RISING ICON #101: Jacob Miller
An interview with Jacob Miller, marketing and brand manager at Headway and organizer and marketing lead at Startup Wisconsin:
What name do you prefer to be called?
Jacob Miller
What are your pronouns?
he/him/his
Where did you grow up?
Menominee, Michigan
What city are you currently based in?
Green Bay, Wisconsin
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
Haha. I kind of laugh at this question because it depends on where I am and who I am hanging out with. I like to start conversations and ask questions about others in the room before I introduce myself. So I end up answering based on the context. If I’m at a startup or founder event, I’ll lead with “I help run Startup Wisconsin.” and then talk about my work as a Marketing & Brand Manager at Headway. Every once in a while my video production/photography background comes into play if I’m holding a camera.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
Hmm. I just want others to know I sincerely want to help them with a challenge they are facing if I can. I might not have an answer to what they need, but I can likely connect them to someone in my network that gets them one step closer to tackling that challenge. I don’t feel like I have any kind of agenda, and if it appears that way, I’d love to know why people think that so I can appear more helpful than “some guy looking out for himself.”
One more thing on this one. I wouldn’t be where I am without the ongoing support of Andrew Verboncouer and the entire team over at Headway. He took a chance on me back in 2017 and it’s been an incredible journey ever since.
Who do you help?
Through Headway and Startup Wisconsin, I help tech startup founders and their teams get unstuck and reach their goals. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh perspective, someone to challenge their thinking, meeting the right person, or getting access to the right resources.
What are you building now?
Right now my #1 focus is building awareness around all the great events and resources available to founders and startups in Wisconsin. It’s not my full-time gig, but it’s an important part of Headway’s long-term vision to support and grow the startup community of Wisconsin.
What were you building ten years ago today?
Oh gosh. When I quickly reflect on that, I recall being focused on writing and building my personal blog. It’s now been on hiatus for a long long time. But it’s the time and effort that I put into it that prepared me for my role today. I wrote over one thousand blog posts between 2012 and 2015 on my personal blog and even wrote a 90 page ebook about what I learned through that process.
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
It’s hard to say. My career has gone from grocery stores to video production and advertising, and now marketing strategy and execution with teams of all sorts of shapes and sizes and now coordinating events and data together for startups. Every decade has really surprised me and where it led me. I do feel a pull into being a part of educational programming that truly helps founders and innovators succeed. But like not only from a business perspective, but from a human-side too. Like helping build up true leaders that don’t just build businesses, but are active in their communities too. I feel like we need to encourage more of that kind of behavior from our future leaders and model the way somehow. While I enjoy the work I do in marketing, I do feel a sense of “calling” towards that kind of direction. I don’t know what that exactly looks like, but it sounds extremely fulfilling to me.
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
That everything you need to know to succeed (for the most part) is publicly available to you for free. The strategies, tactics, mental models, frameworks, and everything else are out there for the taking for you to learn from and apply within your ideas. Yeah sure, the stat of “90% of startups fail” is true, but you increase your chances of being in the 10% that succeeds if you leverage the tools that are out there. Half the battle for all founders is awareness of these resources and asking for help from others. You’ll be surprised who is willing to help you.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
If I don’t do it, who will? When I look around, I don’t that many people putting in the effort with the same focus or intentions. And I think there is an opportunity to do things with a fresh perspective. And when I share things with the community, they positively support our ideas and efforts. Again, as much as it is “the work I do” I am not alone in these efforts. It takes a village to really make things happen.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
I feel like I don’t have one mentor. My collective of thoughtfully-chosen friends and colleagues that I trust all give me the mentorship I need to improve. I also like to think of passive mentors in my life. These are the podcasts I listen to, interviews I watch on YouTube, and authors that impact the way I see the world to challenge the way I think and how I live. It is important to have an open mind but also practice discernment when it comes to your mental diet. Best advice from them all though? Hmm. I don’t think this is from one person, but just a reflection. “How can I be helpful in this situation?” Rather than pointing out everything going wrong, the challenges ahead, etc. It’s not just about being the problem solver, but helpful through empathy and critical thinking together. How can I be a part of the solution after I have acknowledged the stress and pain others may be experiencing? Recognize the way they feel, but provide the support they need to get unstuck or at least think more clearly.
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
Oh gosh. This is tough! I think I am most proud of the YouTube channel I helped build and grow with the team at Headway. We have almost one million views on the channel now creating content for startup founders, designers, and software developers. https://www.youtube.com/headwayio
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
That’s really not on top of my mind for myself. I think any PR that we can get to build greater awareness around what’s going on for startups in Wisconsin is a better use of that attention.
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
Oh that’s interesting. I would rather interview other people because I always feel like I have more questions than answers because of my curiosity.
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
“You don’t need permission to start.”
What award would mean the most to win?
I always kind of been “anti-award” and never been the competitive type aiming for that outcome. I do appreciate how awards celebrate hard work, but just not really why I do anything.
What makes zero sense to you?
“Well, we’ve always done it this way.” I think the idea of someone doing the same things expecting different results. You know? The definition of insanity. I get confused when people aren’t willing to do something differently to find success. Especially in a world where change is constant. The tactics used 5 years ago may not work anymore. So let’s do something different. Don’t hold yourself back by holding on to ideas of the past.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
Marketing. A lot of people confuse it with advertising, social media posts, and lead generation campaigns. But its focus should be “how do we resonate with this specific customer?” And that can come in many forms and experiences. And Marketing is becoming one of the most challenging roles for many companies as the demands, changes in the world, and constraints become more difficult.
What game are you changing?
How founders in Wisconsin discover events and resources to help them succeed.
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
Startup Wisconsin Week. It’s coming up November 11-15th, 2024.
Where can we follow you online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kineticbear/
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Someone they trust who challenges them in healthy ways.
To learn more about Jacob’s work, visit:
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We’re grateful to each RISING ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Jacob, for sharing your story!
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“It’s not just about being the problem solver, but helpful through empathy and critical thinking together. How can I be a part of the solution after I have acknowledged the stress and pain others may be experiencing?”
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