Five Questions with Contentra’s New Chief Revenue Officer, Kevin Schroeder
Congratulations on your new role Chief Revenue Officer at Contentra. What are you most excited about as you step into this role?
There’s a lot to be excited about, but for me it really comes down to the opportunity for growth. We have a great team and strong client relationships, and I think we’ve been a bit of a well-kept secret in the industry.
What excites me is the chance to grow from there. And when I talk about growth, I don’t just mean a revenue number. I mean growing with our existing clients, building new relationships, bringing in more projects for our team, and then growing our team as those opportunities increase.
We have a really strong foundation in place, and I’m excited about getting our name out there more and seeing where we can take it.
You spend a lot of time talking with clients and others across the education industry. What are you hearing about the challenges they’re facing and where they need the most support?
Probably the biggest thing I’m hearing is that everyone is being asked to do more with less. Budgets are tighter, internal teams are leaner, but the expectations around quality and timelines haven’t gone away.
AI is obviously a big part of that conversation too. Everyone is trying to figure out where it can create real efficiencies and where you still need the human expertise and judgment that go into developing great educational content. I don’t think it has to be one or the other. I think the companies that figure out the right balance are going to be in a really good position moving forward.
One thing I’ve learned is that when budgets get tight, the cheapest approach isn’t always the least expensive in the end. More and more, clients need partners who understand the work, can spot potential issues early, and can help find practical ways to get great work done within the realities of their budgets and resources.
You’ve worked with educational publishers and learning companies for nearly 20 years. How have you seen what clients need and expect from their partners change?
I think the biggest change is that the best relationships have become much more collaborative. It used to be more common to receive a defined scope, schedule, and budget and then go execute it. That still happens, but today clients are looking for more from the partners they trust.
We’re seeing clients rely more on our team’s experience and expertise. They want people who understand what clients trying to accomplish, ask the right questions, bring ideas to the table, and help figure out the best way to get there. In many cases, our team really becomes an extension of theirs.
We’re also not going to say yes just to get a project. If we see a better way to approach something, we’ll share it. And if we don’t think we’re the right fit, we’ll be upfront about that too. I think being willing to have those conversations is one of the best ways you build long-term relationships.
Where do you see new opportunities for Contentra to help clients?
Some of our favorite opportunities we’ve found have come from a client asking, “Can you help us with this too?” I love those conversations.
We’ve expanded what we can offer in areas like production and composition, translation and localization, and we’re taking on different types of content development work as our clients’ needs evolve. But we don’t want to force every opportunity into something we already do. We’ll look at what the client is trying to accomplish, figure out what resources it would take, and determine whether there’s a good way for us to help.
We’re also intentionally building relationships with trusted resources and partners before we need them. That gives us more options when a client comes to us with something different, while still making sure we can deliver the quality they expect.
What would you tell a company that hasn’t worked with Contentra before?
I’d say give us an opportunity to earn your business. We aren’t necessarily looking for large initial projects—we are happy to start with a small initial project and scale up from there.
Some of our best client relationships have started with smaller opportunities where we have a chance to learn how each other works, prove what our team can do, and grow the relationship from there. I think that’s a smart way to evaluate any new partner. Give them something meaningful, see how they communicate and how they respond when something doesn’t go exactly as planned, and then decide whether you want to do more together.
We’re going to ask questions, explore different options, and be honest with you about what we think. If we’re a good fit, great. If we’re not the right team for something, we’ll tell you that too.
At the end of the day, we want to earn your business and then give you reasons to keep coming back.
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