Meet the Team: Petya Filipova, Head of Customer Success

Petya Filipova is Head of Customer Success at zkipster.

Originally from Montana, Bulgaria, she has lived in the United States for 13 years and joined the zkipster team in October 2018. Petya is currently based in Miami and speaks Bulgarian and English.

Petya, tell us about your career before you arrived at zkipster.

“I grew up in Bulgaria and attended the University of Veliko Tarnovo, where I majored in Marketing. When I graduated I joined the marketing department at Boliarka - one of the biggest breweries in Bulgaria - where I worked alongside the marketing managers on research and promotions.

“Not long afterwards I moved to the United States. I started out in Las Vegas, which was an interesting experience - I really enjoyed living there in my 20s - before moving to New York City.

“When I arrived in the US I moved into sales for luxury brands, selling directly to retail clients in store. It was my first exposure to luxury brands and luxury service, and I ended up working for Valentino, Missoni, and Mackintosh. My role at Mackintosh was more of a hybrid, as I established connections with clients and drew upon my marketing experience. I helped with development when the brand opened a new boutique, partnering with a Scotch whisky producer on a launch event.

“Working in retail also gave me my first sales experience, and I soon realized that my strength lay in building post-sale relationships with customers: providing aftercare and additional service following purchase. 

“After working in luxury retail for two years, I decided to make a change. My interest in the post-sale process inspired me to switch to customer success. I discovered zkipster on LinkedIn, and my experience seemed like a good fit: I could bring my knowledge of luxury brands and white glove service to the world of special events. I love the arts so I was particularly excited about the opportunity to work with zkipster clients in the cultural space.”

Tell us about your role at zkipster.

“I began at zkipster as the Client Relations Associate for North America, and was quickly promoted to Customer Success Manager for the region. I held that role from January 2019 until January 2023, when I was promoted to my current position: Head of Customer Success.

“When I started out in Client Relations I spent time helping users on the Support chat, which was super helpful, as I quickly learnt about our product, our clients and their events.

“Petya is an inspiration in how to keep growing, adopting best practice in everything she does. During her time with zkipster we’ve seen her become a master at helping our customers succeed, thanks to her thorough, precise and thoughtful approach. She is a pleasure to work with!”

OLIVIA ROBINSON | CRO | ZKIPSTER

“Now my focus is on Customer Success: onboarding, then supporting clients at different touchpoints along the post-sale cycle until renewal. It’s my job to keep in contact with customers, keep them engaged with the tool, and help them reach their goals. We’ll establish specific use cases then educate clients on how to optimize their overall use of the zkipster platform, utilizing as many features as possible. I aim to bring value with every interaction, supporting clients with their event production and helping to facilitate successful events.

“Recently I collaborated with an entertainment company as they prepared for an important industry showcase. These are huge annual events with many moving parts, large guest lists, and many separate teams involved in the production, design, and execution. I communicated with the different client groups during a series of meetings, with lots of brainstorming about the best - and most user-friendly - ways to use zkipster to execute the showcase. In the end the event went flawlessly and surpassed the client’s goals, with great feedback about the whole process. It was a very rewarding experience.”

“​​I feel lucky to work side by side with Petya. She is extremely dedicated to her work in client Success and to improving our customer experience. She has a wonderful knack for analyzing data and problem solving, and finds solutions that are scalable globally. She leads our Success strategy with a keen understanding of both the goals and challenges facing our clients. Her expertise and thoughtful approach make her an invaluable asset to the team.”

MICHALA KEPPLE | HEAD OF CLIENT RELATIONS - NORTH AMERICA | ZKIPSTER 

What’s the best thing about working at zkipster?

“The team! It’s so diverse, and spread out across different locations around the world, but at the same time it’s so collaborative. Everyone is so invested in customer success and supporting clients, which is very inspiring. I strive to be as dedicated and knowledgeable as my colleagues.

“Also our clients - they’re from so many different industries, and the events they organize are very exciting and special. Working with such dynamic clients means that my day-to-day is very dynamic - working at zkipster is never the same, and never boring!”

What are the most memorable events you’ve been part of, whether for work or in your personal life?

“With zkipster, I was lucky enough to attend the New York City Ballet Spring Gala in 2019. The ballet company is a client and very generously gives us the opportunity to attend these amazing galas. We work with the team to help produce the events, which include cocktail, dinner and performance components. zkipster is used for guest management and check-in, and it’s really nice to see the product in action at a red carpet event.

“I’m a big fan of music festivals and there are now more and more happening in Miami, where I live. Most recently I went to Zamna. The music and sports scene has grown rapidly over the past few years, and zkipster now has quite a few events clients in Miami too. It’s an interesting place to live - I like the weather and the relaxed vibe - though I do miss the fast-paced atmosphere and diversity of New York. There’s so much happening there, and as an art fan I loved being surrounded by culture.”