Ted Goudie is the Marketing Director at Website Pipeline. What all does that entail? Planning and executing large-scale digital campaigns mostly - but also making sure we watch at least one funny cat video per day, taking lots of pretty pictures around the office, and keeping the front desk candy bowl sufficiently stocked at all times.
Since moving from Michigan to join the team in early 2015, he has greatly increased the company's Marketing chops, growing our digital footprint and helping us reach more customers than ever before.
He is the original mastermind behind our regularly scheduled employee spotlight posts, and as such has managed to escape becoming the subject of one himself... until now.
What did you do prior to working at Website Pipeline?
Mostly, I cried. Quilting helped, though.
I've been working in e-commerce and digital marketing since 2003. For several years, I ran my own e-commerce retail business, but most recently, I worked for two large companies in West Michigan.
What TV/Movie character would you be if you could choose?
I would be Sam, Robert DeNiro's character in the movie Ronin. The version of me that lives in my head is occasionally a super spy driving fast cars around Europe infiltrating terrorist groups (and noting the color of the boathouse at Hereford).
Another great option would be Sgt. Angel, Simon Pegg's character in Hot Fuzz, which might be my favorite movie of all time. Cheeky Brit humor + action + social message = great movie.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I love making photographs.
My Dad was an avid and talented hobbyist photographer, but I only started getting into it about ten years ago. I love the way I can use a camera to document my life, and I'm glad he documented ours. I've scanned nearly 16,000 35mm slides from the days when he shot film, so I've got a great visual record of my life in the pre-digital age.
My main photography interests are landscapes and nature photographs. Time spent in nature and in the mountains is good for my soul, and I love making photos that capture the feeling I get in those places.
One of the reasons I moved to Greenville is the amazing outdoor scenery - we're minutes from the mountains. In an hour, you can be on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is stunning. Here's a photo I took there this summer:
In less than three hours, you can be in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And you can be at the ocean in about three hours as well. There's so much opportunity to spend time in nature here in the Upstate.
I'm also an avid reader and usually reading 2-3 books at any given time. Right now, I'm reading:
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The Big Picture, by Sean Carroll (highly recommended, I'm about 2/3 through)
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A Hole in the Universe, by Mary McGarry Morris (not sure yet - seems good though)
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Superbosses, by Sidney Finklestein (good - about halfway through)
and a couple of photography art books.
I'm also a huge University of Michigan football fan, and still have season tickets, even though I now live in South Carolina. Here's a picture I took after Michigan beat Ohio State in 2011 (hopefully that will happen this year!):
What’s your favorite thing about working at WSP?
That's an easy answer: the people. We put a ton of effort into hiring right, and it shows. We get smart, hard working, and fun people, which makes the office a good place to come into five days a week.
I felt like it was going to be a match from my first phone interview, and once I got down here in person, I knew I was going to love the people here. I was right. I'm on a great team who works with great teams across the company. Did I mention the people are great?
Also, being able to wear shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops is a huge plus.
What's the funniest thing that has happened at Website Pipeline?
Believe it or not, this is the hardest thing to answer, because there are so many fun things that happen with this group of people.
In my first few weeks at the office, Nathan Welch lost a bet and got his ear pierced at lunch, which led to a reply-all photoshop thread.
The first time Ashley tried riding one of our electric scooters, one of our designers clobbered her out of the blue, and knocked her off the scooter into a cube wall. She wasn't hurt, but she sure was surprised.
Working at a company where the CEO never backs away from a dance-off challenge leads to a culture where fun is ingrained. We work hard in the office, but there's a lot of laughter in this building.
And outside this building:
Tell us one interesting thing about you that not a lot of people know…
Ted Goudie is my second name.
Not like first name-last name. But like the second different name I've had. Since I'm adopted (like Chris Frendo), I had a different name when I was born. Unlike most adoptees, I actually know what my birth name was, thanks to some agency paperwork that was not redacted properly. I chose my birth name to be my Instagram handle, but I like my current name better. Here's the day I switched names (I'm wearing the hat):
Ted is one of 60+ Website Pipeline employees, all of whom are in North America. We're not sure he even owns a pair of pants, but he sure can rock a pair of capris. You can learn more about the Website Pipeline culture on our website, or visit our Meet The Team page to see more WSP employees.
