Cathy Erway on Making a Difference by Networking Food Professionals

In Chapter 14 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "What Skills Are You Using More As Your Career Advances?" Erway finds advancing in her writing career - both in advertising copywriting and food journalism - has allowed her to build stronger networking skills that become more and more useful over time. She shares how getting to know people in the food movement has allowed her to be more helpful making connections and leveraging the breadth and depth of her Rolodex to help others.

Cathy Erway is an author, food writer, freelance copywriter, radio show host and teacher focused on healthy food advocacy. Her second book, "The Food of Taiwan: Recipes From the Beautiful Island" is a cookbook featuring Taiwanese recipes ranging from homestyle dishes to street food favorites. Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  Erway earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College. 

Phil McKenzie on Finding Incredible Kindness Traveling Abroad

In Chapter 4 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Did Traveling Abroad This Past Year Teach You About Yourself?" McKenzie shares how traveling overseas during the past year has reinforced how rich the world is with kind and generous people. McKenzie constantly meets new people in new places and is overwhelmed how willing people are to support him on his journey.

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss influencer culture. Previously, he led an influencer marketing agency and was an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Mike Germano on How Parents React to Becoming Grandparents

In Chapter 4 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, VICE Media Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano answers "How Have Your Parents Transitioned into Becoming Grandparents?" The oldest of three siblings, Germano is the first child in his family to have a baby. His parents, both Italian-American, react with joy and pour their love into their new grandson.

Mike Germano is Chief Digital Officer at VICE Media, a global youth media company based in Brooklyn, New York. Germano joined VICE Media via its 2013 acquisition of Carrot Creative, a social media agency he co-founded and led as CEO. 

Hammans Stallings on Balancing Service and Self in How You Live

In Chapter 19 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, strategist and management consultant Hammans Stallings answers "How Are You Better Learning to Balance Service and Self in How You Live Your Life?" Stallings shares how it is about staying aware and curious about finding the things that matter and blocking out time for them. He notes it is a balance because after this time he leaves to continue his discovery process.

Hammans Stallings is a Principal Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

Matt Curtis on The Joy of Working in the Travel and Tourism Industry

In Chapter 6 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "What Do You Find Most Enjoyable About Working in the Travel Industry?" After losing over 200 pounds and starting to travel, Curtis embraces the adventure part of his job. He embraces opportunities to travel to new cities and meeting with people. In trips to Bruges, Belgium and Nashville, USA, Curtis also makes time to explore the city via city bike rental or bike share options.

Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was deputy to Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn. He has represented the City of Austin at the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities. In 2011, Curtis joined the Harvard Kennedy School Urban Policy Advisory Board to work on national best practices facing American cities. He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas. 

Bijoy Goswami on How to Get Paid by Sharing What You Know for Free

In Chapter 12 of 17 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, community leader Bijoy Goswami answers "How is Your Business Model Evolving as You Gain Experience?" Goswami shares how his business model blends giving away knowledge for free with getting paid to help clients solve specific problems. As an author, speaker and teacher, Goswami uses different means to freely share knowledge and create value. Using Google search as a comparable he then looks for ways, specifically management consulting, to scope out work specific to individual customers.

Bijoy Goswami is a writer, teacher, and community leader based in Austin, Texas. He develops learning models to help individuals, organizations and communities live more meaningfully. Previously, he co-founded Aviri Software after working at Trilogy Software. Goswami graduated from Stanford University. 

Audrey French on How Becoming a Mom Puts Life in a New Perspective

In Chapter 3 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, new mother Audrey Parker French answers "How Has Becoming a Mother Put Your Life in a New Perspective?" French shares how having her first baby has made her appreciate both her parents and the process of life better. After having a baby, she no longer identifies as a child and instead sees herself as a parent generation of a new generation of children.

Audrey Parker French is a new mother living with her husband and son in Austin, Texas. Before leaving work to focus on family, French co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She graduated from Wake Forest University. 

Audrey French on Discovering Maternal Instincts After Having a Baby

In Chapter 7 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, new mother Audrey Parker French answers "What Maternal Instincts Have You Developed After Having Your Baby?" French shares her experience having a baby was more about discovering maternal instincts than developing them. French finds that the skills are simply latent until the baby is born and, once the child is delivered, her instincts to feed and provide for the child are constant and paramount.

Audrey Parker French is a new mother living with her husband and son in Austin, Texas. Before leaving work to focus on family, French co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She graduated from Wake Forest University. 

Audrey French on The Joy of Becoming a Mother

In Chapter 8 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, new mother Audrey Parker French answers "How Has Becoming a Mother Been a Transformational Experience for You?" French shares how becoming a mother has forever changed her life. She shares how she realized how empty her life was without being a mom, even with so many positive things happening in her personal life and career.

Audrey Parker French is a new mother living with her husband and son in Austin, Texas. Before leaving work to focus on family, French co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She graduated from Wake Forest University. 

How to Increase Brand Awareness With Television Product Placement

In Chapter 12 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Randall Metting answers "How Are You Using Product Placement Marketing to Grow Brand Awareness?" Metting shares how his team was able to secure free product placement for its Dulce Vida tequila on FX Network's show The Bridge.

Randall Metting is a brand development and marketing manager at Dulce Vida Spirits in Austin, Texas. Over 17 years, he has built brands in spirits, luxury real estate and lifestyle, music, and sports industries. He has been a radio personality at KGSR Radio and a marketer at a hyperlocal startup acquired by NBC Universal. Metting earned a BA in Advertising from the University of Florida and started his career at The Coca-Cola Company. 

Randall Metting on How to Avoid Burnout Working a Fast-Paced Job

In Chapter 14 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Randall Metting answers "How Do You Avoid Burnout and Maintain Performance Working a Fast-Paced Job?" Metting shares how he avoids burning out at work by keeping it fresh and new. On a daily basis, his work ranges from hands-on landscaping for events and recoopering whiskey barrels to traveling for meetings to working booths at events such as South By Southwest, Austin City Limits and Formula One races.

Randall Metting is a brand development and marketing manager at Dulce Vida Spirits in Austin, Texas. Over 17 years, he has built brands in spirits, luxury real estate and lifestyle, music, and sports industries. He has been a radio personality at KGSR Radio and a marketer at a hyperlocal startup acquired by NBC Universal. Metting earned a BA in Advertising from the University of Florida and started his career at The Coca-Cola Company. 

Anatole Faykin on Giving Yourself Permission to Pursue Your Passion

In Chapter 12 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What Informed Your Decision to Return to School and Pursue a Bioscience Masters Degree?" Mid-career, Faykin rethinks his career trajectory in entrepreneurship and online marketing and revisits his childhood passion for science. He rethinks his career and chooses to pursue a graduate degree in biosciences to do what has always felt natural and made him feel happiest, learning life science and studying biology.

Anatole Faykin is an Internet entrepreneur and digital marketer exploring new career options. A passionate world traveler and problem solver, Faykin plans to return to graduate school to earn a biosciences masters degree. Previously, Faykin has started multiple companies, including Tuanpin, a Shanghai startup he sold in 2011. He holds an MBA from NYU and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Michael Olsen on Finding Ways to Be More Accepting of Change

In Chapter 16 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "What is Your Comfort Zone and What Do You Do to Break Free of Living in It?" Olsen shares how he is his father's son in that he tends to resist change in his life. He looks for fun ways to change up his routine, including moving to new cities and using phone apps to create systems that help him mix things up.

Michael Olsen is a management consultant at Accenture. Previous to Accenture, Olsen earned dual MBA and MPH degrees at Emory University in Atlanta. Olsen earned a BA in symbolic systems from Stanford University and spent the next five years founding an IT consulting company, Redwood Strategies. 

How to Build Trust by Being Real

In Chapter 14 of 17 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and small business owner Rachel Lehmann-Haupt answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?" Lehmann-Haupt finds you build trust by being real. By being transparent with her clients, she is able to then progressively build trust through a discovery process she learned doing interviews as a journalist. The process creates security in the relationship and the resulting safe environment creates trusting bonds between Lehmann-Haupt and her clients.

Rachel Lehmann-Haupt is a writer, editor and multimedia content strategist. She is the owner of StoryMade, a storytelling studio that creates new media content solutions for businesses. Previously, she was a founding editor and multimedia producer at TED Books, designing TED Talk content for tablet computers. She is the author of "In Her Own Sweet Time", published in 2009. Lehmann-Haupt earned a BA from Kenyon College and a Masters in Journalism from UC-Berkeley. 

Bryan Law on Finding a Life Changing Volunteer Project

In Chapter 19 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Has Volunteering Impacted Your Learning and Development?" As an MBA student at Kellogg business school at Northwestern University, Law meets an Angolan student, Guerra Freitas, and joins him on a volunteer project building a university in Angola. The experience volunteering in Angola proves life-changing for Law, as interaction with the community teaches him a new appreciation for what matters in life and what kind of impact he can create in his volunteer work.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

Geoff Hamm on Performing Under Pressure Working in Sales

In Chapter 7 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" Hamm finds high performers can benefit from putting pressure on themselves to succeed. He gets motivation building better business relationships, beating the competition, and making his company successful. As he builds sales experience, he develops confidence, learns his strengths and weaknesses and discovers where and when to put that pressure on himself.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

Conrad Doucette on Finding His Passion Playing Music in High School

In Chapter 9 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, musician and digital strategist Conrad Doucette answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental to Shaping Who You Are Today?" Doucette shares how high school music experiences - from playing in bands to singing in choirs to being a marching band drummer - helped him find his passion and and hone his talent for music. He finds playing music, not sports, allows him to build confidence that helps him relax and learn outside the classroom.

Conrad Doucette is a Brooklyn musician and the drummer for the band Takka Takka. He has performed with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, The National, Alina Simone, and many other leading acts. When not performing music, Doucette is the communications and brand director at music licensing and publishing startup Jingle Punks. Doucette earned a BA in History from the University of Michigan. 

Newspaper Reporter Yoav Gonen on Building Storyfinding Job Skills

In Chapter 7 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City reporter Yoav Gonen answers "What Skills Are You Using More as Your Career Advances?" Gonen shares how he is honing two types of job skills to find newsworthy stories. He first learns how to build better news source relationships and how to talk to news sources to obtain information the general public will value. Second, he hones his approach to story research and building online research skills. Yoav Gonen is a reporter and City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Post daily newspaper. Previously he spent nearly six years covering the education beat for the New York Post. Gonen earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Journalism from New York University.