Community member spotlight: Kevin Utz
Meet Kevin Utz, VP of Product Development at itsWoop Technologies, who brings a technical perspective to Klaviyo, a willingness to experiment, and a passion for helping other Community members skip some of the trial and error he’s already worked through.
As Kevin puts it, “For better or worse, I grew up with a laptop, and here I am still using one every day.”
Kevin is incredibly humble and asked me to spotlight someone else at first, but I was able to convince him to let us give him a little attention for his contributions. So here’s more about him and how he uses Klaviyo outside of traditional ecomm, what keeps him active in the Community, and what he’s exploring next.
What first drew Kevin to Klaviyo ⚙️
Kevin first came to Klaviyo while looking for a platform that could support some fairly complex requirements at itsWoop.
“I was tasked with trying to find a marketing platform that could handle complex email and SMS workflows, had API support, and could support our personalization needs,” he says.
And the reason his team has stuck with it is pretty straightforward: it continues to do those things.
Kevin’s experience is also a good reminder that Klaviyo doesn’t have to fit neatly into a traditional ecommerce use case.
Using Klaviyo outside of traditional ecommerce
“Klaviyo is way more than a marketing tool for ecommerce,” Kevin says. “From what I’ve seen, Klaviyo provides so much flexibility that any industry can use it to match their workflows.”
For teams in industries like insurance, B2B, or other less traditional use cases, Kevin recommends thinking beyond the standard playbook.
Instead of asking whether your business looks like a typical Klaviyo customer, look at the workflows you need to support: the customer data you have available, the events you can send into Klaviyo, the experiences you want to personalize, and the communications you want to automate.
That flexibility is what has allowed Kevin and his team to make Klaviyo work for their own business model.
What he sticks around in the Klaviyo Community 🤝
For Kevin, participating in the Community is largely about helping other people avoid having to figure everything out the hard way.
“I enjoy helping people in the Community so they don’t have to go through the same processes of trial and error that I’ve gone through,” he says.
“Klaviyo is a complex, nuanced product that I feel like I understand pretty well, and the Community gives me an opportunity to share my experiences and help others.”
That willingness to share what worked, what didn’t, and what Kevin has learned along the way is exactly what makes peer-to-peer knowledge so valuable.
What Kevin is excited to explore next 🔍
One feature currently on Kevin’s list is Custom Objects.
“I’m excited to explore the concept of Custom Objects on user profiles,” he says. “It’s something I haven’t taken the time to fully explore and understand yet.”
Given Kevin’s background in product development, APIs, and more complex Klaviyo implementations, we have a feeling he’ll have some useful lessons to share once he starts experimenting.
Outside of work
When Kevin isn’t thinking about technology or product development, you’ll probably find him spending time with cats, following Arsenal Football Club, or exploring his interests in short stories, language, and philosophy.
Connect with Kevin? 👋
Say hello in the comments, ask him about using Klaviyo for a nontraditional business model, or keep an eye out for his answers around the Community.