Today on the podcast is Sam Ruiz. Sam started her career as a focused media and ad tech worker, confident that her graduate degree in Public Relations and interest in data will lead to a great career. Though after a few years and a couple of job changes, Sam was less convinced. She left the US almost on a whim for some extended travel, where she learned to code, found a creative spirit, became an Instagram micro-influencer, and met the man who would join her to cofound her first-ever startup.

Sam came back to the US and along with Isaac, her mentor from coding camp, founded Well Travelled, a company using big data and machine learning to track a traveler online path to purchase. With this information, they hope to revolutionize how bloggers, travel startups, and huge public companies interact with their customers.

We talk about what it’s like to be a first time founder—and how scary it can be. Sam jumped off a cliff with this whole ‘startup’ thing, and is very honest about how simultaneously nerve-wracking and exciting it can be.

Please enjoy my conversation with Sam Ruiz.