Meet Raquel Alexander, our new VP of Growth!

We’re big believers in the idea that communication belongs to everyone – so we think everybody should be able to get a phone number and call and text as much as they want, for free. Coincidentally (or not), that’s exactly what you get with TextNow – unlimited calling and texting on a nationwide 5G/4G network, without any pesky bills. That’s why we’re excited that Raquel Alexander has joined our team as VP of Growth, to make sure that as many people as possible know that they can get free, reliable phone service, all in a handy app. Raquel has nearly 15 years of experience building mobile businesses for major brands like Shutterfly and Electronic Arts, and she joined us here at the TextNow blog to fill us in on what she has planned for TextNow.

‍Hi Raquel, welcome to TextNow! Tell us what you’re going to be working on as VP of Growth.‍

We have this amazing product – free phone service – that no one else can provide, and that so many people can benefit from. So we want to get TextNow in the hands of as many consumers as possible. I want us to be thinking about growth multi-dimensionally – it’s not about spending more marketing dollars or finding a growth hack. But it’s really understanding the consumer and then thinking about all aspects of growth – from what we sell, to where and how, to making the experience as frictionless as possible.

‍Why did you decide to join TextNow?‍

I had spent a lot of time working in the mobile app space, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to return. But the more I learned about TextNow and the service it provides, the more I thought about the opportunity to do something transformational. A new way to think about phone service – an industry that has some pretty big incumbents for us to disrupt.

And, as I started to speak to the senior leadership team, what really caught my attention was the culture at TextNow. They really mean it when they say they put people first, with an emphasis on employee well-being and work-life balance. Those things can be rare in tech and it made me believe that this was a place where I could really do great work without sacrificing my personal and family life.

‍As you get started in your role, what are you most excited about?

I love the product. Free wireless service is a gamechanger. Whenever I tell someone about it, they’re blown away. They always want to know what the catch is, but there isn’t one – it’s just reliable wireless service, for free, with no surprises.

The traditional wireless industry is wide open for disruption. If you think about a company like Uber, they didn’t just tweak taxi service or make it cheaper; they changed the way taxi service is delivered. And I think we have the opportunity at TextNow to do the same thing for mobile phone service. Those kinds of opportunities don’t come along that often.

‍What’s your top priority for this year?‍

My goal is to pour a fuel on our wireless fire. Free phone service is an amazing offer – and I want to make sure that everyone knows how to get it.

To do that, we need to know who our customers are, where they are, how they use our service – the whole user experience. I’ll be working with product, engineering, data, and marketing to make sure we’re taking a holistic view of the customer journey to help take TextNow to the next level of scale.