It’s Women’s History Month and we’re celebrating the women who are powering Dutchie’s rise with a series of Q&A posts. Check out the other posts here.
What do you work on at Dutchie?
I’m a UI engineer based in St. Louis, Missouri and my work at Dutchie is currently focused around the order management areas of Dutchie’s admin interface, as well as our terminal application.
What brought you to Dutchie?
My good friend Allie Wehrman had joined Dutchie and told me about the great team and awesome work being done here. I had been wanting to gain more professional experience within the React ecosystem, so when I spotted a software engineering opening, I decided to apply.
What’s something about your Dutchie experience that’s different from other places you’ve worked?
I had never worked at a startup or been in a fully-remote role before joining Dutchie. The rapid pace of growth and palpable excitement about Dutchie from leadership and the team has been inspiring, and I’m in awe of how engaged and close-knit the company culture is despite everyone being distributed across the country (and the globe).
Do you have a favorite Dutchie memory or event?
The all-hands meeting just before we announced the acquisition of LeafLogix & Greenbits and our Series C was pretty special to witness and be a part of. That Zoom call was lit and just full of good vibes all around. And I thought our Fun Committee did an excellent job with the 2020 holiday party. It was so cute and festive, and I didn’t realize a virtual holiday party could be that fun!
What would you tell your younger self when you first started your career?
You’re capable of more than you think. Whatever that thing is that you kinda want to try but are afraid you can’t do or can’t figure out — you absolutely can. It just takes patience, practice, and diligence. There will be times when you feel you’re not very good at it, and there will also be times when you don’t like it all that much. And this is true in just about any field. But every failed (or even just slightly-botched) attempt is just another stepping stone to your understanding and will help you improve over time. So don’t let it best you, just give it your best. And stop apologizing so much!
What advice would you give to women trying to break into the industry?
Try on different things as you go along (whether that be different technologies, programming languages, paradigms, etc.) to discover what excites you within the industry, and use those things as motivation while you work toward your goals. Also, there are plenty of places out there (like Dutchie!) that are welcoming and encouraging to women in tech and tech leadership roles, and I’ve been fortunate in my career to have worked alongside some amazing ladies in this field. Seek out mentors and never feel like you should settle for hostile or less-than-supportive work environments. This industry moves fast and is challenging enough as it is, and as a wise woman once said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!“.
Fun Fact:
I used to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity pre-pandemic. Not having had a ton of construction or DIY experience prior, every day on-site was an exciting new chapter in “Hey, Am I Doing This Wrong?” or “Man, I Hope I Don’t Lose A Finger Today”. I went into most new tasks not really knowing what I was doing or what to expect. And in retrospect, that was also kind of how I ventured into programming. And like with programming, I learned that you just have to jump in, do your best, be open to new challenges and try to make the most of the time, tools and guidance at your disposal. If you can stick with that attitude, whether you’re trying to build an app or trying to help build a house, in the end you’ll find that you can accomplish some pretty cool things and have a lot of fun in the process.
Learn about other amazing women at Dutchie!
