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Aryn Nichols
Founder / Editor / Designer
Professional Background
Aryn Henning Nichols is a passionate journalist and visionary entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to her community through her work with Inspire(d) Magazine, which she leads in Decorah, Iowa. Recognizing the uplifting power of storytelling, Aryn embarked on a journey to create a platform focused not just on the usual news narratives but on the positive stories and brighter aspects of life in the Driftless Region. Her magazine covers a 70-mile radius around Decorah, shining a light on the local community builders and inspiring individuals that help make rural Iowa a special place.
Aryn’s career in journalism began after she graduated with a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Iowa in 2003. She initially took a leap of faith, leaving her small-town roots to study at a large university with more than 30,000 students. This experience was transformative, leading her to pursue an internship in Toronto after completing her studies. Shortly thereafter, Aryn made the bold decision to teach English in China, which not only enriched her teaching skills but also ignited her love for travel and cultural exploration.
After returning to Northeast Iowa in late 2005, Aryn refocused her perspective on her home region and quickly fell in love with its unique charm and the sense of community it offered. Her short stint at the local newspaper provided her with a springboard into entrepreneurship as she connected with her now-husband, Benji, through a featured story. Their relationship blossomed, and by October 2007, just after their honeymoon, they founded Inspire(d) Media.
Inspire(d) Magazine is an experiment in positive news, a mission fully aligned with Aryn’s vision for community engagement and upliftment. It aims to inspire its readers by highlighting the stories and efforts of those who contribute positively to the Driftless Region, countering the often predominant negative narratives found in traditional media. Thus, Aryn has positioned herself as a central figure in promoting an optimistic community narrative, proving that even in small towns, inspiring stories exist and deserve to be celebrated.
Education and Achievements
Aryn Henning Nichols pursued her higher education at the University of Iowa, where she studied Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs. Her educational background laid a solid foundation for her career in journalism and media. With a Bachelor’s degree in hand, she has leveraged her academic knowledge and real-world experiences to create a platform that serves her local community in meaningful ways.
One notable achievement of Aryn’s career includes her successful founding of Inspire(d) Media, L.L.C., which houses Inspire(d) Magazine. Under her leadership, the magazine has become a respected voice in the community, attracting readers who are eager to learn about the positive happenings in the Driftless Region.
In addition to her magazine work, Aryn has served in various editorial roles, including as the Lifestyle Editor at Decorah Newspapers, and she held a previous position as an Editorial Intern at Applied Arts Media. Aryn also made significant contributions as the Art Entertainment Editor at The Daily Iowan during her time at university. These roles not only equipped her with vital journalistic skills but also provided a diverse breadth of experience across different facets of journalism and media.
Achievements
- Founder of Inspire(d) Media, L.L.C.
- Reached numerous readers through the publication of Inspire(d) Magazine, focusing on uplifting, positive news stories.
- Brought attention to community builders and local heroes in the Driftless Region, encouraging a culture of inspiration and positivity.
- Developed impactful relationships within the community through dedicated storytelling, promoting local events, and celebrating the accomplishments of residents.
- Utilized her extensive educational background and real-world experiences to create a sustainable media brand that continues to thrive in a digital age.
In conclusion, Aryn Henning Nichols exemplifies the power of positive journalism and community engagement through her dedicated work with Inspire(d) Magazine. Her journey from a small-town upbringing to becoming a prominent voice in local media highlights her passion for storytelling and belief in the potential of communities. With her unwavering commitment to inspire and empower others, Aryn continues to shape the narrative of the Driftless Region, crafting a legacy of positivity for years to come.
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
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Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.