| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | Many of my best childhood memories involve a dining room table covered in LEGOs surrounded by my best friends. One in particularly good memory though, was working on a school project with one of my parents.
When I was about 11 years old, I had a pretty typical assignment for my science class: to construct a volcano that we could "erupt" with a combination of baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring. I spent quite some time sketching ideas and trying to come up with a way to make my volcano unique.
Fortunately, my family had quite a collection of back-issues of National Geographic and I added strips of paper at each page that featured a volcano I liked. I narrowed it down to a volcano that had large rolling black channels that formed after the lava cooled from a prior eruption. I tried forming the volcano using the paper mache directions provided by my teacher but no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't getting the smoothness depicted in the pictures.
My parents were divorced at the time and I was staying with my father that evening. I asked him to help me with ideas and I distinctly remember his reaction. He looked at the picture, my work-in-progress, and the picture again and then he went out to his work truck. He came back with a giant piece of cardboard and three aerosol cans. One of them was a spray-on rubber compound, one was a spray-on insulation foam, and one was a metallic spray paint. The foam created the rolling hills and channels, the rubber added texture and color, and the paint added in accents to the color that brought the project surprisingly close to volcano in the picture.
I brought the project to school and it was definitely different from the rest. From that experience, I learned how valuable it is to share what you're working on and seek out great ideas you haven't thought of. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I've always looked up to my father's older brother. We share a lot in common: we definitely look like we're related, we're both deeply interested in music, we've studied similar academic topics, we like to travel, we care about family, we like to solve problems, we've made our careers with computing, and we're passionate about our interests. Of all of these, his largest influence on me has been in computing.
When I was pretty young, I only saw him at family gatherings because he lived pretty far away. I would listen as he told me and my father stories about how computers were going change the way we all communicate and access information. He has a way of speaking and engaging with people where he can talk about pretty advanced topics while making sure his audience keeps pace. It was only the 80s but he was already talking laptop or tablet sized computers that could hold encyclopedias of information and continuously communicated each other. His entire career was inspirational because it moved into so many interesting areas. He went on to work with think tanks and R&D programs at the forefront of several important developments in computing that have led to the devices we use today. These stories started a chain of events where my father purchased a computer for our household and I went on to pursue computer science in college. Today I've met and worked with some of the computing pioneers that my uncle spoke about in my childhood. I certainly share my uncle's passion for what's possible with technology and eagerly anticipate the developments that are to come. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | There are so many character traits that I admire in people. First and foremost would be virtuous character traits such as being honest, fair, loyal, kind, protective, and good. Secondarily would be combining that first set with “game changer” character traits such as being spontaneous, adventurous, audacious, courageous, industrious, resourceful, dedicated, and inventive. In that second group, there is another trait for which I’ve recently gained a huge appreciation: decisiveness.
Decisiveness hasn’t always been a trait that I admired. We’ve all seen many people make quick decisions with pretty rough outcomes. In many instances, it can be more efficient to sit on a decision and let the right choice sort of bubble up to the top. When it came to starting a company, however, this strategy wasn’t going to get me anywhere. To be effective and have the best chance at being successful, I knew pretty quickly who I wanted to partner with. A coworker of mine was so effective at moving projects forward because she would make quick, “good enough” decisions consistently. These decisions may not always be the best ones but extra time we’ve gained has helped us learn and adapt quickly. Sometimes keeping pace and realizing that you can fix things later can be all the difference between an idea being a dream and a reality. It’s also pretty exciting when you make a quick decision and things go extremely well. Her decision making has made a huge difference in how our company has grown and adapted to each of the challenges we’ve faced. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I just started swimming in high school and I was at one of my first swim meets. I was swimming 200 yd. Freestyle which works out to eight lengths of a 25 yd. pool. This was the longest distance event that I had been part of up until that that point and I was extremely nervous. I stepped up on the block and started leaning forward. When the starter signaled to go, I dove in. After I dove in, the starter signaled with repeated beeps to indicate that that there was a false start. I was new to the sport and hadn’t seen or heard about a false start yet so I didn’t realize that my leaning forward caused it. I continued to swim the entire eight lengths while the other swimmers waited to start the race again. Some people from my team were trying to signal to me to stop but I couldn’t hear them and just thought they were cheering me on. After I finished and climbed out of the pool, the starter came over and explained to me that I just swam the entire race by myself but that I had a false start. So, I had to get back up on the block and do it all over again. I looked over at my coach with some sort of expression of complete exhaustion and she and the rest of the team broke out laughing. I finished the rest of the race and I never had a false start again. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | If time, money, and physics were not an issue, I would visit every planet in the galaxy that has the potential for life. If only time and money, I would start with Africa.
Africa has some of the most beautiful landscapes and diverse wildlife on the planet. It also has some of the largest humanitarian needs. I’m inspired by numerous projects ranging from the development of new vaccines to prevent malaria to the propagation of electrical power and running water to initiatives that improve sanitation for millions of people. This basic infrastructure can help bring the region out of poverty and I believe it’s one of the most important initiatives that anyone can be part of today. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | Most importantly, I’d like to pass on an appreciation for how beautiful, precious, and fragile life is. We’re here to help carry each other through the hard times and to share in the best times with each other. We’re each responsible to do what we believe is right and to make the world we share a better place. It’s okay to make mistakes because they help you grow. Laugh often, be confident but humble, and create your own story. Remember that each of our stories is unique but also part of something much bigger than ourselves. |
