Have You Met…Terri Butler, Corporate Innovation Executive
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: Johnstown, PA. A small town 70 miles east of Pittsburgh.
Q: How did you hear about Innovation Works?
A: Innovation Works was usually mentioned when I would read about the successes of my favorite Pittsburgh-based companies like Nowait, Modcloth, 4moms, etc.
Q: What drew you to work here?
A: I spent most of my career working for shareholders; what enticed me about Innovation Works is that I would be working to help start-ups realize their vision and get their company up and running by helping to connect them with their first customers.
Q: Let’s say I’m an entrepreneur in Southwestern Pennsylvania, what can I ask for your help on?
A: I try my best to help companies and founders make connections and introductions individually, if I have the right contact or connection. If I don’t have a contact, I do my best to try to find one. However, I would say that most of my time is spent trying to build scale with the corporate program which includes events that benefit groups of corporations in the same sector looking for collaborations with a myriad of start-ups who can solve the challenges they have.
Are you an entrepreneur? Connect with our team at office hours on additional ways they can help you navigate the start-up ecosystem.
Q: Open Innovation is a phrase that’s thrown around a lot in the corporate-startup world how do you define it?
A: There are two types of open innovation — inside out and outside in. At Innovation Works, we are focused on the outside in approach. Which, to me, means there is an opportunity to create new revenue streams — by reaching new markets, creating new products, or maybe both — but there is a recognition or realization that it is more effective (cost, talent, etc.) to bring outside resources in, or partner/collaborate with outside resources in order to accomplish it.
Q: What technology/industry are you most excited about and why?
A: Artificial Intelligence is so far-reaching and the applications seem nearly endless, but it is also riddled with ethical questions/dilemmas, so, to me, that is the most exciting. Though, I think the most underutilized is blockchain, or distributed ledger technology.
Q: Step back to Terri at age 18, what line of work had you envisioned for yourself? How closely aligned is your current work to that vision?
A: Terri at age 18 was very clear that she wanted to work on Madison Ave for a global Ad Agency. And while I never moved to Manhattan, I spent 7 years working for different ad agencies. It was the most fun position, and yet the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life. I am constantly tapping into my marketing background — in every job I’ve had since. Good communication and knowing how to tell a compelling narrative/story are skills that are undervalued, yet a necessity in what I, and most people do, everyday.
Q: What issues that face our region are you most passionate or fired-up about?
A: I get fired up about a lot of things, but in my work now (and before I left a large corporation), I kept hearing about the skills gap issue. “I can’t find the right talent in Pittsburgh,” is what I would hear. And it’s certainly not just a Pittsburgh problem. I feel that there are very talented people here, and we need to do a better job of: 1. getting them to stay, or 2. up-skilling and re-skilling and removing barriers to do that, like the cost of education. I’m very excited and encouraged about the model tech companies are embracing by removing the 4 year degree requirements for positions. It’s all about experience, in my opinion.
Q: Tell us about your volunteer work with young women studying at the University of Pittsburgh? What does your role on the Strong Women Strong Girls committee look like?
A: I am part of PITT Business Mentor Match program where (PITT Business) alumni mentor current students. I’ll meet with them on a regular basis to talk about anything on their mind — resume writing, job interview tips and tricks, career path coaching, or just making connections for them. I am always amazed at their level of preparedness. I was never that pulled together in college!
SWSG drew me in immediately with their business model. At-risk youth (5th-8th grade) are mentored by college-aged women, who are then mentored by professional women. I work to help plan their fundraising events like their Strong Awards.
Q: What does an average Saturday look like for you?
A: If the weather is nice (a rarity in Pittsburgh), you’ll find me and my husband biking on the riverfront trail, followed by meeting up with friends to try out a new restaurant in town. We’re big foodies. I also spend endless hours researching my next travel destination. I pride myself on finding amazing, but non-touristy activities to do wherever I go.
Q: When asked for a ‘fun fact’ about yourself, what’s your go-to?
A: I used to look like Sally Jesse Raphael in middle school and have pictures to prove it. (Visit our Instagram, if you’re curious to see the likeness…)
