by Dominic Gideon ‘14
Many people see success as a straight line on a graph with a constant upward trend: work hard in high school, good grades; good grades, good college; good college, good job; a steady progression that ends with retirement in a Florida apartment complex. That’s not how Mr. Ryan O’Donnell ‘99 sees it and certainly not how he’s experienced success thus far.
Mr. O’Donnell, looks at the pursuit of success as a “big squiggly line that ultimately goes up into the right,” and is striving to make sure his graph ends up the same way.
Along with the fundamental lessons and skills Mr. O’Donnell learned in school, on the lacrosse field, while doing service, and partaking in various other extra-curriculars, he also learned how to be more independent during his four years at Ignatius.He started his winding journey off the shores of Lake Erie, living in Avon Lake and attending St. Joseph’s for grade school. Then came his four formative years at Saint Ignatius.
However, he says one of the most impactful lessons he learned was through one of his faults.“[I grew because of] the independence of being my own man and managing to get 15 miles home on my own,” he said.
“I wasn’t the most diligent student. Had I had the opportunity to go back and be a more diligent student and spend more time to go to a great college, I would,” Mr. O’Donnell said. “But the choices that I made made me work a lot harder, and I’ve had a chip on my shoulder since then that has been a part of the formation of who I am today.”
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“But the choices that I made made me work a lot harder, and I’ve had a chip on my shoulder since then that has been a part of the formation of who I am today.”
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And that hard work has paid off.
Now the CEO of his own company, he got his first job on Wall Street after graduating from Kent State in 2003. Next he spent one year working on Wall Street before deciding to go into online business where he ended up working for Yahoo. Then, in 2011 Mr. O’Donnell decided to leave Yahoo and strike out on his own.
“When I left Yahoo it was either go get a job or invent my own job, and I chose the latter,” he said.
Although his choice was a risky one, he was willing to take his chances.
“There’s a much higher probability of failure when you invent your job but for me and for an entrepreneur, it is a rewarding experience,” O’Donnell said. One of the most rewarding things for him is the sense of accomplishment that comes with starting a company from scratch.
“I like having no brand, no money, and no customers and building a brand and generating money through winning customers,” Mr. O’Donnell said. “I love that.”
As a result of his drive to create his own job, Mr. O’Donnell is now the co-founder and CEO of Sociagram, a video communication platform which licenses its services to about 50 online retailers.
“Our technology helps online retailers leverage user generated content to help their business grow sales and grow new customers,” Mr. O’Donnell said. In other words, gift givers are able to record quick and easy webcam videos that go along with gifts purchased online and send the videos electronically in conjunction with the gift delivery to give a more personal touch to the gifts.
Mr. O’Donnell, who was a New York resident when he conceived the idea for Sociagram, decided to move the company back to his hometown. He wants to be a part of the “technical renaissance” in Cleveland that has been growing within the last decade or so.
Along with his commitment to helping Cleveland’s economic rise, he’s also committed to raising his kids in the place he grew up. “I’m growing my own family, and to do that in a place I call home is a very special thing to do,” he said.
In addition to his support of Northeast Ohio, Mr. O’Donnell also is supporting his alma mater but in a very different way than any other benefactor.
“We’re running a pilot with Saint Ignatius High School right now,” Mr. O’Donnell said. “During the admissions process, incoming students are going to be given the option to answer a question, which is ‘Why do you want to go to Saint Ignatius High School?’ and they’re going to answer that question using our technology,” which will be webcam videos sent to the school.
Mr. O’Donnell hopes this will help admissions director, Mr. Pat O’Rourke, and his team in the admissions process.
“There’s only so much that transcripts or letters of recommendation or any essays can say about a person,” Mr. O’Donnell explained. “When you get to actually see that person and hear them and understand how they communicate, or just see that passion in their eye hopefully our technology can increase the likelihood that Saint Ignatius will continue to recruit the best of the best.”
For the future, while Mr. O’Donnell tries to contribute to the further success of his cherished high school, he aims to also continue to work for the expansion of his company and strives to keep reaching for the infinite space up and to the right.
