Her Story
About Olivia
I've been in tech for 10 years, starting in the Navy where I served as an information systems technician doing cybersecurity, intelligence, networking, satellites, radios, and all of the above for 7 years. After the Navy, I went through Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA), a 16-week course for veterans transitioning into the professional world that covered Microsoft products, Azure, cybersecurity, and Copilot AI. Out of that schooling and internship, I got employment at Microsoft as a business program manager. At the beginning of this year, my husband and I started Kiter & Co, where we are the only two employees. I help small businesses build their online presence through web design and automate their businesses by taking tribal knowledge out of spreadsheets and into customized systems. My most notable achievement is having the courage to start the business ourselves and having faith in ourselves to take on something new.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Olivia
01What do you attribute your success to?
A lot of my success comes from the way that I was raised and my military background. Both my husband and I are in the military, which adds to it. Having the structured lifestyle from a young age taught me the importance of keeping that structured lifestyle as you continue to grow. Those values that you learn in the military - having courage, having commitment - have been fundamental to my success.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Someone once told me that what other people think of what you're trying to do doesn't necessarily matter, as long as you are doing what you know is right in your heart. That's a big part of how I try to live every day, through the business and through myself. Maybe my ideas or thoughts or things may seem silly to someone else, but that doesn't really matter, because in my heart, I'm doing it to help others. Sticking with doing the right thing and doing good things, or using my business to do good things for others, has made a huge impact on the decisions that I make every day.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women entering this industry to not be afraid to be yourself, to do what you want to do, and to just know that your voice is just as important in a room as anybody else.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think some of the challenges right now, especially in the AI consulting area, are understanding and being level-headed enough to not fall into either side of the extreme when it comes to AI. You can't be someone who puts everything into AI all the time and can't come up with your own thought or idea without getting it from artificial intelligence, but you also can't become too far on the other side where you're not going to use it for anything. There seem to be two large perspectives that swing one way and then the other. Both of those can be dangerous, and both of those can stop a company or a small business from growing and not using AI in a productive manner that actually helps them grow. Slapping AI onto everything is not always the best move, and I feel like a lot of consultants around AI are really just trying to AIify everything.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being kind and being honest.
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