Anna Brodin is a licensed psychologist who joined Alva Labs as a Customer Success Manager. She goal was never to build a department, but when customers kept asking for something that didn't exist yet, she saw the gap, made the case, and created Professional Services from scratch. Here's how ownership, science, and a flat organisation made that possible.
Anna knew early that clinical psychology wasn't her path. She loved one specific part of it: assessment. The structured, analytical work of evaluating people. Organisational psychology and selection felt more exciting than treatment ever did.
She also needed pace. Clinical work didn't have it. Startup environments did. Small teams, varied tasks, things moving fast.
But the deeper pull was something else: bridging research and practice. Making science work in the real world.
"Research doesn't always reflect reality. I wanted to be the bridge between what the science says and what practitioners actually do."
That's exactly what she does now.
It wasn't planned. It grew from what customers kept asking for.
When Anna joined, Alva was a test provider. But the team had deep knowledge of recruitment best practices, and customers noticed. They started asking for more: competency frameworks, hiring strategy advice, workshop facilitation. Things that went beyond the product.
"Customers came to us wanting a closer relationship. A strategic partner, not just a SaaS vendor. Some of them said outright: we want to pay for this. Can we get it on paper?"
For a while, it happened ad hoc. When Anna had time in her schedule, she'd deliver a workshop or build a framework. But there was no pricing, no structure, no way to scale it. Smaller companies wanted the same support but got turned away because there was nothing formal to offer them.
Anna saw the gap. She pitched the idea to Alva Labs CEO.
She didn't get the green light to go full-time overnight. First, she had to prove it.
"I had to show I could think strategically. Not just what felt exciting, but whether this was the right time, and whether we were ready."
She started at 30% of her time in the new role, the rest still in Customer Success. Then 50/50. Then full-time.
The turning point came when the CS team started advocating for her. They saw the value Professional Services created for their customers, and they talked about it internally.
"That's when the shift happened. The company saw the trust others had in me. And then it spread."
Within a year, she was full-time. The department launched.
No two weeks look the same. That's the point.
Anna builds competency frameworks tied to a company's strategic direction and values. She delivers team and leadership development workshops grounded in the Big Five and validated research. She trains customers to run those workshops themselves, making the impact scalable.
Sometimes she's upskilling a TA team on research-based hiring. Sometimes she's travelling to a client's HQ abroad to facilitate a broader initiative. The common thread: making science practical for people who hire.
"Especially valuable for smaller and mid-sized companies that don't have internal resources. I become their colleague. Someone who truly understands them."
What surprised Anna most about Alva Labs? The combination of drive and kindness.
"We're all very goal-driven. Competitive, even. But at the same time, incredibly supportive. That combination is rare. I don't take it for granted."
And the flat structure is real. Anyone can pitch an idea to the CEO. If the case is strong, it wins. Title doesn't matter.
"The best idea wins. If my idea is better than someone higher up, mine wins. Without that, I wouldn't be at Alva. That's what drives me."
"If you love high pace and taking ownership, this is the place. Don't wait for someone else to fix things. It should drive you to fix them yourself. We renavigate a lot here, so you need to be flexible. But if that excites you, you'll thrive."