Interview: Movable Ink Made Space For All Of Me — Analytical, Creative, And Black
Movable Ink is hiring on pocitjobs.com
At Movable Ink, innovation is powered by people like Michael Green Jr., who brings creativity and technical expertise together in unique ways.
As Director of Data Science for AI Insights, Michael helps teams and clients understand how their AI models work, turning complex data into clear, actionable insights. He’s also a fantasy novelist and entrepreneur, building a career that reflects both his analytical mind and creative spirit.
He told POCIT how his passion for writing sharpens his approach to data science and how Movable Ink empowers him to be his authentic self without compromise.
Tell me about your career trajectory and your journey to Movable Ink.
I went to grad school for mathematical engineering, and my first job was consulting for a French investment bank, where I worked on risk management reporting. But I quickly realized that the banking environment was not for me. The formality created a sense of distance, and as a minority, that formal culture exacerbated feelings of not belonging. It wasn’t that anyone did anything [wrong], but you can project into that formality. So I’m like, “I am one of a few Black people here. Maybe I shouldn’t do certain things. And I don’t really know how they feel, so I should be more conservative to be careful.”
So, I switched to work for an insurance tech company. I was building models that recommend interventions to help improve a person’s health. After that, I went to work at Tumblr, where I managed the analytics team. It was a totally different industry, but a very interesting product in terms of understanding how people engage with the platform, how you connect people with their interests and less around how you keep them on the platform. “
“I help the company understand what our AI models are doing and turn that insight into a language that non-technical people can understand.”
Then, I left Tumblr to start my own company called Lynit, a tool to help writers structure and outline their novels. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and the skills I picked up in tech, data science, and coding were what I needed to make this tool for myself. I didn’t mean for it to be a company, but then a friend told me to put it online. Very randomly, a reporter from the BBC discovered it and profiled me. That made it a thing. Thousands and thousands of people started flooding the site after that. I was like, oh, I guess maybe this is your company. So, I left Tumblr and started working full-time on that.
With Lynit, I was perfectly in my intersection of writing, storytelling, and using my technical skills. So when the company started winding down, I was sad that I would lose that. But really luckily, at Movable Ink, I found this very similar intersection in terms of storytelling around personalization and analysis. I help the company understand what our AI models are doing and turn that insight into a language that non-technical people can understand. [My role] is about enabling people to make decisions, to think about data without having a PhD in data science. So, really taking my skills in storytelling and organizing the information so that it’s easy to manage and so that people can use it.
What’s your experience in being a person of color in tech and at Movable Ink?
It was like night and day going from the bank to tech. I instantly felt at ease, like I felt fully myself. The ratio of Black people didn’t change. It was the exact same, but I sensed people being an authentic version of themselves, which made me feel more comfortable being myself. They weren’t being this behind-the-suit formal person, hiding a lot so that I could only make up who they were, and I was more scared of that person.
When I was younger, that older white guy in a suit with a high title – I would be on my best behavior because you don’t know who they are. But when I switched to tech, I felt so at ease. I would be in meetings straight up disagreeing with the CEO, and there was never any issue. Discussions were welcomed. But I remember one day, a co-founder wore a suit for a client meeting. He said something I didn’t agree with, but I hesitated because I suddenly saw the title, the suit, all the signals of formality. I was like, well, he’s the co-founder, he must know. The co-founder was Black, too, but he wore a suit that day. That solidified the distance of the formality.
“Movable Ink has embraced my unique skill set. Even though I’m a director of data science, a highly technical role, I’ve been able to bring in my storytelling and writing background. They recognize the value in that and encourage it.”
I’ve been lucky in my roles because I’ve often worked in spaces that aligned well with my expertise. At Movable Ink, they know I had no experience in email marketing, but I think my storytelling skills [which I gained from building Lynit] helped me navigate things, understand my audience and communicate in ways that resonate with them. The more I lean into who I am, the easier everything gets.
Movable Ink has embraced my unique skill set. Even though I’m a director of data science, a highly technical role, I’ve been able to bring in my storytelling and writing background. They recognize the value in that and encourage it. I have found that it’s been very welcoming and easy to take my approach and continue it. I used to think, “Oh, I write sometimes, and I do data science other times.” But I made a personal decision that I’m a writer all the time – no matter what, and I should live with that. Even when I’m doing data science, the person I’m working with should feel that I’m a writer. At Movable Ink, I’ve been able to do that, so I’m very glad that I’ve been able to maintain that there.
When I think back to my early career, I realize there were a lot of confounding principles. I’m part of the first generation going to college, so it’s not like I had a lot of guidance. I did have my older brother, who went to college first, but he only worked in very corporate places, and he didn’t have the best experiences. So I was always on the more cautious side, too, in that same environment where everyone was wearing a suit. I felt like all this extra politics was exacerbated when you don’t have genuine connections with people, so there is space for you to project more fear and anxiety. So I thought I felt more uncomfortable in the bank because I am Black, and I thought it must be that because I am hiding myself. By hiding myself, that means I am hiding my Blackness and my queerness. I attributed it to that. Parts of that can be true; maybe there are microaggressions there, but then there’s other stuff, and you can’t separate it when you’re hiding like 85% of your personality. I’m very optimistic, so everyone gets the benefit of the doubt.
What kind of support did you find valuable in advancing your career?
I think getting mentors early on was really valuable. Even when I was at the bank, I had an actuary mentor, a Black woman, and it was so refreshing to talk to her. I met her at a networking event for actuaries. I felt uncomfortable there, but I gravitated to her at some point in the night and started talking to her. I noticed how much more comfortable I was. I even cracked a joke, which I hadn’t done with anyone else that evening. That made me realize how at ease I felt. I asked to stay in touch, and it was really helpful to have someone who could give me specific, tangible career advice but also someone I could talk to without reservations. She wasn’t at the same company, so I could be open about everything without concern.
Later on, it was helpful to connect with ERGs (Employee Resource Groups). Engaging with those communities helped me understand how others were feeling and whether my experiences were isolated or more common. It was useful to hear if someone else had experienced something similar, whether with a specific person or something structural in the organization. Those conversations helped me connect with others and share resources, like recommendations for supportive leaders who could serve as mentors.
“What actuaries do today is almost exactly what they did 30 years ago. But in tech, things are changing constantly.”
In terms of making career decisions, I often just decide what I want to do and pursue it. It’s not always because someone tells me to. I’ll think, “I want to be a data scientist,” and then I’ll go read about it, teach myself, and do it. I studied math in undergrad and mathematical engineering in grad school, which set a good foundation, but I had to teach myself programming and learn how to work with messier, evolving data like [you find] in marketing. It is very different from the structured, regulated world of finance or insurance. In finance, things are very stable. What actuaries do today is almost exactly what they did 30 years ago. But in tech, things are changing constantly. You need a different skill set to work in that kind of environment, and that’s something I had to learn on my own to make the transition. Even being just a couple of years out of tech while running my own company, when I came to Movable Ink, I had to get up to speed on all the changes, new tools, AI companions, and updated systems.
What are your tips for people of color getting into the tech industry?
One is that it’s better to be able to talk about what you’ve done than what you know. And that doesn’t mean you have to have done it for a job. Teach yourself something and make something. That’s how you can build the skill. If you’re trying to get that leg in, translating skills from another industry or producing something gives you something to talk about and reference.
Two is read. For me, making some of the biggest jumps wasn’t just about experience. Between two jobs, I read three books on the subject, and that super rounded out my knowledge. Even if you’re doing something similar at work, your understanding might be limited by the flaws of that company. If the company has a bad process, and that’s all you know, that can hold you back. I’ve interviewed people with ten years of experience, but if their previous company wasn’t doing things in a robust way, their knowledge remained limited. So, even if you think you’re an expert, it helps to read and see what’s currently being written in your domain.
Three, a lot of ERGs at companies hold events for people of color in tech. You don’t have to work at those companies; some events are open to the public. Go to those events. I’ve had great conversations or picked up useful tidbits from people I only met once, just by attending an ERG event. You get to network, hear what others do in their jobs, and learn from multiple people in one place. That can really help shape your direction.
Anything else you would like to add?
Movable Ink does have a Black ERG, and they support us in building community, as well as in our career growth. We have an executive sponsor, so there’s someone directly connected to us who we can go to with concerns or questions.
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