How I found my Director of Operations off of Tinder... and wishing her a happy 1 year Workiversary

On a cold Wednesday afternoon in November of 2015, I was sitting at the head of a table joined by seven students in one of two rooms in our first office space at 133 Pittsburgh Ave in Walker’s Point hosting a Marquette University Office Visit.?

Shortly after we started, an attractive blonde girl walked in and sat down?(no, I did not hit on her at this event- I’d like to make that clear for several reasons). We went around the table and talked about what everyone was studying and what their aspirations were when they graduated. Despite frantically coming in slightly late, the blonde girl seemed very ambitious, was running the Women in Business Club, had internships, and wanted to travel. After we went around I talked about how I got my start, stories of getting “GoGeddit.com” off the ground, and gave some advice on what I would recommend doing in college and shortly after to get on the right path. I’m not sure how qualified I was looking back but it was a nice event. People asked questions, we continued to talk and then they all left. That was it.?

A week went by and I got a thank you card from her.?

I emailed her back thanking her for the thank you card (does anyone do that?) and let her know if she wanted to grab coffee some time I would be up for it (smooth) and…… Nothing….

A few more weeks passed and I was swiping on Tinder: “Bre, 21, from Marquette University” popped up.?

Even though I was very attracted to her, I didn’t know what to do.?

‘Am I allowed to swipe? I hosted a University event she was at.’?

‘She never responded to my email.’

‘Would she recognize me?’

I ultimately came to the conclusion that the only way she would know if I swiped right is if she also swiped right. So, I swiped right, and….. Nothing….?

Hours passed and….. We matched!?

A few days later, I messaged her with something along the lines of “Hey you look familiar, we should get drinks soon.” Trying to simultaneously acknowledge some of the awkwardness of the situation and land a date.?

We met on a Thursday night at Balzac right off Brady Street, one drink turned into another, and Balzac turned into a Brady Street bar crawl. That date turned into several more, and a relationship and a dog and a house and….

Let’s fast forward to July 2023.

It was a nice Tuesday evening in the high 70s and I was in my car driving to Draft and Vessel with my dog ready to get out my laptop, have a beer, and get some work done on the patio. I was about to park and my phone started vibrating...?

Our Director of Operations of four years called me.?

I answered.?

She let me know she was taking a different opportunity and was putting her two weeks in.?

I didn’t fully see it coming, she was amazing and had done so much and managed so much. Like many small business owners who lose a key team member, I was in a panic not knowing what I was going to do.?

I got home and let Bre know the news.?

Bre had been helping behind the scenes really since we started dating. She was qualified but I had never really considered bringing her into the company and wasn’t sure about working with a significant other, what that would do to our relationship, and the optics of the situation.?

We talked about it.?

I called my dad and told him about the situation and that I was considering hiring Bre, he is a big fan of Bre but the first thing he said was “You know the odds are against you right?”?

I figured the odds of me finding someone great on the open market last year in a very timely fashion were very against me as well. Not to mention my personal operations skills are about zero. Bre and I decided to work together the next day.?

Bre officially started one year ago today on August 15th, 2022.

The last year hasn’t been easy and there have been a lot of late nights. We saw business drop off in late 2022 and early 2023, we went through an entire rebrand, moved office spaces and built out a new studio, ironically back to Walker’s Point about two blocks from where we first met. We’ve also narrowed our offerings and onboarded new clients and things have been moving back in the right direction.?

Bre has done a lot from managing projects, designing and even building some of the new office space, editing podcasts and videos when needed, creating pitch decks, managing finances, and more all while staying very positive and continuing to move forward. Whatever’s been needed to get done, she's made it happen all while remaining very positive.?

Needless to say, I’m very lucky to have her on the team and as my significant other.?

Did I ever think I would work with my significant other? No, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.?

It’s funny how life turns out sometimes.?

So yes, I did actually kind of find my Director of Operations off of Tinder.?