Being Pulled Toward Something Bigger
Written by Tobi Marx, Director of Client Success (NA)
I don’t know that there was a single moment that triggered my move from the public to the private sector. It was less of a sharp break and more of a steady pull toward something bigger.
I’ll admit that changes in my personal life over the past couple of years played a role as well. Not because I felt the need to prove anything to anyone, but because I felt ready to leap forward. I wanted to move freely again, to create, build, and to push ideas without feeling held back. In many ways, I wanted to be set free.
For a long time, the public sector was exactly where I needed to be. It taught me invaluable lessons about teamwork, strategy, and collaboration. As someone with an entrepreneurial mindset, that didn’t always come easily, especially early on. I thrive in fast-paced environments, and learning to slow down, bring in the right voices, and navigate complexity was challenging. But it also showed me that collaboration, when done well, can be powerful and even beautiful.
There’s a common misconception that the public sector is slow, rigid, and filled with people protecting the status quo. While some of that exists, it’s far from the whole story. I’ve worked alongside incredibly smart, driven, and passionate people who genuinely want to make a difference in their communities. That dedication left a lasting impression on me.
What began to wear me down, however, was the growing realization that the work my team cared deeply about was no longer central to the city’s broader priorities. This wasn’t about a lack of support or good intentions; it was about shifting focus. As leadership structures changed and priorities evolved, innovation in my space became harder to advance. What once felt like momentum slowly turned into endurance. Innovation became less about bold ideas and meaningful impact, and more about incremental process improvement. For me, that no longer felt like enough.
One of the most important lessons I’m taking with me is the value of being strategic, mapping projects thoughtfully, involving the right people early, and measuring success by real impact. I learned to constantly ask myself: Am I doing this because it sounds good, or because it will genuinely improve the experience for the people I serve? That mindset shaped how I approached parking and mobility, and how I focused on improving the everyday experience for my community.
I didn’t leave the public sector because I stopped caring. I left because I wanted to do more. I wanted to come alongside municipal leaders in our industry and help them move from status quo to innovation, while fully understanding the limitations they operate within. Those constraints aren’t failures; their realities of the system. Having lived them, I believe I can now serve cities more effectively by helping translate ideas into action, empathy into implementation, and vision into real projects.
In many ways, I don’t feel like I’m leaving the public sector behind at all. I’m bringing it with me. The perspective, experience, and understanding I gained will allow me to build deeper relationships and create more meaningful, impactful work.
That desire to stay closely connected to cities, while working from a new vantage point, is ultimately what led me to Cleverciti.
This next chapter is about expanding innovative solutions in the parking and mobility space and helping lead a shift in how cities think about, manage, and experience parking in the years to come.
The truth is, I’m leaving behind a very secure and stable environment. I’m trading certainty for risk. But risk has always been part of who I am. I’ve failed before, learned from it, and grown because of it. Some might say this is an unusual leap at this stage of life, especially amid other changes. To me, it feels like a natural evolution.
I’ve come to realize how much I truly love this industry and that I get to spend my time doing work I care deeply about. That’s a gift. And if taking this risk shows my kids anything, I hope it’s this: growth often requires courage, and becoming the best version of ourselves means choosing forward motion, even when the path isn’t guaranteed.
As I considered where to take that next step, Cleverciti stood out as a natural fit. The company’s focus on practical, scalable innovation, paired with a deep understanding of how cities operate, mirrors my own experience and values. I was drawn to Cleverciti because it bridges what’s possible with what’s practical, and because it offers the opportunity to help cities turn vision into real, measurable impact.
In many ways, this move feels less like a departure from public service and more like an evolution of it.
About ParkHelp Technologies
ParkHelp is one of the world’s leading providers of smart parking solutions, offering a range of innovative products designed to optimize parking management, improve the user experience, promote sustainable urban mobility, and help parking owners generate more revenue. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services advanced parking guidance systems (PGS), digital guidance signage, license plate recognition (LPR) cameras, and integrated software solutions tailored for diverse environments, including commercial complexes, shopping malls, hospitals, corporate campuses, airports, and municipalities. ParkHelp can be found online at www.parkhelp.com.
About Cleverciti
Cleverciti, part of the ParkHelp group, is a pioneering curbside intelligence company specializing in AI-powered parking guidance and enforcement technologies. Its award-winning and patented systems deliver real-time parking availability, guided enforcement, and data-driven curb management for cities and commercial operators worldwide. Visit www.cleverciti.com.