Alumni
Vani Kumar Hires Fellow Grad Sean Kam To Work on Her New App Phixst
U.S. Coast Guard Veteran Sean Kam graduated in 2018 in Fashion Design and is now working with Apparel Industry Management Alumna Vani Kumar on her new mobile photo editing app, Phixst.
Tell us how you landed your job at Phixst: Before I mention how Vani and I met, I must acknowledge the awesome FIDM Career Center, specifically Ruth Ritchie, Denise Lederman, and our friend Ray Garcia. Our Career Center is the one of the best resources when it comes to job hunting and improving your hiring appeal. This includes everything from attire to resumes. They give you the confidence you need to steer your career in any direction you’re going and they’ll go as fast or as slow as you want to. They taught us to network, one of the single most important key factors to landing a job.
Tell us how you met Alumna and Phixst Founder Vani Kumar and the work you’re doing: I met Vani while I was working for FIDM as an emcee for 3 Days of Fashion. She sat on the alumni panel that I was interviewing. Later we briefly talked as I was helping prepare lunch for the attendees. I mentioned my ever growing skill set and hunger to find work. I also mentioned my involvement revamping and maintaining the FIDMSF Instagram page. From that it led to a phone conversation (that I thought wouldn’t go anywhere, since she wasn’t looking for an intern). A few months later I received a text from her that led to another phone call, which was supposed to be about social media 101, but instead turned into a long, out-of-left-field, exciting, and unexpected conversation about Phixst, a brilliant app she created providing mobile photo editing on the fly, “so you can share your moments, your way.”
As a tech startup, you wear many hats when you are still in beta testing. Since working with Vani, we’ve attended the Meltwater Summit and met a lot of important people in the digital marketing world. We also meet weekly to discuss our objectives for the following week. I’ve been doing things from graphic designing and admin support to social media and user interface ideas for the app and the website. Right now, I’ve been diligently throwing myself into researching and understanding social media marketing and data analytics. My mind gets pulled into so many directions, but being able to manage my time and understand my strengths and weaknesses is very fulfilling and I know it’s only the beginning.
Categories: Apparel Industry Management Fashion Design Alumni Military Veteran
