Waverly Deutsch

Every job I was applying to was 200 to 400 applicants, many of whom had been tenure track faculty who had lost their jobs, right? And so they were applying for the few available jobs. At the same time, I was realizing that while I loved the teaching part and I had taught at Tufts University, where I got my PhD. I had taught as a graduate student. I loved that part of my job.

Every job I was applying to was 200 to 400 applicants, many of whom had been tenure track faculty who had lost their jobs, right? And so they were applying for the few available jobs. At the same time, I was realizing that while I loved the teaching part and I had taught at Tufts University, where I got my PhD. I had taught as a graduate student. I loved that part of my job.

I did not love the research requirements of the theater history discipline. In the humanities, you have to publish on things that nobody has ever written about before, and you end up getting very esoteric. My dissertation is on the career of a woman named Laura Keane, who was a 19th century theater manager. She was the most successful woman to run a theater on Broadway in the 19th century.

I did not love the research requirements of the theater history discipline. In the humanities, you have to publish on things that nobody has ever written about before, and you end up getting very esoteric. My dissertation is on the career of a woman named Laura Keane, who was a 19th century theater manager. She was the most successful woman to run a theater on Broadway in the 19th century.

She had her own troupe. It was in fact her troupe that was playing Our American cousin in Ford's Theater the night Lincoln was shot, she was the person who identified John Wilkes Booth, and no one has ever heard of her. And you get into these very esoteric topics. What does it mean to have been a woman theater manager in the 19th century?

She had her own troupe. It was in fact her troupe that was playing Our American cousin in Ford's Theater the night Lincoln was shot, she was the person who identified John Wilkes Booth, and no one has ever heard of her. And you get into these very esoteric topics. What does it mean to have been a woman theater manager in the 19th century?

And what happened to women theater managers as theater changed in the 19th century? And I started to realize these are not really impactful issues in... our day-to-day lives. I wanted something that was more current, more contemporary. But when I couldn't get a job as a junior faculty member in theater, I said, I am not going to stay in the world of academia.

And what happened to women theater managers as theater changed in the 19th century? And I started to realize these are not really impactful issues in... our day-to-day lives. I wanted something that was more current, more contemporary. But when I couldn't get a job as a junior faculty member in theater, I said, I am not going to stay in the world of academia.

I am going to return to the world of technology, which is much more pressing, more relevant now, again, beloved logic. I love the theater. I love teaching. But I don't love academia. I don't love a career as a humanities academic. I will go back to technology. Now, this is the early 90s. This is 1991, 1992. So technology's in a boom. It's in the very early stages of the internet bubble.

I am going to return to the world of technology, which is much more pressing, more relevant now, again, beloved logic. I love the theater. I love teaching. But I don't love academia. I don't love a career as a humanities academic. I will go back to technology. Now, this is the early 90s. This is 1991, 1992. So technology's in a boom. It's in the very early stages of the internet bubble.

In fact, it's a little bit pre-bubble. It's as the internet is becoming part of our daily life, we're really using dial-up AOL or CompuServe. I'm having a conversation one night with a friend, and we're out to dinner with my partner and her husband, my friend's husband. We're having this conversation and she turns to her husband, she said, she'd be perfect for Forrester Research.

In fact, it's a little bit pre-bubble. It's as the internet is becoming part of our daily life, we're really using dial-up AOL or CompuServe. I'm having a conversation one night with a friend, and we're out to dinner with my partner and her husband, my friend's husband. We're having this conversation and she turns to her husband, she said, she'd be perfect for Forrester Research.

And I said, all right, what's a Forrester Research? I had never been in the business world. I had never thought about careers in business. And turns out he was an analyst for Forrester. They were a tiny little boutique market research company that looked at the impact of technology change on big business. Their tagline was helping companies thrive on technology change.

And I said, all right, what's a Forrester Research? I had never been in the business world. I had never thought about careers in business. And turns out he was an analyst for Forrester. They were a tiny little boutique market research company that looked at the impact of technology change on big business. Their tagline was helping companies thrive on technology change.

So why was this an unbelievably opportunistic moment? I call it luck, karma, fate, the world, just throwing open a door when you need one. If there's one thing a PhD proves that you can do, it's research. That is the fundamental thing that you do, right, as a PhD student. And I had a technology background. I knew how computers worked. I knew how to talk that language.

So why was this an unbelievably opportunistic moment? I call it luck, karma, fate, the world, just throwing open a door when you need one. If there's one thing a PhD proves that you can do, it's research. That is the fundamental thing that you do, right, as a PhD student. And I had a technology background. I knew how computers worked. I knew how to talk that language.

I could very quickly learn the modern technologies. And I joined Forrester as the first research associate that they had. Hired directly. The woman who preceded me had created the position. She had been an admin on the sales side. She created the position of research associate. I was the first person they hired into that job.

I could very quickly learn the modern technologies. And I joined Forrester as the first research associate that they had. Hired directly. The woman who preceded me had created the position. She had been an admin on the sales side. She created the position of research associate. I was the first person they hired into that job.

I went on to experience a growth company with the entrepreneur, founder, CEO still in place. We were less than $10 million in revenue. We were 20 people. I was employee number 27. There had been a little bit of modest churn and we went on our rocket ship. We had hired a new VP of sales out of IBM and he

I went on to experience a growth company with the entrepreneur, founder, CEO still in place. We were less than $10 million in revenue. We were 20 people. I was employee number 27. There had been a little bit of modest churn and we went on our rocket ship. We had hired a new VP of sales out of IBM and he