1. What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your job and why?
As a market researcher, the very nature of my job is to help businesses understand what is unknown. The most challenging aspect of my job is teasing out the story hidden in the data. In the most challenging research projects, there is a point when I am in the “fog of data” and exploring what that space looks like. It can take a while to find the right path. But once I do and the pieces to the puzzle start coming together, it is an awesome experience — and very exciting. That is the reward. The best part of my job is sharing this journey with a client, and seeing the moment when the “fog” begins to clear for them. I feel it’s these shared learning experiences that makes my career not seem like work.
2. Who do you look up to or admire in business and why?
Jonathan Ive (Apple industrial designer). His passion for creating an experience for Apple customers is absolutely incredible. The simplicity in what he creates takes a level of detail that many don’t think about. It takes an inspiring commitment to one’s profession to take that much care in your work. Whether you are an Apple fan or not, the products that you purchase today are heavily influenced by the decisions that Jonathon Ive makes.
3. What has been the high point of your career so far?
The last two-and-a-half years since forming Sunseed Research. I am continuously in inspired over what we have accomplished. We have had the opportunity to work with everyone from Fortune 100 companies to local nonprofits. Most recently, I have been working with the UW Carbone Cancer Center to create a new signature bicycle race that will be held at Prairie Lakes in Sun Prairie next fall. Shine United donated resources to create some pretty amazing names and logos that Sunseed tested with residents in Dane County. The name that resonated most with the community was, “The Ride.” I am proud that I get to work with so many talented individuals in our community.
4. Thinking back on your career, what advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Every moment in time is a unique experience that shapes who you are and who you will become. Your legacy is the final result of how positively you impact those around you. The right answer to almost any dilemma rests within these two observations.
5. What would you say are the best things about living and working in Dane County?
I really enjoy the quality of the area restaurants. I also appreciate the vibrant and diverse community. Dane County has such an amazing reservoir of talent in so many different areas. I love seeing how people take those passions to create thriving businesses.
6. Do you have any secret talents or abilities that people would be surprised to discover?
Although I haven’t done any of this since high school, I think many people who know me would be pretty surprised to find out that I can take apart and reassemble both disc- and drum-style brakes, change oil, change and calibrate spark plugs, and have even replaced a car’s starter on my own.
7. What are your guilty pleasures?
I am an automobile enthusiast. For me, there is nothing more enjoyable than taking a Sunday road trip around the countryside of Wisconsin. Finding a winding country road through the rolling hills of the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin is something that I look forward to every year. It’s a visceral experience that connects my senses and emotions to what I love best about my home state.
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