Resolute Team Spotlight -Ryan Sipp, on his internship with Resolute and the beauty of the smaller team
Ryan lives in Florida and is in the final year of his studies at the University of Florida, pursuing a Master of Science in Information Systems and Operations Management focused on Information Technology. Just like any bright young person he knows the importance to get exposed to a real-life working environment while in his studies, so this year he decided to join Resolute Software as a business development representative and put his marketing knowledge into practice. We asked Ryan a few questions about his experience with Resolute Software and the projects he was involved in. Besides, he tells us a bit more about his passion for music and the beauty to be in a smaller but quite agile environment where you learn to do many things and get real responsibilities from day 1.
Read on!
Introduce yourself, Ryan! Who are you besides the titles and the academic intro?
I grew up in South Florida, so just naturally, I found myself engaging in a lot of water-related activities and hobbies such as diving and spearfishing. I also love soccer and lacrosse, continuing to get together with friends or through my university to play sometimes as well. I enjoy traveling and have been to many places throughout North America and Europe. I even spent one summer doing a study abroad program in Florence, Italy. I am a people’s person and travelling gives me the opportunity to meet new and interesting people with their unique stories.
Music is a passion of mine. I enjoy seeing live performances and going to concerts. A funny fact is that I was actually able to read sheet music before I could read words. Since the development and popularization of streaming technology, I got really interested in IT in general and this is just one of the many reasons I chose to pursue my technology-focused master’s degree. Resolute really aligned with my interests since I wanted to get a deeper understanding of how technology firms function from within.
Why did you want to pursue an internship this summer?
Internships provide a great opportunity to expose yourself to a career that matches your academic and personal interests. My university requires that you engage in internships as a part of earning your degree. They encourage you to go out and gain real experiences in an environment that you just cannot recreate in an educational institution, which is great. I am grateful that the internship in Resolute gave me a lot of practical know-how as I was encouraged to be part of many processes and learn how the business functions from within. I got responsibilities from day 1 which gave me the opportunity to learn so many things in 2 months that you would normally learn in a year.
How did Resolute Software approach you for the internship? How did the selection process go?
Everything just sorts of fell into place, I got in touch with Sean Garguilo (Resolute’s Chief Revenue Officer) through a connection we had and after some back and forth over e-mail and the phone, we came to an understanding of what the internship would consist of. The interaction and selection process gave me my first impression of the culture here at Resolute Software because it was very personable and was clearly established as a mutually beneficial opportunity from start to finish for both parties.
What was your first impression from the Resolute team? Did you see an immediate fit?
Resolute attracted my attention because of the genuine bond I felt throughout my initial conversations with them. I recall feeling quite excited from the very beginning because I was encouraged by the Resolute team to be involved in so many different aspects of the organization. The smaller size of the organization really helped facilitate the collaboration between everyone, it was unlike many other companies I have seen where teams are essentially siloed. With Resolute, everyone seems to be available to assist each other and actively aims to pool as much talent together to collectively come to an optimal solution.
Were there any other companies offering you an internship at that time?
With COVID-19 it was, and still is, a unique time to be looking for a job or internship. With one more semester of my graduate program remaining, I had started reaching out to companies to find an internship and Resolute was one of the earlier companies I spoke with. Once things started taking off with Resolute, I started to focus on this opportunity over other potential offerings not only because it was what I wanted to do but also considering the number of friends and colleagues of mine that had offers rescinded because of Corona Virus. I am very happy that my first choice was a great fit!
Why did you choose Resolute Software? What made you accept the offer?
Education and careers are frequently not exactly linear, but the functions I would be performing could not have matched my education more visibly. The new thriving environment of the company fed into my entrepreneurial interests and my role encompassed the types of functions I had hoped to expose myself to from my undergraduate business experience and my master’s degree program. To me, it was especially important to have a holistic understanding of all aspects of a company’s operations, especially technologically, rather than a narrow scope of performing a set function and leaving the rest up to others. It was exactly what Resolute gave me.
What are your responsibilities with Resolute Software?
My responsibilities as an intern ranged from business development to marketing and sales-related activities associated with the creation of IT managed service offerings. I was engaged in several weekly meetings where we would go beyond what we were working on and discuss new initiatives. My duties and responsibilities ranged from researching market trends of Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery and DevOps to formulating a managed service offering outlining the on-boarding, monitoring, renewal, periodic services and payment of said service. In addition, I contacted potential clients and companies of interest to gauge business opportunities, promoted monthly webinars and marketed Resolute Software outwardly using targeted insights I discovered through researching companies.
What would you say is your core competence? What are you good at?
I am an adaptable and hardworking person, but most of all I would say I am very much a people person. In a setting where video calling someone is the primary form of communication these skills helped make every conversation with Resolute’s team throughout the world feel very personable. I would also say I have a decent gauge when it comes to understanding others which helped when it came to working independently while also collectively as a team even in a remote setting.
What are you working on right now?
I am still working on identifying business opportunities but right now focusing primarily on putting together a presentation on a new service offering that will be available in the coming months. Essentially, I’ll be outlining DevOps Automation and Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery emphasizing the benefits it has on the speed and quality of software development. Another focus will be on how complicated it can be to properly implement and support these systems and the value that Resolute can offer in removing the complexity associated with them.
What’s your goal in the long run? What difference are you hoping to make at Resolute Software?
Both Sean Garguilo (Resolute’s Chief Revenue Officer) and Brandon Nys (Resolute’s Business Development and Sales Specialist) asked me early on what I wanted to get out of this internship. They cared to understand my motivations and wanted to allow me to engage in aspects of the organization that I was most interested in. This fed directly into the difference I hoped to make at Resolute and my goals: The ability to directly contribute to a variety of projects and feel pride in accomplishing something feeling I left a mark on it. I want to learn as much as I can, and I want to put in as much as I get out. I feel that I got exactly what I wanted.
What did you take away from the experience with Resolute Software?
Working within a technology-centric company has shown me first-hand how technology advancements are able to put companies across the world in a position to grow their businesses quickly while promoting effective methods and innovative strategies. I was able to work with clients and coworkers throughout the world which further developed my confidence to thrive within an international and technology-heavy business sector.
What’s next for you? Any plans to go back to Resolute after you finish school?
The immediate next thing for me is finishing up the final semester of my graduate program in December. I would be more than happy to continue working with Resolute moving forward; I enjoyed the experience and the knowledge I gained here during such a short amount of time. It was a pleasure to be part of an organization that values me and to work alongside such a motivated and understanding team. In the end, I suppose it all just depends on how everything plays out and what is most beneficial for the organization.
We at Resolute Software are shaping concepts into superior quality software solutions. We believe that it is teamwork that creates the magic to achieve exceptional results. We take pride in our team, and we respect and learn from each other. That is why we started the “Resolute Team Spotlight” series — to help you get to know our exceptional team of experts and get inspired by their zest for what they do. Stay tuned!
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Originally published at https://www.resolutesoftware.com on August 4, 2020.
