Idan Cohen on How Photography Hobby Teaches Point of View

In Chapter 6 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "What Role Does Photography Play in Your Life?"  Cohen begins by providing background on early photography experiences at school and with his father.  Even then, his photos were about his surroundings and random people.  Many years later while studying art and photography at university, Cohen finds value capturing memories and moments as trophies in the same ways hunters covet and display their kills. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What role does photography play in your life?

Idan Cohen: I was never really into photography, my father really loved photography and like I remember myself, so 1st grade, we went on the first kind of field trip with our class and he gave me one of his old cameras with a roll of film, and it’s funny, I still have that roll of film, and it’s very weird the photos that I took at that field trip. And I remember that I got back, and I think that my mother looked at those photos or my brother, it wasn’t my father, like my mother or my brother, and they said, this is completely useless. 

But then I look at it now, and it’s not useless at all, it’s like exactly what I was interested in, and it was—a lot of it was about people, other people, so it’s really weird because it’s this roll of film that’s just random people that was around me, it wasn’t even my classmates, it was just—it was in the zoo and it was people that were in the zoo. It was very weird. And then, about 20 years later, I was going—I was in university and I was studying art and I took this photography class, and I got a camera and I started getting back into it. 

It was a very active—it was photography history but for me, that was enough, I never learned technically how to take photos. So for me, photography is about coveting images, it’s about being really greedy with what I see around me and wanting to just have it for myself. So if I see an image that I like, I wanna have that. And it’s a way for me to freeze time, if it’s a beautiful girl, if it’s a beautiful situation, if it’s a kid that’s doing something that I’m excited about, if it’s just an ironic situation, I just wanna have that. 

And so I see it very much like the modern—that’s the modern version of hunters. Because, you know, hunters would go and they coveted these animals to put them on their walls as trophies, and for me, that’s these trophies of what I see with my eyes. And that’s how I see photography.

Idan Cohen on Developing a Passion for Building Products

In Chapter 8 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "What is the Source of Your Passion for Building Things?"  Cohen references his joy creating beautiful products or useful devices.  He appreciates a holistic product design process and compares it to the 20th century Golden Age of furniture design. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What is the source of your passion for building things?

Idan Cohen: It’s basically creating beautiful useful devices or products that are also—I put a lot of emphasis to how the process—what is the process like. A lot of things can look very nice from, you know, from outside or from the surface, like I really appreciate for instance, Apple for actually engineering the inside of their computers, and making them look beautiful. 

It’s magnificent when you open, like the Mac mini which is probably the most negligent product Apple is doing, but it has this beautiful thing that when you open it and when you look inside it’s just beautifully laid out, and I’m sure that they have actual people that are in charge of making that look nice, so for me, it’s all about the whole process being, you know, holistic and very aesthetically pleasing. So at the end of the process, it’s about creating something that’s functional but you really enjoy the process. 

So I like working with materials, software is somewhat of a material designed in a lot of—you know, that’s pretty great how the last 5 years were not about the actual technology, but much more about the user experience and the design, because I think that the design is much more coming closer to kind of like the golden age of furniture probably in around like, you know, the previous century, which was much more creating beautiful things, and putting an emphasis on materials. So it’s somewhere between these—and that’s what I’m attracted to, I really, really—it’s not about software, it’s not about internet, it’s about products.

Idan Cohen on How Family Supports Creative Childhood Passions

In Chapter 9 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "Where Has Your Family Been Most Supportive in Your Career Development?"  Cohen notes a common challenge in present day that his family does not understand his entrepreneurial product work; however, he shares experiences from his formative years where his parents encouraged Cohen to learn to use tools and pursue his passion for building and making objects.  This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 CYF interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: Where has your family been most supportive in your career development?

Idan Cohen: That’s a good question ‘cause I don’t think they understand what I do.  Maybe when I was writing more code then they could understand, I don’t think they did really always understand what products that were, you know, the result of that code, these days, I think that they don’t even understand, you know, what’s my role and kind of like how do I make things happen, and it’s a little bit sad, actually that they don’t understand that, ‘cause a lot of—I think that for a lot of people, what they do has a lot to do with kind of getting appreciation and getting the pride from their family. It has a lot to do with that.

So I kind of—it makes me a little bit sad that they don’t understand that. But on the other hand, I think that my family always pushed me to be a creator and a maker. So when I wanted a computer, when I was 6, my mother sent me to a summer camp to learn programming, and I got the computer only after that—those 2 months of learning how to write code. ‘Cause for her, you know, you—sure, this is a tool, you need to first learn how to use a tool and then you can do something with it. When I was about 10, then I went—in the steps of my brother, I went to an aero-modeling club, which is a very geeky thing, and we built model airplanes out of like wood and then more and more actually advanced technologies.

And that was for me great, it was working with my hands, for me, the way that I work with like an exact-o knife or you know, with just a—my ability to work with a knife is parallel to just—it’s like the extension my hand, and I think it’s just because this muscle memory of for years, just working with a knife and cutting things. And it’s so important to just get kids I think to create things and learn how to use tools, as a 12-year-old or 14-year-old I think, I started using a lathe to create metal pieces and for 5 years I was working part-time with someone just as an apprentice to learn how to work with metals. And for me, that was so important because today I see anything and I can—just I can know how it was machined and I can imagine how I can create something like that or I can aspire to create something like that.

And I think that’s—that was very important, so my family maybe doesn’t understand what I’m doing now but they definitely had a huge part in getting me there by just all the time giving me these tools of, you know, learn how to make things. And then you’ll get there, you’ll be able to create products or—and it’s so much more important than just being an accountant I think. Just being able to create physical objects.

How High Schools Can Teach Entrepreneurship - Slava Rubin

In Chapter 13 of 13 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, crowdfunding entrepreneur and IndieGoGo CEO Slava Rubin answers "How Can the Education System Better Prepare Entrepreneurs?"  Rubin details how middle and high schools should promote entrepreneurship curriculum that focuses on practice in addition to theory.  He compares entrepreneur skill development to that of a basketball player, highlighting LeBron James as an example of how practice shapes skills and how schools might use this concept in their curriculum planning.  Slava Rubin returns to CYF for his Year 3 interview.  As CEO and Co-Founder, Rubin has helped transform cause and project fundraising by establishing his company IndieGoGo as a global leader in crowdfunding.  He is also active in philanthropy, starting the Music Against Myeloma annual charity event to fight cancer.  He graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How can the education system better prepare entrepreneurs?

Slava Rubin: Yeah, to me entrepreneurial thinking is just as important as teaching Math or Mandarin or Spanish or even coding. I think it’s a new language that kids should be learning. I think that an innovative idea is we should actually create a entrepreneurial class and add it to the curriculum where starting in 7th grade until you graduate high school or college every student had to run a business a year. See to me, when Lebron James was learning to play basketball, he didn’t just watch Michael Jordan on TV. He actually played every day with a basketball and we ask our students and our young people to be entrepreneurial with their thinking but we ask them to do with theory, which means without a basketball.

So, I would think that the best way to bring entrepreneurial thinking to our students, have them become innovative, have them – have the opportunity to go to the workplace or start something new very quickly and without as much fear and risk is give them the opportunity starting in 7th grade to be able to be entrepreneurs. This really goes back to kindergarten when your teacher taught you about what you aspire to be, she probably used words like lawyer and doctor and fireman and the word entrepreneur was never used and I think that needs to change.

How Father Inspires Son to Pursue Public Service Career - Ken Biberaj

In Chapter 1 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council candidate and public relations executive Ken Biberaj answers "What is the Source of Your Passion for Public Service?"  Biberaj shares what he learned from his parents' immigration story, including his father's public service as a radio broadcaster for "Voice of America" in Albania.  This teaches Ken that public service matters and informed his education and career decisions to fulfill this intention.  Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Candidate for New York City Council for the West Side of Manhattan.  He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing.  Previously he was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. He holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University.

Transcription: 

Erik Michielsen: What is the source of your passion for public service?

Ken Biberaj: Well, my parents emigrated from Albania and we ended up in the Bronx. And my dad worked 3 jobs while learning English. He was the oldest of 8 kids. He worked as a pizza man, a doorman, and a cab driver, and went to Columbia. And he got his PhD at Columbia and then came back to get a job for the government in DC at Voice of America. While he was there, he was the head of the Albanian service so he was on-air broadcasting into a communist country and we had no idea if anybody was ever listening to it.

As communism began to crumble in Albania, turned out that everybody was listening to my dad on the radio, so we kind of grew up seeing our father as somebody who had had such an impact on an entire country. So what he was able to do as just one person has always been a source of inspiration for me in understanding that public service matters. You can actually have a real impact on people’s lives.

And because of his work and you know, he’s my dad, and I’m the oldest of 4 kids, I always wanted to kind of emulate what he had done. So I went to American University in DC and tried to get involved locally there. Went on to the Harvard Kennedy School and then worked on a presidential campaign and all the while trying to do what I could to make my community better, but always in the back of my head understanding that we all kind of have an obligation to do public service.

How to Apply Business Passion in Law Career - James McCormick

In Chapter 11 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, legal career advisor James McCormick answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?"  McCormick shares how he has learned to appreciate working on the business side of the practice of law and helping law firms, corporations, and financial institutions solve talent problems through his network of relationships.  James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City.  Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day.  He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan. 

Finding Meaningful Work in a Surge of Passion - Jason Anello

In Chapter 6 of 20 in his 2012 interview, creative director Jason Anello answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?"  He notes that meaningful work does not always mean paid work and how in those surge moments of passion, he finds work worthwhile.  Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at marketing services agency Manifold Partners.  He is also the co-founder of the Forking Tasty Brooklyn supper club.  Previously, Anello held creative leadership roles at Yahoo! and Ogilvy & Mather.  He graduated from the University at Albany. 

Finding Motivation to Do Your Best Work - Yoav Gonen

In Chapter 3 of 11 in his 2011 interview, education reporter Yoav Gonen answers "When are You at Your Best?"  Gonen notes how working in a deadline driven environment motivates him to do his best work.  As a result, he has made it a point to find work where deadlines are fundamental to the job.  Yoav Gonen is the education reporter for the New York Post newspaper in New York City.  He earned a Masters of Journalism degree from New York University and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.

How Parents Influence Journalism Career Choice - Yoav Gonen

In Chapter 8 of 11 in his 2011 interview, education reporter Yoav Gonen answers "What Role Has Family Played in Shaping Your Career Aspirations?"  Gonen notes how he was a late bloomer and was uncertain where to take his career in the years after college.  Gonen's father sees his passion for writing and suggests Yoav apply to a journalism graduate program.  The rest is history.  Yoav Gonen is the education reporter for the New York Post newspaper in New York City.  He earned a Masters of Journalism degree from New York University and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.

Transcription: 

Erik Michielsen: What role has family played in shaping your career aspirations?

Yoav Gonen: I was a late bloomer. I remember quite vividly when I was on the phone with my - it might have been both my parents, I definitely remember my mom was on the phone, my parents pretty much paid for all of my undergrad college, and I told my mom that I was signing up for a pottery class and she said, "You're gonna be paying for that class, because I'm not." And, you know, they were always - they pressured me a little bit but not too much, I mean, they were trying to help me figure out what to do.

It took me a long time, interestingly, it was my dad who - I don't really know - it seemed kind of out of left field at the time but he's - I was, I think in my mid-20s, and he's like, "Maybe you should go to journalism school." And, you know, I enjoyed writing but I wasn't on my college newspapers staff or anything like that. He kind of threw that out there over dinner one time and it struck me, you know, I don't know why I hadn't considered it but it seemed like a good idea and as soon as I got to journalism school, I knew that was I wanted to do.  

How Julie Hession Turns Cooking Passion Into Food Career

In Chapter 4 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, food entrepreneur Julie Biederman Hession answers "What is the Source of Your Cooking Passion?  As a child, Hession's mom gives Juile the freedom to experiment in the kitchen.  Growing up she gets more comfortable around food by playing restaurant, building 5-course menus with a Sesame Street Cookbook.  Many years later, while in business school, Hession re-immerses herself in cooking, building confidence in dinner parties and food events.  Near the end of business school, Hession finds a mentor in food entrepreneur Sarah Foster, who connects Julie to Patricia Kluge.  Hession goes on to work for Kluge and build a farm shop, launching her career in food.  Julie Hession is the founder of Julie Anne's All Natural Granola Company.  Passionate about food since childhood, Hession has developed her career by food blogging, cooking contests, and starting fine food companies.  Hession earned an MBA in Marketing from Duke University and a BA from UNLV. 

Jullien Gordon on How to Rule Out Career Options and Follow Your Passion

In Chapter 5 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "How Has Ruling Out Career Options Helped You Better Focus On What You Really Want to Do?"  He notes that when you get great at something you hate, you attract more of the thing that you hate.  Going into his Stanford MBA program, Gordon ruled out more traditional paths he did not find appealing and created his own career as a Purpose Finder.  He notes how we often are anchored to a limited number of careers because of an unwillingness to identify and explore paths we did not know previously existed.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How has ruling out career options helped you better focus on what you really want to do?

Jullien Gordon:  I could be good at a lot of things.  I could be great at a lot of things and often times people move through life and they get great at things that they hate and when you get great at something that you hate all you do is you attract more of the thing that you hate and so going into business school I knew that consulting, investment banking, brand management weren’t for me, not to say that they’re bad career paths, I just want people to move in a way where the career path that are there are actually for them and I couldn’t find one where I felt like I would be able to be fully present on a daily basis so I had to create one and that’s why I call myself a purpose finder.  It’s not a life coach, it’s not a motivational speaker, I’m a purpose finder and it’s a career path that I’m actually paving through my life experiences. 

I’ve met other purpose finders, they haven’t called themselves that – with that kind of language but I’ve met people who do very similar work and so there’s all – there’s an infinite number of career paths that are out there but for some reason we choose from this limited menu of career paths based on what’s prestigious, based on big brand name companies that come to recruit on campus and there may be other paths out there that are a good fit for you.  There something I have called the career choice circle and there’s a small circle of career paths that we know exist and think we know a lot about but the only way you really know about a career is if you have done it for about six months. 

So often times we choose careers with a lot of imperfect information, then there’s this other circle around that called careers that you know exist but you know you know nothing about.  For instance for me firefighter, I know it exists but I don’t know a lot about it. I could say, oh yeah they put out fires and they save cats from trees, right?  But is that really what they do on a daily basis?  That’s a microcosm of what they do.  But where I like to push people is this notion of career paths that we don’t know exist therefore we know nothing about and when you’re driving home, you see these companies on these buildings and you don’t know what that company does, you’ve never even seen the name before but that company is obviously creating value if they’re still here and there may be people and roles within that organization when you are an absolute fit.

How Passion Improves Storytelling Prowess - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 13 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "How Have You Learned to Be a Better Storyteller?"  Ferrentino questions whether storytelling is a learned or innate skill.  He notes how having passion for your story and believing what you are saying helps get points across and energize others.  With this passion as a base, he notes how then dramatic tools can be layered in to increase effectiveness.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Why Choose Fashion Styling Over Fashion Design Career - Lulu Chen

In Chapter 5 of 10 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, fashion stylist Lulu Chen answers "As an Artist, What Informed Your Decision to Choose Fashion Styling Over Fashion Design?"  Chen gravitates toward magazines, stories, and editorials and, after many years working different part of the industry, chooses fashion design.  She enjoys playing with the different designers' clothing and accessories and being able to use their colors, shapes, and textures as an artist uses a palette.  She finds inspiration from designers who continuously produce new work.  Lulu Chen is a New York City based fashion stylist.  Chen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree studying design and art history from the University of Michigan.

Stacie Bloom on Discovering a Passion for Science

In Chapter 1 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "When Did You First Become Interested in Science?" She shares how it began as a child, from capturing fireflies to choosing Trivia Pursuit green (or science) questions to naturally being inquisitive to reading an Encyclopedia Britannica set end to end.

Stacie Grossman Bloom is now the Executive Director at the NYU Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center. Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). She earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York City. She earned her BA in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Delaware.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: When did you first become interested in science?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: So, I became interested in science as a little kid, I think. I was always sort of running around the yard and capturing fireflies and looking at insects and playing with things, playing trivial pursuit -- I always wanted to land on the green, I was always I think naturally inquisitive and always really interested in science. I can’t remember really a time that I wasn’t questioning things, my surroundings, myself, religion. And I just really can’t remember a time where that wasn’t something interesting to me.

Erik Michielsen: What about this encyclopedia set that you picked up when you were 6 or 7 years old?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: So, when I was a kid there was a traveling encyclopedia salesman who came through my town and my father bought, at our front door, bought a set of encyclopedia Britannica’s -- those really big leather bound expensive sets of books. And, either he bought it separately or it came with like a children’s encyclopedia set. And, I remember literally reading the entire encyclopedia set. Starting with A and going all the way to the end and it was all illustrated, it was perfect for kids. Literally read the whole encyclopedia.

Stacie Bloom on How a College Class Inspires PhD Neuroscience Career

In Chapter 2 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "How Did One College Class Unexpectedly Springboard Your Science Career?" While studying psychology at the University of Delaware, she takes a graduate level course in a neuropsychology. She finds the small class forum and the neuroscience study of the brain align her studies to her interests. Grossman Bloom then thrives in the classroom, earning As and continuing to Georgetown for a PhD.

Stacie Grossman Bloom is the Executive Director at the NYU Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center. Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). She earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York City. She earned her BA in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Delaware.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How did one college class unexpectedly springboard your science career?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: So, I went to college at University of Delaware. I was an okay student. It was nothing great. I was taking a lot of chemistry and psychology and I was in these giant, giant lecture halls with hundreds of other people. And, decided one day when I was looking through the course book for what to sign up for there was this really interesting looking class in Neuropsychology and I thought I’ll sign up for it. And when I went to the class it turned out to be a graduate level class and it was totally different from what I was used to. It was just in a small classroom. There were maybe twelve or fifteen students, and a professor. And I had never been in an environment like that before, that was so interactive. And it changed my life to be in a small class like that. I did amazingly well. I got A’s from then on. I started taking more of those graduate level classes, not because the content was so much more challenging but simply because the forum was a better fit for me. And, really helped foster my education. It was also that I had discovered at that time that neuroscience was what I was really interested in. So I think it was those two factors combined -- the forum and the content.

Erik Michielsen: What did you find most appealing about neuroscience?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: I was always just really interested in the brain and how the brain works and how your thoughts are controlled and why you need sleep and how you get addicted to drugs and why the brain fails. It was just a natural fit, I think, for my inquisitiveness. And, at the time neuroscience was really becoming a blossoming field. At the time that I was applying to graduate school most schools didn’t even have a neuroscience yet. Which now it’s 2011 that’s impossible to fathom. When I was going to Georgetown I ended up getting into the cell biology department because that was the closest thing they had to neuroscience. Now of course they have a full neuroscience program.

How Entrepreneurial Spirit Shapes Career - Audrey Parker

In Chapter 2 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, entrepreneur Audrey Parker answers "What Made You Realize That You Were an Entrepreneur at Heart?" Parker first accepts the "entrepreneur" identity after co-founding her company, CLEAResult; however, upon reflecting upon her past experiences, Parker recognizes she has been happiest when she is creating something. She recalls helping a woman start fter graduating from college, Parker helps to start an insurance agency. While in college, she helps to start a women's a cappella group. Parker is currently on a one-year sabbatical. Parker co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm. In 2010, CLEAResult ranked #144 in the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies. In late 2010, CLEAResult was sold to General Catalyst Partners. Parker graduated from Wake Forest University.

How Childhood Passions Lead to Design and Technology Career - Jon Kolko

In Chapter 3 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, designer and educator Jon Kolko shares the stories behind his childhood interests in art and technology. Early studio art ceramics work pushes Kolko to be creative. As a child, Kolko plays with early Internet computers to call pirate bulletin boards and hack RIT password files. Collectively, these shape Kolko's education, leading him to Carnegie Mellon University and catapulting him into his career. Kolko is the executive director of design strategy at venture accelerator, Thinktiv (www.thinktiv.com). He is the founder and director of the Austin School for Design (www.ac4d.com). Previously, he worked at frog design and was a professor of Interactive and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He has authored multiple books on design. Kolko earned his Masters in Human Computer Interaction (MHI) and BFA in Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Transcription: 

Erik Michielsen:  Where did your passions for technology and art originate?

Jon Kolko:  My passion for art originated through a ceramics – ceramics mentor of mine named Alec Haislip.  He’s one of the premier potters in Upstate New York. He studied with a number of the folks that were responsible for Bauhaus and things like that and – so I studied wheel thrown ceramics for as long as I can remember. 

I think I started when I was 5 or 6 and that was like a thing to do and then it became a release and then it became – now, it is a, ‘Wow!  I wish I had more time on Saturdays to spend in my studio.’  Very much art driven.  It’s functional ceramics but it’s also, let’s make it the way I want to make it.  There’s no constraints.  There’s no clients.  There’s no deadlines. 

On the technology side I’ve spent a great deal of time playing with the early foundations of the internet and I was using dial out remote BBSes on remote voxes at RIT when I was 7 or 8 years old to call you know pirate bulletin boards and stuff like that.  Like, we got a cease and desist, my dad actually still has this letter, we have cease and desist from one of RIT’s heads of technology ‘cause we’ve – we’ve hacked their password file back then.  It was like you run crackerjack overnight and it brute force hits it with anything, what I am gonna do with a bunch of accounts to RIT’s vox but I do remember you know getting my first Magnavox 28612 and going to town on it, also the Apple 2c and all that good stuff so I know both of those – were – were pretty prevalent in my life growing up and then it sounds like it was well designed but it was in fact very arbitrary that I ended up going to Carnegie Mellon. 

I remember I got a brochure to attend pre-college there for design, I thought it was cool.  I went - I went to undergrad there, I continued to do my Masters there and years later, you do some research and you’re like, ‘Wow!  That’s like the epicenter of everything technology leading up into what is now normal culture.’  So, you know I think I got super lucky with all of those things, sort of leading to what is now my – my job, my career, and my passions.

How Passion for Studying People Develops - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 3 of 12 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings shares what keeps him curious about learning new things. Stallings constantly looks for gaps and sees them as opportunities to improve. Always comfortable as an outsider, Stallings embraces studying human behavior and learning from it. Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in business strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.