Garrett is joining Holly as our Founding BDR, where he'll be leading our outreach efforts to connect with government agencies nationwide. He'll focus on building relationships that turn into long-term partnerships.

I first met Garrett at CalGovHR, where Cherie and I were presenting at the City of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County (both now Holly customers!). The conference floor was packed and it's easy to get lost in the noise. Garrett didn't. His curiosity, warmth, and genuine interest in every conversation stood out immediately. He has a rare ability to make people feel heard - something you can't fake with government professionals who've seen every sales pitch.

He's coming to us after several years in govtech including roles at Granicus and TrueComp. He's also our first team member in Colorado, joining us from Denver. (Look out Colorado, you're next!)

We chatted with Garrett to learn more about his experience and what keeps him excited about working with governments.

How did you first get interested in GovTech?

I started at Granicus on the sales team for their Customer Engagement Cloud. I immediately liked the government employees I was talking to - they cared about their work in a way that felt different from other industries. They're so focused on trying to make their communities better, often with limited resources and competing priorities, and I've stayed because of that.

GovTech has weird problems. Procurement is slow, budgets are tight, and every agency has its own way of doing things. I like figuring out how to actually help instead of just running a playbook.

What got you excited about Holly?

Brendan and Cherie actually listen to their customers. That sounds obvious, but it's not. A lot of companies say they do that and then build whatever they were going to build anyway. Holly constantly talks to customers, gets their feedback then ships changes based on it. It makes Holly's product better and builds trust with customers, who then refer us on to other potential clients. When I saw that, I knew this was a team I wanted to be part of.

What's your favorite thing about working with government clients?

They're busy and stretched thin, but they still care about doing right by their teams AND their communities. That's consistent across every agency I've worked with.

I love that every agency operates a bit differently. Each agency has developed their own approaches based on their unique context: their size, their region, their history. I like learning how each one operates. It makes the work more interesting.

What's something surprising people might not know about working with governments?

Local government is way more tight-knit than people think. Leaders talk to each other constantly sharing what's working, comparing vendors, helping each other out. They understand that we're all in this together and that ultimately we're all working toward the same goal: serving the community.

I've been at conferences where people crowd around a table to workshop a problem together. It's not competitive the way private sector stuff can be. They actually want each other to succeed.

What an amazing addition to the team! We already know he's going to hit the ground running. Welcome to the team, Garrett!