Brynn Mountain originally hales from Canada, where many of his relatives still reside. He moved with his immediate family to Phoenix, where he finished high school and attended Arizona State University. Growing up, Brynn was fascinated with storytelling and loved gaming – both video and board games. During college, his passion for gaming continued, and his interest in technology eventually led him to find his career path. Brynn is a self-taught developer that started building websites for companies while he was still a student at ASU. As demand for his expertise grew, his priorities shifted from classes to clients. A mutual friend introduced Brynn to ApostleTech founder and CEO, Kyle Aulerich. Kyle was impressed with Brynn and introduced him to the Salesforce world. In spring 2021, Brynn was offered a full-time position as a Client Service Manager on the HCP product team. We recently spoke with Brynn about his interests and decision to join the ApostleTech team.
What does a typical day entail for you at ApostleTech?
I try and start every morning prepping a to-do list with all my work and personal tasks. This is an enormous help for me to stay on task and to break the day into achievable goals. I then go through any emails from the previous night and try to get my inbox to zero. I usually have a few meetings with the other team members at ApostleTech and/or any one of our clients. In between meetings, I focus my time on developing new features for client organizations, reviewing notes, delivering updates, and gathering any information we need to keep projects moving forward smoothly. When I can find the time, I spend time learning as much as possible about the tools and concepts we use every day.
You’ve had an interesting career in tech. What skills did you learn along the way that you would say are most valuable to you in your current position?
In terms of development, learning to know what questions to ask when I am trying to master something new was especially challenging for me early on. Once I gained some hard-earned experience, I began to feel more confident. As my confidence grew, I realized that when searching for answers to anything I don’t understand, you just need to break it down to find a solution. On the sales side of the business, it is valuable to learn to read a room. It is also important to understand first-hand what clients do daily. Recognizing what they are experiencing is significant. I love building tools and products that make people’s lives easier. Work can be frustrating for a lot of people and making those tasks even a little more manageable is something I enjoy.
What are some of the biggest challenges your clients face and how do you help them overcome those challenges?
There is a common myth in the tech world that technology changes quickly. While that is true for hardware (computer power, TV and battery technology, etc.), it is not really the case with software. Often, software, especially on an enterprise level, is left in the dust as companies mature and evolve. Bringing that data into new tools can be time-consuming and expensive.Working with modern tools like Salesforce is fantastic. It’s designed to evolve with companies as they change and grow. That flexibility eliminates a lot of pain points our clients often experience. It’s just a matter of understanding what information is essential for each of our clients and providing access to them and giving them a platform to do their jobs quickly and efficiently; our job is to design tools that assist them in doing their jobs.What do you enjoy most about working as a part of the ApostleTech Team?Everyone is incredibly close-knit here and very welcoming. It’s hard to enter a new workplace or group and not feel out of place, but everyone at ApostleTech has been incredibly warm and receptive to new team members. It’s like a family, and I’m happy to be a part of it.We understand you are a big gamer, what might we find you playing – what are some of your favorites and why?Video games are a unique medium for entertainment because you get to affect the world you are experiencing, unlike movies or books. I have played a wide variety of games over the years, but the ones that stand-out for me are the Destiny series, where I have competed in numerous tournaments over the years. Playing gets my competitive drive flowing. Other games such as The Elder Scrolls series, the Guild Wars series, and Terraria are always fun and help me relax. I love exploring the game’s massive, fantastic world.These days I am playing more board games than anything. It’s been nice to get back together at a table again with friends and family and enjoy some time together. Dungeons & Dragons, Stars Without Number, and Gloomhaven have all been big hits with my gaming group.
If you could invite any three people to dinner – living or dead – who would it be and why?
I love this question! I have so many answers, but I’ll try to narrow it down.
Winston Churchill – I don’t think I’d be nearly as interesting to him as he would be to me, but he is a fascinating person who I have read about for years and would love to have experienced in person.
Ian McKellen – I have a massive love for British theatre and drama (as well as an ever-so-slight obsession with Lord of the Rings), so getting the chance to discuss all those and more with Sir Ian would be unforgettable.
Chris Metzen – Chris is a legendary game developer who spent many years working on World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment and has since moved on to developing and writing for the tabletop gaming space. I have been a fan of his worlds and characters for many years and would love to learn and experience from him someday.
Because I can’t help myself, some honorable mentions would be Anthony Bourdain, Candice Poole, David Tenant, Kate Beckinsale, and Dr. Alok Kanoija.To learn more about ApostleTech and the solutions Brynn and the team provide visit apostletech.com.
