How I Work: Clara Gustafson, Venture for America fellow with ZeroFOX

Come August, Clara Gustafson will have completed year one of her minimum two-year commitment to Baltimore.
The 23-year-old is one of seven fellows living and working in Baltimore city as part of Venture for America, a program that finds recent college graduates to work in startups in cities across the U.S. Gustafson is a business development associate at Federal Hill cybersecurity startup ZeroFOX, which creates software to protect large companies’ from cyber attacks and information security risk via their social media channels.
She and several other Baltimore fellows live in Patterson Park.
This is how she works.
What’s the first thing you do every day before doing any startup-related work?
I have recently started waking up and doing Duolingo every morning.
How often do you check your e-mail, and do you use any program to get to “Inbox Zero“?
I am constantly on my e-mail, unless I am at dinner or at an e-mail-unfriendly event. I delete without reading the newsletters from consumer vendors unless they have a super catchy title or mention something I was just thinking about.
How do you keep track of your revenues and expenses?
I use Mint, but I also log into my online bank account at least once a week to make sure everything is as it should be.
When you need to take a break, what are you turning to?
I usually read an article from my Feedly feed about something fun or history/science-related. I also love getting outside and going for a walk, or if it’s too cold then I will just walk around the office.
Where do you turn to for founder’s inspiration when you’re feeling low?
I get the most benefit, in multiple ways, from going to workout when I have hit a wall or am feeling low. Another activity I enjoy is crafting. I would call myself an amateur crafter and I love Michaels — just going there to purchase materials for an easy/fun painting/knitting project and sitting down to do it is fun. I also love music and wine, so listening to music and drinking a glass of wine while I cook or read is relaxing.
What’s your gear?
Hardware:

• Android Galaxy S3
• Macbook Air

Software:

• Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Hootsuite, Vine, Duolingo, Feedly, Instagram, Snapchat, GroupMe, Viber, WhatsApp, Uber, Lyft, Yelp, Airbnb, LivingSocial, Groupon, Songza, Bank of America, Splitwise, Venmo, Mint, Amazon, Pleco, Google Drive, Evernote, Box

What’s one time-saving tip you have?
I don’t open my computer when I get home unless I have a specific task(s) I need to accomplish on there, otherwise I start watching TV on Hulu. Granted, I can still waste time on my phone, but it’s harder to watch TV and such.