Name: Charlie Robson

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Position: Head of UK Partnerships

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Years with the company: Just over 5 years

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Before FanFinders, the most unusual or interesting job you’ve had…

Let’s just say at one stage I was with a company using Wolf of Wall Street-style sales tactics and if I put a list together of the unusual things that happened in that role, it would take up this whole interview. And I was only there a month.

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You were the company’s first full-time hire. What changes have you seen over the past 5 years…

Things have definitely become more ‘real’. I’ve seen us go through two offices, multiple CRM programmes and different platforms for the site. We obviously now have content, which we didn’t have the capability to do before. Every single element has changed in one way or another, but the core values are still the same, which is nice.

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And those core values are…

From day one, it’s always been about trying to give brands a better, fairer way to connect with mums compared to the other guys. We’re just doing it in more ways now.

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Is the sales approach at FanFinders different…

The dynamic is different. In most cases, we can say to brands “if you don’t get anything from this, you don’t pay us” and that means we’re a lot more consultative. Our relationships with partners – and we have so many great relationships with clients – stem from finding out what they want and how they how they want to go about achieving it.

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One bit of advice for new sales hires…

Brush up on your digital marketing knowledge, so you understand what things like CPL, CPM and CPC mean, and how the affiliate sector works. Then throw yourself into understanding our technology and our market, because you can’t become an expert on the baby industry overnight.

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Best thing about working at FanFinders…

In previous jobs, I’ve distanced myself a bit from the people, but here, I genuinely like everyone in the team; some as friends and not just colleagues. I also think the feel of the company is nicer. It’s relaxed without being lazy and if you don’t like something, you can say it.

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If you could switch your job with anyone else…

I wouldn’t. A lot of people seem to fall into sales by accident, whereas I chose to do it and it’s something I wanted to do for a long time. I enjoy waking up to that challenge.

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Asked as you sit in your sunny and spacious garden, do you enjoy remote working…

I love it. We have all the systems in place to do so and things like our ‘all hands’ meeting on a Monday is a really nice way of getting everyone together again. We’re using so much video and connecting so often, it doesn’t feel too different.

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The one meal you’d eat every day for the rest of your life…

Steak with mac and cheese on the side. Maybe with some truffle shaved on top.

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How do you unwind…

Generally, a bit of binge-watching or making a few drinks. I like to mix a filthy martini before dinner or a red snapper.

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Favourite shows…

We’ve watched a lot of thriller-type stuff recently – Dark is great. I enjoy gratuitous action from time to time and, occasionally, some Modern Family.

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Are there more pets in your house than humans…

It’s been that way for a while. At the latest count, there are two lizards, two cats and six fish to just two humans.

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Favourite cat – bearing in mind people will judge you for having a favourite…

Muffin is the more loving of the two, so it’s easy to think that she’s the favourite. But actually, Rufus has been with us for a lot longer and is much easier to deal with. They have different qualities.

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Finally, one piece of advice for if I wanted to build a pond in my garden…

Recruit your friends who are builders and carpenters to do it for you instead – that’s what I did.