Meeting Title: Brainforge Team Member Introduction Date: 2026-03-03 Meeting participants: Kaela Gallagher, Elizah Joy
WEBVTT
1 00:05:00.760 ⇒ 00:05:02.380 Kaela Gallagher: Hey, Eliza, how’s it going?
2 00:05:02.810 ⇒ 00:05:06.330 Elizah Joy: Hi, I’m so sorry, my internet’s been slow.
3 00:05:06.570 ⇒ 00:05:14.729 Kaela Gallagher: No, all good. I was running late. Are you… are you usually on this late in the evening?
4 00:05:15.510 ⇒ 00:05:20.249 Elizah Joy: Kind of, yeah, cause we have to, like.
5 00:05:20.370 ⇒ 00:05:24.260 Elizah Joy: Like, Tarika and I were waiting for some of stuff.
6 00:05:24.460 ⇒ 00:05:25.999 Elizah Joy: But it’s all good.
7 00:05:26.440 ⇒ 00:05:26.870 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
8 00:05:26.870 ⇒ 00:05:29.070 Elizah Joy: That’s why I chose this time.
9 00:05:29.070 ⇒ 00:05:42.169 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, I was like, oh my gosh, I feel like this is way later than you’re usually on, but thanks for taking some time to meet with me. I know we’ve, like, been back and forth so many times over Slack and in a couple.
10 00:05:42.170 ⇒ 00:05:42.740 Elizah Joy: Yeah.
11 00:05:42.740 ⇒ 00:05:55.340 Kaela Gallagher: together and everything, but, wanted to just take some time to get to know more about you and, like, your Brain Forge journey so far. First off, we’re… you’re based in the Philippines, right?
12 00:05:55.690 ⇒ 00:05:59.990 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, I’m from the Philippines, so it’s kind of, like, early in the morning.
13 00:06:00.510 ⇒ 00:06:04.799 Kaela Gallagher: Oh my gosh, okay. What part of the Philippines are you located in?
14 00:06:05.300 ⇒ 00:06:18.929 Elizah Joy: Oh, I’m from, Metro Manila, so Metro Manila, yep, and I live in a city called, Les Pinas City. Actually, I do live, if you’ve already spoken with Eureka, like.
15 00:06:19.400 ⇒ 00:06:23.880 Elizah Joy: live, like, an hour away from them, from Mika and Ryan.
16 00:06:24.120 ⇒ 00:06:26.230 Elizah Joy: So, yeah.
17 00:06:26.480 ⇒ 00:06:30.300 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, cool. Have you guys ever, like, met up in person?
18 00:06:30.870 ⇒ 00:06:35.220 Elizah Joy: Not yet. Not yet.
19 00:06:35.220 ⇒ 00:06:41.760 Kaela Gallagher: One day, I’m really, like, trying to get the LA team to meet up more in person, because…
20 00:06:41.950 ⇒ 00:06:59.609 Kaela Gallagher: Luke, Amber, and myself could walk to each other’s apartments. We live so close together, and then Hannah is pretty close to us too, so I’m like, come on, guys, like, let’s just go have some lunch or coffee or something.
21 00:07:00.590 ⇒ 00:07:13.370 Elizah Joy: I do remember… I do remember speaking… I had a call with Hannah… not Hannah, but Amber last week, and I do remember her mentioning that you live close by each other.
22 00:07:13.370 ⇒ 00:07:18.489 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, yeah, so I think on Friday, we’re all gonna get together, but,
23 00:07:18.680 ⇒ 00:07:27.089 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, and are you, like, did you grow up in Manila as well? Like, you’ve kind of been in the same area most of your… of your life?
24 00:07:27.090 ⇒ 00:07:34.620 Elizah Joy: Yeah, yeah, actually, I do still live in the same city that I… Oh, wait, and I think…
25 00:07:34.830 ⇒ 00:07:36.350 Elizah Joy: Can you still hear me?
26 00:07:36.720 ⇒ 00:07:39.290 Kaela Gallagher: A little bit. I think…
27 00:07:39.860 ⇒ 00:07:43.579 Kaela Gallagher: I don’t know, maybe… maybe the AirPods disconnected.
28 00:07:52.000 ⇒ 00:07:53.770 Kaela Gallagher: Can you hear me okay now?
29 00:07:54.190 ⇒ 00:07:56.380 Elizah Joy: Yeah, I can… Okay.
30 00:07:56.380 ⇒ 00:07:59.089 Kaela Gallagher: I think you’re back. Okay.
31 00:07:59.090 ⇒ 00:08:02.629 Elizah Joy: Yeah, I think my… yeah, my earphones are…
32 00:08:03.170 ⇒ 00:08:08.129 Elizah Joy: Oh, I think it’s low… a low battery, but… I think that’s good.
33 00:08:09.210 ⇒ 00:08:14.600 Elizah Joy: Okay, yeah, I do grew up in the same area wherein I…
34 00:08:14.820 ⇒ 00:08:19.330 Elizah Joy: Those are definitely in the same area that I grew up in.
35 00:08:19.710 ⇒ 00:08:26.040 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay, got it. And how long have you been with Rain Forge now?
36 00:08:26.290 ⇒ 00:08:29.049 Elizah Joy: Oh, actually, for the 3 months.
37 00:08:30.470 ⇒ 00:08:32.970 Elizah Joy: Yeah, around 3 months, because I started.
38 00:08:32.970 ⇒ 00:08:33.380 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
39 00:08:33.620 ⇒ 00:08:34.409 Elizah Joy: Fine.
40 00:08:36.340 ⇒ 00:08:40.830 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, cool. Have you worked, like.
41 00:08:40.830 ⇒ 00:08:44.600 Elizah Joy: During the night before, is this your first time, like, adjusting?
42 00:08:44.860 ⇒ 00:08:58.960 Elizah Joy: Not really. I’ve used to work during evenings before, but before my work at Brain Forge, I worked with an Australian company, so there’s, like, a huge shift.
43 00:09:01.080 ⇒ 00:09:14.899 Elizah Joy: working time, but yeah, I did work with, like, U.S.-based companies before, so not my first time. It’s just the adjustment period between Australia before, and then U.S. hours.
44 00:09:15.280 ⇒ 00:09:21.960 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay, oh my gosh, yeah, that has to be… an adjustment, for sure.
45 00:09:22.370 ⇒ 00:09:29.039 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, and… and now, the past few months, you’ve been working, like, a lot on the ops side, right?
46 00:09:29.240 ⇒ 00:09:39.910 Elizah Joy: Mmm, yeah, I’ve worked closely with Recon and ETOM, in the ops side. We did have a head of ops before, for a couple of, weeks.
47 00:09:41.000 ⇒ 00:09:44.119 Elizah Joy: But yeah, I’ve been working closely with recall.
48 00:09:44.820 ⇒ 00:09:46.179 Elizah Joy: On the outside.
49 00:09:46.840 ⇒ 00:09:49.860 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, and how are you… how are you liking that?
50 00:09:50.780 ⇒ 00:09:55.630 Elizah Joy: So far, so good, I can say, with the…
51 00:09:56.030 ⇒ 00:10:00.410 Elizah Joy: working with Go has been very, helpful.
52 00:10:00.570 ⇒ 00:10:05.729 Elizah Joy: With me, and then anything that I do need help with, he’s…
53 00:10:05.950 ⇒ 00:10:17.089 Elizah Joy: he’s supporting me in, in that way. So I think so far, so good. When it comes to that, I think,
54 00:10:18.210 ⇒ 00:10:26.199 Elizah Joy: Or I can just say is sometimes, of course, the fact… the pace in the company, it’s… it’s fast.
55 00:10:26.200 ⇒ 00:10:27.020 Kaela Gallagher: Right.
56 00:10:27.530 ⇒ 00:10:36.299 Elizah Joy: crash, and but coming into BrainForge, I’m already aware of that, because Rick has already mentioned that he was, I think, during my…
57 00:10:36.930 ⇒ 00:10:44.489 Elizah Joy: initial interview, it was with who by, who conducted my interview, and then… and then with Utam.
58 00:10:44.680 ⇒ 00:10:48.509 Elizah Joy: So, coming into Brain First, like, I’m already aware of the pace.
59 00:10:48.930 ⇒ 00:10:58.379 Elizah Joy: So I think that adjustment period, again, with, trying to keep up with the pace and also working faster, and then…
60 00:10:58.730 ⇒ 00:11:04.280 Elizah Joy: like, feeling that when you feel bad to get back up fast as well, so I think…
61 00:11:04.280 ⇒ 00:11:05.280 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
62 00:11:05.280 ⇒ 00:11:15.890 Elizah Joy: So far, so good on that area. I believe I still have a lot to learn, and a lot of areas to improve and to grow, but yeah, so far, so good.
63 00:11:16.830 ⇒ 00:11:17.600 Elizah Joy: Thank you.
64 00:11:17.740 ⇒ 00:11:22.470 Elizah Joy: mine, at the Israel… Yeah, like, I kind of feel like…
65 00:11:22.750 ⇒ 00:11:25.109 Elizah Joy: I think that it’s already been through mine.
66 00:11:25.900 ⇒ 00:11:31.350 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. Yeah, if you ever feel like…
67 00:11:31.950 ⇒ 00:11:47.859 Kaela Gallagher: super overwhelmed, or, like, things are getting really crazy, like, feel free to use me as a resource. I’m here to help, like, however I can. Utam and I are also kind of right now looking into, like.
68 00:11:47.860 ⇒ 00:11:53.029 Kaela Gallagher: Coaches that we could offer, like, where people can just book time with them, and…
69 00:11:53.300 ⇒ 00:12:00.930 Kaela Gallagher: They would be, like, industry experts, so maybe we would have, like, an operations coach that you would be able to just…
70 00:12:01.230 ⇒ 00:12:10.769 Kaela Gallagher: chat with if you ever need anything, so we’re just looking into different options for the team. If you ever have any… any ideas or suggestions, like, let me know.
71 00:12:11.270 ⇒ 00:12:16.249 Kaela Gallagher: But I’m curious, like, how did Brainforge find you? Or how did you find Brainforge?
72 00:12:16.250 ⇒ 00:12:33.259 Elizah Joy: Oh, actually, I did found it from Ryan’s post, so it’s from a Facebook group, actually. We do… because I do like, I’m a fan of learning and growing, so I do love to, like, enroll in programs, if that makes sense.
73 00:12:33.300 ⇒ 00:12:38.879 Elizah Joy: So there was this program, like a coaching program, although it’s a group coaching program, that
74 00:12:39.050 ⇒ 00:12:48.120 Elizah Joy: I’m a part of, and then I believe Ryan’s also a part of that, because it’s an exclusive Facebook community. We’re all there.
75 00:12:48.460 ⇒ 00:12:54.549 Elizah Joy: mentees are inside that Facebook group, and then, like, they do have this.
76 00:12:55.470 ⇒ 00:13:02.229 Elizah Joy: They do allow, the people inside the program to post, like, job posts.
77 00:13:02.340 ⇒ 00:13:06.500 Elizah Joy: And I then saw the job post from Ryan in that Facebook.
78 00:13:07.730 ⇒ 00:13:16.679 Elizah Joy: I think, yeah, it’s an operations manager role, so I did apply, and then, like, a few days
79 00:13:17.400 ⇒ 00:13:25.349 Elizah Joy: a few days later, like, I think Ryan has already reached back, and then… next thing I knew, I’m already on a call with Rico.
80 00:13:25.350 ⇒ 00:13:25.970 Kaela Gallagher: I haven’t…
81 00:13:25.970 ⇒ 00:13:31.360 Elizah Joy: so during that time. But yeah, I did find it from Ryan on.
82 00:13:31.360 ⇒ 00:13:42.380 Kaela Gallagher: Wow, okay, this is giving me, like, so many ideas of how we can look for future candidates as well, so… Okay, that’s really cool! So many people at Brainforge have…
83 00:13:42.850 ⇒ 00:13:54.379 Kaela Gallagher: found us through connections or a post in a random group or channel somewhere. It’s, like, crazy. Okay, okay, cool.
84 00:13:54.590 ⇒ 00:14:00.980 Kaela Gallagher: I guess, like, on the people and culture side of the business, I’m curious if you have any, like.
85 00:14:01.220 ⇒ 00:14:10.740 Kaela Gallagher: recommendations for me, or words of wisdom, or, frustrations that you’d like to see addressed? Like, anything like that.
86 00:14:11.330 ⇒ 00:14:14.820 Elizah Joy: From the people upside,
87 00:14:19.410 ⇒ 00:14:37.760 Elizah Joy: I don’t… not a… not a complaint, but more like a suggestion, because I do find that, last month, Odom’s challenge for me was to, like, have a coffee chat… coffee chat with a lot of team members, at least two per week, honestly.
88 00:14:38.190 ⇒ 00:14:39.530 Elizah Joy: I think it’s…
89 00:14:39.660 ⇒ 00:14:50.120 Elizah Joy: at first, I was kind of shy, like, reaching out to the other team members, but I do… yeah, I think this one that you’re doing is connecting with team members. This is…
90 00:14:50.120 ⇒ 00:15:00.770 Elizah Joy: really, really good. I think, yeah, it’s very… it’s fun to get to know the team members. I guess what I could suggest is that if you could keep, like, doing this, if you…
91 00:15:00.810 ⇒ 00:15:05.279 Elizah Joy: We have time, like, checking in with… The team members.
92 00:15:05.550 ⇒ 00:15:06.520 Elizah Joy: And…
93 00:15:06.680 ⇒ 00:15:14.320 Elizah Joy: Yeah, getting to know them as well, because it’s a good one for building up the team culture, and I think…
94 00:15:14.640 ⇒ 00:15:25.310 Elizah Joy: Yeah. At the moment, we do have this, we’re trying to implement the buddy program. I think Rikas already sent that to you, right? So, we’re finding ways to…
95 00:15:25.450 ⇒ 00:15:27.540 Elizah Joy: I’ll make it more…
96 00:15:27.680 ⇒ 00:15:36.399 Elizah Joy: Because before, we used to call it Buddy Back Program, so wherein we do give, like, tokens, or…
97 00:15:36.600 ⇒ 00:15:40.759 Elizah Joy: Something. So… I think that’ll be good.
98 00:15:41.110 ⇒ 00:15:46.849 Elizah Joy: It’ll be good to get your input on that, and how we can make that better for the team.
99 00:15:47.390 ⇒ 00:15:56.830 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, yeah, I’m excited to think of ways to get the team to collaborate, like, considering that we’re all remote.
100 00:15:56.860 ⇒ 00:16:10.199 Kaela Gallagher: I noticed that we have, like, the donut program in Slack, which I think is really cool. But yeah, I’ll definitely plan on, like, continuing to do check-ins, whether it’s like this, or, maybe it’s, like, a little…
101 00:16:10.240 ⇒ 00:16:14.280 Kaela Gallagher: Survey, yes or no button that gets sent out, something like that.
102 00:16:15.980 ⇒ 00:16:25.369 Kaela Gallagher: like, today I sent something in the channel, like, oh, what’s everybody’s favorite podcast? Like, just trying to encourage people to interact with each other,
103 00:16:26.590 ⇒ 00:16:31.879 Kaela Gallagher: But yeah, that’s a good idea. Something that one of my previous bosses
104 00:16:32.020 ⇒ 00:16:50.330 Kaela Gallagher: really believed in, was, like, when a new person comes to the team, that they should have one-on-one meetings with everybody in the office. And so, like, I’m doing that now, just reaching out to everybody, and trying to meet with everybody, but…
105 00:16:50.330 ⇒ 00:16:56.590 Kaela Gallagher: I think that that would be kind of a cool thing to have new team members, like, do going forward, is just…
106 00:16:56.880 ⇒ 00:17:01.539 Kaela Gallagher: reach out and… and meet people. So… That’s a good idea.
107 00:17:01.820 ⇒ 00:17:02.520 Kaela Gallagher: Cool.
108 00:17:02.520 ⇒ 00:17:14.409 Elizah Joy: Yeah, especially, like, because, like, you guys, you can see each other, right? But since we’re a big team, like, we’ve got more than 20 people in the team, like, sometimes working remotely…
109 00:17:14.790 ⇒ 00:17:16.729 Elizah Joy: And get lonely, you know?
110 00:17:16.730 ⇒ 00:17:17.650 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
111 00:17:17.819 ⇒ 00:17:25.839 Elizah Joy: Sometimes theme culture could easily, not draw, but victories, if that makes sense.
112 00:17:26.369 ⇒ 00:17:26.989 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
113 00:17:26.990 ⇒ 00:17:46.059 Elizah Joy: remote, honestly, sometimes it can be lonely. Even if you, like, live close to each other, like, for example, Rita and I, we live, like, an hour away from each other, but, you know, when you’re working, sometimes, and you’re at home, sometimes it can get really lonely.
114 00:17:46.270 ⇒ 00:17:51.070 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, yeah, I agree with that. It’s nice to have little, like, moments of…
115 00:17:51.180 ⇒ 00:17:53.649 Kaela Gallagher: Joy and connection in our days.
116 00:17:53.980 ⇒ 00:17:54.560 Elizah Joy: Yeah.
117 00:17:54.560 ⇒ 00:18:00.729 Kaela Gallagher: That’s a good point. Alright, cool. Any, like, questions for me, or any other advice for me?
118 00:18:01.360 ⇒ 00:18:07.610 Elizah Joy: More of a question, so how are you finding your work at BrainFridge so far?
119 00:18:07.610 ⇒ 00:18:22.860 Kaela Gallagher: I am loving it. Like, I… I love that I get to have so much, like, ownership over processes, and I’m, like, loving the team that I’ve met so far. I still have a few more people to meet, but, everybody’s, like, just super…
120 00:18:22.860 ⇒ 00:18:35.800 Kaela Gallagher: enthusiastic about what they do, but also at the same time, like, really smart and, like, brings a lot to the table. Like, I feel like every person I interact with, I have something that I can learn from them, so that’s really exciting.
121 00:18:36.540 ⇒ 00:18:52.299 Elizah Joy: Yeah, yeah, that’s true, because, yeah, we’re grateful and blessed enough that all of the team members that we have here at Brainforge are very, very helpful, and very, very kind, and of course, like you mentioned, they’re all smart, right?
122 00:18:52.570 ⇒ 00:18:53.340 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
123 00:18:53.340 ⇒ 00:18:57.219 Elizah Joy: I think that’s what I also love about Brain Forge, is that
124 00:18:57.470 ⇒ 00:19:02.220 Elizah Joy: And he can recall, so that’s what he mentioned before, is that everyone’s nice, very handy.
125 00:19:02.220 ⇒ 00:19:02.880 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
126 00:19:03.020 ⇒ 00:19:09.000 Elizah Joy: Maybe you need something, or you need help with something. Basically, everyone’s approachable.
127 00:19:09.200 ⇒ 00:19:26.950 Kaela Gallagher: 100%, yeah, definitely, definitely. Alright, cool. Well, I know we’re a few minutes over time, and I know it’s early morning hours for you, so I’ll let you go, but, excited to work together, and if you ever need anything at all, definitely feel free to reach out.
128 00:19:27.590 ⇒ 00:19:31.369 Elizah Joy: Yeah, I will. Thank you so much, this has been fun.
129 00:19:31.520 ⇒ 00:19:32.950 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, thanks, Eliza!
130 00:19:32.950 ⇒ 00:19:33.970 Elizah Joy: So…
131 00:19:34.380 ⇒ 00:19:35.330 Kaela Gallagher: Have a good one.
132 00:19:35.860 ⇒ 00:19:37.479 Elizah Joy: Thank you. Bye.
133 00:19:37.480 ⇒ 00:19:37.960 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.