Mar 14, 2018Your new personal shopper is on Facebook MessengerHow conversational commerce will change the shopping experience — Personal shoppers are only for the elite, right? Imagine the VIP service a well-off customer gets in a luxury store. They get a personal shopper; let’s call him Pierre. Pierre helps find the perfect product for them. He lets them know when new items come in stock or when there’s a sale. Pierre calls when the item they…Messaging4 min readMessaging4 min read
Oct 16, 2017What We Learned Planning Our First Ever Team RetreatHow We Changed Our Team Forever By Flying To The Mountains — Team retreats are an incredible way to bring a company together. If you are an all-remote company, like we are at Octane AI, I would say they are even essential. I’m going to share why it’s important and some tips to having a great team retreat. Why Have a Team Retreat?Remote Working7 min readRemote Working7 min read
Jun 28, 2017The Complete Guide to Working On A Remote TeamThe secret to increasing productivity, work–life balance, and team happiness — This is a guide for people on remote teams or those considering it. Why go remote? What are the benefits and how do you overcome the downsides? Learn how remote life can make employees happier and more productive if done right. Avoid the common mistakes and learn best practices. What Does It Mean to Work at an All-Remote Company?Remote Working15 min readRemote Working15 min read
Apr 25, 2017Getting Started with your Octane AI bot for Facebook MessengerYour bot is live! Now it’s time to connect with people — You’ve got a bot! Now it’s time to get people to connect, and keep them engaged. Facebook Messenger already has 1.2 billion active users so your bot is a chance to engage with them. We see much higher click-through rates on Messenger than email or other marketing channels. Share Your Bot — Everywhere Most people…Bots5 min readBots5 min read
Apr 13, 201730 Things I’ve Learned in 30 Years About Startups, Dating, Travel and MoreToday I’m 30. Young enough to still talk with friends about how well we’re “adulting.” Old enough to have a real career and opinions about “kids these days,” including my own nieces and nephews, who use lip-syncing social networks I don’t understand. Possibly as just a self-indulgence (so millennial of…Life Lessons10 min readLife Lessons10 min read
Mar 29, 2017The Next Great Newsletters are Going to be BotsIn November, I joined Octane AI to help build the future of bots. Four months have sped by and I believe now more than ever that bots are an incredibly powerful way to reach your audience. …Bots5 min readBots5 min read
Nov 14, 2016I’m Joining Octane AI to Help Build the Future of BotsI‘m excited to share that today is my first day at General Catalyst-backed Octane AI as Head of Product. Octane AI launched on November 2nd (CNN, TechCrunch, VentureBeat) with the mission of making bots (aka chatbots) easy to build and accessible for everyone. Their early launch partners include 50 Cent…Bots3 min readBots3 min read
Published in The MVP·May 9, 20169 Tips for Better Product Collaboration with EngineeringHere are a few of the lessons I’ve learned leading product at Octane AI and RebelMouse: 1. Start With Why This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it’s amazing how often the “why” gets left behind in the quest for “we need to get this live now.” …Startup5 min readStartup5 min read
Feb 7, 2016Why We Startup: The High of Creation and The Wonderful Wizard of OzI first did magic when I was eleven. I made a lemon dance across a screen. It looked effortless but it took me countless hours. I debated the lemon’s smile; I finagled the dancing animation; I almost quit, but I did it. …Startup2 min readStartup2 min read
Nov 24, 20155 Ways For Men in Tech to Support Workforce Equality While Barely TryingDear Men in Tech, If you want to truly go above and beyond to become an advocate for women in tech, there are so many things you could do, such incredible differences you could make, but that is a different essay. Here I’m talking about easy things. Here are 5…Women In Tech3 min readWomen In Tech3 min read
