My name is Massimiliano Carone Jr., but you can call me Max.
I appreciate you wanting to learn more about me. I love meeting new folks, and I’m hopeful that we’ll get the opportunity to connect so that I can get to know you in return!
I was born and raised outside of Dayton, Ohio in Kettering—a city named after the prolific 20th-century innovator Charles Kettering, most well known for inventing the electric starter. Along with being the birthplace of flight, the Dayton area was like the Silicon Valley of the 20th century in America, boasting the most patents for that time in the country. My parents made us aware of this rich history, which planted the seed for my life-long fascination with innovation.
I grew up as a second-generation Italian-American in a family that valued communication, hard work, and most importantly, good food! My family is full of amazing storytellers and "people-people", so naturally, I became obsessed with the art of communication at a young age.
My professional career started when I got my first paid political job as a campus organizer in my sophomore year of college. My experience as an organizer led me to a political consulting and marketing firm where I spent three years learning how to further leverage my obsession with communication to drive results for our clients. It was in this role that I was first fully introduced to marketing, advertising, and all of the technology at our disposal to communicate and manage relationships at scale. At this point, I realized that empathy was actually at the root of my obsession with communication. I learned that in order to be heard, you first have to truly listen.
Looking to get more experience in the tech world, I then joined a data appending company in a sales role. Since we were a small company, I also tackled more technical projects, like building internal tools using a mix of Google Apps Script and no-code apps to help our prospect list building efforts, as well as automate parts of our sales process.
Though I enjoyed my role and my coworkers, I felt like I needed to find a career that better combined all of my interests. So I left my job in search of a skillset that did just that, and I quickly discovered UX/UI design. The intersection of technology and psychology with the application of empathy to solve people's problems had me sold on UX/UI.
Having completed Thinkful's design program, I am continuing to develop my skills in user research, wireframing, prototyping, and visual design. My goal is to leverage these skill to create empowering solutions to interesting problems with interesting people. Ultimately I want to help others make a difference—in their own lives, and on the world at large. I don't think we have to sacrifice achieving business success in pursuit of making a difference, and I deeply believe that the two can be very well aligned.
You can find me spending time with the amazing people in my life, cooking (and cleaning), or pushing weights at the gym. I also enjoy reading, and playing video games.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me. Now I hope I get the opportunity to learn more about you! If you'd like to discuss a project, role, or just get to know each other, then feel free to reach me on LinkedIn or over email.
