When my wife and I began to consider our next move from Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area seemed like a great fit, professionally. It certainly has some of the best tech opportunities in the U.S., but it didn’t feel like a good fit, personally. We were both ready to find a place where we could own a home we loved, see our friends and family regularly, and not have horrendous commutes.
My wife grew up in Brighton, so Ann Arbor has long been in the backs of our minds as a place that might suit both of us well someday. I decided to reach out to SPARK and learn a bit more about the tech community in Ann Arbor while visiting my in-laws over the holidays. A few weeks later I found myself interviewing in town with an emerging security software firm, Duo Security. My previous professional experience was a perfect match for the product marketing role Duo had been seeking to fill. But what really sealed the deal for me was quickly recognizing how much Dug Song, Duo Security’s CEO, cared about building a fantastic company and culture. Not even a month later I moved to Ann Arbor and started working for Duo.
I’m now a few weeks into the job, and I already feel like part of this community. The attitude of people here really is a lot more collaborative than competitive. I’m not sure if it’s purely due to it being a smaller city than D.C., but I’ve found it to be a lot more accessible — personally and professionally. My wife and I are living just over a mile from downtown and my commute never takes longer than 10 minutes. She reminds me that this will come in handy when we have our first child in a couple of months.
I feel really fortunate to have landed here, and I’m looking forward to growing our company and my family here for years to come.
JOB TITLE: Senior Product Marketing Manager
COMPANY: Duo Security
COLLEGE: Virginia Tech University
