I will never forget the first time I saw my dad play World of Warcraft when I was a kid. When he explained to me that the other trolls on the screen were other real, human players all around the world, my mind shattered in the absolute best way.
Even though I was only 11, I couldn’t believe the technological scale of what I was seeing. This idea that you could run around a virtual world with anyone, anywhere, anytime, and be anybody you wanted to be: it was remarkable. And I knew one day that I wanted to be a part of creating it.
Since then, I’ve always been fascinated with technology. I’m a video game nerd, I built my own PC, and I won’t shut up about Virtual Reality if you get me started. (And don’t worry, I started playing WoW myself, also!)
I studied at Creighton University where I completed four majors in four years: Computer Science, Graphic Design, Public Relations, and Advertising. At the time, I had no idea what I would do with all that. But I was interested in the classes, and knew on some level that combined, these disciplines working together are what help new technologies find success in the market.
After school, I joined the fastest-growing startup in Omaha, Flywheel, a WordPress hosting company for designers and agencies. I had the privilege of joining as employee number 14 (so actually quite a bit before we achieved “fastest-growing” status.)
During my time there, I discovered my passion for product storytelling and creating campaigns that drive adoption, increase usage, and ultimately reduce churn. This led to a transition into Product Marketing at Gorgias, a helpdesk for ecommerce sites.
These two startups gave me the opportunity to experiment, to learn, to fail, to make impact. (I’ll save all that for the Highlights page, though.) Most importantly: They’ve taught me what can happen when a group of passionate people get together to build something.
The next natural question then: What am I passionate about right now?
One day I’ll tell my sons how I used these skills to accelerate the adoption of virtual and augmented reality.
That feeling I first got from watching my dad play WoW. That feeling of unlimited possibility and wonder. That feeling of discovering yourself from brand new perspectives within digital realities.
I want everyone to know that feeling.
And I want to tell those stories.