Cathy Erway on How Fourth of July BBQs Build Family Traditions

In Chapter 2 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?" Erway shares how every Fourth of July her family and neighbors would come together for a barbeque to make large meals together. She shares how each year had a different theme and how Fourth of July BBQ food would be more than hamburgers and hot dogs.

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 How West Indian Grandmothers Inspire Family Values

In Chapter 1 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Were Your Grandparents Like and How Did They Influence Your Development?" McKenzie shares how his West Indian grandmothers shaped his family values, teaching him to appreciate life and also what it means to be a committed caretaker in a large family. Being around them gives him the confidence to aspire high and develop a strong sense of ambition.

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.

Phil McKenzie on How Brooklyn Builds Character and Confidence

In Chapter 5 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What is Your Comfort Zone and What Do You Do to Break Free of Living in It?" McKenzie shares how growing up in Brooklyn during the 1970s and 1980s taught him to adapt and be comfortable in new situations. He takes this Brooklyn mindset with him wherever he goes and shares how it helps him appreciate diversity and connect with people in new places all over the world.

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.

Matt Curtis on Building a Hard Work Ethic One Project at a Time

In Chapter 1 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" Curtis learns his work ethic by watching his grandfather constantly help others and find projects to do. Curtis takes this own approach in his life, building his work ethic by always finding a project to do where he can help others, including his current work on a urban rail system for Austin, Texas.

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. 

Matt Curtis on Family Values Role Model Grandparents Can Teach

In Chapter 2 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "What Were Your Grandparents Like and How Did That Infuence Your Development?" Curtis shares how his paternal grandfather taught him the importance of taking care of yourself and then taking care of others. His Irish maternal grandparents teach him a hard work ethic and to make it a point to be honest and do the right thing.

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. 

Matt Curtis on Living Up to the Expectations You Set For Yourself

In Chapter 9 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "What Role Does Living Up to the Expectations of Others Play into the Way You Live?" Curtis shares how he learns to shed the burden of living up to the expectations of others and shift it to a positive way of living up to the expectations he sets for himself. He finds doing this turns out to make others more happy, too, as their intentions were always for him to be good, honest and true to himself.

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 Moving in With a Partner Sparks Creativity

In Chapter 3 of 17 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, community leader Bijoy Goswami answers "How Did You Manage the Transition of Moving in With Your Partner?" Goswami shares how moving in with a girlfriend started a creative journey by pushing him to buy a house. The house then becomes an anchor for Goswami as he moves through relationship stages and different relationships with girlfriends and business partners over time and multiple collaborative creative projects.

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 Making the Most of Time Spent With Grandparents

In Chapter 9 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, new mother Audrey Parker French answers "What Were Your Grandparents Like and How Did They Influence Your Development?" French shares how she made the most of time spent with her grandparents who have passed and her living grandmother who is now a great-grandmother. French finds her grandparents are able to share stories about her own parents lives that gives her a better sense of family history and family values.

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. 

Courtney Spence on How Grandparents Instill Family Values

In Chapter 1 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "What Were Your Grandparents Like and How Did They Influence Your Development?" Spence shares how her grandparents passions for politics, love of family, and life of civic duty and World War II military service shaped her parents and her own values.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Courtney Spence on the Joy of Becoming a Stepmother

In Chapter 3 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "How Has Becoming a Stepmother Put Your Life in a New Perspective?" Spence shares the joy that becoming a stepparent to a young girl has brought to her life. As a stepmother, Spence focuses on parenting aspirations and what she can do to be a family foundation for her stepdaughter as she grows up.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Hattie Elliot on Ways Childhood Play Teaches Entrepreneurial Spirit

In Chapter 1 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?" Elliot grows up with supportive parents who encourage her to be creative, focusing less on TV and more on arts and crafts projects, baking, cooking and finger painting. Growing up around boys teaches Elliot to be tough. Time spent climbing trees, building sandcastles, and wrestling shape her creative entrepreneurial spirit she later embraces as a business owner.

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 Learning Work Ethic Studying Least Favorite Classes

In Chapter 2 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" As a creative child, Elliot has a difficult time with science and math in school. She learns a work ethic by studying hard to do well in these subjects that do not come naturally to her. Elliot uses this approach later in life an entrepreneur, investing time to learn hard subjects like budgeting and financing that also do not come easy but, once learned, help her be a better business owner.

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 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. 

Michael Olsen on 3 Ways Parents Instill Positive Values in Children

In Chapter 4 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?" Three childhood experiences shape Olsen's view of the world. First, his parents teach Olsen the importance of travel, culture and inclusiveness. They do this by taking him to Europe as a 9-year old and, every Christmas, inviting people from different cultures to the Olsen family dinner table. Second, his father gets him involved in local Rotary Club events, specifically an annual pancake breakfast fundraiser, which teaches him the value of community service. Third, his parents show him the value of education by not only pushing him to value education but also by constantly learning and leading by example.

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 How Reflection Informs Personal Growth

In Chapter 17 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?" Olsen shares measuring personal growth is dependent on being able to successfully reflect. He notes how he prefers structured reflection over unstructured reflection to learn from his past to plan his future.

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 Gain Confidence by Facing Failure and Fear

In Chapter 16 of 17 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and small business owner Rachel Lehmann-Haupt answers "What Role Does Confidence Play in the Work That You Do?" Lehmann-Haupt finds that confidence is everything. She defines authentic confidence as what you develop after facing fear, feeling scared, being insecure and having moments of failure. Through these hard times she gains confidence in her ability to pick herself up, work through the creative process, and make changes necessary to be successful.

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. 

Geoff Hamm on Learning Work Ethic From Self-Made Parents

In Chapter 8 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" Hamm learns his work ethic from role  model parents who instill the value of hard work. At age 15 Hamm gets his first job at a hardware store and learns to appreciate working with his hands. He finds having a job gives him purpose and the means to better others who also work with purpose.

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.