Own It

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...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Lucy Stratton from EA Collective. She and her team have delivered award-winning event marketing campaigns for Google, Twitter, Target, Oprah and more.  We talked about her journey to ownership, the experiences she’s’ delivering for clients and, of course, the challenge of closing the gender gap in agency ownership. She had so many valuable tidbits for us. You’...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Cathy Murphy and Sylvia Herrera from Venus Media. Their agency is a multicultural marketing firm that has deep experience in media strategies. They both started their careers at CBS Radio, but touched an all-star roster of brands over the years. We talked about so much in this interview, from bourbon to television shows to building successful agencies. And, of...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Erin Regan from Full Contact Advertising. It is a full-service creative agency based in Boston. Its purpose is to Make Impact, and boy, do they! Erin worked for several large agencies and a couple of brands over the years, the last several of which have been focused on driving growth. She said she has been fortunate to have strong women leaders above her throu...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Ashley Rector from Quimby. She calls her firm the go-to social media marketing agency for revolutionary founders, CMOs and marketing teams. That word “revolutionary” certainly seems to describe her passion for her clients and this business. Ashley took a different path to agency ownership. She’s actually an attorney. We talked about that, her journey, and the...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Holly Willis from Magic Camp. It promises to be a brand’s best friend. She founded her firm because brand-building is hard and working with agencies shouldn’t be. She’s built a firm that is designed for operational efficiency and has a unique approach to running an agency We talked about that, her journey to ownership which included stints at FCB Chicago and 3...

On this week's episode of Own It, we’re talking to Sonja Anderson of zö agency. Her firm champions the change-makers. It is a proud woman-owned marketing department for small to midsized businesses.  We talked about her journey to ownership, the reasons behind her focus on small to midsize businesses and, of course, her take on the challenge of growing women-owned agencies. We also talked a bit ab...

This week on Own It, we have a slightly different type of guest. We’re talking to Lori Murphree from Evalla Advisors. It is a financial services firm focused on mergers and acquisitions and investment banking. As you might expect, we certainly wanted to have her on the show to inform all of you about the possibilities of M&A in the agency world, but Lori is also passionate about female ownership a...

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Krista Ripma of Authentic Audience. It is a full-service digital agency that she says is now beyond the fight or flight mode of ownership. We talk about that and how her experiences as a business coach, yoga instructor and overall health and wellness expert impacts the work. We’ve always been fascinated by owners who run their agencies differently from the nor...

On this week's episode of Own It, we have a great guest, but also a great guest host. Megan Lally from High Dive in Chicago sits in today and interviews Caroline May from Grown Creative in St. Louis. Her firm likes to think of advertising as a way to sneak art into the world. They focus on marrying ideas and stories to connect with people.  They talked about Caroline’s journey to ownership which i...

This week on Own It, we have a different episode than normal. We are welcoming back Flor Leibaschoff, who visited us with her partner Salma Gottfried, to talk about their journeys to owning BeautifulBeast. That was Episode 45, which we’ll link in our show notes. Flor is back this week to talk about an equally important gap to fill in agency ownership and that is of Hispanic and Latina representati...

On this week's episode of Own It, we’re talking to Erin Creaney and Tammy Brody of Good Day Collective. They describe the agency as the non-agency agency. That means clients get talent customized for their unique challenges without the overhead of a holding company or big agency.  We talked about their model, their journey to ownership and, of course, the challenge we face in putting more women in...