Ayub Mohammed

Ayub is Bitly’s Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Customer Success. He is passionate about empowering sales teams and focuses on developing product-led strategies for the company while focusing on improving customer experiences.

Before Bitly, Ayub held leadership roles at Nextiva and RingCentral.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I value a routine that helps me become a more balanced version of myself, both physically and mentally. Typically, I wake up at 4:30 AM and begin my day by reading articles that will help me prepare for my job at Bitly. I also make time to read topics that I just enjoy learning about from business and tech news to sports news and more.

I then take a few minutes to factor in meditation to mentally prepare myself for the day ahead. It’s important to center yourself, declutter your thoughts, and sharpen your concentration to have a positive and productive day. Then, I always make time for my family, cook breakfast for everyone, and begin working at 6:00 AM (my son usually sits with me and eats his breakfast until I start meetings around 8:00 AM). Usually, I’m in meetings throughout the day. A good tip I learned from a friend and have put into practice is to take 15-minute walks when I can to clear my mind and refocus. Once I wrap up the day we always eat dinner together as a family and I read a book before going to sleep – it has to be a physical book, I like something that is tangible and makes me feel grounded.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I am a firm believer in the power of collaboration and its ability to bring ideas to life. As someone who thrives on teamwork, I know that success lies in ensuring a team works together seamlessly from start to finish. I understand the importance of building strong connections and fostering effective communication within a team.

I follow a straightforward (yet essential) rule when it comes to bringing ideas to life. Test, and test a lot. If we fail, we fail fast and fail forward. Testing is an integral part of any process and it allows us to constantly evolve and evaluate our ideas so we are more likely to achieve success.

Not every test will yield positive results. When failures happen (and it often does!) I embrace the mindset that these failures serve as incredible learning opportunities. By realizing what went wrong, we can adapt and iterate on ideas ultimately leading to better outcomes.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Two trends that excite me are advancements within AI and how it has a huge potential to revolutionize various aspects of our lives. From enhancing the customer journey by providing personalized and efficient experiences to transforming the way that we interact with technology, AI presents itself as a massive innovation opportunity across industries.

I have to give a second trend that excites me. The progression within medical technology in terms of breakthroughs and research is very exciting to witness. Having personally faced medical challenges, I am fascinated to see the incredible strides made in the healthcare industry and how technology is driving that change, an example of this is with a foundation like Heartworks. It is promising to see how this can reshape our lives and improve the way people live in the future.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

One habit that has significantly boosted my productivity is taking a quick break to be outside. Whether I spend 5 minutes watering my garden or a quick walk to break up my work days, it has helped me clear my mind to stay focused. By incorporating this into my daily routine, I find myself maintaining higher levels of productivity throughout the day.

What advice would you give your younger self?

If I could take a step back in time and give advice to my younger self I would emphasize the importance of investing in the right relationships and avoid taking the easy way out. When I was in school, I excelled in testing, but I would never do my homework. I feel that hindered me from reaching my true potential.

By prioritizing meaningful relationships and completing tasks, I feel that it offers the opportunity to maximize an individual’s abilities to achieve greater success.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

Taco Bell is the best fast-food chain.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

I read a lot and am constantly inquisitive. I enjoy hearing feedback and feel it opens the door for conversations while understanding different perspectives and feedback on whether the approaches I am taking are in the right direction.

I feel that opening the door to feedback and conversation makes you a more empathetic leader and a better communicator. At the end of the day whether it’s in your personal or professional life teamwork is essential and being an effective communicator is at the heart of it.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I take a walk. It’s even better if my wife can join me during the day and we talk about things outside of work to reset ourselves before we dive back in.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

I value people. One strategy I have implemented is that I try to respond to every message I get on LinkedIn whether it’s professionals asking for guidance or introductions to connections for career growth. And I do a lot more listening than talking. By sitting back and listening, I gain a better understanding as to what problem we are trying to solve and it allows me to understand the ask and form a solution to pave the way for an improved process.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

When I was a younger professional I was offered a position at a startup as an executive – I was enamored with the title and responsibilities being offered and jumped at the opportunity. As I spent more time in the role I learned that I wasn’t quite ready for that step professionally. We did do well, however at the end of the day the company did not succeed and it gave me a chance to step back and think about what it is I needed at that point in my career to be what I deemed successful for me.

It taught me that chasing titles and professional ego are things that need to be pushed to the side and it’s really important to focus on yourself, and what you need professionally at specific points in your career, while also understanding what your strengths and weaknesses are. I realized it’s not about the title but more importantly, it’s about your impact on your team and the customers you are serving. You are the north star you should chase. That’s now how I operate and it’s helped me grow into the leader that I am today.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Network, network, network

The importance of networking. The saying that networking drives net worth holds significant truth. Building strong connections and relationships within (and outside of) your industry can open doors to new opportunities, collaborations, and potential clients. By actively reaching out, responding to, and engaging with others, you increase your chances of uncovering valuable insights, gaining industry knowledge, and even finding mentors or investors. It can be a powerful and often underestimated tool to boost your professional worth, so never underestimate its potential impact on your business’s success.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Collaboration tools like Slack or previously RingCentral’s tool. They work well for project alignment and the key is to use them effectively and not for everything, fatigue is real!

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

I bought a tomato plant! The $12 purchase was the best investment for us because it became a whole family experience. My kids water the plant every morning and we recently had our first tomato grow and we cut it into 4 pieces for each family member.

My 9-year-old said, “This is the best tomato ever!” My wife (the pillar of our family) told him things are that much better when you put in hard work and care about something. That to me is an invaluable investment.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

5 AM club! It broke down the importance of health and routine.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

Ted Lasso – I am a huge Ted fan. The takeaways and methods from Jason Sudeikis’s leadership (he plays Ted) apply to so many areas of my philosophy – trust is earned by showing respect to others and as a leader, you should genuinely understand individual needs to bring the whole team together.

Key learnings:

• Understanding the individuals of a team makes for a better collaborative and whole-team mentality.
• Network internally and externally from your organization. You’ll learn something new and it may surprise you.
• Failure is scary, but you need to experience it to get better at what you do. Embrace it.