Rebecca Austin

The career counselor was like, “You're not going to be one of the first ones to get a because you have this big gap in your resume.” So I was on a mission to prove her wrong. And I was annoying everybody I knew on LinkedIn to the point where I got a warning from LinkedIn that they were going to shut down my account because I was spamming people for trying to make connections.

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Wendy Hurst

Welcome to Ship It Anyway, the show from Hero Devs that's part game show and part conversation. 

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Two guests will compete in a series of games about real tech quirks, fails, and features with hot takes in between about those times in life when things might not be perfect, but sometimes you just have to ship it anyway. 

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I'm your host, Wendy Hurst. Today I've invited two guests from Hero Devs to compete for the winning title. 

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In one corner we have Barbara Frederico. 

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She joins us from San Diego, California. She brings a unique blend of sales expertise and entrepreneurial spirit to her role as a sales development representative at HeroDevs. With a bachelor's of arts degree in psychology from the University of South Florida, she understands the nuances of human behavior, a skill she honed during her tenure in gym sales and office management. When she's not practicing yoga or attempting to surf, she's horseback riding, snowboarding, or hosting themed gatherings like... like what? Give us an example!

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Barbara Frederico

So actually this past weekend I just had a garden themed picnic in my backyard and Everyone came and brought a different dish a blanket and just any crafts that they had lying around.

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Wendy Hurst

Her experience is living in five different states and participating in beauty pageants at a unique flair to both her personal and professional life. Welcome to the show, Barbara!

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Barbara Frederico

Thank you. I feel like this is such a flex. Like, I don't want to look like a dry heart. I'm just your average girl, really.

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Wendy Hurst

Question for you. What percentage of your charisma is caffeine based and does that have anything to do with your strong dislike for broccoli?

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Barbara Frederico

Whoa, that is an interesting question. I've never thought of it that way. charisma as caffeine based. You know what? I actually have a feeling that like 75 % of it is because I did this crazy thing where I came off of caffeine for a little while and my manager at the time was like, is this the real you? She's like, it's just like, you're so mellow and like calm.

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Barbara Frederico

I was like, yeah, like I guess this is the new me just like doing a little bit of matcha in the mornings But then that only lasted like I did it for a month and I was like I need my personality back So I started checking caffeine but in terms of broccoli I hate broccoli I have hated broccoli since I was like at the womb like, yeah, I don't know if there's relation there, but it's nasty now if you coat it with cheese I still don't want it like no my parents were not getting that down for me Yeah, I cannot stand it. No.

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Wendy Hurst

That's fun. It's fun that you still feel that way as an adult.

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In the other corner we have Rebecca Austin who joins us from Pinehurst, North Carolina. Rebecca is a data analyst at Hero Devs who went from studying psychology to slinging code with a pit stop in nursing and food service along the way. After earning her bachelor's of science degree from the university at Buffalo and leveling up her tech skills at General Assembly's coding bootcamp, she now turns raw data into sweet, sweet structured insights. When she's not analyzing trends, she's running her own treat and dessert business for events because spreadsheets are great, but chocolate is better. Rebecca's world revolves around her two kids, which means her hobbies currently include baking, surviving, and finding time to breathe. She grew up in the Philippines with 14 siblings. Yes, 14. That's a one four. So she knows a thing or two about chaos management, multitasking and negotiating peace treaties over dessert.

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Rebecca, welcome to the show!

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Rebecca Austin

Hi.

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Wendy Hurst

Question for you. Do you name your spreadsheets or do they name you?

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Rebecca Austin

I name my spreadsheets, unfortunately. Like, sometimes I try to make it funny when I can, when it's appropriate. I'll have like data objects or something, my. so sometimes I try to name them funny things, but I probably should just let the data speak for itself.

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Wendy Hurst

Today, we're gonna start with a game called “This or That?” This game doesn't have any winners It's just a fun way to get to know you a little bit. I will say two things and you just say which one you choose.

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Barbara, I'm gonna have you go first. Make 100 cold calls in a day or spend eight hours in a CRM cleanup?

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Barbara Frederico

100 cold calls by far.

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Wendy Hurst

Close one huge deal solo or help your team close five smaller ones together?

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Barbara Frederico

I like just getting a small win and like checking a box along the way. So I feel like the five small wins would just give me more dopamine. I like collaborating with the team on that. So I'm gonna say five small wins.

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Wendy Hurst

Win a karaoke battle or a dance-off?

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Barbara Frederico

Karaoke battle because fun fact when I used to do pageants my talent was singing but I also look like a fool saying that because we did karaoke at the kickoff and then I did not sing.

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Wendy Hurst

Have a pet parrot that repeats your sales pitch or a cat that judges your quota?

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Barbara Frederico

Cat, the judge is my quota. I'm cat lover through and through. I grew up, had my cat from like five to 21. We were besties.

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Wendy Hurst

Always speak in rhymes or only communicate via emojis for a day?

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Barbara Frederico

Emojis.

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Wendy Hurst

Unlimited Uber rides or unlimited coffee shop credit?

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Barbara Frederico

Coffee shop credit.

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Wendy Hurst

Get stuck in a rom-com or a spy thriller?

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Barbara Frederico

Spy thriller for sure. I like exciting and adventure packed.

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Wendy Hurst

Rebecca, over to you. Build a dashboard from scratch or clean up someone else's messy spreadsheet?

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Rebecca Austin

Build the dashboard all day.

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Wendy Hurst

Present data to the exec team live or write a detailed report that no one questions?

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Rebecca Austin

Present to the exec team live. then I get to showcase all my work and then they get to go, “woohoo!”

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Wendy Hurst

Only use dark mode forever or be stuck in light mode forever?

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Rebecca Austin

Light mode.

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Wendy Hurst

Have a photographic memory or the ability to pause time?

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Rebecca Austin

The ability to pause time.

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Wendy Hurst

Always know the exact stats on everything or never need to use a calculator again?

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Rebecca Austin

Always be able to know the stats on everything?

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Wendy Hurst

Live in a cozy cabin with no wifi or a smart home with five roommates?

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Rebecca Austin

The smart home with five roommates. Yeah, because then you would have a bunch of people to hang out at your smart home with and have a bunch of techie stuff. And you could always, if you had a smart enough house, you could like have a soundproof room if you need it. Yep.

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Barbara Frederico

That's true.

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Wendy Hurst

That's true, you push a button and all the sound outside goes away like noise-cancelling headphones. That's a good idea. Alright, last one. Find a $100 bill once a week or find a mystery button that delivers either $1,000 or a glitter explosion?

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Rebecca Austin

The mystery button. higher reward, higher risk.

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Wendy Hurst

Well, yay! That was fun. I'd like to learn a little bit more about your background. Barbara, tell us what you do at Hero Devs and how you got here.

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Barbara Frederico

I feel like I'm kind of the jack of all trades at the moment. Definitely my role is sales and outbound and calling and reaching out to people, but it's also a lot of building things on the back end, so creating messaging and sequences and a B testing and collaborating with the team and call blitzes and all Different types of things and figuring out what works because that's you know, it's a new sales team So that's kind of like how it goes, but how I got to here devs I was working with our CRO over at build kite Christine obviously and when she came to Hero Devs I kept hearing like how awesome it was and the environment and how good of a crew she had going over there and she's just like super pumped and excited and she kind of knew that I was looking for some other opportunities so we ended up connecting. I interviewed and just loved everyone that I met and it was a really good fit and now there's a couple of us over here. We have a little BK squad going so yeah it's been super fun.

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And then funny enough, the sales kickoff that we did with her at BuildsKite brought us to San Diego. And that's why I ended up moving to San Diego was because we had the sales kickoff here. Like over a year ago, I fell in love with it and three months later signed my lease, left Denver and ended up moving here. So yeah, I feel like people might have said sales kickoffs and then end up making moves because I definitely did. But yeah, I'm super excited to be here.

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Wendy Hurst

Well, we're glad you're here. What about you, Rebecca? Tell us what you do at Hero Devs right now.

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Rebecca Austin

I'm the data analyst at HeroDevs, so I'm in charge of getting any data that anybody needs. Also, I work a lot in Domo, and I'm like the Domo wizard, and anything you need in Domo, I will put together for you. Just if you need any data or any reports, I'm the go-to person. I also, like Barbara, I'm kind of in other areas as well that are outside of strictly my role, which is fun for me, because I like being able to do different things.

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Before HeroDevs, I went to school for psychology and then after that I went and enrolled in nursing school and I ended up getting pregnant in nursing school and I wasn't allowed to finish because when you get pregnant you're not allowed to go to clinicals because it's a liability for the hospital.

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When I had my daughter, she was like a nightmare. So she was a very hard infant. She was the type that I could not put her down and I could not, I couldn't hire anybody to watch her because they would quit within a week. I went through three sitters and after that I was like, I guess I'm a stay at home mom now. So, so I was a stay at home mom for a couple of years. And then I enrolled in coding bootcamp because I have a sister who does coding and a niece who does coding as well.

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And they just seeing them excel in their roles really inspired me to enroll myself. And when I was in coding bootcamp, the career counselor was like, “You're not going to be one of the first ones to get a job in throughout the program because you have this big gap in your resume. So I was on a mission to prove her wrong. And I was annoying everybody I knew on LinkedIn to the point where I got a warning from LinkedIn that they were going to shut down my account because I was spamming people for trying to make connections.

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I eventually connected with Shelby, one of the engineers at Herodevs, and I reached out to her and she kind of became a mentor throughout the program. I would go to her for any questions that I had or just any curiosities about the industry. And she, I, the night before I got contacted by Shelby, I was bawling my eyes out. I was about to graduate in like a week.

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And I was like, I'm not going to get a job. It's going to be so hard for me to get a job. Just like I've been applying everywhere and nobody's getting back to me. And the next day Shelby messaged me and was like, Hey, there's a position open up at hero devs and it's not for an engineer, but it's for a data analyst. If you're interested. And I was like, yes, I'd anything like I will take it. And so I ended up being the first person to get a job out of my program.

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And it remained that I was the only person that had a job out of my program for the first year.

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Barbara Frederico

That's awesome. I love that.

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So much grit. Yeah.

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Wendy Hurst

Look at you proving all those people wrong.

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Rebecca Austin

Yeah, you just have to be annoying enough. That's the key.

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Barbara Frederico

That's the name of the game. Like, yeah.

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Wendy Hurst

I love that you were just like knocking on so many doors at LinkedIn was like, “You're a robot. This thing that we're built for. Yeah. It's like this thing that I was built for to help you network with, you're networking too much.”

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Rebecca Austin

Yeah. Yeah. They're like, you're spamming people.

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Barbara Frederico

Yeah.

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Rebecca Austin

Yeah.

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Barbara Frederico

When I was little, literally used to so whenever we would have something come up for like vacation Bible school or like raising money for something, I would literally go door to door asking people for like spare change to donate to whatever we were fundraising for. And they definitely were like, what is this kid doing? But I just did not have a care in the world. Like they would, I would literally be like, do you guys have any spare change laying around? And these people would just show up with like cups of spare change or like go to their car and get all their quarters and stuff. And then, of course, my team ended up winning the free ice cream sundae thing, and I was like, okay, this works. All I have to do is go ask people. They just had this little kid, and that's where I feel like I got my entrepreneurial spirit from, because I was always doing stuff like that. It's so good.

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Wendy Hurst

What's a skill that you feel like you had to learn the hard way at a previous job?

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Barbara Frederico

This is gonna I don't even know if I should say this on camera. I'm good at it now, so hey, we all learned something I had to learn to take like constructive criticism and feedback and not take it personally. And that is something that I Really like had to work hard at and instill and it wasn't until a manager like set me aside I think was probably like 19 or so so I was like still figuring it out, but they were like hey like, can tell something's going on, like I don't know what it is, but whatever this is, this isn't personal, like we just need to get you back on track. And I was like, you know what? I really respect you for just like saying it and calling me out and like...

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Talking about the elephant in the room and then after that like smash quota never had an issue again and it was just because we like created that transparency and like they actually called me out on something that I was like, okay, like yeah, you're right. I need to just be able to take this and move on.

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Wendy Hurst

What about you, Rebecca?

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Rebecca Austin

Probably just working under pressure and multitasking. I think when I was a server, I got a lot of that and it was a lot of like managing multiple people and having to juggle a bunch of different tables and work under pressure, like even if I wanted to cry because if people were being mean to me, I can't bring that over to the next table and I have to put on a happy face. So I think multitasking.

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Wendy Hurst

What's a favorite project you've worked on in the past?

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Barbara Frederico

I think just during COVID, I built a jewelry business runaway gypsies and that came out of just like sheer boredom like wanting to be creative like still wanting to do something and like a really stressful period of time and That just blossoms like I learned how creative I could be and like how I could get out and make connections and I just ended up like showing up at farmers markets and setting up and meeting people and all of that just became like one of my favorite things to do during the week, so yeah, it was in a sense like it was a project for me, just kind of like building my brand from the ground up. was really cool. It was a lot of fun.

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Wendy Hurst

Rebecca, you kind of have a similar story. You also have something that you like to do on the side.

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Rebecca Austin

Chocolux. It's like a play on the word chocolates, but it's like luxury chocolates. The Chocolux. Yeah, I make like custom chocolate dipped treats and desserts for events.

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Barbara Frederico

I love it.

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Wendy Hurst

Choco Lux.

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Rebecca Austin

People will typically order them for like baby showers and kids birthday parties and they'll have like a theme and they actually give me a lot of creative freedom.

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Wendy Hurst

What made you want to start that?

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Rebecca Austin

I've just always been into baking and just that sort of thing. Like when I was in high school, I used to bake cupcakes and cake pops all the time for friends and family for holidays. And every time they're always like, you should like create, you should start a business. Like I would pay for these. just enough hearing, hearing that enough, was like, okay, maybe I should start a business. And I'm starting off now with just easy stuff like chocolate dipped, but eventually I want to branch out to doing cakes as well.

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Wendy Hurst

What about you Barbara? Why jewelry?

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Barbara Frederico

I think jewelry just because it's just kind of captivating like when people are out and shopping around like it's just something that excites people. Honestly, once I started getting out into the community, really wasn't even the jewelry anymore. The part that I loved about it was meeting people and connecting with them and then introducing like the models to the boutiques and like arranging the photo shoots and like all of those little projects that came up in between and I was like, okay, this is what I'm super passionate about. So I don't want to say that I wasn't even passionate about jewelry. But by doing that, I learned even more about what I loved about running a business and that was building community now I kind of take that I try to take it into like my personal life as well and just host little things and connect with people.

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Wendy Hurst

I can definitely relate to the excitement of just connecting with people. I love networking with people. When I came to HeroDevs and they started doing more conferences kind of earlier on, I discovered that conferences are like...

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They were like ET's finger and he would like reach inside and like touch my heart and heal me in ways that I didn't know I was hurt or broken. Like that's what conferences became to me. I love conferencing and meeting new people and getting them excited about things that I'm excited about too.

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Barbara Frederico

You never know what an opportunity is going to lead you to unless you just say yes. So like even if it's the same role or like moving to a different place like saying yes to that opportunity just opens doors to things that you could not have expected and then all of the sudden you're learning something new about yourself and there's all of these Added elements. So that's why I just I am someone that just likes to say yes to trying new things Like you never know who you're gonna meet where you're gonna go what you're gonna learn. Like that's what makes it so much fun.

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Rebecca Austin

I even have a tattoo dedicated to that whole concept. Yeah, I have like, it literally just says, we,  over here, says, it says, for yes, essentially, which it encapsulates like the whole thing Barbara was saying about like, just saying yes, because it opens up a lot of doors and opportunities. That's so funny.

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Barbara Frederico

Really? What is it?

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Wendy Hurst

You do? What is it?

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Barbara Frederico

I love that. That's so cool.

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Wendy Hurst

That's awesome. I have a tattoo in the same place, but it doesn't say "ouis". Should I show it? Okay, I'll show you. It says, “I write my story.”

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Rebecca Austin

What does it say? Yeah, yeah.

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Barbara Frederico

Aww, that's beautiful. I like how it's all like they're both about story and like, you know, saying yes. Yeah.

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Rebecca Austin

Yeah. They're both so positive.

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Wendy Hurst

Yeah. I got this tattoo after I left the Mormon Church. That was like 10, 11 years ago, something like that. I don't want to talk too much about it.

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Barbara Frederico

Wow. I can see the significance there though. Like, that's really cool.

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Wendy Hurst

It's definitely significant. What's a common misconception that people have about your job?

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Barbara Frederico

A lot of people would just consider this role to be like very transactional or that like salespeople are only trying to reach out for like their own personal gain, which is where I think the element of like outbound prospecting can get so tough because when you're calling people and you're emailing and you're like sending a LinkedIn message, it's easy to feel like you're bothering them.

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They think that you're just, you're looking to take, essentially. But in reality, what I love about sales is being able to connect to a product that I truly believe can make somebody's life easier or better. So when I reach out to them, it really is because I know that we have a solution that can help and I want to be able to tell them about them and make it make them aware of that. So I guess long winded answer is I think people can just think sales is transactional or like, kind of slimy like they don't want to salespeople. But yeah, and in reality, I really don't think it's like that at all. Like if you could stand behind the product and you truly think it's going to help, that's what excites me about it. You know, it's not just getting somebody on a call and taking the box of having a meeting.

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It gives me personal fulfillment just to be able to help someone, whether that's by selling a product or in my personal life as well. That's kind of my personal connection to it.

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Rebecca Austin

I feel like a lot of people think maybe it could be boring. I don't know. I think maybe you think data analysts and you think like you're just looking at numbers all day. But I actually think it's pretty creative, at least the way that we do it here at Hero Devs. I love being able to put visuals to numbers and work with the data in different ways and present it differently.

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You're putting visuals to everything. And I like the problem solving too. That's something that I didn't think that I would, I didn't think about before getting this job and entering that role, but I love problem solving. I love when things don't run smoothly, smoothly. And I have to dig through the data and kind of find what is causing the issue and I love finding it. That just like, it's so fun. You're like, yes, I found the issue. Why all this is not running and it's just really fun. It's like putting puzzle.

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Barbara Frederico

I actually kind of like that stuff too because like you said it's problem-solving like that like one of the biggest things I like about my job and coming in here and not only like doing the calls and the emails is creating processes and that's what you're doing all day long. You know what I mean? So it's like that excites me too. Like I love creating processes and problem-solving, like that dopamine hit for me

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Rebecca Austin

I went to coding bootcamp where like engineers, that's all they do is they problem solve. like, so I really enjoy that aspect of it.

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Wendy Hurst

What do you wish people knew about your job?

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Barbara Frederico

I wish prospects knew how much they hurt my feelings when they ghost me or decline me. Or should we just talk about this too? I'm like, I'm learning not to take things personally. But no, it definitely still hurts But I'm OK. It's fine.

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Wendy Hurst

Barbara takes it personally. What about you, Rebecca?

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Rebecca Austin

I wish people didn't feel so bad when they have requests. I feel like so many times people are like, I'm so sorry to bug you, but like, can you get this for me? And I'm like, yeah, of course. don't have to feel bad for asking me for more. That's my job. That's why I'm here.

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Wendy Hurst

Speaking of HeroDevs, here's a quick word about what we do. Over to me.

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[Ad]

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Wendy Hurst

And back to me! Welcome back to Ship It Anyway. Our next game is called “Funded or Fiction?”

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In this game, I'll pitch two over-the-top startups. it's up to you to figure out which one got funded and which one is fiction. Each correct answer earns one point. The winner gets to go first in the next game.

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Barbara, you're up first. Are you ready?

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Number one. Which one was funded? Was it A, Yoga Llama, a Bulgarian startup offering yoga sessions with llamas to enhance relaxation and mindfulness? Or was it B, Flirt.ai, an app that uses AI to generate personalized flirty text messages based on your crush's zodiac sign.

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Barbara Frederico

It could be either, but I'm gonna go flirt AI.

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Wendy Hurst

incorrect. It was…

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Barbara Frederico

Dang it, my first choice was the llamas and I was like, no, I'm going with my gut. I'm fine. I'm not competitive at all.

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Wendy Hurst

It's called Yoga Llama. Okay, that's okay. That's okay. There's more chances. Here we go. Question number two. Which one got funded? Was it A, Starfish Space, a company developing small satellites capable of capturing and moving other objects in orbit. Or B, Orbital Cleaners, a startup offering a subscription-based service to clean and polish satellites.

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Barbara Frederico

The first one.

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Wendy Hurst

That is correct!

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Barbara Frederico

I was gonna be so upset if I didn't get it. I was like, who cares if their satellite's clean or not? I don't know.

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Wendy Hurst

I don't know either.

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Rebecca, you're up next. Number one, which one got funded? Was it A, mushroom bricks, a startup producing sustainable building materials made from mycelium? (Oh my gosh, I hope I said that right.) The root structure of mushrooms offering an eco-friendly alternative to traditional bricks. Or B, Plasticrete, a company developing construction bricks made entirely from recycled plastic, aiming to reduce plastic waste and provide affordable building materials.

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Rebecca Austin

I'm hoping it's the plastic one.

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Wendy Hurst

Incorrect. The answer was A, mushroom bricks. While Plasticrete does exist, it's not a company, it's just an idea, at least at the time of this recording.

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Rebecca Austin

Ugh.

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Barbara Frederico

That's great.

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Wendy Hurst

Number two, which one is real? Is it A, Bee Urban, an urban beekeeping company that installs and maintains rooftop hives in cities to support pollinator populations and educate communities? Or is it B, Honey High Rise, a startup designing high tech bee hives for skyscrapers that connect to smart apps and produce vertical honey?

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Rebecca Austin

The first one.

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Wendy Hurst

That is correct!

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Rebecca Austin

Okay, okay.

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Barbara Frederico

It's like, there's no way.

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Wendy Hurst

BeeUrban is a real UK based company that promotes sustainability by offering beekeeping services, corporate hive sponsorships, local honey production. That leaves us with a tie. But that's okay, we still have another game later where we will break the tie.

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So now we've talked about little bit about your past job experiences. I'd like to chat a little bit about…

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What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about getting hired into tech?

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Barbara Frederico

I came from gym sales. So I think that when people hear the word tech, you have to have a ton of experience. Like whenever I talk to my friends about it that are just in completely different roles, like fresh out of college and whatnot, they're like, I have to make like this crazy resume or I need to like load up all of this like technical experience. And it's like, sure, maybe in some companies, like that's important, but for me, there was just a lot of other qualities that I think were more important during the interview process. And I don't think that knowing the ins and outs of the tech world were like first on the list. Like, sure, understand the product and how to talk to people about it, but I don't think that you have to be super technical, especially in sales. 

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I mean, I'm definitely like targeting, we're speaking with people in different roles that are very technical, like engineers, but that doesn't mean that I have to be an engineer to be able to sell the product or set up a meeting. So think people just get scared or like think it's so intense when they hear the word tech, but there's plenty of entry-level roles into it, you know?

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Rebecca Austin

I feel like I still get scared of like the word tech. I feel like I'm one of those people that's very intimidated by the fact that like I work with engineers and people who do know the ins and outs of like the technology that we build and I'm not so much familiar with it. Even though like I have a background of software engineering, like I'm not actively like using it right now. So sometimes I'm like, still a little intimidated.

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Wendy Hurst

What did you think working in tech was gonna be like versus what it's turned out to be for you?

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Rebecca Austin

This is my first role, like my first big girl job. So like, I didn't really have any expectations going into it. But I think similarly to Barbara, like I think people probably think you have to have a lot more technical experience than you do. I think a lot of the non-tech like the soft skills translate really well into the tech world.

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Wendy Hurst

How do you stay connected to the product or a company mission when you're not building it yourself?

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Barbara Frederico

I think leaning on others consistently. 

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Just being able to collaborate and connect with other people and not being afraid to reach out or ask questions even if you think it's stupid like I am always in the sales chat with the dumbest questions that come through the live chat. And I'm like, okay everyone and what does this mean? And sometimes I'm like a little intimidated to do that because I'm like, man should I know the answer to this but it's realistically like you know, you try to stay as connected as you can but the only way you learn is by answering those questions that you're afraid to ask and just putting yourself out there and leaning on other people in your team.

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Rebecca Austin

I would be embarrassed to share my ChatGPT history with everybody because I'm like, I, Google, I look up the dumbest things. Like, what does this stand for? What does this mean? But you're not going to learn if you don't go out and try to learn those things. Like if you just sit back and don't proactively look up what you're, what you have questions on, you're not going to learn what those things are.

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Barbara Frederico

You're a cheater. Yup. Yeah, and I think that connecting outside your role is super important. So just like throwing those catch-ups on the calendar like when you're doing a cold call role play, like maybe not consistently doing it with the sales team, but like looping in an engineer or like someone else who really knows the product intensely and it's going to be able to grill you a bit more and like tell you what they would appreciate when they're being contacted.

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Rebecca Austin

Also, it's tech, like no engineer expects you to know everything because they also don't know everything.

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Wendy Hurst

What's a soft skill that turned out to be way more important than you expected?

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Barbara Frederico

I think it's the ability to kind of talk to anyone and just to make everybody feel like appreciated and accepted and just being like really understanding because kind of tying it back to what I was talking about earlier is I don't, the excitement doesn't really come from me just booking a meeting, but it's the conversation and the connection that I made and just the ability to like learn and understand people better. Even when I'm on the phone, like, me just being myself and being cheery and like not being superscripted and genuinely asking them how their day's going even though they're like who the heck is this? Like it ends up just making a big difference in the way that the conversation goes if you're just yourself and you're just outgoing and willing to engage and connect with people I think that they can tell when you're genuinely passionate and care about making their lives easier than just ticking a box.

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Rebecca Austin

If you want to tie it back to my background in psychology, like knowing how people work and getting on an interpersonal level, I think that's a really important soft skill and not just talking at people but talking with people and like getting their feedback and it's not just, at least for me, like it's not just presenting at like everything towards them but wanting to know like, “Is there anything I can make better? Is there anything I can do better? Any improvements that you want?”

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Barbara Frederico

I think that connection between psychology and business is something that should be talked about more as well. Because I think that so often people can get really complacent in their roles or a lot of companies will have somebody start out in a position and their management kind of acts as if everybody's wired the same way and meant to learn and to understand and do things super particularly. But the difference is like we all have different things that we're good at and we all do things in different ways that make them unique. So when you find management like we have here at Hero Devs that really excels off of taking the time to understand each individual person and how they think and how they operate is like so important because then you don't feel like you're just stuck in this box of doing things the way that everybody's doing them and you're actually able to be creative and figure out new ways of doing things and what works for you and the differences is what makes people great at their job.

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Wendy Hurst

What advice would you give to somebody who's coming into tech that's not an engineer?

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Barbara Frederico

Not being afraid to just start reaching out to anyone and everyone and just taking the time to communicate with people all over the board. So like when I was onboarding here at HeroDevs, like the first thing that I did, and I'm sure a lot of people do too, is I tried to connect with everyone, but at least one to two people from different roles and understanding what's happening on the back end, what's happening in marketing, customer success, like how does all of this tie together? How can we all collaborate? And then once you kind of have the roots figured out of what's going on, in different roles and on the back end, you can kind of take bits and pieces from everyone that like you liked or you didn't like and just start building your own process and routine.

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Wendy Hurst

What do you think Rebecca? I know you talked about how you networked the shit out of LinkedIn. I won't leave that in there.

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Barbara Frederico

I think it's important, put it in there, let people know.

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Rebecca Austin

You can keep it. No, you can keep it. I don't know. think some advice that I would have liked to hear starting out would have been like, you don't have to know everything about your role day one or even day two or one weekend. Like it takes time when you're entering any new company.

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So just have a little grace within yourself and like, you know, ask questions, reach out, collaborate with people and just allow that time for yourself to really get your feet on the ground and understand the ins and outs of the company.

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Barbara Frederico

Especially a lot of people come in, me, I'm definitely one of them. I'm like, oh, I need to have all of these processes figured out and all of this bill and I have to meet everyone and I'll be a month in and I'm like, how am I not grasping this already? And it's like, well, you just got here. Like not even a month ago. So calm down. But it's, so important to remember that.

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Rebecca Austin

Mm-hmm.

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I feel like a lot of people experience imposter syndrome. I know I did, I was like, everyone else here is so experienced and this is my first job. I don't know what I'm doing. I shouldn't be here. But yeah, I think just giving yourself grace is important.

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Barbara Frederico

Yeah.

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Wendy Hurst

Advice I would give… Get a feel for the company culture. Try to find a company culture that's welcoming for questions, welcoming a place where you're hungry to learn. One of the ways you can do that is just to ask a lot of questions in your interview and depending on how the person who's interviewing you responds to how many questions you're asking, if they're good questions, it gives you a vibe for like, “Is this the kind of place where I can admit that I don't know everything or do they really expect me to know everything? Is this even the right fit for me?”

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Barbara Frederico

Yeah, you can feel the difference between working for a place where you feel afraid to ask a question or that you're going to be judged or working for somewhere where you're like, of course I'm going to throw this in the chat.

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Wendy Hurst

Now that we've talked about what you both know best, we're going to shift to our final game of the show called Not My Job.

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I'm gonna ask you two questions that have nothing to do with your job in the real world or anything we've talked about today and everything to do with what you know about things people have tried to mail. Mail as in like the post office mail. Each correct answer earns one point. Currently it is tied one to one. Normally the winner would go first but I'm just gonna pick someone random it's a tie. Rebecca you good to go first.

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Number one, what surprising thing did a couple try to mail to their grandparents in 1913? Was it A, a live goat, B, a bag of potatoes with a face drawn on it, or C, their child?

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Rebecca Austin

Their child. I feel... of course they need a babysitter. need child care. 1913 that's your child care, your grandparents.

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Wendy Hurst

That is correct! That's correct!

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Barbara Frederico

Good.

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Wendy Hurst

That's right! In 1913 just after parcel parcel post began in the US a couple mailed their baby with stamps attached to the child's clothing to their grandparents The child weighed under the 11 pound limit. So technically it was allowed I Don't know if the person got delivered, but my goodness, 1913. Question number two…

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In 1959, what did the United States Postal Service mail as part of a publicity stunt to prove the future of airmail? Was it A, a car, B, a missile, or C, a pizza?

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Rebecca Austin

1959. Pizza.

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Wendy Hurst

Incorrect. The answer was B, a missile. 

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Can you believe that? The US Navy launched a Regulus One missile filled with mail. Yeah, it was filled with mail. Sent it from Virginia to Florida to promote the idea of missile mail. It worked, but it never caught on. Because like who has a missile in their backyard that they could just like mail around? It's kind of silly.

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Rebecca Austin

No.

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Barbara Frederico

Crazy.

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Rebecca Austin

Yeah, I should've said the US Navy, the US.

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Barbara Frederico

Yeah, let me go grab my mistletoe really quick.

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Wendy Hurst

Yeah, it's a little strange.

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Rebecca Austin

Like, which one would be the most convenient for everyday Americans? A pizza.

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Wendy Hurst

I would have picked that one too. All right, Barbara, you're up next. Two questions. Here we go.

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One: what did artist W. Reginald Bray famously mail through the British Postal Service in the early 1900s? Was it A, himself, B, a turnip carved with an address, or C, both of the above?

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Barbara Frederico

Both of the above.

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Wendy Hurst

That is correct!

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Apparently, Bray was obsessed with testing postal regulations. He mailed himself a dog, a turnip, and even sent a postcard to an address written in code, and most of it was delivered. You got it. Me too. It didn't say which one made it. Question number two. What did a man successfully mail to his friend in the 1990s just for the novelty of it? Was it A, a fridge? B, coconut, or C, a broken microwave.

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Barbara Frederico

Just for the novelty. A coconut.

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Wendy Hurst

That is correct! In Hawaii and several tropical locations, it's a known tourist gimmick to mail coconuts with messages written right on the shell with no box needed. Well done! 

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That brings the totals for Barbara with three points, Rebecca with two points, Barbara, you're the winner. Congratulations! Woohoo!

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Barbara Frederico

Yay!

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Wendy Hurst

That's all for this episode of Ship It Anyway. Big thanks to Barbara and Rebecca for playing along and sharing their insights. If you enjoyed this episode, you can find more entertaining tech content from Hero Devs on LinkedIn, X.com, YouTube, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.