10 inspiring quotes on tech careers, culture and innovation from ‘5 Questions’

At Technical.ly, we look to dig in.

That means talking to technologists about how they’re building software and careers. And along with CEOs and founders, it also means speaking with members of an organization who are navigating those trajectories.

In 2019, the “5 Questions” column achieved both. Margaret Roth conducted a series of interviews with leaders at some of Baltimore’s top tech organizations. It gave us plenty of new information about the paths that led folks to their current positions, and insights that double as widely applicable advice.

As we head into 2020, here’s a look at some of the quotes that are staying with us:

“If it scares you, I always say to do it.” — Ashley Jean

• Jean, a software engineer at mdlogix and a RealLIST Engineers honoree, discussed her road to becoming a self-taught software engineer.

“Providing an environment with that openness and making sure they have room to know that their voice is heard puts people in an environment where they know it’s okay to take a risk. If you fail, it just adds to the creativity.” — Anne Goodridge

• Goodridge served as a guide through The Makerspace by Stanley Black and Decker, where the mechanical engineer is serving on the “innovation team’s innovation team.”

“Don’t be afraid to ask. I always try to teach my kids that. Never be afraid. The answer can always be no.” — Doug Ward

• In a wide-ranging interview, the CEO of Personal Genome Diagnostics went inside the cancer genomics company’s work, and shared lessons learned along his own career arc at companies like Bayer, General Electric, Roche and Siemens.

“It’s become my mission to better get people and organizations ready for STEM students of color.” — Brittany Young

• The founder of B360 talked about her path to starting the organization which combines dirt bike culture and STEM education.

When you ask someone to leave where they are or ask them to join you, you are asking them to make a commitment. I take that commitment seriously. — Myra Norton

• The president of Arena shared insights on hiring and culture as a company grows.

“You have to make sure that the innovation is seen as an intentional enhancement to the experience not just the next cool thing that some of your competition launched.” — Carrie Serio

• The head of participant experience at T. Rowe Price talked about approaches to innovation at the Baltimore-based global investment management firm.

“The equity is so embedded in the mission of what we do, it is what we’re trying to hire for.” — Jason Becker

• Allovue’s chief product officer went inside the edfintech company’s tech stack, development processes and how it all orients around solving problems in education finance.

“I don’t think culture is something that you slap on top of things. I think that it starts from the ground up.” — Kara Redman

• The CEO of Backroom offered some of our favorite thoughts of the year on building company culture.

“I want to see how far it can go with me being all in.” — Josh Budman

• The CTO of Tissue Analytics dug deep into how the company is changing healthcare — and him as a person.

“Don’t take no for an answer. If it doesn’t work here, go somewhere else. Go ask someone else. Go try something different.” — Jolene Gurevich

• To kick off the series, Gurevich reflected on the career arc to becoming the manager at UMD’s Mtech Ventures and the Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund, and advice she gives to others coming up.