In my first 90 days as a Lead Analyst at Radicle, I’ve helped chart the future of veterinary telehealth, triangulate the nexus of blockchain and traditional finance, and connect digital technology to one of humanity’s great discoveries, whisky. There hasn’t been a dull moment at Radicle (cue Homer Simpson caveat: so far), which is a testament both to my colleagues and to the interesting problems we tackle.

I joined Radicle after earning my Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University and then six months working as Director of Data Science at Root and Shoot Ventures. I wrote my doctoral dissertation on anti-corruption enforcement, a topic I selected because of the rapid evolution in the issue area over the past ten years. Studying anti-corruption felt urgent and future-focused, so it was an easy transition to bring my methodological toolkit to Root and Shoot Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund. At RS Ventures, we uncovered data-driven insights to become early investors in the likes of Eqtble and Gravity AI. We also quickly learned that all the data in the world can’t replace speaking directly to the founders who are trying to create the future.

I sought out this opportunity at Radicle in the hopes of accelerating the expansion of my pattern-matching catalog. My Radicle experience to date has not only set me on a clear path toward that goal, but has also given me a firsthand education in the advantages of being a small and nimble company. Experimentation and real-time feedback are rewarded at Radicle, which means that I approach each day energized by the ability to make an outsized impact for both our customers and our own rocket ship.

Even as Radicle becomes a remote-first workplace with presence in four continents (and counting), I feel right at home alongside my intellectually curious and generous teammates. Appropriately enough for a job description that entails always thinking about the future, I am excited for what’s to come!