From Bootstrap to Big League: Brand lessons from tech startups, for all startups

From Bootstrap to Big League: Brand lessons from tech startups, for all startups

Confession: I expected to have to work harder to build this panel for Twin Cities Startup Week. I had a target list of 20 really smart and experienced technology leaders, all of whom have built and scaled really admirable brands and businesses. I was hopeful that, of the 20, I might secure 3-4 who would be willing to carve time out from their very full calendars to participate in this event. (more…)
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Authentic Named as a Finalist for TCSW Award

Authentic Named as a Finalist for TCSW Award

This post brings out all the feels: Thrilled, overwhelmed, honored, humbled, overjoyed, grateful. Yesterday, I learned that Authentic is a finalist in the "Newbie" category of the Twin Cities Startup Week Awards. This award recognizes "a hungry newbie to the local startup scene". (more…)
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Everything Marketing Automation: A Virtual Panel of Expert Perspectives

Everything Marketing Automation: A Virtual Panel of Expert Perspectives

What do you get when you pick the brains of five digital marketing experts, representing partnerships with some of the most popular martech platforms on the market? You get everything marketing automation: the good, the bad, the ugly, and a whole lot of wisdom gleaned from the trenches. Welcome to Authentic's first "virtual panel": a Q&A exchange with five leaders in the Twin Cities digital community. (more…)
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We fed 50 kids for a year!

We fed 50 kids for a year!

What an awesome feeling. Serving side-by-side with 30 business professionals, representing brands from all across the Twin Cities, gathered together for one reason: to do good work. Yesterday, Authentic had the opportunity to host a second event for Two Or More: a community service movement. And the movement is building! Even on a summertime afternoon in Minnesota, when calendars are jammed with vacations and back-to-school activities, this crew showed up. They served with big hearts, and had a ton of fun in the process. (more…)
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There’s no such thing as balance. How life and EOS® showed me a better path.

There’s no such thing as balance. How life and EOS® showed me a better path.

Balance. I once thought it was possible. Until I hit the proverbial wall. My career wasn't moving in the direction I had planned. I had just had my second child. I was spending too much time commuting, not enough time sleeping, and was nowhere near living up to the expectations I'd set for myself as a wife, mother, friend, community member, and business leader. In short, I felt like I was half-assing every category in my life. (more…)
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Beyond Buzzphrases: How emerging tech could actually change everything for marketers

Beyond Buzzphrases: How emerging tech could actually change everything for marketers

For the past several years, there's been plenty of buzzphrase mania around topics such as IoT (internet of things), connected devices, big data / deep data, artificial intelligence, cognitive computing, machine learning, and virtual / augmented reality. And while many of these concepts may still feel abstract and fuzzy, these emerging technologies are taking tangible shape right now in many businesses. In fact, new research just released by Forbes today, based on Salesforce's Fourth Annual State-of-Marketing Report, shows that: (more…)
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Two Or More Service Event: Feed My Starving Children

Two Or More Service Event: Feed My Starving Children

Join us for the two or more LAUNCH event on June 29th, 2017! (Updated) The first two or more service event is coming up, and we are now at capacity and taking registrations only on a wait-list basis. If you haven't done a meal-packing event with this organization before, you're in for a treat. And if you have done this before, you know just what a great experience it is - so grab a friend, colleague, or customer and let's do this. (more…)
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Let’s be friends: How sales and marketing can help each other

Let’s be friends: How sales and marketing can help each other

What can salespeople do to help marketers? And conversely, what can marketers do to support sales? I love this question because I've been on both sides. I cut my professional teeth in B2B sales before shifting my focus to marketing, and then marketing team leadership. I've experienced the tension between these departments, and the reality is that it doesn't have to be that way. So, here's a little bit of advice for both sides, from someone who gets it. (more…)
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