An Interview with Chief Design Officer, Miss Beth Tech

This week I had the pleasure of being able to sit down with another lovely person of On The Terrace Tech, Chief Design Officer Miss Beth Tech. Below is the transcript of our 10 question interview:

Q1: "What made you start your own business?"

CDO: "I’ve helped so many companies start their own products and services, it felt exciting to use those skills to start my own thing."

Q2: "How do you deal with fear and doubt?"

CDO: "I remember that fear and doubt are part of being human, but also like to find ways to face the fear and doubt and get to the other side of it. I practice this often when training for an upcoming 50k trail race. Those skills translate to every other part of life, too."

Q3: "What would you never compromise with your business?"

CDO: "Ethics. I’ve drawn a lot of business models illustrating that doing the right thing for the customer is always the best thing for business in the long run."

Q4: "Who is your biggest role model?"

CDO: "Albert Einstein. I loved his big picture view of the world, how he was not afraid to try things and fail (and did often), and that he had an uncompromising sense of how technology and science were to be in service of humanity."

Q5: "How do you define success?"

CDO: "I love the moments at work when we find out a new way of looking at the world. It’s thrilling to understand something more about people and how they want to live their lives and then build something to make their dreams come true."

Q6: "How did you get started in tech?"

CDO: "When I was in high school, Tori Amos’ 'Under the Pink' listed 'prepared piano' as a thing. I was curious and started sticking things into the strings to manipulate the sound. It translated into tech by always willing to play with systems and push on their limits to do cool things, to make art."

Q7: "How did you get the idea for this business?"

CDO: "My very encouraging sister came to see my speak at an ethnography conference —- and then realized that there was a lot of overlap in our fields. She’s also my go-to tech consultant, the person I call when I need someone to speak tech in my language. I think how technology is taught can be a barrier or a treasure trove to new worlds. I want everyone to feel empowered by tech —- like my sister makes me feel."

Q8: "What is your favorite book?"

CDO: "It’s always the one I’m currently reading. I think 'reading wide' — nonfiction, fiction, histories, biographies help us build empathy and understand how people experience the world differently."

Q9: "What adulting task caught you off guard?"

CDO: "Buying things online. There’s always the extra cost of all the advertising emails, ads, and the time to research. Physical stores may actually be more efficient (and pleasurable)."

Q10: "What is your favorite office supply?"

CDO: "Flair felt tip pens. A design professor gave our class these after we completed our first design projects. The great pens, but also the badge of 'real designer' for me."

A huge thank you to CDO, Miss Beth Tech, for her time and we hope you enjoyed this interview!