Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Sharer
Hi Tyler, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
The real origin story started one summer when I was a kid, stranded at my grandparents’ place in the mountains of Hendersonville, North Carolina. This was pre-internet, so my options for entertainment were General Hospital reruns or whatever books I could find. Out of sheer boredom, I picked up the only picture filled book lying around, Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains. At first, I flipped through it absentmindedly, but somewhere between the pages and staring out the window, I started noticing them. That was the first spark that I can remember.
Years passed before that curiosity resurfaced. At home, we had a small garden with a busy bird feeder. One morning, I snapped a quick photo out of the kitchen window. Then it turned into spending half an hour watching them. Before long, I was up at 5 AM, heading out to catch the early birds. It spiraled quickly.
My career path has been anything but traditional. I spent years working in industries like automotive repair, property management, security, warehousing, and even running my own business before deciding to go back to school for engineering at 31. Starting late meant approaching it differently, bringing real world experience into the classroom. Birding has been woven into that journey in unexpected ways.
Birding has also been a way to give back. The Charleston Birding Club and other local groups have shown me that birding is as much about stewardship as it is about observation. Through trash walks, conservation projects, and community outreach, we have worked to protect the spaces that make birding possible. It has given me a deep appreciation for how ecosystems, people, and infrastructure connect.
I want to understand communities on the most meta level. To build for people and nature, you have to know them. Birders, bankers, biologists, bookkeepers, bridge inspectors, builders, bureaucrats, and bus drivers all contribute to the bigger picture. Becoming a birder further taught me how to observe patterns, relationships, and the ways systems interact. Cities work the same way. Infrastructure and nature are not separate. They are interwoven. And the best solutions come from understanding the full picture, from birds to business owners and everything in between.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Progress isn’t always linear and some of the best decisions I’ve made felt uncertain in the moment but made sense in hindsight. So I try to regularly assess my situation, probably to an obsessive degree. Every choice runs through a constant loop of risk, reward, and long-term impact.
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I never expected it to be. One of the biggest struggles has been balancing the long term payoff of education with the immediate need to keep things moving. Going back to school in my 30s while juggling birding and life, hasn’t been easy. There have been times when I questioned whether it was the right move, especially when I could have just stuck with what I already knew.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have done a lot of things, but if I had to sum it up, I’d say I specialize in seeing connections. Connections between ideas, systems, and people. My background is anything but traditional and I think I’ve always wanted to bridge the gap between technical knowledge and real world application, with a bit of irreverence.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I don’t see myself as a reckless risk taker, but I do think staying stagnant is often the bigger risk. I dropped out of high school at 16, built a career across multiple industries, then walked away from stability to start my own business. Later, I took another leap by going back to school for engineering in my 30s. None of those choices were guaranteed to work, but the alternative, staying where I was, felt like a bigger risk long term.
For me, risk is about trade-offs. I constantly assess my situation, weighing the potential reward against the cost of inaction. That mindset has shaped every pivot I have made, from entrepreneurship to investing to turning Birding as a Cult into something real.
That said, I don’t believe in universal advice. Everyone walks their own path, shaped by their own circumstances. What looks like a risk to one person might be a necessity to someone else. The only advice I stand by is empathy, because understanding different perspectives is more valuable than any blueprint for success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.birdingisacult.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdingisacult
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylersharer
