1) Name:
Nick Harpster
2) How did you get to gap intelligence?
Once I graduated from San Diego State University, I began to job search. Three months and one less-than-ideal job later, I found an ad for gap intelligence. The ad was looking for a German speaker that had data experience. The cherry on top though was that the office was located less than three miles from my house. I have always been interested in data and majored in Industrial Organizational Psychology, which exposed me to data on a daily basis so I knew it would be a perfect fit.
3) What values lead you and why?
Trust, consistency, and authenticity are the values that have shaped my life. I have always been a firm believer of embracing who you are. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses but if you are authentic to yourself and those around you, it makes you unique and dependable. This leads into trust when you are authentic and you surround yourself with authentic peopleyou can build a strong foundation of trust. This allows you to communicate and work with others more because you don’t need to second guess motives. Finally these values mean nothing without consistency because without being stable and consistent with your values you aren’t dependable.
4) What skills are you bringing to gap intelligence and what skills are you excited to learn?
My ability to speak and read German are essential to understand all of the German retail that I track daily. Additionally I have always been an organized and detail-orientated person, which I believe is a trait I inherited from the German side of my family. This helps me daily in my tracking and organization of all of the retail circular data collection. I have always loved puzzles that require out of the box thinking, which has been invaluable to developing our methodology for tracking the unique German ad system.
5) If you could have any super power, what would it be and what would you do with it?
My choice of superpower would have to be telekinesis. The ability to clean my house, grocery shop, and answer my door all from one location would be amazing. The daily use of this power much more useful than other superpowers and be an amazing time saver.
6) What’s the quirkiest thing about you?
I am slightly afraid of horses. My mom led horseback riding sessions and I always thought that people were too calm and casual around horses. I constantly thought about the fact that any sudden noise or movement could spook the horse resulting in a kick to the head. All I’m saying is no one would be as calm around a moose, which is of similar size.
7) What’s your favorite thing to do in San Diego?
My favorite thing to do in San Diego would be going to the Dog Beach which is only a 15 minute walk from my house. I love to go experience the amazing San Diego weather and beaches while petting and meetings dozens of dogs playing around on a beach. I don’t have a dog and walking down the beach is the best way to get my fill of dog time of all shapes and sizes.
8) If you could have a personal chef or a live-in house keeper, which would you choose?
I would have to choose a personal chef over a live-in house keeper because I don’t mind cleaning. I have always been a neat person and keep things clean and organized so I don’t need to clean often. However I am not the greatest cook so a personal chef would give me both better quality and variety of food. A personal chef would also be a bigger time saver as cooking three meals takes me way longer than cleaning.
Do you have what it take to be a gapper? We’re hiring. Head to our culture section to learn more about open positions. We’re conducting phone interviews as we work towards flattening the curve. Stay safe and healthy. We’re all in this together.
