Meet Hiten Patel, a new Dragon by way of the Mavens acquisition, who discusses the importance of company values while adapting to change.

Your company, Mavens, joined the Komodo family back in January 2021. What has it been like to be a part of an acquisition?

Having been part of a couple of acquisitions in the past, I know that the experience can be challenging for both the acquiring company, and those being acquired. The Komodo Health acquisition of Mavens was different. From day one, the entire Komodo leadership team made me feel welcome. Office hours calls were set up within the first couple of weeks after the announcement was made which allowed me to spend time with several members of the senior leadership team. 

My first question was, “Does this mean the awesome values and culture we had at Mavens are going to change?” But I’ve been relieved to discover that Komodo is a place where everyone lives the values too. It’s been amazing to see, from daily interactions to our founders’ weekly All Hands calls. An acquisition can be difficult -- new teammates, new structures, new expectations. Komodo has been remarkably transparent about any changes to expect during the integration. The frequent communication has been exceptional and very much appreciated. 

Have you seen any changes to the Mavens organization since it joined the Komodo family? 

More than anything else, I was excited to bring the Mavens expertise to Komodo’s mission. But in addition to that, we now have some fantastic benefits that we didn’t have before. Mavens was a much smaller organization than Komodo, with a pseudo-flat structure. We didn’t have managers but, with 150 employees, we had gotten to a place where we needed more structure and oversight. Komodo has that structure in place. We’re already seeing the fruits of that structure being applied to the team through deeper collaboration with clients and more strategic planning internally. There are also many internal initiatives that emphasize the joint organization’s values and culture. Komodo is a place that any Maven would enjoy, and that was the main thing for me. 

Can you describe your role at Mavens?

It’s hard to believe that I will have been at Mavens for six years at the end of 2021! I live in the UK, and my role for the last six years has been spent implementing Mavens products for our clients, and more recently, supporting clients post-implementation. Many of our products have very complex integrations, and some of our customers don’t have the necessary Salesforce experience to manage the implementation. That’s where I come in. We help the customer look after their systems -- whether bug fixes or new enhancements -- while also providing application support and maintenance expertise. 

I'm always looking to grow and learn something new, so I'm excited about a new opportunity within the Komodo team. I've recently taken on a new role as a Technical Lead within the Client Services Team. I’m super excited to help lead Dragons within the Client Services Team and continue my professional development as we head into 2022!

What makes you feel fulfilled at work? 

I love working for Mavens, and now Komodo. One of the reasons I’m still here is because the company gets its values right. Sure, every organization talks about its values, but not every organization leads with its values. I can say, hand to heart, the values mean everything -- from the top down at Komodo. There’s a genuine effort to ensure we don’t sacrifice our culture and values despite change and growth. 

The partnership between Komodo and Mavens felt so natural because both are very supportive organizations. Everyone joins with different levels of experience, so you need to be willing to support others. Having a supportive mindset is definitely useful. Everyone here joined with different backgrounds: from religious beliefs to hobbies. We’re such a diverse company. I think the freedom to be yourself is extremely important and it’s what makes working here, and collaborating with colleagues, so exciting.

What are you looking forward to most -- personally and professionally -- as we head into the end of the year? 

I’m looking forward to traveling again now that most COVID-related travel restrictions have been lifted. I used to travel to the US two or three times a year and I’m looking forward to seeing my Mavens colleagues and finally meeting my new Komodo colleagues. Believe it or not, I’m excited for more meetings in person! 

It's been nearly a year now since the acquisition was announced and looking back at 2021, I am starting to see for myself why this acquisition makes total sense, and the benefits and opportunities that the acquisition has provided both for me as an employee of Komodo Health and also for our customers. I'm excited to see how this journey continues to progress further in 2022.

Learn more about our Dragons in our Meet a Dragon series