YC EU from Nespresso

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[Voiceover]: Welcome to the checkout. We catch up with previous add to cart guests and ask them five quick questions to get to know them better and leave you with a little extra inspiration to get through your Friday. Here's your host, Bushy.

[Ad]: Today on the checkout we are joined by ycu, head of E Business at Nespresso, the brand that completely changed the way that we make coffee at home. But today we are not just talking coffee. YC shares the weirdest thing that she's ever bought online. It involves Oysters, the unexpected retailer that's caught her eye, the must have tech tool that her team can't live without, and the book that shaped her approach to leadership. And YC is one of the best leaders that I've come across.

Nathan Bush: So this is a book that you'll

[Ad]: probably want to get your hands on.

Nathan Bush: Let's jump straight in. Yc, thank you so much for joining us on the checkout. It was a brilliant conversation that we had in our main episode around what you are doing with the team at Nespresso and your version of what E Business and E Commerce stands for. Hence you've changed the whole definition which I love. And I especially loved your concept around Stealing with pride. That was very well put. But we're here to learn a little bit more about you. So I've got five quick questions. Number one, what is the weirdest thing that you've ever bought online?

YC: Weirdest thing I've ever bought online A few years ago now I bought some edible flowers online from a little shop based in Melbourne. I was throwing champagne and oyster party and oysters aren't the best looking or presentable thing. And then I think it was on Pinterest. This is how long ago this is, right? Somebody had a plate of them and they had edible flowers on them which made it look pretty. And then I went out and searched for them and then they had to come in, you know, an ice bag all the way from Melbourne. Just couldn't find them here. I think that may be it.

Nathan Bush: Did they make the oysters look pretty?

YC: They did. I don't think that many people ate them, but they, you know, made for a good Instashot.

Nathan Bush: Yeah, great Insta shots. That's the main thing. Number two, which retailer has most inspired you recently?

YC: Yeah, I think my go to usually is Mecca. They do some great things. I mean, even goto, you know, there's been some. A lot of sharing of them or what they're doing lately. I love the tone of voice. But most recently, I would say Ikea. I was reading about how they have now developed this new consumer engagement framework. They've kind of identified over 100 consumer lifecycle journeys to personalize at scale. So they kind of moving away from everyone just gets there's a mass drop of their catalogs to how they personalize at scale. And I always find it inspiring when a global company of that scale can kind of make these kind of shifts and then have it stick. And I hear that it's doing well, so I think they definitely want to watch.

Nathan Bush: That's a lot of user journeys.

YC: Yes. And then finally they just launched their loyalty points and they had a really fun campaign. It's called Better Late than Never. And all of their ads had, you know, trends from back in the day. Well, coming back to the content, Better

Nathan Bush: Late than Never, it was called the soundtrack. Over it is the something drop. Oh, my God. I'm showing my age here. But it was like a track that was like really viral eight or ten years ago. And they put that over the top. Was so cool. So well done. All right, number three, name a piece of tech that you or your e commerce business couldn't live without.

YC: Great question. I actually had asked the team this and there were so many things. I mean, everything from just your general Internet, right when you know, the Optus outage, everyone, people are like just beside themselves. But all of our tech, I mean, everything I spoke about the Microsoft suites and teams and how we communicate. But then I thought maybe it had to be and you either love it or hate it. Like GA4. That's kind of where all the data comes from. And every turn we're like, okay, what does the data say? How is this page performing? So I want to say that's probably the one that we can't live without.

Nathan Bush: And it feels like last year was the year where everyone was like, all right, GA4 is here. We've got to accept it. We've got to learn to live with it. Do you feel you and the team have come to a point now where you're really confident and happy working through the data in GA4?

YC: I think we have made peace. That much I'll say we've made peace with GA4.

Nathan Bush: I think I need to make like T shirts for that. I've made peace with GA4.

YC: Yeah, it is what it is.

Nathan Bush: It is number four. Can you recommend a book or a podcast that our listeners should immediately get into?

YC: I would say the book called Mindset by Carol Dweck. I think it's a great classic book. It talks about identifying fixed and growth mindset and the traits and I guess just a high level that you know, when you have a growth mindset, you believe that talent can be developed and can be learned and it's not innate or you're not born with it. So I think it's something that I do refer to. Our CEO gave it to the whole leadership team one Christmas and it's one that I've shared around and one that I refer back to.

Nathan Bush: Awesome. Great tip. We haven't had that one before, so brilliant. Thank you.

[Ad]: And last one I've got for you.

Nathan Bush: I see. What is your biggest challenge today?

YC: Oh, keeping up with the Google algorithm. It's like, what are they doing and why? You know, why are we ranking one day and not. And anyways. No, but in all seriousness, that would

Nathan Bush: be a surprise for many though for like a business of your size. How volatile it can still be?

YC: Well, I guess it depends on the update. Right. And how. I guess what they say if it's a minor or major update and it's only when it gets rolled out that you're like, okay, this has happened, you know, what do we do with it? I think another thing that we've made peace with. But maybe on an overarching, I would say we're in such a fast moving industry and space, it's sometimes hard to keep up with everything. But really it's about, I think understanding what's out there, but only taking, you know, what makes sense for us, that works to us, our vision and makes an impact.

Nathan Bush: Not getting distracted.

YC: Yes. By shiny things.

Nathan Bush: Sweat the assets.

YC: Yes, Sweat the assets.

Nathan Bush: Well, I see. Thank you so much. Like I said, we talk all things nespresso in your journey in the main episode, including how you are focused on sweating the assets. Thank you so much for joining us on the checkout.

YC: Thank you so much for having me.

[Ad]: If you love this chat with yc, make sure you jump back into our main primary episode where YC takes us behind the scenes. At Nespresso. We dive deep into how this international powerhouse is redefining E commerce with immersive experiences. We talk about the smart ways that they're personalizing at scale, especially for the Australian market, and why sweating the assets is her mantra for success. It's an episode you won't want to miss from one of the global leaders in not just ecommerce commerce, but in retail. Thanks for listening, and until next time, keep adding to cartoon.