DataGrail’s Employee Spotlight series highlights the person behind the professional, digging deep and discovering what drives our team members.
Jared Vishno joined the Sales team back in May after graduating from the University of Virginia, where he studied Spanish and Social Entrepreneurship. Jared has a wide array of previous experience – as a mentor for athletes and entrepreneurs, in marketing as an intern, and as a co-founder of Division 1-On-1 Trainers, a web-based platform that connects college athletes to young athletes in the community for personal sports training sessions.
What excites you about joining the DataGrail team?
The biggest reason why I was drawn to DataGrail was the people. Before joining, everyone at the company with whom I spoke raved about the culture and how much they loved their daily work. You always hear about the importance of a strong team in the startup world, but I didn’t really know what that looked like before starting at DataGrail. Everyone is super passionate about growing the business and supporting others in the company, all while bringing a positive energy every day.
What’s your role at DataGrail, and how do you see yourself growing over the next 2 years?
I’m a sales development representative. Over the next two years I hope to improve as a communicator and learn more about the SaaS and data privacy spaces. So far, I’ve learned a ton about how, at a high level, we differentiate ourselves from competitors, communicate specific messaging, and take calculated steps towards building a strong brand. Eventually, I’d love to move into the account executive role and have a more hands-on role in working with prospective clients through the evaluation and buying process.
What has been your favorite project or challenge you’ve worked on in your academic or professional career?
At UVA, I founded Division 1-On-1 Trainers, the only NCAA-approved platform that allows college athletes to earn money through personal sports training. That experience was awesome because it was my first taste of entrepreneurship, and I had to navigate a complex web of university, NCAA, and legal regulations to get the platform off the ground. Taking a problem-oriented approach allowed me to build something that helped a lot of people, and it was a super rewarding experience and huge for my development as a leader.
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
I would love to learn two more languages (maybe French and German). Right now, I speak Spanish almost fluently, and I’ve seen the value of being able to communicate with someone in their native language. This has been a huge benefit when traveling in Spain and Central America. I hope to live/work in Europe at some point, and being able to pick up another language before I get there would be awesome.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love being outside and playing sports as much as possible. That includes everything from running, hiking, mountain biking, wakeboarding, and skiing, to tennis, basketball, soccer, and ping pong. I also love going to movies, concerts, and traveling. When it comes to my go-tos on Netflix, I’m a huge fan of Peaky Blinders, Ozark, and anything standup comedy (Bill Burr and Sebastian Maniscalco are my top two in that category).
Enjoy this piece? Check out our previous spotlight, featuring Elie Jordi, Sales Development Representative!