Own It

This week on Own It we’re talking to Michele Kunken and Julie Liu from Slim Creative. As you might infer from the name, they are focused on the power of less and strip away the layers that crush great ideas.

Michele and Julie lead the agency from different coasts with Michele operating out of the New York/New Jersey area. Julie is in Los Angeles. We dove into their firm, their individual and collective journeys to ownership through our industry and, of course, their take on closing the gender gap in agency ownership.

Having two owners on at once always makes the shows lively and fun. You’re going to enjoy this!

You can find links to LinkedIn Profiles for Michele Kunken and Julie Liu and Slim Creative’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It we’re talking to Aleena Kuzma from FUSE Create. She’s based in the Toronto area in Canada but immigrated there from the middle east when she was a teenager. That sense of adventure and travel drives her creativity.

Aleena has been with FUSE for eight years and earned her way to a partnership role very early in her tenure. The firm promises to create work that turns heads. They are such a fantastic creative agency and we enjoyed getting to know it and her as we talked.

We loved hearing her journey and ideas about our industry. And we were thrilled to learn she and her husband are also expecting their first child soon. 

You can find links to Aleena Kuzma’s LinkedIn Profiles and FUSE Create’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It we’re talking to Alexis Young and Danielle McNeill from Definitely Real. It is a creative marketing agency committed to delivering impactive creative solutions based in Vancouver, Canada. Alexis and Danielle started the firm in 2021 after meeting at a music festival in Toronto.

Definitely Real was recently featured in AdWeek as a Top 10 Indie Agency to Watch.

We had so much fun hearing about their journey to each other, then to ownership. They shared their ideas on the industry and how we can close that gender gap in agency ownership.

We had such a great conversation. We're glad to share it with you now. 

You can find links to Alexis Young and Danielle McNeill’s LinkedIn Profiles and Definitely Real’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

I’m Christy Hiler. We’ll talk again soon … On Own It!

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It we’re talking to Meryl Draper from Quirk Creative. She is truly global, leading a firm that has offices in New York, Guadalajara, and Paris, where she is based now. 

Meryl spent time at iconic agencies and with impressive brands through the years including Ogilvy & Mather, MSL Group, Cisco, Blackboard, IBM and more. After co-founding Quirk Creative in 2015, she has guided the agency to Adweek’s Fastest Growing companies list. She’s also been recognized on AdWeek’s Creative 100, and The Drum’s 50 under 30.  

She is impressive. So is her firm. And we loved her perspective on the industry and how we can help produce more women-led agencies … and women owned agencies … as we all continue to grow. 

You can find links to Meryl Draper’s LinkedIn Profile and Quirk Creative’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It we’re talking to Anjali Ramachandran from Storythings. She is based in the UK but is really a global citizen, having lived in many different countries and cities. She told me was always drawn to the colors, vibrancy and stories that advertising had to offer, even as a child.

She has an impressive career journey that included a stop at Nike, and working with brands like Burberry and Warner Brothers. She started Storythings in 2016 to help business-to-business brands tell stories that truly connect with their prospective customers. They do that by helping B2B brands to stay human.

We had such a fun conversation about her journey, her perspective on the industry and her thoughts on closing the gender cap in agency ownership. 

Anjali is so fun to talk to. We know you’re going to learn a lot and be inspired today.

You can find links to Anjali Ramachandran‘s LinkedIn Profile and Storythings’ agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It we’re talking to Bethany Wilcox from Unusual. She started her firm to help brands stand out. They strive to help their clients be genuinely differentiated. She says they entertain, instead of advertise. 

Entertaining is an apt description of Bethany as you will see. She’s full of energy, creativity and ideas. That makes her the perfect guest for us to dive into her journey, her inspiration and her thoughts on closing the gender gap in agency ownership.

This was such a fun conversation.

You can find links to Bethany Wilcox‘s LinkedIn Profile and Unusual’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It we’re talking to Heather Waisanen from Coastal Maverick. Her firm is a custom out of home consulting company. That segment of the advertising world became her passion and she has built an amazing company around it.

Heather was a gymnast in her younger years and wound up as a gymnastic coach living in places like the Grand Caymans and South Africa out of college. She’s based in Florida now and has such a smart outlook on our business, client success and certainly how we can attack the gender gap in agency ownership.

We so love the different perspectives we bring to the table on this podcast. Heather adds so much to that. 

You can find links to Heather Waisanen‘s LinkedIn Profile and Coastal Maverick’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It, we’re talking to Elizabeth Rosenberg from The Good Advice Company. Her firm is focused on executive personal branding, thought leadership, and brand positioning and high-level PR strategy. But she also founded a company or project called Chief Spiritual Officer. 

We talked about that, her amazing career, being present and so much more. I loved her perspective on closing the gender gap in agency ownership and got smarter and more inspired talking to her. I know you will too!

You can find links to Elizabeth Rosenberg‘s LinkedIn Profile and The Good Advice Company’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It we’re talking to Carrie Stein from Bridge Insights and Media. She obviously came up through the media side of the ad business, working for many years at Neilsen before co-founding Bridge with her partner Jenny Griffith 10 years ago.

They started with the idea that advertising could be smarter, more cost-effective and easier for clients. We talked about her firm, her journey to ownership and her thoughts on the gender gap in agency ownership. 

Learning more about fellow agency owners never fails to give me ideas and inspiration. This episode was no different.

You can find links to Carrie Stein’s LinkedIn Profile and Bridge Insights and Media’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Own It we’re talking to Jessica Blumberg from hunterblu media. It was formed in 2018 to make working with a media agency easier for brands and creative agencies, and has blossomed.

Jessica certainly came up through her career on the media side of the advertising industry. She spent time at Crispin Porter + Bogusky before turning consultant, then agency owner. 

We talked about her journey, her passion for media and making that component of the advertising world easier to work with and a lot more. This was such an insightful chat. We're sure you’ll enjoy it. 

You can find links to Jessica Blumberg’s LinkedIn Profile and hunterblu media’s agency website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com. 

If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

Subscribe, rate and review wherever you found this podcast. For more, visit untilyouownit.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.