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Michael Brunner
Creative Photography Manager at Missouri Star Quilt Co
Professional Background
Michael Brunner is a highly skilled professional with a rich background in photography and management. With a degree in Bachelor of Science in Management from Missouri Western State College, he has successfully combined his artistic talents with a solid foundation in business principles. Michael's career path has taken him through various creative avenues where his photography expertise has flourished, leading to notable roles in different esteemed organizations.
In his most recent position as the Creative Photography Manager at Missouri Star Quilt Co, Michael has played a pivotal role in shaping the visual content that supports the brand's mission of inspiring creativity through quilting. His deep understanding of both management and photography allows him to lead a team effectively while ensuring that the quality of visual storytelling is consistently high. His innovative approach and attention to detail have made him an invaluable asset to the company, where he continues to push the boundaries of brand imagery.
Before his tenure at Missouri Star Quilt Co, Michael showcased his versatility as a Photographer at Silpada Designs. Here, he was responsible for capturing stunning images that not only highlighted the beauty of the products but also conveyed the lifestyle and values associated with the brand. Michael's ability to adapt to different styles and clientele has enriched his portfolio and underscored his reputation as a talented commercial photographer.
His earlier career experience includes a significant role as a Commercial Photographer at Ben Weddle & Associates. In this position, Michael honed his skills further by working on diverse projects that required him to work collaboratively with clients, understand their vision, and produce high-quality imagery that met their needs. These experiences have equipped him with a unique skill set that blends creativity with strategic thinking, making him a versatile figure in the photography industry.
Education and Achievements
Michael Brunner's educational background encompasses a solid foundation in management principles through his Bachelor of Science degree from Missouri Western State College. This education has not only augmented his technical skills in photography but also empowered him to navigate the business aspects of the creative industries effectively. His studies have instilled a profound understanding of management strategies, marketing techniques, and leadership qualities that he applies in his professional roles.
In addition to his degree from Missouri Western State College, Michael began his academic journey at Johnson County Community College, where he laid the groundwork for his subsequent studies and expertise in management and photography. The combination of education and hands-on experience has allowed him to excel in various creative roles throughout his career.
Notable Achievements
Michael's commitment to excellence in his work is reflected in an impressive portfolio that showcases a range of creative projects across different industries. His work has not only been recognized internally but has also contributed to the growth and success of the brands he has represented. From crafting compelling visuals that resonate with customers to leading creative teams with ingenuity, Michael’s career is marked by achievements that demonstrate his passion for photography and management.
Through all his roles, whether as a manager or a photographer, Michael has continually strived for innovation, ensuring that he remains at the forefront of the ever-evolving photography landscape. His steadfast dedication to quality and creativity continues to inspire those around him and drives the success of the projects he becomes involved in.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.