I spent 15 years working in the food + beverage industry. I’ve been a server, a line cook, a bartender, a greeter. I’ve worked in catering, on a food truck, built restaurants from the ground up. I’ve written about food in print and online, and even briefly hosted my own cooking show.
Perhaps you’re reading this and thinking, “She must really like food.”
Well, that’s true—I do. But that’s not why I was so drawn to the food industry. Many people who work in the F+B industry don’t do it because they love food—it’s more personal than that. Food brings people together. Great conversations happen around great meals. There’s a special kind of joy, a wonderful closeness, that emerges when people connect around a dining table. And that is why I was so drawn to working in food.
I have always believed, deeply, in the power of conversation to forge connections. When I was younger, that took the form of bringing people together over food. Now, I have the chance to do that at Typeform.
If you’re still reading, you may now be thinking, “What in the hell does this have to do with Typeform?”
Well, you could say that my arrival at Typeform happened rather fortuitously. I don’t have what you’d call a “typical tech background” and when I applied for the product marketing role that I was eventually hired for, it was a bit of a shot in the dark. I had long admired and loved Typeform as a brand and wanted to work for a company that I genuinely gave a sh*t about. So I sent in my application and hoped for the best.
There are two reasons why I’m here at Typeform today: 1. An interview with my now teammates,
In our first conversation, Paul talked about his vision for meaningful at Typeform, much in the way that he speaks to the community about “Meaningful” every Monday. It’s rare that you meet people like Paul—people who really give a damn. The food industry attracts people like Paul. People who don’t do it for the money; they do it because that kind of work feeds their soul—because it gives their life meaning, a sense of purpose. I always want to surround myself with people like Paul.
When Paul talked about Typeform’s mission and vision, about its place in the world as more than just another software + services company, I knew that I wanted to be a part of that mission. And so, on April 20, 2020, I began my first day at Typeform.
And now, on my first anniversary at Typeform, April 20, 2021, I have the privilege and pleasure of welcoming you to Meaningful Conversations, Typeform’s virtual event that explores conversations in all its many, and variegated, forms. Our team has been working on this event for months, and I feel so, so lucky to work with such incredible individuals.
Meaningful is not a term that we use lightly around here, so when we set out to create an event about “Meaningful Conversations,” we knew that we’d have to push ourselves to really go beyond our comfort zones—to honor the gravity of that word, of this phrase. With this event we seek to talk about the things that matter—to challenge ourselves, our ingrained thought patterns, and our comfort zones, with content that goes beyond the mainstream.
At Typeform, we believe that conversation is a doorway, and that through conversations, we can make our world more meaningful. We are honored to be showcasing speakers and sessions that will challenge us to examine our unconscious biases, to consider the state of this world, to have the conversations that we need to be having but may be avoiding, and to think deeply about our impact and the ways in which we use technology (and our products) to improve the world we live in.
As a conversational experience platform, we have the privilege of engaging audiences in many dimensions of conversations. Collectively, Typeform, VideoAsk, and Chat are here to empower others to have meaningful conversations. This event follows in those proverbial footsteps. We’ve designed an event that is meant to serve as a gathering place where we can share stories with one another, invite dialogue, and spark connections.
Your voice matters, and we hope you'll join us for these Meaningful Conversations.
Registration is now live for our free, two-day event happening (virtually!) on April 20 + 21, 2021. We mean it when we say that it would be an honor to have you join us.
In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing more about what we have planned—from behind the scenes looks at how and why we designed the event as we did, to speaker spotlights, and details on the conversations + workshops we have planned.
Stay tuned for updates on our sessions and speakers coming soon to our event website and follow—and join!—the conversation on social, #meaningfulconversations2021.
If you have any questions, comments, feedback, ideas, you name it, feel free to drop them as comments to this post and/or leave a video or audio message here.
With gratitude,
R