Join us in welcoming Josh Peine to our Entrepreneurial Leadership Rotation Program! Prior to Kipsu, Josh studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of St. Thomas. Josh enjoys chasing the northern lights in northern Minnesota and flying in the window seat! We're so excited to have him a part of the Kipsu team and asked him to chat about his experience at Kipsu so far.
What drew you to Kipsu in contrast to other companies?
In my experience with some large companies, it was easy to become constricted to a single job role and never get the perspective of someone outside of my division. The Kipsu environment is agile and fast paced. I love that the rotation program gives me the chance to see the company from an array of perspectives and synthesize these insights to contribute to many different roles.
What were some things you noticed about the Kipsu team during your first week?
It’s like a family! It feels more like making a friend than getting a job. Even from the interview process, I could tell that there is a different perspective here. I wasn’t only interviewed by an HR department, but by the people I would sit next to and work with. They wanted to get to know me as a person and not just my resume skills.
What challenges are you looking forward to tackling in your work at Kipsu?
It will be fun and challenging to get to know the specifics of our product and all the different ways, foreseen or unforeseen, that it is used to establish relationships, open communication and facilitate human interaction. I’ve already been amazed by the creativity of users and the variety of applications.
What is your favorite Kipsu core value?
I love that we focus on playing the long game. The tech world is so mercurial that it seems counterintuitive to think long term, but ultimately, people at Kipsu understand that, even as technology changes, human relationships and meaningful interactions are here to stay.
If you could meet any person for a chat over a shared dinner, who would you pick and why?
I’ve always wanted to be an explorer, so I’d love to sit down with fellow Minnesotan and St. Thomas alumnus Will Steger. At 73 years old, he just completed a 72 day solo expedition across the Arctic and he has been leading kayak and dogsled expeditions across Greenland, the North Pole and the Arctic since college. I bet he has some crazy stories. We would probably eat dinner out of a tin can and around a campfire, but hearing how his personal grit and careful planning have lead to exploratory and research discoveries would make it worth it.
