Who Am I?

👋🏼 I'm Ryan and I enjoy building things for the digital and physical world. Currently, I'm helping connect brands and customers through software @ Sprout Social. I got my start in product management in 2010 where I consulted for a multinational hospitality company to help build a new reservation system. After that I went on to co-found a due dilligence product, and then managed three product teams responsible for technology that enables 40 million customers to find parking in garages and lots.

I've worked on various levels of the software stack, from UI design to front-end programming to strategy. My approach to building products is a bit different than most. I assume that my initial ideas, initiatives, or products will be wrong. Therefore we need to invite users to participate with us in the creation of our solutions. This is most often achieved by giving users something to experience—a la user prototype, live-data prototype or a concierge-style experiment. It doesn’t mean simply asking them what they want.

In addition to building software products I also have deep expertise in video and post production, with some of my work having been viewed over 500,000 times.

When I'm not behind a computer or camera, I can be found spending time with my wife, two kids and our chocolate lab, cheering for the Chicago Cubs and pursuing fitness via constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement.

Follow my Twitter feed for a bizarre mixture of thoughts on product management, rotationally grazing ruminants on perennial pasture to increase the carbon carrying capacity of soil and Chicago Cubs baseball.

One day I hope to live with my family on a farm orchestrating animals over the landscape in a way that gives back what is taken away, while building soil and minimizing stress. I believe that every person should know where their food comes from - see how it is raised, learn why it is raised that way and meet the people who raise their food....hence the picture of me holding the egg laying hen!