenue management system for media companies. Previously, as regional vice president of SambaTV, Wolff built the revenue organization and east coast market from the ground up. Prior to joining SambaTV, Wolff served as vice president of agency and brand partnerships at PulsePoint and was instrumental in the merger of ContextWeb and Datran Media.
Originally from Armonk, NY, Jay holds a BS in Marketing from Syracuse University and a Certificate of Management from the University of Chicago.
1. What do you like most about being a Revenue Leader?
Teamwork makes the dream work. Great revenue leaders help their team reach their goals, are not afraid to hire people that might be better than them, and take pride in the accomplishments of those they help along the way. The most rewarding aspect of being a revenue leader is seeing the output of proper hiring, alignment, and clear communication across an organization to reach milestones.
2. What is it about building businesses that you enjoy the most?
If you are not thinking, you’re not learning new things. If you’re not learning, you’re not growing – and over time becoming irrelevant in your work. Building businesses offer incredible opportunities to challenge yourself and your organization on a consistent basis. I’m a big believer in facilitating proactive thinking and staying on the cutting edge of how to navigate problems and keep internal & external customers happy.
3. What best practices have you learned over the years?
Few best practices include
1- “move fast or die”, if you’re not there then someone else is.
2- Don’t allow failure to disrupt momentum, create a positive and inspiring workplace culture.
3- Success isn’t one straight line, it’s a ladder and there’s always another rung above you to reach out for. Like anything else, there are ups and downs.
4- Think outside the box, the greatest ideas and action items are not linear.
4. What are your core values?
Hard work, Integrity, Passion, Dedication, Self Awareness, Empathy. If you keep at it, will get you almost anything. Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.
5. As a leader, how do you develop a culture?
Set a clear vision and organizational values in a way that brings people together to rally behind the vision. Have a cadence of communication behind that vision; reinforced through activities and collaboration among departments. Importantly recognize and lift up people, especially those who help make your engine run cohesively.
6. What factors guide your career path?
Key factors include 1) how I can make a significant level of impact in an organization (revenue growth, scaling, profitability), 2) how can I help others level up in their own careers, and 3) where will I wake up each day and be excited to go into work. Pick the right culture, team, and products, the trifecta of career happiness.
7. What is the optimal org structure?
This answer depends on the type of organization including the size, the team, and the goals. I have always subscribed to a Functional Organizational Structure whereas there are different departments for core functions like marketing, sales, customer service. Specialization is key in organizations for scalable growth, however, uniting those departments is key so communication is crisp between departments. It is optimal to have specialization with proper leadership that understands how to bring people together.
8. What would you do if you were not in this industry?
Establish and build out a modern baseball card store franchise. If you have ever collected sports cards and collectibles, you know what I mean. Do what you love!