Welcome to UpKeep — January Hires

Welcoming our January Hires to the UpKeep Family!

We’re so excited to welcome our January hires to the team this month! Get to know the lovely additions to the UpKeep Family! Here is our interview with them!

Welcome to the team, Darrell!

"I am a long-time resident of North Carolina, originally a California native, but I have been back in North Carolina since 2013. I am a lover of music & the arts, video games, outdoors, dogs, my family, my community, and just good times all around! I love collaborating and working together as a team when working towards a common goal!

I first got into Sales working as a Sales Associate for Vans at Southpoint Mall in Durham, North Carolina when I first moved back. Things went well while I was there and I was awarded by the District Manager for having the highest sales as well as the most customer service surveys with the highest ratings in the Southeastern district.

I am excited to be a part of UpKeep in its early stages, there’s so much growth potential here and I want to be here to not just witness it but contribute to it! There are people who have no idea this type of work experience is even achievable! It’s like this unspoken understanding that, yes we are here to get our jobs done and at the same time we need to take care of ourselves and not dehumanize this experience."

Welcome to the team, Eminence! 

"I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of the family and can’t wait to see what my journey with Upkeep will entail! I just moved to Austin, Texas from Indianapolis in July and couldn’t be happier to be here. I’m a huge fan of creativity and love to think outside the box.

I first got into Sales working for a wholesale apparel startup called Olgyn. I was way in over my head as I had no previous experience but being “thrown to the wolves” was a blessing in disguise. I learned how adaptable and resourceful I really was and gained a ton of insight into what I was capable of. It was a great learning experience.

I love how innovative and creative a startup environment can be but wanted to marry that with a great core culture, in an industry I can see myself not only passionate about but able to progress in the long term. UpKeep was the obvious choice, coming from a diverse industry background in Sales I knew this is where I wanted to land and fly."

Welcome to the team, Andrew! 

"I’m an avid outdoorsman and I spend pretty much all my free time out in the woods or hanging out on the lake! When I’m not enjoying nature you can find me tracking down the best barbecue spots in Texas or sitting in my room reading a fantasy novel. I come from a background in engineering and manufacturing and I am super stoked to be able to leverage that experience as a member of the team at UpKeep!

I first got into Sales because a few friends who worked as Sales Development Representatives believed I'd be a perfect fit, so I jumped in headfirst and haven't looked back. I really enjoy working in a fast-paced environment where I get to interact with new people every day and I thrive on the competition. 

The technology is what originally attracted me to UpKeep. I was looking to merge my interests in manufacturing and process improvement with a career in sales and UpKeep is the perfect place to do that. In addition, the team at UpKeep can't be beaten."

Welcome to the team, Zach!

"I am based out of Austin, TX but have lived a little bit of everywhere - from California to Connecticut, Missouri, overseas, but Austin has really developed into the perfect place to call home for my family. I have a lot of energy and look forward to bringing it every day!

I was first introduced to Marketing through Product Management. I spent the first 5 years of my career as a Product Manager and started to become more interested in the messaging and sales sides of Product.  I was lucky to have leaders in the past help champion my transition over to the Marketing side of the business and I’ve loved every second of it since. I also love being on sales calls, demoing, interacting with prospects and customers to understand how the Product and Marketing organizations can better serve the needs of the market.

The opportunity to support a largely underserved community of deskless workers through technology is something that I’ve always wanted to do in my career. Joining a startup with a team that’s as passionate about their product and mission as UpKeep is what makes coming to work all the more enjoyable. It’s also incredibly exciting to be serving a market that is so ripe with opportunity as it relates to digital transformation and innovation."

Welcome to the team, Gary!

"I live in Holly Springs, North Carolina. I live on an 87-acre farm there with my wife Lisa and our fur baby Jack, a chocolate lab that is 3 1/2 years old. I like to read about manufacturing processes and changes in the manufacturing environment with today's technology. I also like camping in our 35 ft. travel trailer we pull to the beach or the mountains. I like to hunt and fish, that's a southern thing for sure. I do speak southernly, so I am very used to translating at times.

I got into implementation/consulting about 6 years ago after working 25+ years in the manufacturing industry. I just felt compelled to try and assist them in being more efficient and increasing their bottom lines by reducing costs and expenditures utilizing CMMS systems. I absolutely love this part of my career now and have assisted hundreds of manufacturing companies in these areas.

I am totally excited to join UpKeep's great family and the organization that Ryan has built here. Through my training over the last week and a half, I see a world of difference with communication and transparency with working in the systems that aid us in our work. I have had my eye on UpKeep for the last two years and have watched this great organization become a beast in the CMMS software community and I am very honored to be an UpKeeper!!"

Welcome to the team, Cheyenne! 

"I’m a North Carolina native, born in Fayetteville and raised in Raleigh. I am the proud mother of a sweet and curious first-grader named Xander. I’m a “people person” and enjoy connecting with others from all walks of life. I am very passionate about health and personal development, always trying to be 1% better than I was yesterday. My Myers-Briggs is ENTP and my Enneagram is 3w2.

I stumbled into Sales by accident. My career began as a writer back in 2017.  Shortly after, I joined a business design studio called Paradigm Innovation as their first copywriter. Copywriting morphed into content strategy, which then developed into product marketing. I truly have a passion for product and had plans to become a product manager before I was unexpectedly laid off in January of 2020. I did my best to interview everywhere during the pandemic, but every door remained closed. The only door that opened was REVGEN, a rigorous sales training program designed to create successful software SDRs. I took a leap of faith and voila! I found my way into Sales.

I’m most excited about the opportunity in the market and the real need for a quality digital solution for maintenance technicians. It is important to me to have leadership in place that is in touch with the grind, the day-to-day responsibilities of the lowest-ranked employee, as well as someone who understands the frustrations of the industry. I’m looking forward to serving a blue-collared workforce and making a real difference in people’s lives! I also love how personal growth is encouraged and the ability to be mentored and developed is present. It’s rare to see a company that is so invested in its employees as individuals, a company that actually cares about the trajectory of its employees’ professional careers. I felt like UpKeep’s mission not only appealed to my social and humanitarian values but provided the perfect launchpad for me to grow both as an individual and within my role."

Welcome to the team, Alex!

"Hi, my name is Alex. I'm an iOS developer. I live in Houston but I used to live in the Bay Area for many years. I'm originally from Russia. I have a podcast called Inside iOS Dev where I talk about all the iOS coding things I discover. I'm into stock trading and love a cup of fresh ground French roast Turkish coffee. Fun fact - I used to plant potatoes with my grandpa in our country house every summer when I was a kid. We'd have an entire plantation and have a harvest that would last half a year. You'd think by now I'm sick of potatoes but it is still my favorite food, especially with smoked salmon.

I first got into Engineering because I liked strategy video games and similar logically challenging activities growing up so I naturally gravitated towards it. I went to school to study computer science but I think when I got hooked was when I tried to make my first iPhone app. I was amazed that with little coding you could quickly get something on the screen and actually touch it. After that, there was no turning back for me.

I'm very fascinated by automating industries that produce something in the physical world, be it car or truck driving or, in the case of Upkeep, maintenance. It's good to know that the software you're making helps people make something rather than like a social media post."

Welcome!