TheBridge profile: Audra Grassia

Name: Audra Grassia

Current city: Midlothian, VA

Current job: Chief Innovation Officer, Goodstock & Co. + Independent Consultant, Luminarity LLC

Past job: CEO, Grassia Collaborative LLC

Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between innovation and regulation? Goodstock & Co. is a an online web store platform providing causes and campaigns carbon neutral and union made merchandise. We made strategic decisions early on that our technology had to not only allow organizations to start selling merch quickly and easily, with little cost out of pocket - but it also had to consider their unique compliance needs. We've built Goodstock's platform with an eye towards campaign finance and sales-tax compliance, which is actually novel in our sector.

Q. Job advice in three words? Just keep swimming.

Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Innovators love to move fast and break things. And that's good. But sometimes innovation can be a slog and you may need to stick with it for a while, before your innovation actually works or pays off. Policymakers seem to have limitless patience. They recognize that even small policy changes can make someone's life better and make things a little easier. That's a good lesson for innovators to learn from policymakers.

Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Policymakers should learn to move faster and break more things :) I am kidding...a bit. I do think policymakers should observe how a "fail fast" mentality actually can accomplish quite a bit in a short time. But this mentality requires flexiblity to allow for mistakes to be made and for policies to also be changed quickly in order to course correct. Not every policy solution is going to work as intended. There should be more opportunities to change course more quickly if something isn't working well.

Q. Can you describe a skill you have carried throughout your career that has always proved to be valuable?Creative problem solving. I simply refuse to believe there are very many problems that are unsolvable. I am relentless when it comes to asking many people many questions and testing several theories before I will simply give up on an approach. This combined with always keeping the end-goal in mind without getting too attached to an initial solution has served me well over the years.

Q. What is the best job interview question you have ever been asked? If you were to get this job, what would we be left with upon your eventual exit?

Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Urban Farmhouse

Q. Favorite podcast you recommend? I'm currently really enjoying the White Picket Fence podcast by Julie Kohler - it's a deep dive into our public education system and it's really informative.

Q. Why are you part of TheBridge community? Why do you think it's important this community exists for tech, policy and political professionals? It's right in TheBridge mission - Our vision at TheBridge is to solve big problems... - I LOVE solving big problems and that cannot be done in a silo and it can't be done without listening and learning others' perspectives. Especially in the political space, we get into our own echochambers that we fail to look around and see how others might be addressing the same issues we're trying to address - especially technologically. TheBridge provides a valuable space from which to learn and grow as an innovator, technologist and political professional.

Q. Eech day is probably different, but are there certain skills you think are essential to your job? Being flexible, adaptable and kind. These are the skills people ultimately remember about you - regardless of your work product.

Q. Most underrated virtue in an employee? I think the most underrated virtue in an employee is humility - the ability to acknowledge mistakes and then learn from those mistakes. We are so sensitive to criticism that often we try and cover up our mistakes instead of owning them. I will always respond better to an employee who acknowledges & learns without being defensive when confronted with a mistake.

Q. What's one piece of advice you are still trying to master? I am still trying to master balancing work and life. I feel like it is altogether elusive and this year, I plan to focus on managing my time better so that I can achieve the balance that I am seeking.

Q. Startup to watch? I would be remiss if I didn't say - ours is a startup to watch! Goodstock & Co. in partnership with Buttonsmith has created something no one else has - a political merchandise company that prioritizes our values over making a quick buck. We're excited to be the only webstore platform built by campaign professionals that incorporates USA made products decorated with union labor and all the while being carbon neutral. We're excited for the innovations we're making and will continue to make in this space.