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10 Things You Didn't Know about Yancey Spruill

Yancey Spruill is the CEO of DigitalOcean. For those who are unfamiliar, DigitalOcean is a U.S.-based provider of cloud computing services. It has seen considerable growth ever since it was founded in 2011, with the result that it has data centers situated worldwide for the purpose of serving clients situated worldwide. What Are 10 Things You Didn't Know About Yancey Spruill? Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Yancey Spruill.

1. Grew Up in Buffalo, NY

Spruill was raised in Buffalo, NY. Said city is the second biggest city in the state of New York. However, it is like the rest of the state in that it is overshadowed by New York City. Still, Buffalo remains a place of importance for a number of reasons. One excellent example would be how it plays a key role in U.S.-Canadian interactions because of its proximity to the border.

2. Very Familiar with the Rust Belt

Speaking of which, Spruill was very familiar with the Rust Belt. This is because Buffalo was one of the cities hit by the process of deindustrialization in the 1970s and 1980s. Something that had a devastating effect on its people. For instance, just about everyone Spruill knew was impacted by the layoffs as well as other labor issues in one way or another, which speaks volumes about the pervasiveness of the economic trend.

3. Determined to Get Out

Naturally, Spruill was influenced by the experience of growing up in the Rust Belt. To be exact, his response was a very common one, which is that he wanted to get out of Buffalo. After all, Spruill's experiences made it clear that it wasn't exactly a land of opportunities, meaning that if he wanted more out of his life, he needed to head elsewhere.

4. Managed to Get Out Because of Three Principles

Considering Spruill's current position, it seems safe to say that he managed to make a successful escape from the Rust Belt. He credits this to his adherence to three simple principles. One, Spruill studied hard. Two, Spruill worked hard. Three, Spruill stayed out of trouble. It would be an overstatement to say that these three principles are some kind of magic formula for personal success. However, it is no exaggeration to say that they can help by opening new doors to new opportunities while also reducing the chances of them being shut off.

5. Believer in the American Dream

On a related note, Spruill is a believer in the American Dream. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is connected to his success in making it out of Buffalo by studying hard, working hard, and staying out of trouble. However, it is interesting to note that Spruill is aware of the fact that a lot of people in the present time have a much more skeptical opinion of the whole thing.

6. Studied At the Georgia Institute of Technology

Eventually, Spruill went to study at the Georgia Institute of Technology, which tends to be called Georgia Tech for the sake of convenience. Said school came into existence because of Reconstruction. To be exact, there was a desire to create an industrial economy in the American South, which would need people with the right kind of education to run as well as maintain such a thing. Initially, Georgia Tech offered an education in mechanical engineering and only mechanical engineering. However, it wasn't too long before it started offering an education in other kinds of engineering such as civil engineering and chemical engineering as well. Nowadays, Georgia Tech still specializes in science and engineering, but it has long since expanded beyond those subjects.

7. Worked While Studying

Spruill worked while he studied to pay his way. To be exact, he was a waiter at a restaurant in Downtown Atlanta, which served as a kind of introduction to the local business scene. On the whole, it was an illuminating experience for Spruill. In part, this was because Downtown Atlanta was one of the more progressive areas for black people in the United States in those times. However, it should also be noted that Downtown Atlanta was booming, which was quite a change from Buffalo in the process of deindustrialization.

8. Spent Some Time As an Engineer

Given that he studied at Georgia Tech, it should come as no surprise to learn that Spruill studied engineering. As such, he did spend some time as an engineer after graduating. However, it wasn't too long before Spruill realized that engineering wasn't his true calling. Instead, that was business, which was why he switched over to a position that provided him with the chance to work with the marketing team as well as the product development team.

9. Went to Study At Tuck School of Business

Simultaneously, Spruill started submitting applications to business schools. Due to this, he eventually went to study for a MBA at the Tuck School of Business, which would be the graduate business school attached to Dartmouth University. As for Spruill's choice of school, that was based on the environment. Essentially, he felt that it was a very friendly, very collegial place. Something that was helped by the institution's small size. Due to this, Spruill believed that the Tuck School of Business would be a more accommodating choice for someone who didn't have the stereotypical Ivy League prep school background.

10. The Corporation that He Runs Has Become a Public Company

Spruill wasn't one of the co-founders of DigitalOcean. However, there can be no doubt about his importance to the company, seeing as how he is the one responsible for overseeing its revenue-earning operations in the present time. Moreover, Spruill has just overseen DigitalOcean's IPO, meaning that it is now a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Suffice to say that it is a huge step for a company to take, not least because it can be taken as a sign that it has managed to become well-established. Of course, an IPO can also be seen as just a first step of sorts, so it will be interesting to see where else Spruill will bring DigitalOcean in the times to come.

Allen Lee

Written by Allen Lee

Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. He spends more time than is perhaps wise with his eyes fixed on a screen either reading history books, keeping up with international news, or playing the latest releases on the Steam platform, which serve as the subject matter for much of his writing output. Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language.

Read more posts by Allen Lee

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