CoachUp Team Spotlight: Rani Neutill
I know you couldn’t wait for the next interview with our awesome team, so we’re back with another! Meet Rani Neutill, one of our new Marketing Managers! Although she’s only been here for a few weeks, she’s already made a massive difference in CoachUp’s day-to-day efforts! She’s a published writer and a TV junkie — and CoachUp is so happy to have her. Read our interview and help us welcome Rani to the family!
CoachUp: Hi Rani! Can you tell us about yourself?
Rani Neutill: My mom is from Kolkata, India, so I went to high school there, but I’m from Los Angeles. I went to Boston College for my BA and MA, but went back to California and got my doctorate at UC Berkeley. Go Bears! I’m a former professor who taught Ethnic Studies, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Literature, and Film for over ten years. I know, it’s a mouthful. A year ago, I decided I wanted switch careers so I joined The Startup Institute and finished the Technical Marketing track in December. It was an awesome experience. Also, I’m a writer. I’ve written stuff for Salon and The New York Times Book Review. I also am a dog fanatic — me and my hubbie own three rescue pups. Rescues are the way to go!
CU: What’s your position at CoachUp and how long have you been here?
RN: My title is Marketing Manager and I have only been around for a couple of weeks. I’m a total newbie.
CU: What drove you to join CoachUp? Why?
RN: This is corny but I am a huge Friday Night Lights fan — the book, the movie, and the TV show (but mostly the TV show). I even have “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose,” tattooed on my arm. I think CoachUp’s mission is similar to all the things that we love about FNL: a great coaches and athletes that want to excel both on and off the field. It just made sense to want to work here.
CU: What’s your experience with sports (playing, spectating, coaching, etc)?
RN: I have zero experience playing sports. We didn’t have much sports time at my middle/high school in Kolkata. I am, however, a huge Patriots fan, so you’ll usually find me at a bar eating chicken wings and drinking beer during the season. There is one problem: I have yet to find a bar in Beantown/Cambridge that has great chicken wings. Any suggestions? 
CU: What can people find you doing in your free time?
RN: I write! It’s mostly personal narratives and sometimes reviews of books, movies, and TV shows. I watch a ton of TV and, in my opinion, this golden age of television has eclipsed film storytelling. Sad, but true. Right now I am watching: Broad City, Orphan Black, The Good Wife, Better Call Saul, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Fresh Off The Boat, Bob’s Burgers, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Jane The Virgin, Transparent, Jessica Jones, Master of None, Narcos, Daredevil, The Americans, People vs. OJ Simpson, and more and more. See? That is a lot. My favorite TV shows of all-time, in order of preference, are: Friday Night Lights, The Wire, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Good Wife, Hannibal, Twin Peaks and Six Feet Under. I also go to the gym, read, and love to spend time with my three crazy dogs. I am a beach girl, for sure — it’s the Californian in me.
CU: You win an all-expense paid trip to anywhere you’d like. Where are you going and why?
RN: The Maldives. I really want to visit the Indian Ocean. It is supposed to be the most beautiful place on Earth, so I’d love to see it someday.
CU: What’s your favorite sports memory?
RN: Two years ago when the Patriots won the Superbowl, I was at a bar and stepped outside for those last 30 seconds because I didn’t want to watch them lose. It was freezing cold, our worst winter ever, in fact. But I heard everyone cheering and walked back in — they had won. It was awesome to say the least!
CU: What’s one thing about you that not a lot of people know?
RN: I love Baltimore City, it is supremely underrated. Everybody needs to visit Camden Yards. Everyone knows that it is the best baseball stadium in the United States, right?
Who in the office would make the best quarterback + why?
Bill Deacon — he has a good poker face.
