Getting to Know: Analytics
Want to know more about the folks who call Enova home? We asked Marketing Analytics Analyst Jon Foster our five favorite “get to know you better” questions, and here’s what he had to say:
How did you come to work at Enova?
I graduated from Purdue University with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics, and then I ran 100 miles. Seriously… I graduated in May and then ran 100 miles in June — making silly bets can lead to interesting stories. When I wasn’t running, I spent the summer keeping bees for my family’s small apiary business. Feeling a need for some degree of consistency, I ended my summer by applying to Enova, and I haven’t been stung by a bee since. (That’s not true. I still go home sometimes to help with the bees, but I haven’t been stung while at Enova… yet.)
What do you do at Enova?
As a member of Marketing Analytics, I use Enova’s wealth of data to aid, support and guide our marketing efforts. Day to day, I am often writing SQL queries to gather data and R code to analyze and build models from that data. The larger focus of my work is based around ensuring that our marketing efforts are cost-effective, and that we are reaching customers who are interested in our products.
What’s the best part of working at Enova?
The scope and variety of the projects at Enova make it extremely compelling to work here. When you have a project, you really get to own it and the direction it takes. This leaves you with a lot of responsibility, but it also allows you to follow your project from inception to completion. Instead of simply doing the same small part of many different projects, you’re able to explore and innovate throughout the entire project. The constant influx of different projects requires that you find new solutions and innovations.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I’d probably live like a king in Patagonia. Honestly though, I would probably want to live in a place where the winters weren’t quite so long, and where the summers were not too hot. So, really, we have narrowed it down to between 25 and 40 degrees of latitude with some variation due to ocean currents and weather patterns. Pull out your map and you’ll find a region with a lot of landmass. I spent some of my childhood in Australia, and it satisfies my conditions, so I might head back there. Or, I’ll become a pirate and retire in Patagonia.
What are your top three desert island must-haves?
Is this a trick question? Food, water and shelter! If you mean to get rescued, then: satellite phone, GPS and a shortwave radio. If you mean luxuries to pass the time: I recently acquired a book of Vernor Vinge short stories, so that and more books. If possible, music and Internet access.