S2: Jessica Robinson Intro: Bonfires on the Move#45

Bonfires on the Move!  Technology solving mobility issues! Meet the new host of Bonfires on the Move,  Jessica Robinson.  Jessica and Romy discuss her new segment and the types of guests she will be interviewing. As technology is used to solve mobility issues, Jessica will be bringing front-line trends and fresh ideas to our listeners. Social Enterprise has technology all over it!   Full transcript Romy: So I’m talking today with Jessica Robinson for the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. It looks like we’ve had such popularity with some of the guests that she’s identified, that we’re going to start a regular segment with you, Jessica. That’s what we’re talking about today. Jessica: Yeah, I’m so excited, Romy. I can’t wait to do this. Romy: (Laughs) I know. Me, too. Hey, I just thought, we’d let the listeners know how we connected. You and I were guest judges at an event around social enterprise, and we connected there. And then you introduced me to one of our very popular guests from Season 1, from SPLT Fares. Do you want to tell me a little bit about what you were doing at the time? Jessica: Yes. So, as you mentioned, we met as co-judges, and I was excited to be part of that event focused on social enterprise. But I met Anya, the founder of SPLT, uh, because she had brought her company to Detroit as part of the very first Techstars Mobility program here in the city. And when I met you and heard what you were working on and had been talking to Anya about their vision for her company, it just seemed like a perfect fit, and I had to put you two in touch. Romy: (Laughs). Yeah, and that was such a gift because she is so great. Her whole team, they’re just tremendous. And then as you and I kept in touch, it seemed obvious that there was a lot of folks that you were identifying around this, using technology to solve mobility issues. And I think you and me just kind of organically said, “Hey, we might have enough content here. Let’s see if we can do a regular monthly episode, huh?” Jessica: Yeah. I think it’s great. And as I started to think about the types of folks that we could bring on to the show or expose to the listeners here, I just keep getting more excited. There’s just so much happening in the space right now and attention to the way we move and get around here, not just in the US but really across the globe, that this is the perfect timing for this conversation. Romy: Jessica, I know, just for the listeners, your bio will be online, but could you give them just a little bit of a feel of your background? Jessica: Yeah, I’d be glad to. It’s, funny when you always try and think of telling your story of how you got to this point because there’s so many bits and pieces of my background that I really see, have brought me into this place right now and just my love for transportation and mobility. I had a chance to work at Zipcar, which is the world’s leading, car sharing organization for a number of years. I started with them all the way back in 2007 when the idea of new mobility solutions and mobility technology was still very early. And I remember many conversations at the time, people laughing or doubting that this would ever change anything here in the US. So with Zipcar, I did a number of different things, everything from marketing to building the community membership base to, something a little more boring [sounding] but actually really interesting, which was managing parking for the company in San Francisco. And in doing so, I had a chance to get a glimpse at a different side of business, which I think comes full circle in many ways now, and that was working with city officials who were really trying to...