Challenging Tech Ownership: A Mastermind Interview with Jamie Briesemeister
By Raman Kang
“The hardest thing about being a woman in tech is when I’m outside of my company and interacting with trades that are mostly male: construction, building industry, architects; a lot of times I feel like I have to know more and show more than I feel I would [have to] if I was a male.”
“Not having a solid education or upbringing in tech, I felt like I had to learn a lot to be where I am.” Jamie Briesemeister has done it all in the tech world; data entry, marketing, sales, terminating cable, and now she’s a CEO. Jamie and her husband Jeff created Integration Controls, back in 2004. Jamie was experiencing early burn-out as a speech-language pathologist at the same time her husband was ready to start something new in a completely different field. “We had always worked on house projects together, so I knew we would get along. Early on I knew the value of what he did because technology was always easy to use at home,” says Jamie.
She started off shadowing her husband and installers to understand the equipment and then began doing the work herself. “I started by installing and pulling wire. I was taught how to terminate cable and went to a lot of tech courses that were offered by our industry trade association, CEDIA” she says. Originally Jamie’s goal was to be on the business development side of things, but realized in order to showcase how great her company was, she needed to be able to answer questions of cost, equipment and how everything works. “Having never done it before, I had no answers, so I started really diving deep on the technical side. I’m curious and inquisitive by nature so I like a challenge,” says Jamie.
The more she learned, the more hats she wore and throughout the years, many people assumed she was the company's owner. “That always was a bit of an issue for me as the main sales person and business developer in our company: I was married to the owner, but my name wasn’t on the business license.” This caused an internal conflict; every time she was introduced as an owner, it felt like a lie. “That internal struggle pushed me to go to my husband and talk about the ownership structure of the business.” Jamie admits she had to have vulnerable conversations with her husband to get to this point. Like Jamie and her husband, there are a lot of couples that jump into tech together and start their own businesses. Jamie points out that while some women are at home doing the billing, keeping the office going, and doing the behind the scenes work their husbands go to trade shows, so it can seem like there are less women in tech than they actually are. “I think we need to dive deeper into what we’re seeing at a surface level versus what's really happening.”
Having ownership also meant having an extra bit of authority when it came to making things happen. “Even when I wasn’t in that role officially, I was still doing a lot of the things I’m doing now. Now I just have that extra bit of authority for the follow through. I'm not 'just a salesperson' or the 'bosses wife': the buck now stops with me.” Jamie says taking on her new role wasn’t a struggle because she was already seen as a leader; now she had the title. “My team knows I will speak my mind: I’m blunt and straightforward. They also know I will listen to them with compassion, help in their growth, and am solution-oriented.” Working within her company was the easy part. When it comes to interacting with people outside of her business, things are different. “The hardest thing about being a woman in tech is when I’m outside of my company and interacting with trades that are mostly male: construction, building industry, architects; a lot of times I feel like I have to know more and show more than I feel I would [have to] if I was a male.” In these situations, she says she takes extra care to make sure she looks poised, but not sexy; attractive but not too attractive; trendy, but not too trendy. “There are all of these shitty qualifiers that we have to put ourselves through to make sure when we walk into the room that we’re heard - for the right reasons."
Jamie signed on to Mastermind after seeing a post on Glorie Averbach’s LinkedIn page and thought, “I want whatever she is selling!” The two met 10 years ago and have stayed in contact ever since. “If I have a chance to reconnect with a friend and mentor, I’m going to take it.” Mastermind ended up being more than just catching up between old friends. “Hearing other people say they had the same concerns in their own companies was helpful.” She took great comfort in knowing she wasn’t the only person with imposter syndrome and seeing people she admired admit to having it too was so important in her journey. “The important thing to remember is that it’s an at times feeling and not an all the time feeling, so if we can have patience with the process in feeling like an imposter and not judge ourselves because of it, it’s a feeling that should pass.” When asked to pick out a word for herself for inspiration, she chose fierce. “I don’t always feel fierce in business; I can be a scaredy cat, so I’ve been challenging myself to be stronger and more comfortable with whatever decision I make.”
Jamie says she’s been paying more attention to her voice, “Since the 'me too' movement, I feel a lot of women have been speaking out and empowering other women to use their voices.” Jamie’s message for women who think they need to do it all is “you really don’t.” As a “do it all” kind of person herself, Jamie has struggled with wanting to do it all in the past. As she’s gotten older, she’s learned it’s healthy to ask for help. “I enjoy seeking counsel from people that aren’t in my day to day because they offer a perspective that I just don’t have."
If you are interested in accelerating your business or career, learn new skills, and collaborate in a supportive and welcoming group then reserve your spot in the next Women in Tech Mastermind Series today! Sign up at https://womenintechworld.com/masterminds