Me

Hi all.  As you can see it’s been a long time since I have posted.  I never made a strict personal commitment as far as how often I would blog or exactly what it would be about, but I certainly have not intended it to be so few and far between.  I feel like I have missed some chances at documenting some really interesting moments in my life…and some non-interesting ones as well. I had the opportunity to go to SXSW this past March with Moontoast which was quite the whirlwind experience.  All my past lives seemed to converge all at once, which was shockingly awesome.  I felt like I had truly come full circle.  Oh, I also worked my ass off.

But, back to the title of this post.

I’ve been lucky enough to get really involved with the technology community here in Nashville through my job and various community/volunteer endeavors.  We’re still growing…which means lots of growing pains and changes.  It has been very interesting being a part of the evolution and learning about what makes this city tick in general.  Everyone seems to have an opinion on where “we” are going and what “we” need to be doing.  I wonder what we’ll think of these various groups, events, people and opinions a year (or ten) from now.

I made a conscious decision to dial down much of my volunteerism for the time being to concentrate on my personal life and my career.  To be very candid, I have spent more time in my life in service of others than of myself. Although this may sound ideal and selfless, it is, in the end, no good for you or me.  To lift others up, I need to lift myself up first.  I do have various ideas, events, plans, etc. swimming around in my head, but…I am trying to set them aside for now.

One of the reasons for this shift has to do with family.  My father was recently diagnosed with liver cancer, which came as a huge blow to my entire family.  He has beaten cancer before, but it was quite a fight.  I am planning on spending as much time as I can with him and my mother during this journey.  He is lucky enough to be a patient at MD Anderson in Houston, so I know he is getting the best possible care.

Time for me.  Thanks for all of you have reached out to me, offered to include me, introduced me, helped me and even those who have hindered me.  Time to reflect on all that and craft the big answer to “what’s next?”

- KK

New Year

I’ve never been a big “New Year’s Resolution” person simply for the fact that it represents a set-up for failure just as much as  a plan of action.  This year, however, I decided to be different.  Just a few simple things…I won’t share with you what they are, but hopefully they will be life changing enough so that I can look back on this post and say that being “resolute” pushed me a few inches closer to where I need to be.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Barcamp Nashville (Part 1)

(reposted from Remarkable Wit)

Marcus and I were lucky enough to attend and participate on panels in the recent Barcamp Nashville event. When Marcus co-founded this local Barcamp last year, I think many people wondered after it was over “This is great! Now what?” The digital community here in Nashville has been anything but cohesive and united. I think the consensus is that we all need to come together and galvanize the scene here, and I see that happening swiftly. It is indeed very pivotal time for Nashville, and we are excited to be a part of it.

Marcus sat on the “Getting Your Big Idea Funded!” panel along with Clint Smith of Emma, Nicholas Holland of Centre{source} and Debbie Gordon of Snappy Auctions. One of the questions posed concerned company growth and expansion from a financial perspective. It was interesting to see the different perspectives on this…Marcus used how I was brought on to the company as an example of how he handled growth and hiring staff. Marcus and I talked for five months before I came on to work at Remarkable Wit. We liked each other and had similar styles and ambitions and my background complimented with all of his business endeavors. For a while, it wasn’t clear how we would be able to come together, but eventually the stars aligned and we did. Meticulous over planning and massive resource allocation isn’t realistic for movement and growth in the arena we are playing in. But it wasn’t all entirely cosmic. The business grew, the money came, the projects came to fruition and a place for me materialized. It was an organic process that started on trust, dialogue and common vision and ends with high expectations and goals.

I’ll temper all that by saying as a startup company, Remarkable Wit believes in running lean and running smart. I think the world is a bit nervous know concerning money and growth with the current state of the economy. But, as has been pointed out to me in several of my favorite daily reads these last few weeks, now is the perfect time for startups, if they make the right choices. What I learned most by watching that panel (and through my experience in life so far) is that really there are no rules and there is no handbook. If you’ve got a passion for entrepreneurship, you’re going to find the path that works for you to bring your dream to fruition.

(I posted a few of my pics from Barcamp on our flickr page- feel free to check out my iPhone handiwork!)