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Michael Morton
Director, The Armchair Trader
Professional Background
Michael Morton is a distinguished Industrial Designer with a wealth of experience as a leader in experience design. An award-winning professional, he has established himself as a thought leader and strategist in user-centric design, demonstrating an exceptional passion for creating elegant and simple solutions that resonate with users. Notably, Michael laid the groundwork for the first fully expatriate-staffed Industrial Design firm in Hong Kong, marking a significant milestone in the field of industrial design in Asia.
After his remarkable achievement in Hong Kong, Michael made significant contributions to Dell, where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of experience design for business desktops and workstations. His expertise encompassed a range of critical areas, including product industrial design, user experience strategy, architectural design, and brand implementation. Michael's hands-on leadership in ID/UX development has helped shape user experiences that are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing. His holistic approach to the development process ensures that all dimensions of the user experience are thoughtfully considered and meticulously executed.
Michael's career is underscored by a multicultural perspective, enabling him to approach challenges with a unique lens that fosters innovative problem-solving. His experience living and working internationally has facilitated the development of strong relationships with multi-tier suppliers across Asia, reflecting his ability to navigate complex global markets effectively. As a result, he has consistently achieved remarkable results across various development areas, including hardware manufacturing implementation, ensuring that quality and performance are never compromised.
In addition to his roles in established companies, Michael is actively involved in the start-up scene, offering his expertise as a consultant and selectively accepting fractional Chief Design Officer (CDO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) roles for projects that pique his interest and align with his vision. His relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence positions him as an invaluable asset to any organization seeking to enhance their product design and user experience.
Education and Achievements
Michael Morton’s educational background has significantly contributed to his success in the industrial design and engineering fields. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from the esteemed University of Cincinnati, where he honed his skills in crafting user-focused designs and understanding the intricacies of product development. This foundational education was further complemented by his studies in Electrical Engineering at the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology, providing Michael with a robust technical background that informs his design philosophy.
Additionally, Michael's formative educational years were spent at the Singapore American School, where he received a college preparatory education. This diverse academic experience laid the groundwork for his global perspective and the adaptability that is evident in his work today.
Achievements
Michael Morton’s career is defined by numerous accolades and noteworthy achievements. His status as an award-winning Industrial Designer speaks volumes about his dedication to his craft and his relentless pursuit of excellence. The establishment of the first fully expatriate-staffed Industrial Design firm in Hong Kong is a landmark achievement that showcases his entrepreneurial spirit and ability to drive innovation in a competitive landscape.
Further, his impactful role at Dell highlights his ability to shape user experiences across large-scale product lines. By successfully integrating product ID and user experience strategy, he has played a crucial role in enhancing the brand's reputation for quality and innovation. His technical competencies have empowered him to manage all facets of product development, including hardware manufacturing implementation, ensuring that products are not only well-designed but also operationally sound and manufacturable to high standards.
Moreover, Michael's advisory roles within start-ups demonstrate his commitment to nurturing new talent and ideas in the industrial design domain. By offering strategic insights and guidance as a fractional CDO/CTO, he helps innovative companies realize their visions through user-centric design.
In conclusion, Michael Morton’s comprehensive experience, educational background, and numerous accomplishments position him as a prominent figure in the spheres of industrial design and experience strategy. His impressive ability to blend technical knowledge with design thinking and multicultural insights allows him to deliver exceptional solutions that resonate with users and drive business success.
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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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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 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.
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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 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.