Arti Modi was born in the United Kingdom and moved to Canada in 1998. In 2002, she graduated from the University of British Columbia before opening her own real estate firm in Alberta.
With experience in a wide range of industries including foods manufacturing, asset management, and movie production, she now focuses primarily on the FinTech industry. Through her business, Arti helps connect brands to digital customers such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. When not hard at work, Arti enjoys travel and spending time with her family.
What do you currently do at your company?
As a mom of three boys, my mornings are very busy. I like to wake up around 5:30am and get about two hours of quiet time where I can be productive. During that time, I’m on the phone speaking to large and small brands globally who are looking for customers. I’m also looking at reports from our different media channels and speaking with our extensive media team. Since Covid, we found out we didn’t need our Calgary office, so everything is at home and remote now. I’m able to be on Skype or on the phone or email with our team, whether they’re in Victoria, San Diego, Ontario, wherever.
What was the inspiration behind your business?
It started in 2015 with the intention of driving customers to the large personal loan lenders in Canada because we had an excellent skill set in being able to find a customer at the right time online. From there, it grew into becoming the most sought-after company in Canada for lead generation for auto dealerships, mortgage and insurance brokers, personal lenders, and credit card companies. We work with over 500 different brands across Canada. When Covid hit, we decided to expand. When we did that, it removed all the borders that we thought we had and we started working with brands all over the world who wanted to be connected with customers. I’m a big fan of seeing what’s working for my competitors and trying to emulate the right things that they’re doing and skipping over the things that would not work. We blend what the competitors are doing and try to find the shortest road to success.
What defines your way of doing business?
I would say communication. I’m a big fan of always being on the phone, asking the right questions and sometimes maybe the wrong questions, and getting to understand what it is that person is looking for, whether it’s a team member or a brand that we’re representing and sending leads to. Just ask questions and probe until you get the answers.
What keys to being productive can you share?
It’s all about technology. I like to use Skype to keep up communication with our partners. I’m also a little old-school, so I have a huge whiteboard with sticky notes and my black Sharpie pen drawings outlining exactly what needs to be done. We’re also using tools like Click Up, which I think is fantastic, and CRMs. We also built a custom CRM which we like to use to keep the team effective.
Tell us one long-term goal in your career.
We want to do a million dollars a day in gross revenue.
How do you measure success?
At the end of the day, every company should be looking at revenue as a token of how successful the company is. If you consider my own personal success, I want to make sure that I have a really good point between work and my family. Everything I do is for my family, so there’s no point being in the office at 11:00pm at night if my kids are upstairs watching a movie. Success for me is to be in a position where the company is running and everything’s going smoothly, but I also have the freedom to do other things outside of company time.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned through the course of your career?
Ask the right questions and don’t be afraid to ask them.
What advice would you give to others aspiring to succeed in your field?
At the end of the day, this is a sales job, so you have to be aggressive about getting to the right people and setting up meetings. Don’t take no for an answer. Most of all, know your worth. In our industry, we are delivering customers to companies that no longer have things like walk-in traffic. Digital is the wave of the future, so I know the value that our company can bring to other brands. Know that if you’re not talking to the right person at that time, then the right person who knows your value will be in touch.
What are some of your favorite things to do outside of work?
I love traveling. I love being with my family and taking them places, but I’m also a bit of a homebody.
How do you maintain a solid work life balance?
It’s in progress. I’ll never say it’s perfect, but as long as my kids aren’t feeling that my work is more important than them, I have a balance. There’s also a sacrifice that has to be made like waking up very early and making sure I get my most important tasks done which gives me time to get my kids to school
Who has been a role model to you and why?
My parents have instilled the work ethic in me that I hope to one day instill in my kids or that they might see from the way that my husband and I are working for them right now.
