Kyler Blue, our summer intern, is wrapping up his work here at Extole. A talented guy who became a part of the Extole team immediately, Kyler has had a big impact. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank Kyler for his work and to showcase his contributions.
Ashley: Kyler, we’ve gotten to know you well, but please introduce yourself here.
Kyler: I’m a Junior at Stanford majoring in product design. I’m very interested in UI and UX. I’m a musician. I like to play guitar. I like to be outdoors. I like to play guitar outdoors.
Ashley: I didn’t know that about you. I’m wondering who you admire in the UI/UX world?
Kyler: Jonathan Ive is my number one, but generally people who make things simple and beautiful. I respect people who practice what they preach. That’s also what I respect about my professors at Stanford like Marc Theeuwes, Lisa Whitsitt and Jess Kessin. This quarter, I’m excited to be in classes taught by design legends Bill Burnett, David Kelley, and David Beach.
Ashley: Speaking of school, what courses are you looking forward to when you go back?
Kyler: Next quarter, I’ve got “Design & Manufacturing”, “Designing your Life”, “Human Value Design”, “Engineering Drawing and Design”, “Physics: Light and Heat”, and “Cell Phone Photography”.
Ashley: One of these kids is not like the other! So, why were you interested in interning at Extole?
Kyler: I’m interested in innovation in software and technology and was excited by the people and culture at Extole. Extole has amazing customers, and I had the opportunity to work closely on design projects with some really cool companies.
Ashley: Tell me a little bit more about that. What did you work on?
Kyler: I helped create a lot of assets like microsites, emails, and promotional elements for customers like 23andMe, Vistaprint, Spotify and Rover.
Ashley: You had some other projects. Will you describe those too?
Kyler: I made several educational videos to help our customers and their customers better understand referral marketing. Making tutorial videos gave me a chance to learn the Extole technology in depth. It’s really amazing what the team at Extole is doing to move the needle in referral marketing technology.
Ashley: I agree! What else did you learn at Extole besides our platform?
Kyler: I learned the power of people and how important advocates are in marketing. I also learned that you need a lot of energy – things happen quickly at Extole HQ! And most importantly, I learned that when people have the same goal and focus, they can really make things happen.
Ashley: Speaking of focus, you’ve been exploring Vine? Seven seconds isn’t a lot of time to convey a message.
Kyler: The work I’m doing with Vine has been really fun. With Vine, you have to keep it simple to be engaging, and you have to be particularly compelling. That really resonates with me from a design perspective.
Ashley: It sounds like you might be lined up for an A in “Cell Phone Photography”.
While we are sad to see Kyler go, we are thankful to have spent the summer with him! We wish him the best of luck and know he will be successful in whatever career path he chooses. And, we will be sure to notify you once he hits Vine stardom status — move over Will Sasso!