Operations and Implementation, BlackbookHR
What initially attracted you to Venture for America?
Passion. I heard Andrew speak at an info session at Wesleyan and I knew that I wanted to work in an environment where passion was at the heart of why each person was in the office. I didn’t know I was interested in entrepreneurship until I saw the VFA team in action and experienced the day to day at my company in Cincinnati. I realized how different the work environment can be in a small startup, compared to larger organizations. There is something exhilarating in the uncertainty of a startup that I never felt in previous jobs.
What is the best part of being a VFA Fellow?
There is this misconception that young people have to pay their dues before they can be trusted to handle anything important. VFA challenges that status quo. We might not be the decision makers at our individual companies, but we certainly are role players. My favorite thing about being a VFA Fellow is that Im a part of the first class of Fellows. We have an opportunity to define what this experience is like. To pave a new path. Expectations have been set very high, and I like to think that this group of incredibly talented, smart, passionate individuals will rise to meet the challenge and empower more young people coming out of college to go into small businesses instead of getting funneled into banks, law firms, and consulting agencies.
What does BlackbookHR do?
Blackbook diagnoses and treats employee turnover. We utilize our proprietary predictive analytics tool to clearly identify organizational pain points, create a sightline to flight risk employees, and increase retention of high value employees. Blackbook also provides connectivity tools that increase productivity, engagement, and embeddedness. Our solutions are based on two decades of research out of Georgetown University and the theory of Job Embeddedness.
What do you do on a typical day at work?
There really isn’t a typical day at work. I spend a lot of time of bouncing between working with current customers on ensuring they have a great experience with our products, assisting our developer in testing our next product, and doing research to generate sales leads. Ive spent time setting up our CRM system for the team and in the coming months I will be working with regional representatives as we implement our products in new cities across the country. Mix in some ping pong, building a social media strategy, and creating a more formalized way of sharing internal documents, and youll have a sense of what Im doing… at least today.
What’s your favorite thing about Cincinnati?
Cincinnati flies way below the radar. In fact Im not sure if I had ever even said Cincinnati before coming here for my interview with Blackbook. Ive been blown away by the vibrancy of the city. The people here are warm and friendly (even though I didnt go to a local high school), and the entrepreneurial community has been so welcoming and engaged with our presence here. I think that my favorite thing about the city is that it has all of the great urban infrastructure of a major city, but it doesnt have all the congestion. No offense NYC and Boston, but I like walking on a sidewalk without getting jostled and bumped. I will also say that Cincinnati is evolving in front of us. Each week there is a new restaurant or bar that pops up as part of a major urban revitalization effort underway by the city. There is an excitement about what is coming, and Im proud to be a part of creating that brighter future.
What do you hope to accomplish in your time with VFA?
Business and entrepreneurship were not really on my radar as possible career paths a few years ago. Im really trying to learn all that I can. Between the more theoretical readings and assignments that VFA gives us each month, and the actual hands on entrepreneurial grind Im a part of each day, I think I will have a great base on which to build come the end of the Fellowship. I also happen to love my job and city so I would love to help my company be successful and grow, hire locally, create jobs, and be the next must have enterprise technology. On top of all that, I want to foster deep and meaningful connections with the other Fellows in the program. I know that each person is special and talented and is going to do something great, and our relationships are just as important, if not more so, than the actual tangible accomplishments we will each have as individuals.
