Personal Network Development

Cathy Erway on Testing Cookbook Recipes by Hosting Dinner Parties

In Chapter 6 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "What Process Did You Use to Develop and Test the Recipes for Your Cookbook?" Erway shares how she added fun into the trial and error equation developing her cookbook recipes. She hosts a series of ten dinners, cooking ten dishes per dinner to cover the 100 recipe options for her cookbook. Erway gets feedback from dinner party attendees she uses to practice, refine and edit recipes.

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. 

Cathy Erway on Building a Personal Brand of Not Eating Out

In Chapter 9 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Has Building Your Personal Brand Opened New Opportunities in Your Career?" Erway shares how since starting her blog, she has embraced and expanded on her brand of being the "not eating out" girl. She immerses herself in new food causes such as community supported agriculture (CSAs), farmers markets, urban gardens, chicken raising, and conscious awareness and consumption of food.

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. 

Cathy Erway on Making a Difference by Networking Food Professionals

In Chapter 14 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "What Skills Are You Using More As Your Career Advances?" Erway finds advancing in her writing career - both in advertising copywriting and food journalism - has allowed her to build stronger networking skills that become more and more useful over time. She shares how getting to know people in the food movement has allowed her to be more helpful making connections and leveraging the breadth and depth of her Rolodex to help others.

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 Finding Incredible Kindness Traveling Abroad

In Chapter 4 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Did Traveling Abroad This Past Year Teach You About Yourself?" McKenzie shares how traveling overseas during the past year has reinforced how rich the world is with kind and generous people. McKenzie constantly meets new people in new places and is overwhelmed how willing people are to support him on his journey.

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 Aspirations Change as Experience Grows

In Chapter 6 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "How Are Your Aspirations Changing As Your Experience Grows?" McKenzie shares how growing his global conference series has opened new possibilities not only for new event locaitons but also for different types of product offerings. He builds upon his globally distributed Influencer Conference series to create a research program and salon talk series to complement the core annual events.

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.

Mike Germano: Changing Job Roles After Company Gets Acquired

In Chapter 12 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, VICE Media Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano answers "How Has Your Role Changed Since Your Company Was Acquired?" Germano shares how he has went from being a "janitor in a tuxedo" working all kinds of job roles to becoming an executive leader at a much larger company. In both instances, Germano pushes a vision for the future of digital media, adapting to a much larger stage at his new employer VICE.

Mike Germano is Chief Digital Officer at VICE Media, a global youth media company based in Brooklyn, New York. Germano joined VICE Media via its 2013 acquisition of Carrot Creative, a social media agency he co-founded and led as CEO. 

Matt Curtis on How to Help a City Plan Travel and Tourism Strategy

In Chapter 7 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "How Are You Finding New Ways to Stay Connected to Government in the Work That You Do?" Through volunteering, Curtis is able to get involved in city and local government economic development initiatives. He is able to add value as a travel and tourism professional to work with cities around the world as they plan economic development travel and tourism strategies. For Curtis, this means helping cities work through alternative transportation, from light rail to Car2Go car sharing to bike share programs.

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 How Great Advocates Can Advance Your Career

In Chapter 12 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "What Role Have Advocate and Sponsor Relatioships Played in Your Development?" Curtis shares how he has been fortunate to have not only great friends and mentors but also great advocates. He finds advocates help by taking initiative to open doors for opportunities that might otherwise be closed. This type of sponsor relationship boosts Curtis' confidence and fuels his desire to pay it forward and give back as an advocate.

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 Making the Shift From Negative to Positive Thinking

In Chapter 14 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "What Does It Mean to Be Living More Positively in Your Life?" Curtis recognizes the bad things that happen when he is negative and shifts his behavior to overcome negativity issues in his life and not be a downer. He focuses on positive thinking and positive behavior and finds that negative thinking attracts negative people and positive thinking attracts positive people.

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. 

Audrey French on When to Move Family From the City to the Suburbs

In Chapter 20 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, new mother Audrey Parker French answers "What Factors Did You Consider in Your Decision to Relocate From the City to the Suburbs?" French shares how becoming parents and having a child has profoundly reshaped her and her husband's priorities for what they value in life. Whereas city life was attractive to them before having a baby, now as parents they see suburban life as optimal to bring family closer and expose kids to a child-dense environment to grow up.

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 Why to Find a Sponsor for Your Career

In Chapter 8 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "What Role Have Advocate and Sponsor Relationships Played in Your Development?" Spence shares how sponsor and advocate relationships go above and beyond giving advice and have helped her through difficult times on her career journey. She notes that it is important to respect sponsors for the time they give you as well as to continually look for sponsors who are willing to help you grow your career.

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. 

Randall Metting on Learning Work Ethic Starting Career at Coca-Cola

In Chapter 3 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Randall Metting answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" Metting shares how his work ethic was especially influenced working an entry-level marketing job at Coca-Cola after graduating college. Working at a large corporation, Metting is able to identify and focus on his strengths while also learning from a variety of people he befriended while working at Coke.

Randall Metting is a brand development and marketing manager at Dulce Vida Spirits in Austin, Texas. Over 17 years, he has built brands in spirits, luxury real estate and lifestyle, music, and sports industries. He has been a radio personality at KGSR Radio and a marketer at a hyperlocal startup acquired by NBC Universal. Metting earned a BA in Advertising from the University of Florida and started his career at The Coca-Cola Company. 

How to Increase Brand Awareness With Television Product Placement

In Chapter 12 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Randall Metting answers "How Are You Using Product Placement Marketing to Grow Brand Awareness?" Metting shares how his team was able to secure free product placement for its Dulce Vida tequila on FX Network's show The Bridge.

Randall Metting is a brand development and marketing manager at Dulce Vida Spirits in Austin, Texas. Over 17 years, he has built brands in spirits, luxury real estate and lifestyle, music, and sports industries. He has been a radio personality at KGSR Radio and a marketer at a hyperlocal startup acquired by NBC Universal. Metting earned a BA in Advertising from the University of Florida and started his career at The Coca-Cola Company. 

Randall Metting on Job Search Advice for Recent College Grads

In Chapter 15 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Randall Metting answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?" Metting shares how he provided career coaching for a recent college graduate looking to find a new job. He advises the young graduate to write down ideal qualities for a job and then to start networking to meet people and find related job openings.

Randall Metting is a brand development and marketing manager at Dulce Vida Spirits in Austin, Texas. Over 17 years, he has built brands in spirits, luxury real estate and lifestyle, music, and sports industries. He has been a radio personality at KGSR Radio and a marketer at a hyperlocal startup acquired by NBC Universal. Metting earned a BA in Advertising from the University of Florida and started his career at The Coca-Cola Company. 

Matt Ruby on Creating New Ways to Help Comedians Make It in Comedy

In Chapter 4 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About Creating Ways to Help Other Comedians Succeed?" As a comedy screenwriter and producer as well as an organizer and host of several standup comedy shows, Ruby finds happiness giving people trying to make it in comedy a chance to thrive and succeed. He enjoys the experimentation that comes with working with creative comedic talents and finds ways to build upon doing it booking standup acts by casting comedians in acting roles.

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 Building a Network of Trusted Career Advisors

In Chapter 20 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Olsen shares how he starts with the people he knows best and trusts most, his friends and family.  As an entrepreneur transitioning into a corporate role working at Accenture, Olsen also pushes himself to tap into career advice resources from mentors working at the firm.

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.

Rachel Lehmann-Haupt on Seeking Advice From Working Mom Friends

In Chapter 17 of 17 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and small business owner Rachel Lehmann-Haupt answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Lehmann-Haupt shares how she gathers working mom friends she respects to help her shape next steps in her life as a working mom. She finds her friends understand her needs as someone trying to be a good mom and strike the right work-life balance in an aspiring career.

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. 

Bryan Law on How Getting an MBA Opens New Career Possibilities

In Chapter 9 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Did Getting an MBA Open New Possibilities in Your Career?" Law shares how going back to get his MBA helped him make a transition from HR consulting to strategy consulting. During his MBA he also meets Guerra Freitas, an Angolan who brought Law on to help build a university in Angola.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, a management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University.