Jennifer Zick Featured in Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal for Women’s History Month

Authentic® Founder & CEO recognized for entrepreneurial leadership, community impact, and building one of Minnesota’s fastest-growing women-owned marketing transformation firms

This past Women’s History Month, Jennifer Zick, Founder and CEO of Authentic®, was featured in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s People on the Move, a recognition spotlight that highlights leaders making an impact in the Twin Cities business community.

The feature came at a fitting moment — Women’s History Month, a time to honor the women who have broken barriers, built something from nothing, and intentionally lifted others along the way. Jennifer Zick did all three.

From Unexpected Loss to Purposeful Leadership

Jennifer’s entrepreneurial path didn’t begin with a carefully scripted business plan. It began with an unexpected job loss and a conviction that something better was possible. That conviction became Authentic®, a national Fractional CMO firm built on the belief that growing businesses deserve experienced, strategic marketing leadership — without the cost or commitment of a full-time CMO hire. Today, Authentic leads a team of Fractional CMOs across the country, helping businesses Overcome Random Acts of Marketing® and take confident steps toward healthy, sustainable growth.

What started as one founder’s pivot has grown into one of Minnesota’s fastest-growing companies — landing on the 2024 and 2025 Inc. 5000 lists, ranking #12 on Minnesota’s Fast 50 in 2024, and earning multiple Best Places to Work honors along the way.

A Women-Owned Business Built on Belonging

Authentic is proudly women-owned and Jennifer has built Authentic around a culture of belonging, trust, and collective success. The team she leads doesn’t just deliver marketing strategy, they show up as an extension of their clients’ leadership team, embedded in the work and invested in the outcome. That relational, values-driven approach reflects the kind of leadership Jennifer has modeled from day one.

As a 2024 Women in Business award recipient, Jennifer is recognized not only for business results, but for how she achieves them — as an industry pioneer, culture champion, and community leader.

“Nine years ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table wondering if I was crazy to bet on myself. I was more afraid of regret than failure, so I kept going. Being recognized during Women’s History Month, alongside so many women who chose the harder, braver path, means more than I can say. Authentic exists because of the people who believed before there was much to believe in.” — Jennifer Zick, Founder & CEO, Authentic®

Beyond the Business: Community as a Core Value

Jennifer’s impact extends well beyond Authentic’s client roster. She is the founder of the LIFT Integrator Community™, a global EOS peer group supporting more than 1,200 second-in-command leaders, and the creator of Two Or More, a service initiative focused on volunteering and collective impact that has logged 2,400 hours of service across 22 community events.

These initiatives reflect what has always been true of Jennifer’s leadership: building something bigger than a business, and bringing people together to do it.

Marking the Moment

Being featured in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal during Women’s History Month was more than a professional milestone. It’s a reminder of why Authentic exists — to help leaders grow with intention, lead with authenticity, and build companies worth being proud of.

About Authentic®

Authentic® is a national fractional CMO and marketing transformation firm serving growth-stage, founder-led, and private equity-backed companies across the United States. Founded in 2017, the firm pioneered a scalable model for delivering senior-level marketing leadership without the risk, limitations, or overhead burden of a full-time executive hire.

Through its proprietary framework, Authentic helps organizations Overcome Random Acts of Marketing® by aligning strategy, leadership, and execution. Its model combines experienced fractional CMOs, structured marketing methodology, and a collaborative community of executives to build mature marketing functions that drive measurable growth and increase transferable enterprise value.

Authentic serves clients across diverse industries and is recognized for elevating marketing from a tactical function to a strategic growth engine.

Learn more at: authenticbrand.com