Celebrating Diversity at Teachable

What’s your name?
Robert Kueffer

What’s your role at Teachable?
CRM Marketing Manager, Retention

Tell us a bit about your background.

I’m from “the only Waunakee in the world” (pronounced like wanna key), a small town outside of Madison, Wisconsin. It was a cute place to grow up, with small businesses leaning into the name of our town (i.e., a laundromat called Wauna Wash and a locksmith called Wauna Key). What wasn’t as cute was growing up as the clearly gay kid. I was never a sporty or outdoorsy kid, and I much preferred playing with my Barbies than with Hot Wheels. In such a small town, I certainly stood out, and people let me know it. It forced my hand a bit in discovering my own independence at a young age, and I attribute that to my chameleon nature and being able to blend in and adapt wherever I am. I am a first-generation college graduate who, during and after university, has found myself living in China, Washington, D.C., South Korea, and now New York.

What drew you to Teachable?

I was drawn to Teachable because it was the perfect opportunity for me to blend my experiences in email marketing and automation with my passion for education. The product was also a huge selling point for me. I had just come out of a year teaching English in South Korea, so finding a job where I could stay close to education while getting back into my bread-and-butter of digital marketing was important. I love that the product I market helps creators share their knowledge and improve the lives of their students. That, of course, is what drew me to Teachable, but it’s been the people that have kept me here. I adore our marketing team — it’s a lovely bunch of people with different experiences and ideas, and I felt part of the team on my very first day.

Now that you’ve been with the team for a while, what has been your experience?

It’s been amazing. Joining a new company during the days of COVID and remote work is very much a mixed bag, but Teachable has done it quite well. Never have I felt like an island while working remote; the team is always accessible and has a culture of openness and ideating.

How have you found or built a community at Teachable?

There’s so much collaboration in the work the marketing team does, so even routine meetings feel like an opportunity to build community and get to know our peers. On top of that, Teachable has an arsenal of ERGs for our employees. I’ve taken on co-leading Teachaqueers, the ERG for Teachable employees that identify as LGBTQ+. It’s nice to have opportunities for our group to get together and build our own network, while also remaining a resource for the company at large. So far this year, we’ve held an in-office celebration for Pride month, hosted chats on LGBTQ+ pop culture and issues, held an LGBTQ+ trivia event hosted by a local NY drag queen, and we will soon be hosting a fundraiser in honor of World AIDS Day.