Meet The Team — Danny Brill

What makes our world a special place? A fraction of the answer to this question lies deeply in the diversity of human beings we share the earth with. I’m of the belief that the idea of diversity has never been inherently political or societally exacting and so you can be sure that what follows is in pursuit of neither of these endeavors.

There is an instinctual curiosity within me and I‘m confident that it lies within you as well, to peer over the fences of our lives. To press our faces to the glass in the hopes of extracting some understanding of the mysteries that lie beyond the window of the lives we’ve come to know, the lives that most of us have so carefully crafted for ourselves. Barriers like country, class, and wealth have sought to divide us, but in their division have failed so miserably. These mutual separations have created bountiful harvests of culture and ideals brought forth from the vast differences in so many lives on our planet. By separating a species so creative and intelligent we’ve allowed the most amazing accomplishments, wonders of our world, to exist as the product of such differing experiences.

The reason I wanted to be a part of Glimpse is because I believe that there is so much we can gain from seeing all corners and peoples of the world with our own eyes. At the surface there is beauty and amazement within so many cultures that most of us have never even heard of much less have the means or ability to see for ourselves. Beneath the surface though, lies an untapped potential for collaboration and understanding that genuinely holds the power to change the way our species interacts with one another. If we could take time to just understand one another without prejudice or fear I believe that there isn’t an obstacle known to us that we as a species couldn’t overcome.

— — — — — — — — — That may have been a little much — — — — — — — —

Who are we?

That may have come off as a little pompous; my co-founders Alex, Alex, and I tend to get a little excited when we talk about the possibilities of our project Glimpse. My name is Danny Brill and I’m someone who wants something more. This is an idea that I share with my co-founders and it’s a feeling that got the ball rolling with Glimpse. We’re sick of the echo-chamber that social media has become and so we’re developing a platform that gives you all that wasted time back. Hours and hours we spend scrolling through feeds and timelines constantly thinking we’re becoming more connected or more knowledgable or even more entertained while doing it. The truth is, behind the curtains these bubbles make us less happy, less intelligent, and ultimately less fulfilled. An idea that we can take back this time and make some pretty awesome memories while doing it is who we are and what Glimpse is. The utopian ideals I droned on about above are what I think we stand to gain from making this thing happen and I don’t think it takes some massive shift in social climate or a compromising of one’s core values; all we have to do is shed fear or judgement and take a glimpse.

Who Am I?

I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and although I spent my entire childhood there I feel like I’ve been moving around ever since. Both of my parents weren’t able to continue (or even finish) their education because of their financial circumstances and so when I graduated high school it was an exciting thing for all of us that I’d be leaving the state to attend college. I moved to Colorado three and a half years ago to begin my Computer Science degree at CU Boulder. I was in a brand new state with out so much as a single familiar face. I like to think that attending a high school in Germany for a brief stint was a step outside my comfort zone, but it’s incomparable to that moment. Things took off fast and I grew to love the people and places around me. In the past three years I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled to 11 different countries and 15 cities outside of the U.S..

Where I’ve Been!

Here are just a few pictures of my travels that make me too happy…

Let’s Rent Bikes.

To this day this is one of the coolest and craziest nights of my life. We get to Berlin and we’re like what do we do what do we see and Jordan (third from the right) is like “lets rent bikes.” We were lucky enough to be there for a light festival, which is why the building behind us looks like a work of art. We peddled back to our hotel at 9:20am… 10 minutes before our bus left.

The good, the bad, the ugly.

Turns out there are four extremely similarly named airports that stem in the four cardinal directions from the center of Brussels. This turned what was supposed to be a 15 minute walk to our hostel into a much, lets say lengthier, adventure. After two days of traveling we finally arrived in Amsterdam (my roommate is in the bunk below me just… processing). This is definitely a top contender for my favorite city of all time it’s an absolute must visit if you’re traveling through the area. While it’s not the best picture of all time I’ll never forget that moment and the incredible days to come.

Be Careful What You Wish For.

It was a Tuesday night and I guess I had an exam that night or something because by the next morning all I had to my name was a migraine reminding me of the poor decisions we’d made the night before and one memory of a promise. “Dude we should go skydiving”. Greg was like “Hell yeah! We actually have to though like not just say we will.” I remarked that I hate those things you talk about all your life, but never take the slightest initiative to actually make happen. I think it was around 2pm the next day when I called him and informed him of our 9am reservation the next morning.

Places that I’ve traveled to

I was super fortunate to go to a high school that offered a bunch of exciting extra-curricular travel options. I started with this sort of road trip across Italy that was so awesome I had to do it a second time. I went on to do an exchange in this super tiny town in Germany called Staufen, which I just revisited last fall. I always thought I’d go on a big trip and when I came back my thirst for travel would be quenched. If you think that’s true like I did go take a trip and see for yourself… we couldn’t be more wrong. Since then I’ve made it to…

Costa Rica, St.Thomas, St.John, Iceland, Edinburgh, Switzerland, the edge of France (kind of counts), Dresden, Berlin, Munich, Freiburg, Frankfurt, Brussels, Amsterdam, Vienna, Budapest, and Prague

My number one bucket list destination right now

Since before I started really traveling on my own I’ve always fantasized about traveling to eastern Asia. Everything about that part of the world fascinates and excites me. Tokyo has been number one on my list for years, but as I hear about more of my friends’s travels I’m beginning to think Thailand is going to take the cake when I finally get of my ass and make it there. I’m also set on making it to Vietnam, Laos, and Nepal.

Five items on my general bucket list at the moment

• Travel around Eastern Asia (I know kind of a rip off)
• See the northern lights (I’m planning a trip to Scandinavia!)
• Go dog sledding
• See the seven natural wonders of the world
• I’ve always wanted to spend enough time in the monasteries of Nepal to understand that lifestyle

Five hobbies outside of programming

• Cooking, ok really eating, but I love to cook too (I sort of stole this one from Alex Walling)
• Snowboarding
• Climbing
• Playing Guitar
• Golfing

Why I started with Glimpse

Entrepreneurial spirit is something I’ve inherited from my parents. A desire to forge new and progressive opportunities from territories unexplored drives me. I want to flip the unturned stones of possibility to better the present and beyond. That’s why Glimpse excites me. When I think of Glimpse I think of a world better understood. A world where eyes look not down and away, but head on at each other and into the future.