“This is what marketers want and need: one login where they can build awareness, drive leads, convert prospects into customers, and track their progress and success.”

Prior to Vocus, You Mon Tsang was CEO of Engine140, a company Vocus acquired and subsequently integrated into its product portfolio. A serial entrepreneur, Tsang also founded and was CEO of Biz360, a market intelligence company that helped Fortune 500 companies compile and analyze media content. Additionally, he founded Boxxet, a consumer content aggregation engine with 4 million unique visitors a month, and Milktruck LLC, an Internet pioneer in offline browsing and “push” software.

Tsang holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Yale University and an MBA from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.

Vocus is a leading marketing cloud provider that helps businesses reach and influence buyers across social networks, online and through media. Vocus provides an integrated suite that combines social marketing, search marketing, email marketing and publicity into a comprehensive solution to help businesses attract, engage and retain customers. Vocus software is used by more than 120,000 organizations worldwide and is available in seven languages.

MO: You’re a startup entrepreneur whose last company was acquired by an established company (Vocus). Can you share a bit about your experience with such a big transition and what aspects have been the easiest and most challenging of the process so far?

You Mon: Being the boss for 15 years meant that I wanted to make decisions and participate in all aspects of the business. It took about two months before I got adjusted to focusing primarily on my department once I became a part of Vocus. That said, naturally thinking about a company in its entirety has been a plus for both myself and Vocus.

The easiest transition has been culture. Vocus is very entrepreneurial and fast moving. I wasn’t expecting that from an established, public company. That was a pleasant surprise.

MO: Can you tell us a bit about how Vocus offers an integrated suite that helps businesses attract, engage and retain customers?

You Mon: I have been producing technology for marketers for over a decade and only now has the software been advanced enough to credibly offer an integrated platform for a business to market their products or services. This is what marketers want and need: one login where they can build awareness, drive leads, convert prospects into customers, and track their progress and success.

There have been a lot of false starts for marketing technology. This time, it’s real.

MO: How important do you think that the culture of a company is to its success?

You Mon: I think the opposite: the key to a good culture is success. And success can be found in companies that are autonomous (Google), familial (Peoplesoft), or even ruthless (early Microsoft). Who didn’t like those companies in their heyday? They are all different, but they were successful and success means good culture.

That said, I try to build companies and teams where we all expect success and excellence. The culture falls out of that.

MO: Can you expand on how Vocus is transforming from a company focused on the Public Relations professional and expanding to include the Marketing professional and what such a massive shift will entail?

You Mon: Remember, Public Relations is a major component of Marketing, so this is really an expansion rather a shift. That said, the effort is significant and represents a bet-the-company commitment from all of Vocus. The investment has been mostly around technology, services, sales and marketing.

The good news is that Vocus has been a dominant player in Public Relations and that gives us a great entry point into Marketing.

MO: How have the Vocus team been preparing for Demand Success 2013, a two-day marketing conference held in June? What do you hope that the average attendee walks away with?

You Mon: For our attendees, we are dedicated to making this conference professional, fulfilling, and fun. After interacting with the likes of Arianna Huffington, Elisabeth Moss (Peggy from Mad Men!) and cutting edge thinkers like Jeremiah Owyang and Jay Rosen, I hope the average attendee walks away inspired, smarter, and tired from all of the fun.

MO: Where does your passion for innovation come from? Where do you look for inspiration?

You Mon: I am a huge optimist. I think technology can solve many of our problems: big or small. And it is optimism that gives me the energy and space to look for solutions.