Name: Derek Homann
Bio: Product Specialist at LinkedIn, budding entrepreneur, soon to be first time dad (expecting my first child in June), nerd.
Title: Product Specialist at LinkedIn
Age: 28
BECOME A SPONSOR
Join us in championing the narrative of success, resilience, and ingenuity that defines Nebraska’s startup community. Learn more »
City: Omaha, Neb.
Website: competeagainst.me
Twitter: @dhomann
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/derekhomann
Intro music: “Party And Bullshit In The USA” Notorious B.I.G. and Miley Cyrus (Warning: NSFW)
Silicon Prairie News: What are some of your daily responsibilities in your position at LinkedIn?
Derek Homann: Currently I work really closely with our Product and Marketing teams to help analyze the impact their products have on the Customer Operations team. I also help train the Support team on new products and features we roll out. Most recently I also started working on the Community team that helps provide Customer Service via Twitter, Facebook, and some other external channels.
SPN: You joined LinkedIn in 2008, five years after its founding. What was it like to see it grow from a tech startup before you arrived to experiencing an IPO as an employee?
DH: It has been a pretty crazy transformation. I started paying attention to LinkedIn when they had just a few million members and less than 50 employees. I joined when we had around 30 million members and less than 300 employees. Today, we have 135+ million members at 2000+ employees. With that type of growth, it can be really stressful at times, but seeing us hit big milestones (like the IPO) has been super exciting.
SPN: You’re also working on a side project, CompeteAgainst.Me. What’s one of your best practices to maintain progress on the project?
DH: My friend/business partner Jordan (Hoff) and I talk to each other every day so we’re on the same page when it comes to what we’re working on next. We are both pretty competitive too so we tend to make wagers with each other about how quickly he can finish coding a certain feature or how many people I can get to join our waiting list.
SPN: Your personal blog is called “Stop Sucking So Bad.” What’s the story behind that motto?
DH: The title is just a reminder to myself that I need to get better at everything. There is so much stuff that I don’t do well and I need to work on if I want to achieve some of the loftier goals I have for myself. The title just reminds me to try to keep improving myself.
SPN: According to your About.me page, you’re a slow pitch softball player. What’s one of your team’s strategies to win a game of slow pitch softball?
DH: Minimizing mistakes is the biggest key to victory for us. If we just relax and have fun, our team actually plays much better than if we take it too seriously.
Images credit: Photo courtesy of Derek Homann
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.
