Meet one of our newest team members Katie Cappozzo. Katie was recently hired to take the lead of our event sponsorships and has been moving forward with our new programs (City and College series and 48 days)
Katie has an extensive background working with startups and entrepreneurs. Get to know Katie this year, and say hello to her at the upcoming events!
What is your role at Make48?
My title is head of strategic partnerships, which is kind of a fancy way of sayin I’m the company connector. My role is to connect a company or business to our Make48 events and see if they want to be a part of it by sharing the vision of our brand to companies.
How did you get involved with the company?
I like to think of it as fate. My husband and I had been investors after learning about Make48 through a friend. I was in a spot in my life where I was looking for something new to get into and our friend introduced us to Tom. He was looking into expanding Make48 into city events around the country, and the fit was perfect.
What is your family life/background?
I’m from Montana originally, and moved to Madison, Wisconsin 20 years ago for love. Married my husband Dave and we have 3 pre-teen and teenager kids, plus our dog Gus. Love going on family adventures, like boating, kayaking, hiking, and road tripping.
I got my Engineering degree and always wanted to build something (aka: do cool shit) or create something of my own. Do something that changed peoples lives. In my 20’s, the beginning stages of entrepreneurship goals started forming. I started doing sales and began building companies. I haven’t looked back since.
What have you learned from working with this organization (Makers, brands, inventions, etc.? Or a particular moment that stands out?)
I've learned so much, it’s crazy. The Maker movement is incredible and was not on my radar prior to working with Make48. The idea that brands can have a big impact in my kids lives and present opportunities around education is incredible. Also, the idea that real businesses are being created everyday out of local makerspaces and if a few more dots were connected for them, it would bring REAL value to their lives and the world.
Alex Bandar is an example of someone to watch around the Maker Movement. He’s the founder of the Idea Foundry (in Columbus, OH) and his Ted Talks about creators are inspiring.
What is your favorite part about your role/Make48?
I love learning about companies and how they tick. And I LOVE learning about how they are making the world a better place. To see when their vision and ours align, it’s like magic.
What inspires you?
What inspires me is people or groups doing things bigger than themselves. Those who don’t take shortcuts or the easy way.
What’s something you’ve made that you’re proud of, the craziest thing or something you won’t ever forget.
My 7th grade science fair project. I had a black and white shoe box and put earthworms in it. The science part was to see if they preferred the black side of the box or the white side of the box. Kinda ridiculous but I’ll never forget it.
If you weren’t working for Make48, what do you think you’d be doing?
Would definitely be working with a startup, on the ground floor of a new company. Or possibly starting my own company. I had been in the research stages of a nonalcoholic drinks company, and then a month later I met Tom and the rest is history.