Kramer Caswell
Company: Untitled
Title: Co-Founder & VP of Marketing
Age: 25
Hometown: Louisville
Resides (city or neighborhood): NuLu
Education history: Indiana Wesleyan University (Marketing / Political Science Minor)
Hobbies: Motorcycles, music, hiking, design and photography
Twitter/Instagram/other social media handle: @kramercaswell (IG, Twitter)
Favorite tech gadget: My Darth Maul replica lightsaber
How did you get into the career you have today? My first job in high school was working as a freelance photographer and videographer at the Courier Journal. While there, I realized that I was very interested in using my skills for marketing, specifically the creative side. However, while in college, I met my friend and business partner, Aaron Peabody. We began building apps while in school and that’s how I became involved in technology. After college in early 2017, I found myself working at El Toro. While there, Connor, Aaron and myself discovered a niche in the market for a “data agency” which set us out to start Untitled. Since then, Untitled has adapted and changed into what it is today: an organization that rapidly deploys modern data stacks and data visualizations.
What’s one thing Louisville can do to improve its tech and/or startup ecosystem? I believe Louisville needs more events that are inclusive of entrepreneurs, startups and older organizations that could benefit from new technologies. We do a good job connecting startup up to startup, but as a city, we need our companies to embrace innovation in order to compete with other Midwestern cities. We are looking at hosting these events at the new Untitled HQ in the coming months to hopefully bridge this gap and host entrepreneurs who can speak on their data journeys.
Who has been one of your top mentors? Why? I have two mentors that mean a lot to me: JK McKnight and Steve Huey. When we first started Untitled, JK worked with me to develop sales skills and communication skills, specifically when it came to taking an in-depth concept like data architecture and making it easy to understand for all people. Steve Huey has helped mentor and coach me into improving my confidence as a young entrepreneur and leader within our scaling organization. These two men have left a lasting impression on me and have helped me more than they know.
What’s your best piece of advice for companies and individuals looking to be more innovative and disruptive in their fields? As another one of my mentors (and investors) Brook Smith once told us, “You can’t outpace fundamentals.” I think many times, young entrepreneurs can get a bit ahead of themselves, including myself, and start building things that don’t delight customers, which in-turn doesn’t turn into revenue. Focus on building a really great business first.
What accomplishment are you most proud of? I think I am most proud of watching Untitled’s early employees grow into leaders within the organization today. People like Bryce Cutler [Broughton], Katie Paas, Nate Lane, Sloane Swift and more started with us in early 2019 when we were just a small little team of three. Today, they are building their own teams and working on some of the most important pieces of our future platform. Watching these incredibly smart leaders believe in this idea we had in 2018 and help grow with us has been so rewarding.
What innovative company (other than your own) do you admire and why? As far as Kentucky companies go, I’m a fan of AppHarvest. I’ve always been fascinated with future-of-farming initiatives and it’s so cool seeing such a successful organization being built in Eastern Kentucky. However, on the unique/creative side, I have always looked up to George Lucas as an entrepreneur. He’s known for writing Star Wars of course, but many people forget the entrepreneurial side of him. From LucasFilm to the subsidiary companies he’s founded, like Industrial Light & Magic, they have continued to evolve how we tell stories as a culture. Lucas thinks in forms of decades rather than five-to-ten-year increments, much like Bezos or Musk. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been captivated.
