indinero’s teammates all have intriguing stories and we want to share them with our clients and readers. So you can get to know the individuals behind the magic that each make indinero a top-notch business and amazing place to work. Featured this month is none other than, Sam Marritz, client advocate and one of indinero’s very first hires at its office in Portland, Oregon.
Sam has been helping support clients at indinero for a year now but before you dig into his love of cooking, asian culture, and all things specifically Pacific (both sides of the coast, that is), here are a few words about him from Enterprise account controller, Cinnamon Williams, and Enterprise client advocate, Matt DeNinno:
“Sam is well-known for tackling some of indinero’s toughest client tasks quickly and accurately with a great amount of poise. As our team’s client load grew, we needed to complete our team and move into the position with minimum ramp up and disturbance. Right away we knew we wanted Sam to join and he’s been a blessing. Since coming onto our team Sam has brought some of the best pieces of the early stage process to help us refine our process on the enterprise side and stay on task. We can really trust Sam to do his job extremely well as he has always met and exceeded our expectations. Nothing gets Sam down, his mind is always on the end goal which helps him see the wins along the way. This mindset and his hilarious wit constantly keep us motivated and our spirits lifted. In addition to everything he handles for us, he is always willing to support his fellow client advocates and is interested in helping everybody clients and coworkers alike.”
Without further ado….
Sam Marritz Takes a Break from Delighting indinero Clients to Get Personal:
What do you like best about working at indinero?
The ability to be myself in the workplace. I don’t have to dress up or put on a front, just come in and help clients and coworkers like only I can.
Another thing I like is how willing indinero is to give its employees all sorts of great professional experience. Every week I find myself in new situations that challenge me to think on my toes in order to keep my clients happy.
What do you think would make indinero better?
There’s a lot we can learn from the more tenured people we’ve hired and I hope we can continue to listen to their experience and hire more of them! Having a elder, wiser presence in the office is good for a young company in every way and we need their experience to succeed. When I first started at indinero I was fascinated by how young the leadership was, I thought it was cool to see a company run by 20-something year olds. One year later, I still enjoy working with such young motivated people but find myself intrigued by what the people who have done it before can bring to the table.
I’m happiest when:
I’m with all my friends, dancing to some good bluegrass at Northwest String Summit. Camping and hiking in the Columbia Gorge produces a similar effect.
Favorite place to live:
I’d like to live on the Oregon coast but I’ve never had the privilege. I feel super lucky to have grown up on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle.
I’m proudest of:
My Seattle Seahawks. Since moving away they’ve became a symbol for my hometown pride. Seeing people wearing seahawks stuff in other countries totally blew my mind. I’ve seen them grow from basically zero fan following in an old, decrepit stadium to being the it team to follow with a state of the art, waterfront stadium on the Puget Sound.
Favorite pastimes:
Cooking. Family dinners weren’t a huge thing for me and my parents so I was pretty self-sufficient growing up. I’ve always found it’s a nice way to pass the time and take my mind off everything else I have going on.
Favorite song, movie, book, or comedian:
Song: Sideshow Blues – Yonder Mountain String Band
Movie: Fargo
Book: Nothing to Envy – Barbara Demick
Comedian: Louis CK (cliche I know).
3 Biggest pet peeves:
- C-corp officers paying themselves as domestic contractors (really grinds my gears)
- Cheersing and then not drinking afterword. (always drink after you clink)
- Apprehensive drivers. (even though I live in the capital of it)
5 things you personally like:
- Cooking
- Playing soccer
- The Oregon Coast
- Travel
- Live music
The top 3 highlights of my life:
- The Seattle Seahawks winning the Super Bowl in 2013.
- My Seahawks losing the Super Bowl in 2014. Oddly enough, this showed me the reality that I’d rather be living in Portland than Taipei (where I was traveling at that time)… Hear me out: I always wanted to work at a startup but struggled to find the right place and fit. I interviewed with indinero over Skype from my apartment in Taipei, and moved home two weeks later filled with hope and excitement. Reading my offer letter was seriously one of the happiest moments of my life and wouldn’t have happened if we gave the ball to Marshawn on the 1 [yard line] instead of throwing.
- Traveling from the southern tip of Thailand to Bejing in the northern part of China on my own with barely any money. Didn’t even have a seat on the train, but the kindness of strangers who had never seen a white boy before. It was great experience for my chinese language skills. SO cool to have people taking care of me through the rest of the trip.
People would be surprised to know:
It’s getting rusty these days but I’m pretty handy with spoken and written Mandarin Chinese.
If I could do it all over again, I would:
Go back to college! I majored in Chinese and around senior year I realized I didn’t want to go to China and teach english for my career… I wanted to work at a startup in Portland!
Favorite Memory:
Riding my scooter around Taroko Park in Taiwan
If you could meet anyone, who?
Russell Wilson
What’s your favorite place on Earth?
Cape Cod in the summer – would always go out there to visit my dad’s side of the family and would watch wooden bat summer league baseball. With the slight humidity, relaxing vibes, and family time it was a very utopian experience.
If you were to compete in the Olympic Karaoke Challenge, what song would you sing to get the gold?
Aerosmith – Don’t want to miss a thing. (easy)
Classic choice, Sam!
{{cta(‘9f2972ee-83fe-42fa-8da7-f71907eedd42’)}}
