Own It

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Hani Anis from Kahani Digital. Her firm is a little over four years old. It focuses on telling the stories of South Asian owned and founded brands through digital marketing and social media. Hani grew up in Maryland, but her family is from India. Her geographic journey is as diverse as her professional one. We talked about her early interest in medicine, then...

This week on Own It we’re talking to Alyssa Toro from Connelly Partners. She is a senior partner and chief creative officer there and has been with the firm since its inception 25 years ago.  She worked in a few design shops early in her career including Leonard Monahan, Hill-Holliday and Engle. The latter is where she met eventual business partner Steve Connelly. We talked about her journey to ow...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Laura Jordan Bambach from Uncharted. Laura is not only the founder and chief creative officer of Uncharted but also the co-founder of SheSays, an organization that educates, promotes and inspires women to take up digital creative careers.  As you can tell, she is a perfect guest for Own It! We had a great conversation about her path through the industry which...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Laura Petruccelli from nice&frank. She co-founded that firm in 2022 after a long stint with Goodby Silverstein and has quickly guided nice&frank to an AdAge Newcomer Agency of the Year honor.  Laura is a creative through and through. Her father was a commercial photographer, so she grew up around art directors and copywriters. She even started a cartoon busine...

This week on Own It we’re talking to Jessica Dimcevski from Blurr Bureau. It is a brand strategy and branding firm Jessica founded in 2022. She also invests in founder-led brands through Blurr, including Flings, an award-winning snack brand found in Target.  Jessica began as a graphic designer in Melbourne, Australia before leading brand strategy at Redscout in New York. There, she led brand strat...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Molly Rice from Spyglass. It is a strategic brand marketing firm based in Minneapolis. Molly was a founding partner when the company began back in 2001. She now serves as CEO and president.  We talked about her journey to ownership, but then got some great insights from her two decades of experience being a leader and an owner in our industry. We also talked a...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Hope Farley from Adolescent Content. She and her partner Ramaa Mosley founded Adolescent in 2013 with a mission to help talented creative individuals from underrepresented backgrounds found paths to exposure. Think of it as part creative agency, part talent agency and all amazing.  We talked about her path to ownership, the agency and its focus, and of course,...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Tori Nygren of Hogwash Studios. Tori is an award-winning creative director, writer, and filmmaker who started her career learning from the best and the brightest at Droga5 and McCann. She has also worked in-house at tech giants like Uber as well, where she experienced first hand how creativity can transform a business narrative. Hogwash Studios is a production...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to three owners all together. Lauren Buckley, Allie Fendrick, and Kate Meehan are the power trio behind the Hush Collaborative. Right off the bat the common thread we learn about them is they are all adventurous. They dance, they travel, they study and research herbs … we're almost jealous of all their experiences. Lauren, Allie and Kate started Hush in 2020. Its...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Randi Matthews of Multi-Hyphen Media. Her agency bills itself as a hybrid of math and magic and specializes in entertainment and influencer marketing along with social strategy. And it’s the perfect place for Randi, a former NCAA Division I track and field athlete who came up through the broadcasting and entertainment agency world. We talked about her journey...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Shruti Dang from the firm Dang. It is based in Los Angeles and focuses on modernizing brands to better connect them with the next generation of consumers. She is a UX / UI designer by trade but grew up through the industry and launched Dang in April of last year. Shruti is a dancer who does so with her daughter. They enjoy traditional Indian dance. We talked a...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Molly Lopez from Sparo. Molly came up through the media side of the advertising business and started Sparo almost six years ago. She actually started her career not far from me in Kentucky at Asbury College and internships at some of the brands here in Lexington. We talked about her journey to ownership which she says came about because of the lack of female o...

On this week's episode of Own It, we’re talking to Cindy Dodd from PEMA. Her firm is based in Miami and focused on driving high quality leads for B2B clients. They do amazing work largely because of her drive and creativity. Cindy was born in South Africa, but her parents are from the Congo. Her mother was a dentist and a key inspiration for her entrepreneurial spirit. She has a goal of inspiring...

Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of Own It for 2025! This week we’re talking to Alona Lisa of Far From Timid. There are few people we talk to as diverse and fascinating as her background suggests. She paints, runs, plays basketball and writes. She’s a blockchain and metaverse thought leader. She’s worked on both the brand side with IBM and Marriott, and on the agency side with Razor...

On this week's episode of Own It, we’re talking to Chanel Cathey from CJC Insights. Her firm is an award-winning strategic communications firm that helps brands move forward with creativity, connection and community. She founded the firm in 2018 after leading the corporate practice at Hunt & Gather. She also spent time at Viacom, Unilever and ABC News.  We dug into that journey and her thoughts on...

On this week's episode of Own It, we’re talking to Tiffany Holland of Consiglieri. Her firm counsels brands and their executives on how to shift from campaign-oriented marketing to playing offense with 365-day intentional, modern marketing approaches. She developed that perspective after a career on both the agency and brand side where she was part of the digital teams at T-Mobile and Nordstrom. ...

On this episode of Own It, we’re talking to Christine Tolton from Red Cat Marketing. She and her firm are based in Toronto. The company is a leading global agency specializing in strategy, branding and digital marketing. It’s celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.  Christine is a craft cocktail and mocktail maker who also enjoys photography. Her journey to ownership is as fascinating as anyon...

On this episode of Own It, we’re talking to Rachel Brandt and Madeline Meade from Corner Table Creative. These two agency dynamos joined forces just this year to create Corner Table Creative. It is a New York City-based firm focused on helping brands make memorable connections. These partner conversations are so much fun because we get twice the perspective. Madeline came to New York City wanting...

On this week's episode of Own It, we’re talking to Sharon Toerek from Legal+Creative. It is a firm focused on marketing law, advertising law and intellectual property law for creative people. She and the company are based in Cleveland, Ohio. We talked about the legal side of our business, her journey to ownership and so much more. We are super excited to have her on the podcast. We know you’ll lea...

On this week's episode of Own It, we’re talking to Steph Belsky from Love of Good. It is redefining cause marketing from the agency side of things. Their specialty is facilitating alliances and relationships among talent, non-profits and brands. Their work is not only outstanding, but does good in the world. She also shares a lot of her journey and thoughts on how to change the world via her own p...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Molly Baker from Indie Consulting. Her New York-based firm is a full-service marketing partner for brands of all sizes. She started the company in 2018 after years with Ben & Jerry’s and powerhouse digital agency 360i.  We talked about everything from her journey both as an owner and a runner – she just finished her first Ironman competition – to her thoughts...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Aliza Freud from SheSpeaks. That’s not only the name of her agency, but she also hosts the SheSpeaks podcast, so we’re turning the tables on her as the guest today. Aliza started SheSpeaks in 2007 amid the social media marketing boom. The firm is the largest, most diverse community of female consumers and influencers in the U.S. It is an award-winning agency t...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Mary Lou Bunn from Flower Shop. She came to ownership after many years at some top agencies, but had two other careers prior to advertising. She also pulls experiences from work in the hotel industry and architecture. She’s spent the lion’s share of her work in business development and strategy, but started off as a communications specialist.  We talked about...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Dana Hork from Beers with Friends. With that name, you might anticipate a lively conversation, and you aren’t wrong. Dana’s agency says they can crack just about any business problem better, faster and without the B.S. They call these five-day sprints Beer Runs.  As you can imagine, we dig into her agency and its unique approach, but we also discussed the when...

On this episode of Own It, we’re talking to Mindy Goldberg from Epoch Films. Mindy has worked in and around the movie and production industry for many years. Her experiences as a producer has touched famous directors and actors in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In 1989 after helping build a production company for others, Mindy and a partner went out on their own to start Epoch Films. They p...