A strong community can promote new ideas and ensure accountability. It can also act as motivation, support, and even provide a little friendly competition. The power of community is undeniable and the Okanagan tech community is no exception.

Our community is strong and growing with record speed and maintaining connection through a period of growth like this can be a challenge. Nobody panic, we’ve got a plan.  

Introducing, The Faces of #OKGNtech. A showcase of Okanagan tech entrepreneurs, partners, supporters, and cheerleaders designed to fuel more connection, more growth, and more excitement. Follow along (on the blog and on Instagram @OKGNtech) to learn more about our growing community and what makes them awesome.

Meet Erin (@erinvdb). Erin is the CSR Manager at Data Nerds. When Erin is not busy at work (solving everyone’s problems and making customers happy) you can usually find her training for or running a marathon [Editor’s note: that’s right… all 26 miles!]. We recently caught up with Erin to learn more about her role at Data Nerds and what she loves about #OKGNtech. 

Can you tell us about your role at Data Nerds?

“I am the customer service manager but I do a lot of other random tasks too. I actually help out in a lot of different ways. Typical startup right?! [Editor’s note: wearing many hats is a real thing.]

What’s it like to work at Data Nerds?

“I love the culture at Data Nerds because I know if I have an idea Josh Fraser will never shut it down. He’s so good about supporting good ideas and growth — not just in work but also life goals too”

“On Fridays, the Data Nerds crew does this thing called Retrotude that we learned from the team at Techstars.  We gather in our common area and go around in a circle. We use ‘red, yellow, green’ communicate how things are going at work, in our life, and general energy level It’s cool – you understand where people are at and it connects you.”

[NEW WORD ALERT: Retrotude is a combination of gratitude and retrospect]

What do you love about #OKGNtech? 

“I just love everything #OKGNtech. I am also a really big supporter of more women in tech and I really like that it’s really starting to become a thing and people are getting into it.”[Editor’s note: YES to more women in tech]

What’s something most people don’t know about you? 

“When I was really really little I loved typing —like obsessed. I actually carried around a keyboard. I would just sit there and type and my parents would ask me what I was doing and I would say “I am the girl at Blockbuster!”.

How were you first introduced to #OKGNtech? 

“When I graduated from UBCO I ended up stumbling into Data Nerds. I read the website, I looked at all the pictures, and I was like “dang that looks like fun. I want to work there”.  I just popped into the office— no one pops into offices anymore —and said “Hey, here is my resume” they were like “You can just email it?”. 

What lead you to the tech community? 

 “I liked sciences so I started with general sciences and then went into computer science. I figured with the tech boom happening here, it would be a smart thing to do. It was an interesting degree but that’s because I love math — math is so fun.”

Connect with Erin. Learn more about Data Nerds. Hungry for more? Meet Michael.  

Are you following our new #OKGNtech faces Instagram?