As COO, I oversee day-to-day operation of the company. I still do much of the internal and external communication for the company including social media outreach, user community participation, press relations, product announcements, etc. However, as a small company, I am also responsible for other things such as HR tasks, AP/AR, payroll, and more.As part of the leadership team I also work closely with the CEO on marketing strategy and implementation, new product development, and future company growth and direction. As a team, we discuss new products, changes and improvements to existing products, and then the planning and strategy around implementing those changes and improvements.We also look for new opportunities, whether it's starting up new companies or starting new service lines. These are discussed, planned and strategized as a group: myself, our CEO and CIO.

While I helped found SmarterTools, it wasn't until 2010 that I came to work for the company full-time. Once I did come back, I was responsible for all manner of both internal and external communication for the company including social media outreach, user community participation, press relations and product announcements and more. I also worked closely with the CEO on marketing strategy and implementation, new product development and future company growth and direction. I also participated in new product development and strategy as well as strategy and improvements to existing software products.

ParksideTech is an IT solutions company that specializes in working with businesses throughout Arizona to assess, recommend and implement IT solutions. Along with my business partners, we funded ParksideTech as it was starting up. We fully believed in the individuals we were investing in, and their vision of how they'd grow their business. They proved worthwhile investments. I helped start up the company, helped created content for their website, helped create their documentation and help guide them in their business planning and development. We eventually handed ParksideTech over, letting the principles continue running, and growing, the company while we took a back seat. Since then, they've continued growing the business and turning it into a highly successful IT MSP, in a very crowded market.

TapFoo was a mobile game that revolutionized the classic “Be the 10th Caller” promotion that was popularized by radio stations across the U.S. It gamefied advertising, bringing players and sponsors together for fun games, prizes and gifts. Players could play, for free, for fabulous prizes by simply tapping a button. Prizes were plentiful as local and national businesses and brands got incredible exposure for their products or services on the platform.I participated in all aspects of this: from initial idea to working on gameplay mechanics and development. I wrote all the content for the game's website, for its rules and worked with a renowned gaming attorney to craft the Terms of Service and final ruleset. I also filled in and helped select, purchase and eventually ship prizes to players.

One day, a friend I'd made while attending DeVry mentioned her neighbor owned a web hosting company. She said if I was interested, she'd introduce me. As I'd worked on one end of the hosting business -- being a user of shared hosting and a hosting customer -- I figured it wouldn't hurt to learn the other side of things, so I said sure. Again: Opportunity!After an interview, I was offered a job as a customer service / sales rep for the company: CrystalTech Web Hosting. Thus began a long career that spanned multiple years, and a major brand change. It also introduced me to a person who would become a great friend as well as a business partner.At CT (as we called it) we worked hard to build the company into a major brand. CT was eventually sold in 2004 while at its peak: the third largest Windows hosting company in the world. We had grown the company quickly, but efficiently, specializing in offering quality shared and dedicated hosting for the developer market. We were known for the quality of our services, the quality of our support, and our pursuit of the latest and greatest technologies. I played a number of different roles at CT, from leading the sales and marketing team to forging relationships with companies such as Macromedia (and eventually Adobe), Microsoft, and more.After CT was sold, I stayed on. I rose to eventually mentoring and leading the core technology teams for Newtek Technology Services, including Server Operations, Network Operations, Technical Support, Development, and Research and Innovation.I also led the Marketing and Communications team where I built a team of people in design, marketing and communications, to help keep the brand relevant. During that time we experimented with a lot of "new for us" marketing efforts, from banner ads and mailers to video, blogs and social media. We brought CT and Newtek into the digital age with regards to their marketing, and we had great success, and great fun, doing it.

While at DeVry, I was hired by Quality-S before I actually graduated. I took this as a sign that I had made the correct decision in my recent career choice. At Quality-S, I built and maintained two websites for them: their brochureware site, which was the marketing site for the main company, as well as their e-commerce site. The e-commerce site sold a variety of different aftermarket truck accessories, like running boards, hitches, bed liners, etc. Both sites were built using classic ASP, and our e-commerce site used Microsoft SQL for its back end.Part of building out that site entailed search engine marketing for it . During my tenure I created a regimen for SEM and SEO for both sites, achieving top 5 results for several competitive key phrases. Granted, these were the heady days of "search engine optimization", but I found it exhilarating when I got our site in the top spot for "Ford Truck bed caps". Digging in to SEO fueled me, and participating in communities around SEO garnered me some good contacts, and good friends.

After FINALLY graduating from college, my heart took me back home to Arizona. I rented an apartment via FAX, believe it or not, and drove my Nissan Pulsar from Iowa City to Scottsdale. Again, scanning the want ads took me to an ad for Pitney Bowes Management Services. I started working in their offsite -- which is where all the overflow was sent from the various law firms, state agencies, etc. was sent. We eventually were awarded the contract for the Department of Economic Security, the largest State Agency in Arizona, and I was offered the job of Assistant Manager there. Again -- an opportunity, so I jumped at it. I helped us establish that account, spending a TON of time on the various pieces of mail equipment we put in place. After about a year, the manager left and took a job with another company, and I was offered the Manager position. Of course I took it. The AZDES account was a high-volume production mail environment. We were responsible for the inserting, posting and barcode sorting all of the mail the agency sent out: unemployment checks, UI notices, childcare checks, etc. In my tenure there we ended up saving the State of Arizona hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in postage alone.I gravitated to the Pitney Bowes mailing machines, which were run by computers. These machines can be a bit finicky, and in a high-volume environment, downtime is a killer. So, it got to the point where I was able to fix them -- either mechanically or by digging into the software. After awhile of doing this, I thought: "Hmm, I'm pretty decent at this computer thing. Maybe it's time for another change!" Thus began my career in computers. I left Pitney Bowes and ended up getting my BS in Information Technology from DeVry. From there, opportunity took over!

I lucked in to working in reprograhics...I was fed up with my first attempt at finishing a degree and moved "Up North" to Tempe. Looking at the Want Ads (yeah, this was AWHILE ago) I happened upon an ad for a new company called "The Alternative Copy Shop". They were expanding into Tempe and were hiring. So, I took a chance and got hired on, quickly working my way up to Assistant Manager.Fast forward a bit, and the primary owner of the chain -- who roomed with Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko's -- offered me the job managing their shop in Ventura, CA. Never one to pass up an opportunity, I jumped at it. My time in Ventura was spent managing a team of individuals in a fast-paced, goal and deadline oriented environment. I also worked closely with contracted agencies and print shops on custom work for both enterprise organizations and individuals. I also did some typesetting/graphic design, even going so far as to fully organize, typeset, format and edit a self-published book for a frequent customer.However, I felt some regret at not finishing my degree. As a result, I took a chance and applied for financial aid and decided to get back to my roots, and enrolled to the University of Iowa. They accepted me, and I got some loans and made the trek from Ventura, CA to Iowa City, IA, eventually graduating with a BA in English.