Get To Know
Dan Ochwat
Start Date: January 2023
Based In: Chicago, IL
Just for Fun
🥤 If you were a drink, you’d be:
A Milkshake (incredibly delicious, stout, and allergic to some)
🥪 If you were a food, you’d be:
A Smucker’s Uncrustables Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly Sandwich (thaw to enjoy, easy, allergic to some)
📚 Book that changed your life:
“A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” by Dave Eggers (presented a wholly new way of writing to me, plainspoken, with so much heart and humor)
💬 Best career advice you ever received:
Make the reader active in your writing
📲 The app you use most (note: not email, text, phone):
Reddit, for news scrolling and doomscrolling
🎫 Favorite concert:
Sufjan Stevens, Schuba’s Tavern, 2004. I said to him, “You’re incredible.” He said, “No, you’re incredible.” Now I believe, We’re all incredible.
A driver of content, I produce weekly thought leadership articles for clients, including exclusive guest posts placed in retail and marketing B2B publications. I also write press releases, blogs, white papers, LinkedIn posts, and whatever clients need to get their big ideas in front of readers.
I enjoy diving into what our retail technology clients do in their industries, understanding what differentiates them, and uncovering ways to explain their innovative solutions to editors and broad audiences.
For nearly two decades, I worked as an editor at retail trade publications, including Path to Purchase Institute and Store Brands, witnessing the industry’s evolution into omnichannel retail and now AI-powered shopping. I also spent time as a reporter for small newspapers, where I met fascinating people and developed a respect for the deadline.
I earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Eastern Illinois University, where I joyfully was the entertainment editor of the school’s five-day-a-week newspaper. A movie buff, I later earned an MFA in screenwriting from Northwestern University and now I write screenplays. I also produce and direct short films that have screened at local festivals. I simply love to create and enjoy pushing myself to tell new stories.