‍

Background & Journey

‍

1. Take us back to 2025 — how did you first get connected with QC Growth and what made you want to join as an intern?

I got connected to QC through my academic advisor, Ashley, at the University of Michigan. Funny enough, Jake had the same advisor during his time at Michigan. When Jake reached out on behalf of QC, I was immediately intrigued. I was still playing baseball at the professional level, and QC's remote, flexible structure let me start building a career while continuing to chase my dream on the field. What drew me in was the people, a group of like-minded individuals passionate about growing startups, helping people succeed, and pursuing goals outside of work.

‍

2. What were your expectations coming in, and how did the experience compare to what you thought it would be?

Honestly, I was brand new to so many of the terms and platforms in front of me. I've never been one to set rigid expectations. In baseball and in school, I found that staying open and prepared gave me the best chance to succeed. My only expectation was that I'd learn and grow from the team around me, and that's exactly what happened. Within weeks, I was building in Clay, setting up campaigns, responding to leads, and creating automations, all things I had no idea how to do before joining.

‍

3. Looking back, what were some of the earliest things you worked on that helped you understand how startups actually grow?
   
   

Early on, I was thrown into the fire. I found myself sitting in on calls with CEOs, founders, marketing leaders, and developers. I got a front-row seat to the problems startups were actually facing. As I started building lists and responding to messages on LinkedIn and email, I began to see what worked and what didn't. I quickly realized there's no one-size-fits-all approach. Whether it was tying data into a CRM, building a target list, or running event-based and competitor campaigns, every client was unique. Success came from understanding each client's goals and tailoring the approach to fit.

‍

‍

4. Was there a moment during the internship where you felt like things really “clicked” for you? What happened?

I remember struggling with one client in particular. We weren't booking meetings and couldn't seem to nail the target audience. But we kept learning: analyzing call data, replies, and the market. We made adjustments and launched a QC signature play, the Strategic Advisory Board. That was the first time I truly saw the impact the right message could have. We locked down the audience, changed the approach, and booked six meetings on day one.

‍

From Intern → GTM Operator

‍

5. Your role has evolved a lot since joining QC Growth. What are you responsible for today that you never imagined you’d be doing when you started?

When I started, I had to ask questions about everything. I didn't think I'd ever get past building lists and launching campaigns. But that foundation turned out to be the base layer for understanding all things outbound. Once I got comfortable, I started generating ideas for new campaigns and markets, which led to more involvement in client strategy and decision-making. Today, I manage calendar integrations to track booked meetings, tie data into CRMs, run a full range of outbound plays (web visitors, social scrapes, event-based, ads, competitive, TAB/SAB) and set up automations across the board. Every day brings something new.

‍

6. What are some of the most valuable skills you’ve developed working with startups over the past year?

The most valuable skills I've developed are understanding a client's ideal customer and how to approach them, communicating across our team and the client's to make sure nothing slips through the cracks, and knowing when it's time to introduce a new play or motion.

‍

7. Working with early-stage companies can be chaotic and fast-moving. How have you learned to operate in that kind of environment?

At first, it was a lot. I was juggling multiple clients with different needs and paces. I learned to organize tasks and prioritize what needed immediate attention versus what could wait. Over time, I developed an intuition across clients: anticipating when a big list build request was coming, knowing when to pause a campaign, and recognizing when to dig into the data and make adjustments. As QC has refined its processes, that's only gotten smoother.

‍

8. What’s one project or win you’re particularly proud of since joining the team?
   
   

When I first started, I knew almost nothing about SaaS or tech companies. My comfort zone was a sports client I could relate to. I was able to pull ideas from my athletic background and target prospects the client had never considered. That win helped me see how I could bridge my own experience into the tech world. From there, everything started to connect.

‍

Athlete Mindset → Startup Mindset

‍

9. You come from a strong athletic background. What sport did you play and what did you learn from it?

Baseball has always been my passion. I played my first two seasons at Arizona State, then finished my college career and graduated from the University of Michigan. I spent a season in the MLB Draft League and continue to play independent baseball with the goal of getting drafted. The sport has given me everything, relationships, resilience, a process-oriented mindset, and opportunities I once only dreamed of. Those same lessons of managing time, learning from failure, staying confident, and trusting the process, have translated directly into my work at QC Growth.

‍

10. What lessons from sports translate directly into working with startups?
    
    

Any lesson from baseball can be applied to working in startups. To be quite honest I struggled at the beginning in understanding that. Working with startups felt like a whole new world and something that was nothing like baseball. But as I struggled and got caught up in results at a very early stage in my internship, I began to feel like I was in a slump, something that had happened in baseball before. But just like I did in baseball I was able to pull myself out. I began to understand I had to apply what I learned through the sport or I would not be successful and I would not be joyful about what I was doing. The moment I switched to my baseball mindset, the work became much more fun and the success wrote itself. I shifted from trying to make everything perfect, to learn from everything I was doing.

‍

11. How has being an athlete helped you handle challenges, pressure, or setbacks in your work?

In baseball, you're a great hitter if you fail seven out of ten times. Startup growth has similar odds. There can be stretches where things don't work, where you feel stuck, where there's real pressure to deliver. Baseball taught me how to handle all of that: adjust, learn, and keep moving forward.

‍

12. Do you see similarities between building a startup and competing in sports?
    
    

Absolutely. I think of new clients like new pitchers. As a hitter, you rarely face the same one twice. Each pitcher has a unique arsenal, and you have to study, adjust, and step in with confidence. New clients are the same way: each one is unique, and how you prepare for them, learn from them, and approach them with conviction can set both QC and the client up for success.

‍

Learning & Growth

13. What’s something about startups or sales that completely changed your perspective since joining QC Growth?
    
    

Before QC, I assumed there was a playbook you could run for every company. What changed my perspective was realizing that every startup is genuinely different. There are different audiences, different pain points, different approaches. I also had no idea how much goes into a startup's growth. From the outside, it looks like companies just take off. From the inside, I've seen all the layers: the list building, the campaign testing, the CRM setup, the constant adjustments. It taught me that success isn't about finding one formula or chasing results; it's about understanding each client deeply, trusting the process, and learning from the data. When I shifted my focus to that, the results followed.

‍

14. What have you learned from working closely with the QC Growth team that has shaped how you approach your work?
    
    

QC is a true team. Communication is as important as any skill set. We bounce ideas off each other, hold each other accountable, and learn constantly. Early on, I was the one asking all the questions, and within minutes, sometimes seconds, someone was there to help. Working alongside sales leads with different backgrounds and approaches has been invaluable. It's allowed me to bridge what's working well for one client and bring those ideas to another.

‍

15. What advice or mentorship from the team has stuck with you the most?
    
    

"Mistakes are going to happen, learn and move on." That mindset has stuck with me more than anything. Shout out to Sam Isaacs, Sam Cartwright, Nick Tarsi, and Ben Bartolone for being incredible sales leads to work with and learn from. Jake and Luke, thank you for bringing me on and creating this opportunity. And Kiril, you've been incredible to work alongside and learn from.

‍

Working at QC Growth

16. What makes working with the QC Growth team unique compared to other work environments you’ve experienced?
    
    

The depth of knowledge on this team is incredible. Everyone brings a different background and strategy. But what really sets QC apart is that it creates space for life outside of work. I'm still chasing my dream to play professional baseball, and QC gives me the flexibility to train. I see the same thing across the team: people with families they care deeply about, people running schools, people who love theater, books, travel, and hiking. It's an environment where everyone is genuinely passionate about the work and invested in each client's success. I almost wish clients could see our internal conversations and the amount of thought and effort that goes into their growth is remarkable.

‍

17. What’s something people might not realize about the work we do with startups every day?
    
    

We're the silent operators. Most of the time we won't get credit for a client's success, and I think it's better that way. We fly under the radar, move things efficiently, and before you know it, meetings are getting booked and deals are being closed. We set clients up for success, and they run with it.

‍

18. What do you enjoy most about working with founders and early-stage companies?
    
    

Every founder is different, but the one constant is drive. They're balancing a hundred things at once, and their determination to succeed is infectious. I've worked with founders who are natural sellers and others who need coaching. Both have taught me a lot about what it takes to build something from the ground up.

‍

Looking Forward

19. What excites you most about the next stage of your career in GTM and operations?
    
    

I'm excited to keep working with people from all kinds of backgrounds and industries. Every day I learn something new that I can apply to my career and my life. What excites me most is seeing how much more I can grow in the startup and GTM space. The learning curve hasn't slowed down, and I don't want it to.

‍

20. If another student or recent grad was considering an internship with QC Growth, what would you tell them?
    
    

You'll learn things at QC that you'll carry for the rest of your career, and you'll learn them fast. It won't be easy, in fact I hope it's challenging, because that's how you grow. You'll work directly with CEOs and founders, and you'll get a real understanding of what it takes to build and scale a startup.

‍

💡 Optional Bonus Questions (for extra color):

• What tools or skills have you become obsessed with learning recently?
  
  

I've become fascinated with how AI is evolving. At first, it was almost intimidating, but I've come to see it as a tool, not a threat. We can either fear it or learn to adapt with it and use it to make the world better. If we use AI responsibly, the possibilities are endless.

‍

• What’s a typical day like for you right now?
  
  

The day usually starts with building priority lists, making sure they're clean and ready for the client. From there, it varies. QC has been growing rapidly, so a lot of my time goes toward onboarding new clients: setting up their CRM, building automations around their booking links, connecting them to our LinkedIn and email outreach systems, and creating dashboards for visibility into replies. At the end of the day, I work through responses, pushing leads toward events, meetings, or simply getting conversations started.

‍