Director of Marketing – Social Media & Growth Hacking, FoundersClick Inc. Q: What or who influenced your digital marketing creativity and passion? Ryan: I gained an interest in digital marketing in college at the University of Montana under the guidance of Mario Schulzke, previously a hot shot in Advertising, now an adjunct professor and Assistant VP of Marketing for the University of Montana. He is also known for founding the Entrepreneurial community IdeaMensch. Under Mario’s guidance in classes and later an internship with his team, I learned advance digital strategy and analytics. I was hooked. I am very inspired by mentorship and I am always eager to stay connected with them and seek out new mentors as I develop professionally. There is something addictive about marketing and specifically growth hacking. Being able to see conversions come in and be optimized is very rewarding for me. Q: How do you see social media trends shaping up in the next few years? What do you see as areas that social media can be leveraged further by businesses and individuals? Ryan: Social Media is breaking up into communities of like-minded people. It’s human nature. Businesses will need to align themselves by contributing real value to these communities and creating communities under their brand or Idea that people genuinely want to be apart of because of the benefit the community can provide the individual members. Value is key. Q: In your opinion, what are the top 3 key critical success factors in career progression? Ryan: 1. Hard work and willingness to learn will beat out natural ability any day. 2. Seek out mentors. 3. Clime the latter one step at a time and focus on the rung of the latter you are stepping up from not the top of the later. Be mindful of your ultimate goal but don’t get distracted from the here and now. Q: What challenges do you see in making professional connections through social media today? Ryan: The fear of what someone might think if you reach out should be over come. If you are genuine you have nothing to loose. Also, People are eager to automate but reluctant to engage. If you are using automation you best be actively engaging with your audience. Real connections happen over real conversation. Sometimes, I think people forget that. Q: What is your definition of an entrepreneur? Any advice to those who aspire to start their own business but find it to be a daunting proposition? Ryan: Entrepreneurs are a mix between an artist, a coal miner, and a visionary. They are creative, ridiculously hard working, and have an idea are obsessed with fulfilling. If you are nervous about starting a business try and construct some sort of residual income to keep you afloat during the hard times before starting your venture. Investing in property and renting it out is one of my favorite ways to get money coming in. I’d also advise reading the 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss and the “Lean Startup” by Eric Ries.