Meet Gique Mitch Gaynor

Director of Marketing at SPOT. Writer, Designer, All-around media & art enthusiast.

Tell us about yourself.

"I’ve strived most of my life to be a Jack of all trades, leading me to be proficient in a lot of areas but not exactly a “rockstar” in any one in particular. During college I spent several years in the hospitality industry, developed management skills and put my artistic side to use writing a novel.

After graduation I did some sales, dabbled as a UX/UI designer and also was a project manager for a non-profit arts organization. All of these experiences were perfect for what SPOT was looking for at the time; someone who felt comfortable doing absolutely anything, with the knowledge that what was asked of you might change at a moment’s notice. So far it’s lived up to the hype."

How did you get to where you are today?

"Wow that’s a lot to think about in one question! *laughs*

This is a funny question for me, as I routinely tell people, my biggest flaw is that I lack passion for just about anything. I’m not one of these “THIS IS MY LIFE’S WORK” type of people. I’m just passionate about being a decent human being, and making sure I continue to develop as a well-rounded and open-minded person. I get bored very easily and that’s where innovation routinely comes from. Past projects for me have usually been born from a combination of boredom and curiosity as well as the obvious need for change in a particular place.

This current project (SPOT) is one that hits all of the above. When I came on board it was very clear to me that while the tech and the business side of the company were in more-than-capable hands, it would be my job to handle the creative side of things. In that way this project has been an exciting challenge of taking something bland and boring that everyone hates (parking), coupling it with something scientifically exciting (app development) and making something beautifully simple ( the app itself) that can also tell a good story (helping our communities). These are many of the things artists strive to accomplish and it’s been fun to interject that same thinking into a more tech/business heavy environment.

As far as personally, I try and develop good routines that allow me the time and energy to do all the different things I want, and so it’s a lot of organization; my whole apartment is Post-its, checklists, and whiteboards - my roommates hate me haha. I find the best thing you can do to keep yourself motivated, or passionate, about a particular thing, is to make sure you allow yourself time to do that thing without distractions. Even if it’s as little as an hour or 2 a week I always make sure to set aside some writing time, and I’m getting better about making time to do things like catch up on the upcoming election, and design uniforms for my kickball team."

What does being a gique mean to you?

"Can I just say how much I love this term, Gique? It really just sums up everything about the person I try to be all of the time. I’ve never been able to fit into these neat little bubbles of “Designer”, “Writer”, “Developer” or whatever else.

Being a Gique in my eyes is all about breaking down those silos and barriers. Every fashion blogger needs help running their website, and most artists need some help with their sales model. Being a Gique is about adventuring out of your comfort zone far enough to gain the experiences, or relationships, that will ultimately make you successful, and understanding that whatever you niche is, doesn't have to define you."

 

What advice do you want to offer the people who read this?

"I have struggled with a lot up until this point. I mentioned earlier that I’m not particular passionate and especially when I was younger I would often get discouraged about whatever it was I was working on and give up or fail frequently. Then a few years ago I got some really good advice that I pass on to everyone who asks:

As far as cliche advice goes, it’s easy to tell someone ‘never to give up’; but no one ever tells you how to not give up. It’s one of the hardest things in life, and yet no one ever gives you a game plan for it. Here’s what you need to do:

  • Wake up every morning and look in the mirror and you lie to yourself ‘today is going to be awesome’, ‘I am awesome’.
  • Do everything with that mindset until something not-awesome happens that day.
  • If it’s minorly un-awesome, your power through it, and continue being the badass you are. If it’s major, that’s ok. You’re allowed to come up short sometimes and some days are going to just suck.
  • Just make sure you do one good thing everyday before you give up.
  • Once you do one good thing every day, for a while, it gets easier to do a few good things every day, and eventually you’ll accidentally wind up doing something amazing here and there.
  • You’re becoming a better person, and you’re doing some awesome stuff.
  • Telling yourself today is going to become awesome, becomes less and less of a lie each morning when you have a history of doing awesome stuff to look back on.

That’s the best advice I’ve ever gotten in my life and it’s what gets me out of bed every morning ready to conquer whatever the day throws at me."

SPOT is the Airbnb of parking. Their iOS app has created a mobile marketplace connecting those lucky enough to have a private, off-street parking space, and those on the hunt for one. Have a SPOT? List it for rent whenever your not using it. It could be 24 hours a day, during the mornings while you’re at work, or that hour every Tuesday that you’re at spin class. Need a SPOT? Simply open the app, select a SPOT that works for you and confirm your reservation. With over a million dollars in funding, expansion into a new market underway and an ever-improving app, SPOT is truly living up to it’s tagline and making it possible to “park easier”.