Hattie Elliot on Learning Financial Planning Skills for Small Business

In Chapter 13 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "What Skills are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?" Elliot shares that after many years focusing on event planning and outsourcing financial planning, she now is spending more time learning budgeting and financial planning to better manage her small business finances. This helps her stay organized, maintain bottom line visibility on company performance, and be a better steward of investor financing she has received.

Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

Hattie Elliot on What It Means to Be a Leader Running a Small Business

In Chapter 14 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?" Elliot shares how being an entrepreneurial leader running a small business starts with waking up each day and making the most of it. It means fighting through adversity and challenge, staying honest with others, being optimistic about reality, and never playing the role of a victim.

Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

Matt Ruby on Learning to Act in a Comedy Web Series

In Chapter 6 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "How Have You Approached the Process of Becoming an Actor and Acting in a Comedy Series?" Ruby shares how he has transitioned from performing on stage as a standup to acting on film for a web series. After taking Meisner acting classes, Ruby learns by doing and working through the process of acting in Vooza webisodes. He finds acting on camera more nuanced than performing on stage in front of audiences and adjusts his approach accordingly.

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City. He also founded Vooza, on online comic strip web series that makes fun of tech startup culture. As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ruby leads the creative direction for the team. Before his comedy career, Matt was employee #1 at 37Signals. He graduated from Northwestern University. 

Matt Ruby on Developing Characters for a New Comedy Series Pilot

In Chapter 8 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "How Are You Challenging Yourself to Improve as a Writer?" As a comedic screenwriter working on a new comedy series pilot, Ruby learns to write characters that balance being grounded in reality with being absurd and silly. He avoids writing canned jokes and instead focuses his screenwriting to make fictional characters more human, relatable, and approachable.

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City. He also founded Vooza, on online comic strip web series that makes fun of tech startup culture. As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ruby leads the creative direction for the team. Before his comedy career, Matt was employee #1 at 37Signals. He graduated from Northwestern University. 

Anatole Faykin on Lessons Learned Traveling Kosovo and Serbia

In Chapter 1 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What Travel Adventures Have You Had This Past Year and What Did You Learn From Them?" Faykin shares a travel story from a trip to Macedonia that led him to Kosovo then Serbia. After entering Kosovo and traveling toward Belgrade, Faykin is stopped at a checkpoint and turned back because he did not have a Serbian passport stamp. Faykin endures a cold night on the border before returning to Macedonia to get a stamp for his Belgrade trip. The trip teaches him that travel preparation research is always a good thing to do.

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 the Hard Part of Building Relationship Trust

In Chapter 15 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?" Olsen shares how he struggles with assuming trust in a relationship and being trusting before a relationship has had time to develop. He looks for ways to build trust from the inception of a relationship to complement the trust that comes with doing what you say you are going to do.

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. 

Michael Olsen on Establishing a Career After Business School

In Chapter 19 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "How Are You Learning to Apply Your Passions in New Ways?" As a new MBA / MPH graduate starting a job at Accenture, Olsen finds that the most important thing for him to do at this stage in his life is to focus on his management consulting work. Over time, as he builds experience and gains security, he looks to think more about cultivating his passions.

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. 

Bryan Law on Going Back to School for a Kellogg MBA

In Chapter 7 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "What Informed Your Decision to Return to School and Earn an MBA?" After working several years working in human capital and HR consulting, Law goes back to school to get an MBA at Kellogg. The Kellogg MBA experience helps him develop skills in business strategy and student government leadership that open an opportunity for him to work in management consulting.

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, a 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. 

Bryan Law on Learning Languages in International Business Consulting

In Chapter 10 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "As a Non-Native Speaker, How Did You Overcome Language Barriers Working in Brazil?" Working as a management consultant, Law is staffed on a Brazil project and, as a non-native speaker, learns Portuguese when he finds the work is done in native language and not English. As an international consultant, the experience teaches him the importance of engaging clients in their native languages as best as possible. This helps him on future projects, including one working with the Mozambique government.

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. 

Why You Appreciate Family More As You Get Older

In Chapter 3 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "How Are Your Family Relationships Changing As You Get Older?" Now 40 years old, Pryor learns to appreciate the value of family more and the growing family responsibilities that come with age. As his children grow older, he gains a deeper respect for how his parents raised him. He also embraces the responsibility of role reversal with his own parents and the importance of caring for aging parents.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University.  

Ramsey Pryor on Adapting Parenting as Children Start Grade School

In Chapter 5 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "How is Your Parenting Approach Evolving As Your Children Have Started Grade School?" Raising a daughter in 3rd grade and a son starting kindergarten, Pryor finds the transition of raising grade school kids more about teaching independent thinking and confidence rather than security. He finds it is less about telling his kids what to do and more about helping his children develop and do things on their own.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University.  

Learning to Teach by Raising Grade School Kids

In Chapter 6 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?  Raising a daughter in 3rd grade and a son in kindergarten, Pryor finds he is becoming a teacher for the first time in his life. As he and his wife teach the children Greek language, they learn teaching is about both communicating the lesson clearly and keeping the kids engaged for sustained periods of time.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University. 

How to Enjoy Everyday Life as an Entrepreneur

In Chapter 4 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?" Geller finds it rewarding to come into work and face new challenges each day. From managing clients to building products to handling finances, Geller finds new challenges each day that keep work fresh and new.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

Product Management Advice for New Entrepreneurs

In Chapter 16 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "What Have You Learned About Product Management by Building an Online Education Platform?" Geller shares how relaunching the Edthena teacher coaching video platform was a complex challenge with many moving parts. To get the team to come for the product relaunch, Geller shares how instilling ownership in employees motivated them to successfully ship product. 

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

How Startup Develops Product to Solve Customer Problems

In Chapter 17 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "How Are You Learning to Identify Potential Customers for Your Technology Product?" Geller shares how his team builds problem solving into the product development process. By understanding education customer needs, he and his team build relationships with education customers and more successfully sell observation and feedback video platform solutions to improve teacher training.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

Learning to Build Technology for Teacher Education

In Chapter 18 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "What Has Been Most Challenging About Building a Technology Platform for Teacher Education?" Geller learns that technology startup success does not happen overnight. He pushes beyond the myth of overnight startup success by being patient and incrementally building product features and growing user base. These incremental gains help him sell into education buyers and better manage sales cycle buying constraints.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

Geoff Hamm on Leaving Corporate Politics Behind to Join a Startup

In Chapter 11 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "What Did You Learn About Yourself by Leaving a Corporate Management Job to Join a Startup?" After over a decade working at large corporations, Hamm decides to leave corporate political situations behind for new challenges working at startups.

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.

Preston Smith on Starting a Grade School and Becoming Its Principal

In Chapter 5 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "What Made You Decide to Leave a High School Teaching Job and Become a School Principal?" After completing his second year teaching at Teach for America and going through CMAs - Corps Member Advisor - training and development, Smith runs into bureaucratic obstacles during his third year teaching. The challenge gets Smith more engaged in the local community and leads to him starting a new San Jose grade school that he leads as principal.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows.