Amazing Dads in Ad Tech: Meet the Fathers of Sharethrough

In celebration of Father’s Day, we are highlighting some of the incredible fathers who have had an immense impact on Sharethrough as a company, as well as the ad tech space as a whole.

At Sharethrough, we encourage our employees to grow and evolve in all aspects of their career. And the growth doesn't stop there: we are fortunate enough to see several of our employees grow their families, and embark on the amazing journey to become a parent.

In light of this holiday, we asked some of the fathers at Sharethrough a series of questions ranging from: “What do you tell your kids you do for work?” to “How do you balance work alongside family?” and “What is the #1 lesson you’ve learned about fatherhood?”. Their answers paint a picture of how important it is for fathers to work for a company that can empathize and support the daily challenges of fatherhood.

Teaching Children About Ad Tech Thanks to Miniclip

Sharethrough is a company that prioritizes supporting and caring for employees in all avenues of life, and especially when it comes to balancing out work with family time. Luc Marsolais, Chief Operating Officer explains how he has found his experience at Sharethrough to be inclusive and supportive. 

“We have a CEO who always puts family first and is present for his employees no matter what.” Luc attributes the company’s remote work policy as one of the main reasons why he gets to travel and spend quality time with his two daughters. When asked about what he tells his kids he does for work, Luc says that they already are very knowledgeable of the ad tech industry, stating: “ When they were much younger, around the ages of 5 and 11, I had them go on the Miniclip Games website and click on ads to grow my CPC campaigns. Thanks to Miniclip, they understood the importance of ad exchanges.”

Lessons From Our CEO: "Life is a Marathon, Not a Sprint"

Sharethrough realizes the impact and value that family provides. Through valuable lessons and meaningful experiences, there is a lot to learn from fatherhood. JF Cote, President & CEO at Sharethrough, has long given credit to his kids and family as the main reason for his success in work and happiness in life.

We asked JF what was the #1 lesson that he has learned from parenting so far: “Enjoy every moment, it does pass by so fast. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. I started my business 10 years ago when my kids were toddlers (3 and 1). Now they are young teenagers (13 and 11). I'm very proud of them, and I’m grateful to have a wife with whom I can partner with to maintain the growth and education of our children, and who has supported me in the launch and scale of District M / Sharethrough. I'm very proud of my family and a lucky father.”

Supportive Company Initiatives

Zoom Story Time

Sharethrough’s company culture revolves around putting people first, regardless of the situation, and even going as far as providing helpful tools and initiatives to parents. Frank Maguire, VP of Insights & Technology, has been working at  Sharethrough for over 11 years. 

With 11 years under his belt, we asked Frank how Sharethrough has supported him through fatherhood. He answered: “I’ve always felt so fortunate to work at a company like Sharethrough that values its working parents not just through good benefits but through a culture that empathizes with the struggles, joys and unpredictability of parenting”. Frank mentions that even before the pandemic he was never made to feel guilty for having to rearrange schedules or miss a meeting because of an unexpected sick child or childcare loss. Since the pandemic, Sharethrough has shifted their focus even more on employee flexibility, but it was an easy value to instill since we already had a good baseline of empathy. Frank also said that “culture has really helped me be a more present father. Even in the hardest days of lockdown, when I was stuck inside all day with a then 3 year old and a newborn, I’ll never forget some of the creative ways Sharethrough tried to help us parents, including a weekly Zoom storybook reading where employees would volunteer to read books to our kids so we could get a brief break.”

A Flexible and Supportive Work Environment

Sharethrough prides itself in supporting employees and providing them with the opportunity to work flexible work hours and from a variety of locations. With company offices situated across North America and Europe, employees can work from wherever they desire, whether that be in the office or at home! For Matt Desocio, Director of Strategic Account Sales at Sharethrough, a flexible work environment has been incredibly valuable.

When asked how Sharethrough has supported him through fatherhood he replied with: “Being a father of three, Sharethrough has been fully supportive of my work-life balance. I have been able to work in the NYC office , but also from home if my family had an event that day, such as my sons baseball tournament, my daughters dance recital, and my 4 year olds preschool graduation. Having the support from Sharethrough, my manager, and my peers to be able to be present as a father has been amazing.”

Staying Present: Setting Yourself up for Quality Family Time

At Sharethrough, we understand the importance of work-life balance and make sure our employees have the tools necessary to live a healthy lifestyle, with extra vacation and care days, as well as flexible working hours.

We asked Roberto Martinez, Senior Software Developer at Sharethrough, how he manages a healthy work/life/family balance. He had one piece of advice for us: “Don't let the small tasks drag. They unconsciously stay in your mind and tax the moment”.

When asked how he describes his job to his kids, Roberto said that it can be difficult to explain his job to children. Most of the time he tells his kids that he’s a computer scientist, elaborating with "You see these lines of code? It tells the machines what to do, and this is what it produces.”

Understanding the Importance of Setting a Good Example

Fatherhood is a constant learning process, and one that is difficult to be fully prepared for. It’s all about constant adjustments. Getting to watch your children grow up allows you to learn many meaningful and valuable lessons, both about yourself, and about them.

For Sam Vangelovski, Strategic Account Director at Sharethrough, one of the recent lessons he learned about parenting is:“Parenting is not a linear experience, you're basically all over the place just trying to survive, which can be really hard at times. We have two young boys and a puppy named Blazer, a name that fits his personality. My wife is a "by the book" parent and I learn a lot from her, while I tend to wing it with the kids. The scariest thing I've learned is just how much my mini-me, Max, listens to and watches everything I do. Toddlers are such little sponges! The more positive and encouraging I am, the greater that will impact his development into an incredible little human!”

Remote Work to the Rescue

For Brandon Belsky, Strategic Account Lead at Sharethrough, it’s the opportunity to work remotely that makes all the difference. When we asked him how he manages a healthy work-life balance he attributed much of his success to Sharethrough’s work from home policy.

“Working remotely saves a tremendous amount of commute time. Instead of driving to and from work each day, I get to spend that time with my family.” He also attributes much of his success balancing work with family to a supportive company culture that allows him to fully disconnect outside of work hours “At previous companies I felt that I never had the chance to sign off, even on vacations. At Sharethrough, I truly feel I have the ability to turn off my work and focus on family time. Now I can attend my son’s school programs, sports practices and games, which are all very important to me.”

Parental Leave Benefits At Sharethrough

Sharethrough is dedicated to supporting employees along their journey to becoming parents, and long afterwards. Whether it be through company initiatives, flexible work hours, work from home policies, Sharethrough is dedicated to continuing to build a supportive and caring company culture for the parents. 

Interested in learning more about parental leave benefits at Sharethrough, company culture, or curious about our open job opportunities? Make sure to reach out to us, we’d love to hear from you!