by Jonathon Cerini

Jose Herrera, OurCo’s Chief Financial Officer, knew he wanted to work on Wall Street one day. He loved the idea of working in the bustling area of New York City, a classic hotspot where the world of finance had originated. Eventually, Jose’s education at Baylor University and University of Texas paid off, allowing him to reach that exact goal.

Jose used his finance degree to begin his career in banking; however, his interests aimed higher into original issue bond and equity finance. Through these avenues, Jose explored the growing world of private funding for with public sector work, finding fulfillment in arranging large social impact projects.

When Jose retired in 2019, he quickly found himself “bored to tears” within a year. He was eager to get back into the workforce somehow. One day, Jose attended a party in upstate New York, where he met Benjamin Wachtel, OurCo’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. Benjamin shared his vision for OurCo and admired Jose’s knowledge and experience as a former CFO at a private equity fund. They shared similar passions with a life-long goal to spread empathetic listening and productive communication for the betterment of different communities.

Benjamin invited Jose to be a part of the OurCo team in May 2020, and he has been with the company since. OurCo officially started in July of 2020 as Jose continues to work closely with Benjamin and his father, OurCo co-founder, Jonathan Wachtel.

Jose enjoys his demanding work with the company and its purpose to be a “software as a service.” Though his duties are more than what he expected, he is happy to be a part of the team and its mission. He especially loves interacting with OurCo interns as he believes that “young people drive future innovations.”

Jose frequently seeks learning new ways of thinking and perspective through the youth, claiming that they “educate him as much as he teaches them.” He is currently looking toward the future as he seeks out investors for OurCo, manages financial reporting, and works to build up cash flows. Jose’s background in new project development has made him very hopeful for OurCo’s potential. He believes there’s ‘not a product like it’ and that OUR can change the game for civic engagement.

Jose sees the nuances the tech company can offer while comparing the faults of other social media platforms today. His personal vision of how successful OurCo can be is clear. “I see the OUR platform as a go-to surveying and consensus building tool for different organizations, particularly public sector, higher education, and non-profits,” he said.

While organizations utilize social media, Jose believes they lack the authenticity and room to grow due to abusive algorithms run by media giants. Instead of taking advantage of its users and spreading false and distilled information, Jose is excited to know that the OUR platform can improve this through its precise and accurate approaches.

“If you believe in true and direct communication, you should look at OUR,” he said.