Life at Brafton: Manuela | Brafton

It’s not every day you meet someone who’s taken a career leap quite like Manuela Moreno. Today, she’s known for her ability to tackle a range of projects at Brafton as our Sales Operations Executive, but her road to the marketing industry was not a traditional one. 

We caught up with her to learn how she traded her vet scrubs for sales and email expertise, diving headfirst into the marketing world with enthusiasm and excitement to learn. 

Before Brafton

Manuela takes on every project gracefully and confidently, so it might be a shock that this is her first marketing role. She got her degree in veterinary medicine at a university in Colombia — where she currently resides — and spent almost 10 years in the medical industry caring for cats, dogs and the occasional exotic animal. 

She loved what she got to do every day, caring for pets and connecting with their owners, but the years of hard labor and demanding schedules began to take a lot from her both emotionally and physically. Not only was she working holidays and nights, but she had very little free time and flexibility. 

As she thought about what she’d like the next 10 years to look like, she started to consider what other industries could provide her, which is where Brafton enters the story. 

Taking the Leap Into Marketing

At the same time as she was hoping for a change in scenery, a friend introduced her to the wide, wide world of marketing. As they guided her through the ins and outs of marketing, a job at Brafton became available and Manuela took a giant leap of faith and applied. 

“Of course, I was scared because I knew nothing, but I was also really excited,” she said. “I remember thinking that this is the opportunity for me — I’m going to take it and see how it works.” 

Even though this was her first time dipping her toes into a new industry, she took every task as a chance to learn and grow. From building decks to understanding the sales process, she slowly honed her craft, making herself an invaluable part of the team. 

“At the beginning, there were times that I didn’t know what I was doing, so I thought I wouldn’t be able to continue. But now it’s been two years,” she laughed. 

How did she get through this process? Well, loads of hard work, of course. But also by getting support from the people around her. “I was never afraid to ask for help because they’ve always been so nice and willing to lend a hand,” she added. 

A Day in the Life

While Manuela has been Brafton’s Sales Operations Executive since she started in 2022, her role has shifted over the years. In the beginning, she focused exclusively on sales operations, taking care of daily inbound, making sure all website forms worked and connecting sales representatives with new leads. 

Today, she works closely with the internal marketing team, helping with lead reporting to determine where new clients are coming from. She also creates our emails — her favorite task she does during her 9 to 5. She designs them, sends them to prospects and then reports on how those emails are received. Additionally, she works with our email marketing team on how to most successfully strategize email campaigns for clients. 

Her proudest accomplishments at Brafton? Helping to complete the Brafton website migration from Salesforce to Hubspot, as well as being part of the team that creates and offers new products to clients to make their lives easier. And, of course, how much she’s learned in her two years in this role and the fact that she made the job change in the first place. 

“I still love my previous career, but now being able to work from home and have more flexibility, it’s a total improvement for my personal well-being,” she said. “All of the things that working for Brafton has brought me have really enhanced my general life.”

How Manuela Unwinds

Yes, Manuela has mastered Brafton’s sales operations, but outside of work, she’s the queen of cozy hobbies. After she logs off for the day, she grabs her cross-stitch projects and gets to work. She’s been creating beautiful threaded artwork since college during her practices for veterinary school, which required lots of travel. “It feels like therapy to me,” she said. 

She also dabbles in crocheting and loves to curl up with a good book. Her latest read was the Red Rising Saga, which she says is a must-read for fantasy lovers. 

Even though she’s no longer a vet, her love of animals still rings true. You can often find her cuddling with her dog, Cookie, the cutest 9-year-old mini pinscher. 

“She’s the love of my life, or at least she has half of my heart. The other half is for people,” she laughed. She also has two other dogs she looks after that live with her dad, making a grand total of three furry friends. 

Whether it’s caring for animals or creating engaging emails, Manuela brings passion to everything she does. Although her journey to the marketing industry was a winding one, we at Brafton can all agree: She’s exactly where she’s supposed to be.