Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Phillips.
Shelby, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve come very full-circle with where I am today running Autolyze. I cut my teeth working in food systems at an early age at a family beer distribution business in Southeast Ohio. All of the expertise I bring my clients now around supply chains, warehousing, inventory management, and marketing started there. There probably isn’t a single job at that company I didn’t do at some point.
Once I finished my degree from RIT, I started working for Accenture to get broader exposure to different industries and technologies and learn how larger companies operate. After six years of working on large-scale technology projects and intense travel schedules, my priorities shifted to remaining more localized in my work, focused on food systems and entrepreneurs.
I started volunteering for a non-profit organization called Plant Chicago which focuses on sustainable food system education and materials reuse, and eventually served in a full-time capacity as their Director. In that role, I was exposed to all of the inspiring work happening in the Chicago foodshed and realized the potential for bringing my consulting expertise to local food businesses and entrepreneurs.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My career has been littered with some rough spots along the way, but have felt very supported all along the way by a close community of people in Chicago and the food system at large. The biggest professional struggle was attempting to work from home/coffee shops/client offices for the first few years of operations without a dedicated spot to keep productive.
Joining on with the Second Shift co-working space here in Logan Square has created the most drastic shift in addressing this challenge by being able to collaborate with and engage other entrepreneurs in the community.
Autolyze Consulting – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I founded Autolyze Consulting to help build a resilient good food movement through efficient technology solutions that help businesses scale. We specialize in making software delivery simple through consulting, systems implementations, and project-based support.
The most rewarding work I do with food businesses is helping them build their technology roadmap so they can see a clear path for success. The thing that sets us apart from other consultants and service providers is that we are completely systems agnostic, meaning we use a best-in-class approach to software delivery that deploys only the best tools for the job.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Helping a local food manufacturing client secure a very competitive federal grant award to help them expand their operations. We were the underdog, but we won!
Pricing:
- One-on-one working sessions (up to 8 hours): $125/hour
Contact Info:
- Website: https://autolyze.me
- Phone: 740.243.0489
- Email: shelby@autolyze.me
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/autolyzeme
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
