Welcoming Jacob Cavallo

We’re delighted to welcome Jacob Cavallo to the Pavilion team as Business Operations Lead! Jacob hails from the fast paced, high-stakes world of on-demand food delivery. Over the last 6 years, he’s developed demand forecasting models and optimized driver and delivery scheduling — all in the pursuit of delivering hot pizza. We asked Jacob a few questions about himself and what led him to shift from focusing on on-demand delivery to the public purchasing space:

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Why Pavilion?

In three words: public interest startup. Ever since I was young, I’ve always had a desire to improve the world. Right out of college, I felt like I was destined for the nonprofit sector. Since then, I’ve had some really cool opportunities and found myself drawn to and captivated by early stage startups.

It’s safe to say Pavilion ticks a lot of boxes for me. I’m passionate about good governance and believe in the mission that better local procurement, powering $1.5 trillion a year in spending, will allow governments across the country to operate more efficiently and focus on what they do best: improving their communities while providing vital services for local residents.

The more selfish reason? Joining Pavilion seemed like it would be really really fun.

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What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I have a few hobbies and interests that keep me busy. I recently surprised the Pavilion team by showing off my (newly setup) anemone desk-tank during my team on-site meet and greet. One day when I’ve settled down, I hope to start my very own fully-fledged coral reef tank.

Beyond tending to my anemones, I also really enjoy:

• Urban gardening. Over the summer, I got into an urban gardening kick and grew fresh carrots, green beans, raspberries, and pumpkins all from my roofdeck in the heart of South Philadelphia. They were delicious.
• Sailing. Sailing is one of my favorite things to do in the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience it in both Belize and the Seychelles, where I island-hopped and snorkeled in some truly stunning environments.
• Hiking and backpacking. I also love hiking, backpacking, and exploring national parks. Two summers ago, my cousin’s wedding in Montana provided the perfect excuse to visit Yellowstone for the first time. No wolves, but I did get to see countless American buffalo.

I guess if I had to distill it to a theme: A lot of my hobbies revolve around being outdoors, surrounded by abundant life.

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What's a surprising fact about yourself?

I’m a triplet. I want to get this out of the way right from the start. My two brothers and I live in different cities and in a few instances I’ve known an acquaintance for over a year before casually dropping this fact and they’re floored. Usually, this is the type of thing that comes up the first time I meet someone, so I always assume that once I’ve known someone for a while they’re well aware of my “triplet status.” In case you haven’t met a triplet before, here are some answers to the most common questions I get:

• We’re fraternal, so we are not identical.
• We’re all boys, and we don’t have any other siblings.
• We’re spread out across different cities on the east coast (at least for now): one brother in New York, one in Boston, and I’m here in Philadelphia.
• Unfortunately we do not have a psychic link. The closest we get is a knack for getting 25 consecutive ties in rock-paper-scissors!

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