7/myKLOVR
Virtual College & Career Counselor powered by AI
(EdTech, SaaS, Employee Benefits)
Like every good elder millennial, I had always wanted the opportunity to ‘do well by doing good’.
In 2021, the COVID-driven shift to remote learning accelerated the growth of EdTech by 20+ years. At the same time, work-from-home and the ‘great resignation’ upended the $85B employee benefits industry, leaving employers scrambling to compete for talent.
In the middle of this crisitunity, I joined myKlovr as their CMO and Head of Growth. The product, an AI-powered virtual college and career counselor for high school students, was fantastic but had been plagued by lackluster growth over the last few years.
After a crash-course to wrap my head around the complex, highly-regulated and risk averse insurance and benefits industry; I developed distribution strategy that capitalized on market opportunity, a marketing strategy that took us from 'vitamin to pain reliever', a comms plan to jumpstart a national conversation, a sales operations built for scale. All on a shoestring budget....naturally.
Today, college & career counseling recognized as a "must have" benefit for recruiting and retaining top talent with industry-leading clients like CVS Health / Aetna (#4 on the Fortune 500) offering myKlovr to employee families nationwide.
MyKlovr established our place as a best-in-class solution, named both a TIME magazine 'Best Invention of 2022' and EdTech digest '2023 Trendsetter'. Our team regularly provides thought leadership on EdTech & benefits innovation - speaking at conferences and providing insights to the media. Forbes recently compared our AI technology to Amazon & Netflix.
Later this year, we roll out our data-sales product, Series A capital raise, and expansion into the public-sector.
6/LYNQ TECHNOLOGIES
Build your own wireless network - infrastructure-free
(Hardware, Tech, IoT, Outdoor Industry)
On my journey, I’ve been met with opportunities to create impact in ways I’d never imagine. In October 2015 I joined a team of friends and mentors to become a Co-Founder of Lynq Technologies, a company whose technology extends the edge of connectivity and communication. Lynq gave me first-hand experience building a venture-backed brand from the ground up.
I eagerly became the inaugural director of e-commerce, leading all aspects of our consumer-facing brand for our award-winning outdoor electronics device: the Lynq Compass. My team and I brought the Lynq Compass from concept to become one of the most successful Indiegogo campaigns of all time, raising $1.7M in 60 days and 1500% of our goal. With a strong transition from crowdfunding to e-comm, Compass was named 2018 Time Magazine Invention of the Year, received Innovation Awards at CES, SXSW and Outdoor Retailer shows and developed into a fully-integrated consumer brand.
The traction of Compass established Lynq Technologies as a market leader and spring-boarded the growth of our company from consumer product into integration, military, and deep tech. Given this pivot, I exited on great terms and spent a few weeks surfing before joining my next company!
5/VERDAY CHLOROPHYLL WATER
The Worlds First Zero Calorie Green Drink
(CPG, Natural Products, Wellness)
I was approached with the idea to develop the Worlds First Chlorophyll Water based on my previous success in the beverage space. Becoming a co-founder of Verday Chlorophyll Water gave me my first opportunity to build a brand and develop a line of CPG products from scratch. I jumped at the opportunity.
Taking on the role of CMO, my team and I grew Verday from a hip favorite at SoHo yoga studios to national distribution in the natural channel, grocery, and foodservice (including Whole Foods, Wegmans, Sprouts, Giant Eagle, college campuses, gyms, and thousands of independent retailers nationwide) We developed a robust e-comm channel landing 4 SKUs in the Amazon "Top 100 Grocery: Flavored Water" category and building sales on our own site. It was a fast moving hybrid position that kept me on my toes!
Verday provided me valuable experience educating consumers about a new category of product, capturing moments of delight, and building compelling stories that established our brand as a leading voice in the conversation around healthy benefits of chlorophyll and plant based nutrition.
4/MERCY
Have Mercy Not a Hangover
(CPG, Beverage, Nutraceuticals, Bar & Nightlife)
In 2011, I was burned out from my previous career in law and took a leap of faith. I wanted to build a career in marketing but needed more experience. So I tracked down a friend who knew the CEO of Mercy, a hip beverage company that I had seen at events around the city, and offered to work as an intern for 90 days to learn the ropes.
The position proved to be a rocket ride. I grew from intern to manager to eventually leading the department -- overseeing growth of our product line into highly-profitable nutraceuticals, clinical testing of our healthy benefits and expansion of Mercy from a niche in NYC Nightlife to an national lifestyle brand.
3/NYC
Since arriving to my first loft in 'East Williamsburg' in early 2003, New York City has given me space to grow as an entrepreneur, helped me see myself as more of a creative, and pushed me to grow as an individual. With every street explored and every challenge tackled, I became more of who I was meant to be.
2/SELF EXPRESSION
Now that you have a bit of my professional background, here is some of what makes me tick...
I play in the intersection of art, design, experience, & technology (prepare yourself for lots of Venn diagrams as I express my ideas).
I'm intrigued by authenticity, big dreams, traveling, deep connections to self, opportunities to share fabulous food and even better conversations.
I spend a lot of time thinking about the nature of consciousness, technology & society (why it's changing and how), habit-building, behavior change & motivations, knowledge-sharing & community building.
Other things that are important to me are empathy, collaboration, peer mentoring and continuous self improvement.
I'm seeking to be inspired, to envision the unlikely, to work hard for things that are worth it and to be surrounded by those who bring out the best in me.
1/SUIT & TIE
The first stage of my career bridged my intuition for process and ability to tackle large projects as a Paralegal and Governmental Affairs Analyst.
From Washington D.C. to New York, I helped Fortune 500 brands and top-tier law firms navigate complex issues of Intellectual Property, Regulatory and Entertainment law as I continued to develop on my own and discover my passions.
At the time, I ran from this culture like a building on fire -- but today I'm grateful to have built the bedrock of skills that allow me to fluently navigate both the corporate and creative worlds.
