Meet GrabCAD’s New Community Manager

It was incredibly helpful and worthwhile to have to work out some tough answers before starting in my new position. What do I see for the company in the future? How will I manage my new responsibilities? In what ways do I connect with my new peers?

How do you ground your priorities when taking on a new challenge? Let me know in the comments. And a special thank you to William for taking the time to get to know me for this interview!

I was hard at work finishing my time at Boston Startup School (BSS). The team at BSS helped bring my marketing skills to a new level, introduced me to an amazing network of students and startup professionals, and gave me confidence to go out and get a job with the brilliant team at GrabCAD. Simply said, it was life changing. Apply to their new class, I highly recommend it! If you’re in the Boston area, join us for our first public boat cruise BSS EntrepreneurSHIP, a networking event with alumni, supporters, possible students.

So what is my new job?

As Community Manager, I will help cultivate and engage an amazing group of engineers who use GrabCAD to challenge their skills, search for resources, and collaborate online. Look for more posts on my role as Community Manager on GrowthNinja.

What does this mean for Gull and Sand?

Gull and Sand isn’t going anywhere. This is where I get to post the things I like best, share my design inspiration, and write about life as a young professional in Boston. I’m looking into adding new features, so let me know what you would like to see on G&S.

What big life events are you dealing with and how do you stay inspired? Don’t be shy, let me know in the comments.

My friend showed me this website and it is perfect. No one uses them. Happy Weekend!

I found a little bit of this magic at BG Galleries in Hingham. Many items caught my eye and I may have exclaimed, “I MUST HAVE THIS!” at a inappropriate joyously loud level a few too many times. Peter, the owner came over to talk to me about his gorgeously curated collection. His outreach made all the difference.

This would be a perfect reading chair. Quirky and luxurious.

Iconic building, but notice the ominous cloud. Did mother nature know change was on the way?

This rare find got the conversation started between me and Peter at BG Galleries.

After that initial spark, Peter and I talked more about how BG Galleries does business and I got a sneak peek in their back room. So many treasures! Check out this scallop overlay lantern.

It was a pleasure to hear their company story and bond over our love of unique pieces that just need some TLC or someone to stage them with style for the customer. Hopefully, I will go back soon and walk away with a great piece and more in-depth owner interview.

How do you communicate with brands you love? Where do you like to have the conversation? Let me know in the comments.

Friday I experienced my first gamestorming session, courtesy of C Todd Lombardo who also contributes to Inside BSS. First, let me give you some context. Our Boston Startup School (BSS) team is currently working on a roommate-matching concept, taking it from a 60-second pitch to a barebones minimum viable product (MVP) in about one week. A week of validation via targeted surveys and communication. But, before you can validate an assumption you have to figure out where you stand and what you assume. Enter gamestorming, brainstorming’s fun cousin.

Gamestorming – Rules and Idea Generation. The symbol in the top left corner defines our goal for the session. Open, many possibilities to explore, no judgment. Later, focus ideas for our purpose.

Our goal is to ask questions, and lots of them, that stand between us and our barebones MVP. The symbol in the corner explains the rules of the game. The post-its are easy to move around to create categories once the gush of ideas is complete.

Gamestorming – Final Themes. What were we thinking? These categories create clear paths of inquiry.

In twos, we went up to the board and silently moved things around to find common themes in our group’s questions. Then, as a group we labeled each category and further distilled ideas. By the end, we decided on a core set of questions we needed to assess.

Gamestorming – Critical Ideas Identified. Now all we have to do is validate our assumptions on all these questions. Er, how long is this? One week? Let’s get to work.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, but at least we are all on the same page as to what we need to ask our prospective stakeholders. On to empathy maps, survey questions, and data collection! How did we get through the week and perform in our demo in front of BSS? Check back next week and I’ll let you know.

How do you like to start a project?  Let me know in the comments.

But, that is part of the fun.

I am ecstatic to be in the inaugural class. I know I am a part of something special and that this team, which managed to make a 3-day orientation engaging, will keep things fresh as we continue to learn. Most of all, I am awed that the Boston startup community has been SO welcoming. Thank you to the mentors and BSS team that brought this thing together! We will make you proud, and #LearnToDo.

Want more Boston Startup School news? Check out the @BOStartupSchool Twitter feed, InsideBSS, and BostInno. And, I’ll write about my experiences here, too.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Father’s Day celebrations. What kind of card do you usually look for when shopping for Dad? I look for old toys, movies, or soldiers (see the first example, above) for my Pops. David and Steve, can you guess which ones are for you?

I’ve been reading Real Simple since they first started and find good advice and inspiration from them each month. The website is hard to navigate, so lately I’ve been following their Pinterest boards and loving it.

Their weekend getaway guide resembles my tips. Enjoy!

• Chihuly Garden and Experience Music Project (EMP) Museum in Seattle City Center
• Ferry to Bainbridge Island and exploring their downtown.
• All the food. All of it.
• Hiking near Snoqualmie and Roaring River B&B (where our friends stayed).
• Underground Tour through Pioneer Square.

My iPhone 4 photo challenge (taking pics with only my phone and not the DSLR) was a success. Check out the Seattle pictures, below. Click on one to pop-up a bigger gallery slideshow. I included a short story with each one for context and fun.

What are your favorite things to do when you travel? Are you someone who likes to eat 6 times a day, or do you prefer galleries and museums. Maybe you’re like me and enjoy walking until you drop to see a city by foot. Shout out to Zipcar who got us across Mercer Island to our friends and one of the best days ever. Is it just me or is the Audi A3 one of the best cars ever?