Name: Lyndsay Clark
Bio: A Des Moines native with entrepreneurial parents responsible for raising me with a strong work ethic and passion to build things. Constantly looking to listen and learn — from what music I should queue up to a great book or blog I should be reading.
Title: Lead Interactive Designer at Hatchlings
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Age: 24
City: Des Moines, Iowa
Website: hatchlings.com
Twitter: @lyndsayclark
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lyndsayclark/
Intro music: I may be partial (my brother is in the band), but I can’t get enough of St. Lucia’s “We Got It Wrong.”
Silicon Prairie News: You joined Hatchlings during what CEO Brad Dwyer calls a “re-startup” phase for the company. What does that mean to you, and how do you see it manifested on a daily basis?
Lyndsay Clark: In every sense of the word Hatchlings has been successful so far — to date we’re completely self-funded (after an initial $100 personal investment) and we have over 3 million users from all 50 states and almost every country in the world, among other things. I think we are now uniquely positioned to build a great company. With four years of user feedback and experience, our goals now include building the best team we can while continuing to build amazing products. In the short time I’ve been there, we’ve worked long hours and weekends, but, in the end, it’s that passion to build that excites us every day of the week.
SPN: Hatchlings has 260,000-plus likes on Facebook, the most commented-on story in SPN history and users who travel hours to attend meetups. What is it about Hatchlings that makes its users so passionate?
LC: What Brad has done brilliantly with Hatchlings is capture the essence of collecting and gifting. I think our dedicated users may have collected baseball cards, coins or even dolls as kids. With this game they’ve found the opportunity to rekindle their passion to collect and also share with others what they’ve gathered so far. We’ve seen friendships develop across the globe because of this sharing and gifting mentality, and I believe that’s really the core reason why our users are so dedicated to Hatchlings.
SPN: A couple years after graduating with a degree in interior design, you’re now doing UX/UI design. Can you describe that transition and the challenges involved?
LC: Early on I recognized that what I loved about interior design was the creative brainstorming and team aspect, but not the actual career itself. I eventually became very interested in technology and web design and knew it was the direction I wanted to pursue. Once I realized this I found myself struggling with two hurdles: 1) where to go to get the career I wanted as well as 2) developing the right skills. I began educating myself as well as attending Design+Tech (organized by Amanda Morrow from BitMethod) and keeping up on what was happening in the Silicon Prairie. This allowed me to meet some great people who have helped me get to where I am now.
SPN: You’ve blogged about the power of music to influence your mood. Tell us your go-to songs or albums in the following circumstances: the gym; the dance floor; the office; when you’re looking to kick a bad mood; when you’re looking to kick back and relax.
LC: At the gym and on the dance floor, I love me some Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Kanye. While at the office though, I do a 180. If I’m working on strategy or writing, I usually stick with the likes of Dave Brubeck or Billie Holiday, and while designing I’ll listen to music such as Monarchy, Robyn, Ellie Goulding … it’s common to find me dancing in my chair at work. To kick a bad mood or just relax I usually turn on my Starred Playlist on Spotify and listen to the tunes I can’t get enough of currently.
SPN: As an Arrested Development fan, which member of the Bluth bunch would you say you’re most similar to, and why?
LC: This is a tough one, they all have qualities I so admire. I guess if I compared myself to any of them I’d say Tobias’ love for the Blue Man Group and his ability to sing a little tune whenever he gets a wee bit scared really align with who I am as an individual.
Image credit: Photo by Kyle Knicley.
Prairie Portraits: To learn more about this series, see our introduction post, or visit our archives for past Prairie Portraits. To suggest an individual for a future Prairie Portrait, contact editor@siliconprairienews.com.
