Casey Kidd

Listen to the interview (approx. 26 minutes) or download it.

Graduated in 2012 with a major in CWP (Contemporary Writing & Production).

Position:  Data Analyst at The Retail Coach.  Casey uses statistics to predict which business will succeed in a given municipality.

Update August 2016 (1 year after the interview):  Casey left his job at The Retail Coach to start his own company in the same field, NaviRetail.

Update April 2020:  Casey and I had a second conversation, in  which he recounted how he started and built NaviRetail, now a very successful business with 9 employees, as well as how it works to run his own business.  A must-listen for any aspiring entrepreneur!

Listen to the 2020 interview or download it.

Choice Quotes from the new interview:

“One thing I realized early on is the one thing you can’t change is people spending money.  They’re going to get the goods they desire.  The one thing you can change is where they get them.  If  people buy outside of a city, that tax revenue is gone.  We hope to fill a revenue void and be able to locate businesses for a town.”

“At the end of the day, I am who I am.  When you’re really passionate and driven, people see that.  I guess it justifies my employees taking orders from someone half their age.   It’s the same with our clients.”

“Don’t be too prideful, whether in music or not.  What keeps you successful is being able to swallow that pride and do things you weren’t planning on doing.  In my case, driving for Uber for the first year of the business until we got our first paycheck.  It wasn’t my idea of fun, but it got us to where we are today. ”

“My phone, email, and office are always open for people looking to start a business.  I’d love to be the sounding board I wish I’d had.”

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Overview:  Casey enjoyed computers both before and during Berklee.  He got particularly good experience while in a work-study job at Berklee (laying out Fusion Magazine), learning software that helped him get a position at his company soon after graduating.  He did not know anyone at this relatively small company near where he was living, but saw their newspaper ad, applied, and got the job.

You can see his LinkedIn profile here.

Choice quote:  “Too many people (graduates from both Berklee and other colleges) have no idea how a business works.  Everyone at Berklee should have to take a couple of business classes.”

See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.

Casey rocking the piano in an ensemble performance while at Berklee.

While he still composes music in his free time, Casey also likes to pilot small aircraft!

See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.