Bret is a member of Sparrow’s Sales team. Let’s get to know Bret!
How did you get to where you are?
I’ve been very fortunate to have amazing mentors throughout my life and career. Having a mentor to help understand the context of new or unfamiliar situations, provide guidance and support, and act as a sounding board at key moments in your career can make all the difference. One of my early mentors, Mark Steele, taught me about how to work with executives and prepare properly for a sales call. Later, I learned about software development from my friends Kevin and Nick, who taught me about the interaction between Software and Product. Peter Kadison taught me how to understand the numbers behind a complex business, and why understanding that matters so much to being a successful professional. Having good mentors matters, and being good at being mentored is also a learned skill.
What is a fun fact about you?
I love to travel. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit quite a few countries. I particularly loved visiting Hungary, Czechia (Czech Republic), Spain, Austria, Mexico, Italy, and France. In the future, I want to travel to Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. I love seeing the differences in culture, the natural beauty of a country, and their food. I’ve always been amazed at how kind and compassionate people are when you meet them on the road. Those chance meetings always build my belief in people being generally kind and wonderful. It is one of the aspects of travel that I enjoy the most. Once, when I had terrible food poisoning in Turkey, two brothers drove me and my friend from a bus stop in the middle of nowhere to a hotel in a little town twenty miles away. They didn’t know us, they asked for nothing, and they brought medicine and bottled water to the hotel so I didn’t have to drink the tap water.
What is your favorite part of working at Sparrow?
My favorite part of working at Sparrow is collaborating with friends and colleagues. In one minute, I’ll be working on co-authoring an email. The next minute, I’ll be developing an approach to a particular opportunity, and then later, I’ll be working with a team on a project. I had assumed working for a ‘remote first’ company would mean less interaction with my colleagues, but this culture drives collaboration, and it is a lot of fun.
What are you most excited about for your role in the next 6 months?
I think that Sparrow has great momentum and the next 6 months are crucial to building on that success. As Head of Partnerships, I have the opportunity to help build our relationships with key benefits firms and ecosystem partners. Putting together the right partnerships can increase Sparrow’s growth and allow us to impact more lives.
What’s the last show you binge-watched?
The Peripheral. Watched that show pretty much back to back to back over the holiday break. It is a bit of a mind twister, mixed with good action, interesting concepts, and some bleak visions of the future (sprinkled with a little bit of hope!).
What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?
I visited Russia, specifically Moscow and St. Petersburg, back in 1994. I felt very far from home. I made the rather absurd mistake of trying to sneak into Ukraine from Russia without a visa, traveling by train. Suffice to say, it didn’t go well. I got saved from a really rough spot by a Somalian refugee, who was trying to make the same trip. I’ll never forget his kindness.
Want to join our team? Check out our careers page and apply!