Kyle's Business Profile

The work side of me is all-business. I'm very hard-working, I stay focused, and I take a strong sense of pride and ownership in my work. I want to commit myself to a company where I can have a strong personal impact on the success of the business. I'm driven to win and do all I can to make that happen. As a very analytical person, I make decisions based on data that support them. I'm also easy-going and easy to get along with in the office. Leadership roles in marketing / advertising are where I can have the greatest impact.

Biography

The past 15 years of my career have been both challenging and enjoyable. I've worked a variety of roles and have met with success in each one. I began my career by earning degrees in elementary education and computer science from the University of Missouri. While completing my education degree, I started a website for teachers which I grew into a global education resource that profited from advertising. I was the Owner of this business (EdScope, LLC / LessonPlansPage.com) and personally did everything there was to do from website design to SEO to advertising sales. After 10 years of running this business, I managed the sale of my company to HotChalk, Inc. At the time I sold the business, my annual expenses were 10% of the annual gross revenue.

I joined the HotChalk team as the Vice President of the HotChalk Media Group. Here I created all aspects of our education-focused ad network, landed and managed about 100 publisher relationships, and ultimately grew HotChalk to the #1 property in education according to comScore Media Metrix. I also created the ad sales organization at HotChalk - conducting ad sales and then leading a team of ad sales personnel. I drove annual ad revenue growth that averaged 76% over a 5 year period. Eventually we partnered with a University to grow their online Master's in Education degree program, and I launched and managed our lead generation division. Here I personally generated thousands of leads per month well below industry-standard costs per lead.

During part of the time I ran EdScope, LLC, I also worked as a Multimedia Developer for Sprint.

My Business Philosophy

To be successful in any endeavor, you have to think differently from the competition. Unique approaches to building an ad sales business, unique ad formats and messaging, etc. will allow a company to stand above others conducting business as usual.

Everyone wants to hire well, but making it a key focus of the organization leads to the best possible hires. Vetting the candidate's with work samples, observing their work, having a trusted leadership team all interview the candidate, and when feasible, utilizing the candidate as a contractor first allows the company to make hires that will contribute to the company's success.

Although they're hard to find, a person that is knowledgable in most areas of a business is most likely to generate strong results. In my case, my background in education, computer programming / web development, and running a business helped me be successful in a leadership role with an education-technology company.

Inspiring a shared vision with a team and getting buy-in will lead to the entire team's success. Demonstrating how their work impacts the success of other individuals encourages them to go the extra mile for the benefit of their colleagues.

Making the work environment a pleasant place to be really makes a difference in productivity. Comfortable chairs, offices with a nice view, and asking the team what they want stocked in the office refrigerator shows you care and encourages returns through their efforts.

Status

I'm currently taking a short break from my career and looking for opportunities where I can have a big impact on company results.