Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
With a reputation for having a disciplined and tireless work ethic, Natalie Pannon has become a fixture behind the scenes in the adult entertainment industry, where she first became known as a key figure in the marketing and sales efforts of AdultCentro and ModelCentro, serving a successful five-year tenure with the company.
Being a business development manager means it is my job to find bottlenecks and roadblocks and then get rid of them, so, I’m not tied only to sales, or marketing or operations, though there is a lot of each in the daily to-do list.
Fast-forward to 2017, when Pannon became MojoHost’s business development manager, responsible for introducing MojoHost clients to the benefits of hosting servers on two different continents, as well as reinforcing the value of additional services such as its global CDN and superior software solutions.
Today, the company offers an expanding range of products that many current and prospective clients may not be familiar with, and here, Pannon helps educate hosting customers and connects them with the most appropriate services.
To gain an insight into her journey through the industry, XBIZ sat down with the Woman of the Month to learn about what motivates her, her plans for the future, how to build “Good Mojo” and more.
XBIZ: What did you do before joining the adult industry?
Pannon: Echoing Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, “Hi, I’m Natalie and I’m a workaholic.” Since 14, I’ve worked so many jobs it is hard to list them all. I like to think of the time as my search for the right path.
I worked as a barista and a cleaning lady, English teacher and journalist, legal assistant and waitress, interpreter, copywriter, tour guide and chat operator. There were certainly a lot of job changes, every 6-18 months or so, and very little free time as some of the jobs I did two or three at a time — what I call “juggling.”
Business development isn’t my main specialty, though I’ve done that for a children’s charity for about six months. My master’s degree is in journalism, but I never found my calling in that trade. The last job before “going adult” was on a sales team of a wholesale diamonds dealer. They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend. That was not so for me. I found that porn is my bosom buddy.
XBIZ: How did your previous adult industry experience prepare you for your position at MojoHost?
Pannon: For those of you who aren’t into keeping up with people’s job changes, my last position was head sales and marketing manager at Centro. For five years I was part of that company — first as a tech support manager, and then rising through the ranks to sales and marketing. The experience that I gained every step of the way was very valuable.
At the same time, there is little overlap in technology or operations between MojoHost and Centro, and no competition between the two. That was one of the reasons MojoHost was my choice after deciding to move on.
While the adult industry is evolving and changing, there is a core of people who comprise its permanent and influential members. I was pleasantly surprised to be working with a lot of the customers whom I already knew and worked with before.
In addition, Centro is known for pioneering new software and technologies, introducing changes and building with the future in mind. Having exposure to such a progressive environment helped me in selecting and implementing new sales/CRM software, team expansion, collaboration optimization and overall contributing to MojoHost’s growth and success.
XBIZ: What attracted you to the MojoHost team and how has your role at the company evolved?
Pannon: A bit over two years ago there came a point in my career when I had to move on from Centro — to learn new things and apply my skills, knowledge and workaholism elsewhere. So, I put in my two weeks’ notice and asked a few of my connections if they knew of companies that are hiring. MojoHost was prominent on the list this inquiry produced.
I talked to Brad and it just clicked; a perfect match. The team is amazing and welcoming, the company values are absolutely in tune with my own, and there was so much I could contribute that I was thrilled for the opportunity to work here.
Hosting was not at all my specialty and there were a lot of tech and operations to learn — it was nearly overwhelming at first. But that’s exactly what I enjoyed most. Brad and his exceptionally brilliant and very patient tech team walked me through and showed me the ropes. Every day I grow and improve my knowledge and am now helping train new additions to our team.
XBIZ: What does a typical workday look like and what are the most and least favorite parts of it?
Pannon: The most on-point answer to “What do you do at MojoHost?” is “Everything that needs to be done!” Being a business development manager means it is my job to find bottlenecks and roadblocks and then get rid of them, so, I’m not tied only to sales, or marketing or operations, though there is a lot of each in the daily to-do list. That list might also include HR, writing or editing articles, social media management, affiliate management, new team member training, scouting for opportunities, fostering partnerships, event planning, website maintenance and a lot more — even making motivating memes.
Are there tasks that are not so pleasant? Not really. It’s fun, there’s always a lot to do and even more to learn, which is the favorite part of my job. Every once in a while, when to-dos pile up due to trade shows or priority shifts, I’ll jump between different items without completing them. Times of low productivity are my least favorite part of my job. I combat that by re-prioritizing, taking a day off or just getting more sleep.
XBIZ: How does being a woman impact your leadership and outreach in this role?
Pannon: I’ve always believed in leading by example, in inspiring and motivating without the “stick and carrot” methods. Is this gender-based? I don’t believe so. As to outreach — being female actually helps, not hinders me. It opens a lot of doors and as long as you’re professional, you’ll be taken seriously.
I’ve not felt deprived or undervalued because I’m a woman since becoming part of the adult industry. We’re either more tolerant or I’m less observant than I was at 23. Comic situations happen though and I take a little private pleasure in seeing the surprise in people’s faces when they realize I understand and can talk tech to a reasonable degree. More internal laughs are often caused when, during a sales call, the potential client shyly and indirectly asks if we have a problem with “content of an erotic nature.” I reply with “We host most of the premium porn in the world, and I’ve been part of the adult industry for seven years, and there’s absolutely nothing you can say that will make me blush.”
When I joined MojoHost, I was the only female employee. This isn’t because of some flaw in the HR process, it’s just a fact that 90 percent of the team are server administrators and females with those skills are almost as common as unicorns. At the first stage, it was like being everyone’s little sister, and so the Mojo Team gladly and patiently answered my sometimes-silly questions. In this very favorable and fertile soil, I was able to quickly grow into my role.
XBIZ: Biz dev is all about relationship-building and strong partnerships. How do you develop the relationships you need in your role at MojoHost?
Pannon: MojoHost has been expanding with our new services such as MojoCloud, MojoCDN and MojoShield. Relationship building, working with people, has always come naturally and effortlessly. While representing MojoHost and its many products, it is even easier as I benefit from the impeccable reputation of the brand, which I always take care to adhere to.
I make a lot of new connections — both online and at tradeshows and never miss an opportunity to expand that network. It really isn’t rocket science — being respectful, professional and friendly goes a long way, as well as avoiding drama and not touching politics with a 10-foot pole. Besides that — being helpful.
There’s a special kind of satisfaction in seeing that you’ve made a difference in someone’s project or business. I help with infrastructure solutions and hosting plans as well as by connecting people, doing QA, domain name suggestions — you name it. That’s Good Mojo — helping people be more successful and doing the right thing; in these little day-to-day tasks, we’re growing our industry as a whole. In an atmosphere of trust and understanding, forging partnerships and business relationships becomes a matter of choosing a solution in which everyone benefits.
XBIZ: One way that you’ve effectively championed the MojoHost brand is through your engagement with the XBIZ.net community. How important is it to directly reach industry stakeholders this way?
Pannon: I visit the XBIZ community daily and often take part in the discussions. It’s a great way to stay in touch and keep on top of industry news, as well as useful discussions. XBIZ.net is my first go-to when I want to reach someone outside of my immediate circle or simply when I need to look up information or contacts I don’t readily have. There is a wealth of information to draw from, and anyone not using the network is missing out.
XBIZ: What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome and the best score you’ve made in this industry?
Pannon: Overcoming obstacles and solving problems is the daily grind. It’s really hard to pick just one. There’s the recent six-month incredibly intense sales negotiation which resulted in a deal. The customer messaged me afterward saying “Whew, I can’t believe you’ve actually made this happen.” Growing the tech team and effectively tripling it was also quite a bit of work. MojoHost’s website redesign took a lot of effort and was certainly challenging and rewarding.
A “score” I’m proud of is winning Business Development Manager of the Year at the 2019 XBIZ Exec Awards earlier this year.
XBIZ: What does a day off look like — or is it a matter of all work and no play?
Pannon: Oh, there’s a lot of play on my days off. Being a mom to a 3-year-old does that. When I have a moment to myself, I read. I’m a big sci-fi/fantasy nerd in my recreational book choices.
Brad struggles with trying to get to me to take more time off. “Natalie, go the f* to sleep” is common in our message history. He is really an amazing, caring boss. Not many can boast working for someone who’s genuinely concerned that you should be living your life to the fullest. He’s the reason for most of my vacations, as I’ll never willingly inflict a day without my beloved work on myself. That said, I don’t really have a clock to punch. Being a mom imposes a lot of responsibilities and I’m very grateful for the ability to work on my own schedule.
XBIZ: How do you stay motivated and how do you define success?
Pannon: I get motivated by checking off what I’ve done, looking over statistics or simply by helping those people who asked for help. Huge boosts come from approval — “great job today” is probably the most valuable thing you can say to your employees to charge them for their next achievement. It is a natural synergy of accomplishment of goals and approval that keeps me striving to do more.
Success is not only reaching a goal, raking in more money for the company and personally, or closing a bigger number of deals, it’s about enjoying the process and effecting real changes.
XBIZ: What does the future hold for you and the company?
Pannon: My immediate future holds attending the XBIZ Show in Los Angeles and looking forward to this upcoming trip. MojoHost is bound for more success, of course. The development of the MojoCloud cloud computing continues, and our new data center in Michigan will be ready soon, providing us with alternatives in engineering solutions. MojoShield is a hit, and I believe that the product will make a huge difference for our industry, and the servers we have recently added to our EU data center are notoriously superb.
These are exciting times for MojoHost, and therefore for me.
