The restaurant and technology industries are like fraternal twins. They look nothing alike from the outside, but at their core, they have many similarities: they’re constantly changing, fast-paced, and fueled by passion. That’s why personal narratives, like Jonathan Schuyler’s, whose path from the warm glow of restaurant kitchens to the cutting-edge interiors of technology firms is not a stand-alone tale. Jonathan’s journey to VP of Operations at MarginEdge starts in a dish pit at an assisted living community.
Jonathan was an only child and grew up in upstate New York. His parents both worked in creative industries: his mother was an actress and his father a photographer. He spent most of his time with adults and adopted these qualities at a young age, idolizing strong work ethics and individualism. He specifically looked up to his uncle who was a creative director for a comic book. Jonathan would spend hours looking through unreleased editions and giving feedback to the team, already curating his leadership skills.
Like most eighth-grade boys, Jonathan was restless in school. Unlike most eighth-grade boys, Jonathan was restless for a job. His first restaurant job was at a retirement community as a dishwasher. He was then promoted to server after it was reported to management he was doing all of the servers' side work. His first table ended with a guest throwing a dinner roll at his head. He was hooked.
Like most diehard restaurant people, there was one restaurant Jonathan says built his foundational skill set – a fine-dining Vietnamese restaurant, called My Linh. The owner took Jonathan under her wing and truly taught him everything she knew. She was a true, no B.S. owner with standards that budged for no one. Jonathan was a sponge, soaking up every nugget she would give him.
High school came and went and Jonathan graduated from his boarding school with sights set on Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. He majored in political science certain he was going to change the world and political landscape. He worked after several eye-opening and disheartening internships he shifted his perspective on working in politics. He graduated from Goucher with his political science degree a bit confused about what the future held. Where would a confused yet optimistic new college grad work in the meantime? Good ole’ Trader Joe's.
Jonathan’s time at Trader Joe’s, while originally meant to be a stopgap, introduced him to a new passion: wine. It was at Trader Joe’s he decided wine would be his path. He first went to culinary school in Vermont, learning the ins and outs of French cuisine, hoping to get his foot in the door at finer establishments. After finishing culinary school, he worked as a chef at a beloved wine bar in Baltimore called Grand Cru. He learned more and more about the wine industry while working in the kitchen, still set on becoming a sommelier one day.
Jonathan’s career in wine moved him an hour south to be an assistant sommelier for a mentor at the critically acclaimed restaurant 2941. He worked here for years, moving his way up in the ranks before becoming head sommelier. He was great at his craft, serving many high-profile guests and constantly expanding his knowledge of the wine world. Jonathan eventually became a certified sommelier and a good one at that, running an award-winning beverage program, for the whole restaurant group. His priorities started to shift, though, after he got married and welcomed his children.
Jonathan came to the realization the restaurant industry was not conducive to parenthood. In 2018, after a brief stint in wine distribution, he started looking for his exit and stumbled upon a posting for MarginEdge. He applied and was offered a position as a customer engagement manager. He was initially hired to help with [me]’s new Bill Pay feature, but always itching to do more, he lent an extra hand to the customer support (C.S.) team. Jonathan started answering support tickets and building help articles. He had a knack for it and transitioned to managing support while still developing Bill Pay. It is mind blowing to him to reflect on the growth the customer success team has seen since he started.
Jonathan’s problem-solving capabilities eventually took him to Columbia, scouting out a new location for potentially adding a support staff. He prides himself on never taking the human element out of a customer’s experience at MarginEdge. With software as complex as MarginEdge, it can be easy to get lost in the logistics of trying to solve a problem. Holding the element of hospitality still at the center of every interaction is what separates us from the competition.
When Jonathan reflects on his past five years at MarginEdge, one large theme stands out: helping out. He shares gratitude for the relationships he has made through helping our customers, from solving issues to just bonding over the industry. He was the listening ear they needed in more ways than one, as the industry can be no joke. The other component is the internal culture at MarginEdge. Working in restaurants requires you to have your teammates' backs. Whether it’s taking over a table, running someone’s food, bussing for them, etc., everyone’s shift runs smoother when everyone chips in. This mentality has transferred over to MarginEdge. He praises the willingness of everyone at the company to solve issues and learn from each other.
Jonathan recently accepted the role of VP of Operations where he will take his experience dealing with thousands of complaints and natural leadership skills to run our entire overseas invoice processing operation. Congratulations, Jonathan!