In this episode of The Peerbound Podcast, host Sunny Manivannan sits down with Emily Coleman, Senior Manager of Customer Marketing & Advocacy at LaunchDarkly, to talk about her unexpected path into customer marketing, which began in politics and later led to high-pressure communications work during the SolarWinds cybersecurity crisis. Today, she focuses on building scalable advocacy programs at LaunchDarkly, with AI playing an increasingly important role.

Emily shares how her early work in politics sharpened her empathy and storytelling instincts, the lessons she learned navigating a cybersecurity crisis at SolarWinds, and how she’s rethinking advocacy at LaunchDarkly with a focus on authenticity, design, and emerging technology.

Whether you’re revamping your customer story motion or looking to scale with limited resources, Emily’s story offers a thoughtful, grounded view of what it takes to build trust and elevate the voice of your customers.

(00:00) Introduction and Guest Welcome
(01:05) Emily Coleman's Early Career and Education
(05:39) Political Career and Casework
(10:22) Transition to Tech and Initial Challenges
(15:02) Growth and Success at SolarWinds
(17:53) Navigating a Big Company
(19:36) Facing Challenges at SolarWinds
(20:29) The SolarWinds Hack: A Crisis Unfolds
(23:03) Building Trust and Advocacy Post-Breach
(24:39) Transition to LaunchDarkly
(28:49) Revamping the Customer Stories Page
(32:54) Incorporating AI in Customer Advocacy

Featuring:
Emily Coleman:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyecoleman/

Sunny Manivannan:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnymanivannan/
X — https://x.com/sunnymanivannan

Follow us:
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/peerbound-inc

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