Pitching, Public Speaking, and Leading in Startups with Beth Mach, Co-founder of Spacely Media

Beth Mach, Co-founder and COO of Spacely, shares how her 25+ year career—and 70 global pitches in one year—prepared her for her TEDx talk. She discusses decision-making confidence, leadership resilience, and work-life integration while thriving in high-stakes startup environments.

Key Takeaways:

• Why pitching beats perfect scripting
• Her go-to-strategy for overwhelm
• The surprising power of listening
• Why every leader needs a board of advisors
• Practical strategies to strengthen decision-making confidence 

Show Guest: 

Beth Mach brings over 25 years of experience driving growth through marketing, media, and technology solutions for Fortune 500 brands. She is currently the Co-founder and COO of Spacely and an advisor and moderator for The Room. Beth actively contributes to several start-ups such as Compliant, Brandstory Architech, and Influential and is also an accomplished public speaker, mentor, investor, and active volunteer. Beth holds a B.A. from Walsh College and is pursuing a CME through Harvard Business School. Find more about Beth Mach at:

LinkedIn

YouTube

TEDxDetroit

Chapters

• 0:00 Introducing Beth Mack's Multifaceted Career
• 5:45 TEDx Experience and Communication Mastery
• 11:52 Honing the Art of Reading Rooms
• 17:37 Leadership and Values-Based Decision Making
• 32:09 Transitioning from Corporate to Startup Life
• 39:04 Startup Advice and Media Industry Insights

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, this is the Career Refresh and I'm your host, jill Griffin, today on the podcast. I am welcoming my friend and former colleague Beth.

Speaker 2: 0:08

Mack.

Speaker 1: 0:09

She's the co-founder and COO of Spacely, which is a premium marketplace for both media and sponsorships. She's also an advisor and moderator for the Room, which is a private event series where senior marketing executives get together and talk about the various challenges and important discussions that are going on within the marketing and media industry. So I had the pleasure of working with Beth when we were both under the publicist group Umbrella and I'm so happy that you get to meet her today. She is here and she is talking about her recent experience as a TEDx speaker Huge. So she's pulling back the curtain talking about that high stakes moment and what she talked about the power of choice. You might think it was about the prep, but actually that prep started with what she shares is over 70 global pitches in new business in just one year, and that her prep for this TEDx talk actually started many years ago.

Speaker 1: 1:08

We also talk about how that relentless practice built that muscle to connect. She breaks down how learning to listen in rooms, to various marketplaces, to platforms, to get that feedback is what helped her really fine tune her superpower as a listener, as an executive and a moderator. She also talks about what she calls the dreaded Lammy voice, and I was like huh, I've never heard this expression before, but Lammy as in like bah Lammy, so I love this term. It cracked me up. You'll definitely want to hear more there. Plus, she talks about how she has a method for handling overwhelm and it's about speaking it out loud, reworking that strategy and finding ways to provide simple, powerful, effective communication. But those big moments don't happen by chance and they come from really that preparation, being present, choosing wisely every day. So I know you're going to love this episode. Definitely dig in and let me know what you think. Beth, welcome. I am really really glad to have you here today.

Speaker 2: 2:24

Thank you for having me. This is such a joy to reconnect with you, Jill I know we're finally doing this, Okay.

Speaker 1: 2:30

So what I ask all of my guests is to tell us and take us back what did you think you wanted to be when you grew up?

Speaker 2: 2:37

Oh, wow, I wanted to be a lot of things, and I think that was what, oddly like, gives me power today is that I'm not wed to one idea. And so when I was little, I wanted to be an ice skater and I wanted to be a veterinarian and I wanted to be. I love it, I love it. I even, like, took a pivot mid mid career to go back to school to do that, but that's, I didn't end up doing it. Um and uh, you know, I think I I didn't really know what advertising was all about, but it was, it was an area of curiosity for me. So, yeah, I mean, I kind of wanted to be a lot of things.

Speaker 1: 3:29

I love that. I love that and I think that, to your point, does show up in your multi hyphenated talented area of expertise and where you've shown up in all these areas and for our listeners and viewers. Beth and I were colleagues for probably two or three years I don't know I'd have to do the math or come back and the fact check on that and really enjoyed getting a chance to work with and alongside Beth. So, beth, take us from a high level, sort of okay. So then what happened? Like bringing us up today to today?

Speaker 2: 3:57

Sure, sure. Well, I'm a native Midwesterner, so I'm from Detroit and started my career there.

Speaker 2: 4:05

Native Midwesterner, so I'm from Detroit and started my career there, so it was very automotive focused. I then had an incredible opportunity and lots of things happened in that 10 years that I was here. I then had a great opportunity to move to New York and work on a global stage, and I think that's really where my mindset changed about what all the things I could do and advertising and the agencies that I worked at gave me a lot of exposure to, you know, different clients, different countries, different channels that I could really learn and sink my teeth into and become part of. You know, part of the solution for the clients that we were working on. I spent a lot of time outside of the U S in in China and Johan in in South Africa and London, and so that gave me an even greater sense of what the world had to offer.

Speaker 2: 5:06

And, you know, fast forward to now I am working in this incredible space. I left the corporate world after being agency and brand side for 20, 25 plus years, and I'm now a co-founder and a COO of an ad tech startup called Spacely, which is a premium private marketplace for media buying and selling, and I'm also a moderator for the Room, which is an incredible way to stay connected to the ad industry through these we had Danny Fishman a guest who is the founder of the Room, along with Sean Finnegan.

Speaker 1: 5:49

I guess he was on. I'll drop that in the show notes. He was probably on the podcast about six months ago.

Speaker 2: 5:54

Okay, yeah, that's fantastic, great place to stay connected and to meet a ton of people. And then now I'm venturing into my own space, bethmaccom, like whatever that means, but doing a ton of speaking. I did a TEDx last year.

Speaker 1: 6:09

I was going to ask you tell us about the TEDx. I want to hear about the actual experience, but I want to hear about your prep for a TEDx, because I don't think that everybody really understands the rigor that goes into prep for a TEDx.

Speaker 2: 6:25

It's a part-time job, if not a full-time job.

Speaker 2: 6:27

To be honest, if you could have all the time that you would dedicate to your work day-to-day work you would want to dedicate that same amount of time to an eight-minute speech. It was unbelievable, I you know, I think that I was um given an opportunity to apply and through, uh, another speaking um opportunity that I had for two years in a row Um, he was a producer, someone that I met was a producer of it and said you really need to be part of it here in Detroit, and I was like I mean, really, and then I finally said, yes, I applied, they brought me in and I I did it on the power of choice. So it's very fitting for the conversation that we're having today. But the power of choice. And then I built a tool to help you make choices based off of your values. So I talked about how I got there, what it took, and then, ultimately, what this tool is and how it's impacted not only my life but many other people's lives through their work journey and many other journeys right?

Speaker 1: 7:39

Is that a tool that's available to people? Can they? Is it on your website? It is Okay, We'll put that also in the show notes.

Speaker 2: 7:47

Yeah, yeah, and I'll share all the details, but it's literally called IHAPOS and we don't have to get into it now. But you'll see what the IHAP actually stands for and it's the four different categories in which you are assessing your options. Wow, I love it, yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:05

How do you think your career up until that point prepared you for the TEDx talk?

Speaker 2: 8:11

Because again, there's a rigor.

Speaker 1: 8:12

I know it's like it's only eight minutes, but there is a rigor to it. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 8:16

Yeah, you know, I think the fact that for many, many years I did a monster amount of new business pitches and you had a very short period of time to get your point across, to persuade somebody to follow you through the journey and ultimately kind of close the deal with something that's tangible, no-transcript, close it with something that's interesting and, you know, something that can be taken away by the, the reader or the viewer or the you know, you know the user, ultimately, Tell our listeners and viewers about that story part.

Speaker 1: 9:23

So anybody who is in the market to elevate internally hopefully get a promotion. Anyone who is interviewing you can do some research. But it's in the moment where you have to be able to read the room and know which end of your story to lean into and which to pull back on. I don't know if it's easier to tell us about a time or a particular experience, but how did you fine tune that skill to know what to say within your story?

Speaker 2: 9:50

Yeah, it's funny because I started out with probably a half hour speech, right Like you go. What are all the things that could be factors into helping somebody understand there are tools without telling them. Here's the tool. And I think that was the fun part for me is I needed to know whether or not it was a personal story. It was kind of a founder story. It was a product story.

Speaker 2: 10:26

So I, you know, I really kind of went back into the arsenal of how do I tell a story and what's going to be interesting ultimately. And so then I said, okay, do I have any personal stories? Because this is ultimately like about me and my journey and what helped me get to where I am today. And so it wasn't a founder story, it wasn't really a product story, it was really a story about me that had elements of those things in it. And so I played around. It was like I said it was a 30, it was 30 minutes. I had to bring it down to eight minutes and then also have supporting you know a PowerPoint, if you will. Supporting, you know visuals to not take over but to complement what.

Speaker 2: 11:12

I'm saying, and so that's very hard because you can't really use it as your tool to remember all the things that you want to say in that moment. Right, I will to the point of capturing the moment when I was on stage. I had all of the words in my head, but it wasn't until I was seeing the people and their responses whether or not it was a nod or it was a smile or a, you know, a curious look Did I know how to really turn the tone differently or walk differently? It was truly in the moment. And again I think I think back to you know, one, one position I had we, I pitched 70 times in one year.

Speaker 2: 12:00

You really, you really hone in on a couple of, on a couple of those things that you feel very comfortable with. I mean, there were hours and hours and hours of practice near in front of people. In my sleep I'd wake up thinking about it. I would wake up in the middle of the night and rehearse a slide in my head, right, so, like you, it just becomes part of you. But then that gives you the confidence when you walk on stage to tell your story, and even if they aren't exactly the same words that you practiced. You get your point across.

Speaker 1: 12:40

You've embodied it at that point.

Speaker 2: 12:41

Yeah, and it comes from you. Yes, not, it's not the rehearsed. I have note cards in front of me, right, right right.

Speaker 1: 12:49

Yeah, it's funny. There's two points One, the first thing that made me think of, as you were saying, that is how many times I've given speeches and sort of presented to myself on audio. Yeah, and then just I'm at the gym, I'm in the car, I'm getting ready for bed, whatever I'm doing, I'm hearing it back and then learning where I need to fine tune and where it lands. And then also the same thing. I mean you're not reading a script, you're not out on teleprompter, you are just raw. You are like telling your story ability to read the room.

Speaker 1: 13:29

And I think a takeaway for then our listeners, is that you need to slow down, you need to be concise and don't go off on a tangent. If you are interviewing, if you are networking, if you are striving for that internal promotion, don't go off on a tangent so long that you've lost the person sitting across from you, whether it's virtually or in real life, or you start to see people looking away and stop giving you eye contact. Those are really good signs that you've lost them and you want to bring them back in Again, depending on the scenario. Bringing them back in you have to figure that out based on the room, but that's really, really good, seeing almost the in-the-moment assessment of oh, I'm getting a smile, I'm getting a nod, I'm getting eye contact.

Speaker 2: 14:08

I in in the work that I do with the room, so I moderate. It's a two hour dinner, basically, and that is my job. My job is to make sure that I get contact, eye contact. It is to make sure that people feel like they're part of the conversation and contributing to the conversation in meaningful ways for them and for others. I need to start thinking about how do I bring that person in, how do I change the question? How do I, how do I reformulate the way people are engaging with one another? It's like, and again like if I hadn't had the practice of understanding and reading the room in the moment for 20 plus years with clients and peers, that moderating would not, would not be so comfortable and not be almost a sport to me, and not in a bad way, but in a way that like it excites me, like I get really excited about, like Ooh, this is a little bit of a challenge. Like this isn't, I'm done.

Speaker 1: 15:20

Yeah, I think it's also um, for the reason why we want diversity. Right, we want diversity of experiences, we want diversity of thought of people. Yes, representative diversity essential, but that it is in that fabric of the diversity. I would imagine you working across multiple cultures, pitching 70 times in a year. I'm guessing that wasn't all within the US, right, you were pitching multiple cultures or multiple cities within a country where the vibe and the overall sentiment might be different, and it's all of that that you're sort of collecting to understand how to read and respond to people, and it's essential for your career. Without it, you're not making those connections and you're not creating the impact that you want to create. That's right.

Speaker 2: 16:07

And in some cases they were in other languages, so I would have to, while I wasn't maybe actually pitching the Get a translator.

Speaker 2: 16:16

There was a translator, or I had a team who I had to then think about what it is that we need to get across at this particular point in the presentation, and they needed to translate it into language, but also into sentiment. So it was very interesting because you had to really think about how it was going to land with a group of people you've never met in a country, in some cases that I had never been.

Speaker 1: 16:41

Yeah, gosh, I feel like we could talk about that all day, but I do want to move on, and one of the things that I know, both based on the app that you created and just in my conversations with you, is this idea of decision-making and choice, and you and I have talked before about how, at times, leaders and leadership you grapple with the weight of decisions, that what are the pros and cons of what we're doing, and that, especially if you're in either a high stakes environment and that could be within a corporate structure, it could also be within a startup structure. From your experience, what are some of the strategies you've developed to cultivate that confidence and to make that decision to the side? How to nope. That's the decision we're going to go forward with. I would love for you to talk and share a bit about your experience there.

Speaker 2: 17:33

Yeah, there's a couple of things and they're not going to be like these groundbreaking ideas, right, I think it is in how you can bring these tools and you figure out how and where to use them. One is listen, listen, listen, listen. Yeah, I had a boss one time say you have two ears and one mouth.

Speaker 1: 17:59

I was just gonna say that Use them proportionally.

Speaker 2: 18:02

Use them proportionally exactly. And at first I was like, oh, that's kind of funny, ha ha ha. And then I was like, oh wait, I now know where this applies, right. And so so listening is absolutely critical because you can start to, you can anticipate how people are going to respond, you can think about and and this is the hard part, because when you listen you should be actually actively listening versus thinking about your next move what you're going to say, and the response yeah.

Speaker 2: 18:31

Yeah. So that's where my second thing is preparation. Know who you're walking into the meeting with. Do your homework. There are so many ways to learn about every single person in the room. I mean, LinkedIn is our number one golden piece of understanding where people are coming from and maybe what their background is leading them to respond in a certain way, leading them to respond in a certain way. So preparation is huge because then you can be anticipating that prior to the meeting. So then you're listening to how people are talking and how their body language like really start to think about that, and then you've got to practice your own confidence in speaking. So if you have a great idea and you come out with lamby voice, people are going to be like wait, tell us about lamby voice.

Speaker 2: 19:28

You know it's when you're really nervous and you're like kind of not, you know you're not coming forward with a very, like, a very I don't want to say aggressive.

Speaker 1: 19:41

It's not aggressive, it's not assertive, it's like solid, it's centered, it's a foundation in your voice. I know what.

Speaker 2: 19:47

I'm talking about, I know how to explain it and I know that what I'm saying is going to be a value to you. So you walk in with that confidence and I think now, being behind, you know in our rectangles here, there are ways that we can kind of faux show our confidence by having your speech right here next to you or a little teleprompter in front of you that no one can see. Those are great ways to practice that when you are in the wild, when you are, you know, on a TEDx stage or in a pitch or or just interviewing with somebody over coffee and you don't have your cards in front of you, you can walk in with absolute confidence that you know who you are, you know what you're saying and you can show them with conviction that you know whatever it is you're trying to sell them. Is for them that whatever it is?

Speaker 1: 20:40

you're trying to sell them is for them. Yeah, what I would add to that is I always tell people you need to be ready and prepared. Prepared is your tactics. What is your data? What research can you do appropriately? We're not telling you to go to their personal Facebook pages. We're saying hit up their LinkedIn profiles, company websites, what is out there in the public domain that you can find. That is all part of your preparedness. It's also know your craft, know your skill.

Speaker 1: 21:05

What is the objective of this meeting? The ready part is the mindset that you need to be running through in your head. You responding to questions, you thinking about the energy you want to bring to that, whether it's smiling or calm, confidence. Right, sometimes you need a little championship energy, right? You know if Serena's going on the court, she's not thinking about anything else, but going on the court and what's that about and how is she bringing that champion energy? And I feel like running through those things, in addition to doing your chop wood, wood, carry water, get your facts, be prepared, know. That is two of the ways in which you're going to create a better communication and the ability to listen.

Speaker 2: 21:47

Yeah, I love that you just brought up energy, because that can be an empowering element to you, know, an interaction, or it could be a debilitating or depleting element to it and that, like you again, part of your preparation and part of I love the ready, part of your ready is knowing how you are going to walk in right, no matter what energy is bouncing off of you or toward you, coming toward you. You know where you stand and that can push some of that negative energy away in ways that are going to serve you long after that meeting right, because it just shows that you've got.

Speaker 1: 22:33

Or if someone's reluctant right, if someone's reluctant, you don't know what happened to them that day before that meeting. We're not going to take it personal. We're still going to show up ready and prepared. That's right, matt. So how do you then? Okay, so now you've listened, you're reading the room. How do you then apply that to the confidence and decision-making?

Speaker 2: 22:52

Yeah, I mean, I think there is. You have to the values that you stand for. I mean, I think with the, with the tool that I built is based off of your, your personal values, that need to transcend into how you make decisions and the comfort of the outcomes of those decisions. And so if you, you need to take stock, you know, in what those things are, whether they're non-negotiables or they are influencers right, it could be, you know, you said it earlier something that happened to you earlier. How did that sway the way you walked in? You know the societal, you know norms. How does that impact the decisions that you need to make? But you need to assess all of those things Now.

Speaker 2: 23:44

Maybe in a quick, in a quick turn decision, you can't pull out your IHAP and do a quick analysis, but you've already done the homework to understand inside of those things that make you happier or more famous or richer or more. You know more intelligent, you know what those things are already, so you can draw on that. So, again, that's part of the preparation. I think in the quick, quick decision making and sometimes you have to be, you know, make decisions on the fly, especially if you're leading a team and there's some, some you know, fast turn needs. I think you subconsciously tune into those things, but you also have to tune into your experience and you know quickly. Think back at a time, potentially, when you were faced with something similar and how did you respond? Did you respond calm and collected and keep everybody calm and collected, or did you respond in a very you know, you know erratic or frantic kind of you know, not in control way that you know wasn't wasn't beneficial in the long run?

Speaker 1: 24:52

Yeah, I think that makes me think of. There's an exercise that I do with clients quite regularly and I call it feelings as fuel, and I want them to go through their repository of memories and come up with the times in which you get to select the feelings right. So, if it's inspired or connected or determined or focused or champion energy, think about the last time you had that experience and you had that feeling, that sensation. I tend to feel it in my neck and chest, you know, that's really where I feel a lot of emotion. But tap into that when I want to feel inspired, when I tap into a previous memory of inspired, I create that feeling in me and then I go take action from that feeling. And why is that important? Because everything you do is because of a feeling you want or a feeling you want to avoid.

Speaker 1: 25:48

So, yes, there is ways of sort of gaming your own system. If you're looking for a new opportunity and you feel like it's heavy and it's burdensome and like I don't want to go back to LinkedIn today, guess what You're bringing that heavy, burdensome energy to that search versus. Okay, maybe I can be curious. We'll do it in smaller sprints. We're not going to tax ourselves too much. 90 minutes, right. So you start using feelings as fuel and when you're going into these decision-making opportunities or obstacles, depending on how they are or these meetings you're able to tap into that and borrow from yourself. Your brain has created tremendous success. Tap into your previous experience and create more success.

Speaker 2: 26:31

Yeah, yeah. And I will also say to the people that are around you sometimes you get to choose it, sometimes you don't are around you. Sometimes you get to choose it, sometimes you don't. And when you can choose those people who help you, tap into that, help you or even know like what your past experiences were to help you navigate through. Some of those things, too, are also incredibly helpful yeah.

Speaker 2: 26:57

Yeah, I will say in in in Spacely we have. There are four of us co-founders. We all come from different backgrounds, we all know each other in different ways and connected in different ways, but we have one we have. We have, we have a few values that we, even in our young life, is curiosity, kindness and honesty. And I will tell you, like, from day one, david Cooker and I have like been very brutally honest and not in a mean spirited way, right, but brutally honest about the things that we need to help us make decisions for the company, help us make decisions about, you know, about investors or the product or what have you. It was truly from the beginning of time. Day one, we said this is how we want to run. We want to build, grow and run this business, and knowing that you've got a partner in crime in that way, it really alleviates that. What I, what you still have to do, because we're still pitching, we're still going out there and talking to people who aren't in this. You know great, you know setup.

Speaker 2: 28:11

You have to, you have to tap into those experiences of how did you respond to a no before yes To a? I don't really understand this. You know kind of response and you're kind of like wait a minute. It's a little jarring at first but, to your point, you have to look back into how it made you feel. I love feelings, you know, fueled by feelings Like, I love that. I think that is such an incredible way to help you understand your approach and maybe not make some of those kind of quick and rash decisions about your response. You know, and taking a quick breath before you, you know, respond Right, right.

Speaker 1: 28:56

And I think it's something that, even if you're going into a networking opportunity, whether you're at a trade association or there's an industry conference or you know there's an all-hands meeting, with your meeting face-to-face, taking a moment and pausing and thinking about what impact you want to create as a leader and you're a leader, you have the opportunity to be a leader regardless of your title, right? So how are you thinking about? What do I want to create when I want to create connection, I want to create inspiration, I want to create focus, maybe collaboration, thinking about depending on the hook or the particular incidents in which you're joining other people. You want to be thinking that through and running through some of those previous experiences, so it starts to show up naturally in those exchanges.

Speaker 2: 29:44

Especially, I mean, as you're standing up in front of people whether it is your team, the company on a stage, like you have to come across it organically or more authentically, like people who know you. If they go, oh that wasn't you on stage, like that was way too rehearsed, like where were your hands Right? You know what I mean. Like even some of those types of things, people can sense that you aren't you Right and you, you know that's where. That's where some of that practice comes in and the comfort of the words that you're saying I actually do a ton of sounds really silly, but maybe you know the listeners and you know viewers can also relate of like those shower moments when you are by yourself, you can say all the words, you can get all of your words and feelings out there without anybody judging you, and you can recraft some of the things and think through some of the things that are going to be important for that particular conversation.

Speaker 1: 30:51

I think what you said. There is an important takeaway of saying it out loud, because reading your bullet points or reading your notes on paper, it sounds good, but no one's reading but you. When you actually start speaking and then you feel like it's like like, oh my God, this is so long or I'm really beating this point and no one's like no one's going to be interested in it, right. So record yourself, do it on a Zoom with a video. You can Google Hangout on your phone. Record yourself doing that and saying your pitch, saying your narrative, saying it out loud and then going back and editing. Yeah, really great stuff. It's critical.

Speaker 1: 31:30

Yeah, I want to come back around. So, making this leap from being in a corporate environment which we're going to say has structure by default right, because it's established and been around, what did you know, like? How did you know in yourself that it was time to have an experience that was in a startup, meaning unstructured? I know you and I have talked a lot before that you love to use both that builder brain and that connector brain. Did they play a role in sort of making that decision to leave corporate and go out and start your own thing?

Speaker 2: 32:09

Yes, to a degree I knew I was thinking about for quite some time, before the actual day that I resigned. I was thinking about what is my next chapter? What is, what is it that I want to do next? But there was this gravitational pull really helping me prepare myself for doing something that was very different. Now I will also say my entire career. I never had a this Right. I was always. You know, the next thing was never a lateral move. It was always like I could. If I know 50% of that, I'm good. I'm going to go for it and see what happens. Awesome.

Speaker 2: 33:05

Sometimes, it worked and sometimes it didn't. So I already was kind of there was already this kind of energy inside of me that I knew I think I can do that. I knew I think I can do that. Yeah, Back to the honesty point. I did tell my co-founder that I was like I never I've never done this before, Like you should know. And he's like, oh, I know me neither. I was like, all right, OK, two of us together, Maybe we'll figure it out. But you know, I think the the already having that energy of change was not uncomfortable for me. I was smart about a few things, Like when it came to the financial piece of it, I had peace of mind. I wasn't worrying about where the next dollar was coming from. So that was also helpful. But that's also in preparation over time.

Speaker 1: 34:02

Yeah, your past self made that happen. You saved money. You prepared for a moment like this.

Speaker 2: 34:09

Yes, exactly. And I also have to say I have a really great support group, if you will, in my family and my husband and my close friends, my board of advisors, if you will, they also could tell it was time, yeah. So when I eventually told everybody, okay, like it's going to happen, like it's going to happen, like I'm pulling the trigger, they all were like excellent, how can I help you, how can I support you? That's great. So so you know, having done, you know, throughout my career, having changed, be normal, being prepared mentally, and you know, financially and also physically, I had moved from New York back to Detroit. So my, you know, my, my cost of living was very different. So that was helpful.

Speaker 2: 35:00

And again, having the support of people to say, okay, I see this in you, you know, go and do, we'll tell you if it seems off again, yeah, so you know, I mean, was it scary? Yes, very, because I didn't have a plan. I didn't, I, I literally resigned and the next day I was, I didn't have any meetings. It was a really weird void that I had never experienced before in 28 years of being employed.

Speaker 1: 35:33

Yeah, it's funny you and I talked about, before we jumped on the call, how we both, for some reason, did it in the spring. You did it in March, I did it in April and I also didn't. I mean, I had a plan that was like, okay, maybe in six months from now, but I also thought I was just going to do a couple of things. And then I think it comes back to where we were starting, like the power of network, the power of connection. Very, I mean, by 9.39 am the next morning I was already hanging up the phone by someone who did an outreach and said I heard you're a free agent. I was like, wait, what? Hold a minute? Okay, here I am, yeah, so, so I'm making that switch. Okay, here I am, yeah, so, so I'm making that switch.

Speaker 1: 36:21

So what I'm hearing you say in that is it's your preparedness of you needed to make sure your finances, the situations that you needed to build the foundation for what was next, even though you didn't know what was next. You got a community, both within your family and your husband and with friends. You say board of advisors, I say board of directors, like who are the people on your board that can give you different opinions and aren't going to just give you an opinion that feels like it's placating you right. This is a great opportunity to have that mentorship it's within an organization, sponsorship or even a coach. That's a great opportunity there.

Speaker 1: 36:57

And then making some choices. New York is an amazing city, but going back to Detroit is also amazing city. But having an opportunity to change some of your cost of living expenses to prepare for this, I think those are really smart things for people to remember when they're going about making a change, that it's not just quick, it's actually slow and steady, and making some of the preparations that you are ready for when it happens. Thoughtful choices Thoughtful choices.

Speaker 2: 37:27

The one thing I wanted to add was kind of maybe a fourth thing that helped me make the you know bridge, the time of you know leaving to the startup world, so that my my network too. I used my network in a way that I was looking for you know kind of feedback of what is out there, what should I be looking at? That I never had eyes open for before, and all of the startups and all of the you know, even consulting work were all through people in my network first. Before I did anything that you know was maybe you know, less connected, if you will, and even to this day, like the work that I do, are with the people that I, that I really know and trust and have incredibly high regard for. So that's pulled through you know the choices that I made post post-corporate. You know again all about the people and who you know surround yourself with.

Speaker 1: 38:37

Yeah, Okay, all right. So my final question is back to decision making, and you've advised multiple startups. You're now in the middle of building a startup. What are some of the common decision-making challenges that you see founders make and how would you recommend that they think them through and avoid? Like what are some of those common pitfalls that happen in early decision-making?

Speaker 2: 39:05

Yeah, thinking that someone's going to steal your idea. You know that, you know it's scary, right, because you're like, but there's such a great idea that someone's going to steal it and run with it. Well, I know it's scary, right, because you're like, but it's such a great idea that someone's going to steal it and run with it. Well, I mean, it could happen. Chances of it happening are probably a little. You know a little less and less. You know somebody's coming in with deeper pockets and better connections. You need to talk to people about what it is that you're doing, right, like you can't, don't hide and only give little bits. Um, uh, I think the other one of the others is um, not knowing, not knowing your financials, not knowing your numbers. Um, you could think you're in a really great place and then when you look at the numbers, you're like, whoa, um, you know. The other way around, you know is probably beneficial if you think that you're in a really bad place, but you're in a really good place. That can help too.

Speaker 2: 40:13

The other is finding your people. So you know, do you need a co-founder? Do you do this as a sole founder? And then, if you choose to be, you know to look for a co-founder, be really thoughtful about who that is and you may get along. But you have to get along on such deeper levels because you're going to go through uneven, uneven emotions about where you are, what you should do and how you're going to approach the next day. And if you, I mean trust, trust is everything, and and and again that listening piece comes forward. You can't be only pushing out your agenda and your idea. You have to think about what your co-founder is bringing to the table that is going to be helpful and complimentary to what you're thinking other?

Speaker 1: 41:19

Yeah, no, but I think that's solid. I think the finding the partner I mean, especially if you're tangling legal and money, you really I mean, in some ways it's similar to a marriage you really want to think through who is that person that you're going to be connected to for quite some time. This is not something that you can just get up and quit if it doesn't work as easily. I mean, of course you can quit, but there's entanglements of money and legal that you have to figure out. Responsibility, all right. Now this is really my last question. You're doing, basically you're doing, the room. What is exciting you right now about the future of media and advertising, and where are you seeing the places that you're going to be leaning in and where you're seeing others lean in? What's exciting you most and where you're?

Speaker 2: 41:59

seeing others lean in. What's exciting you most. Okay, I mean, I feel like this I really think that technology is our friend, and it's not just AI. Yes, that's a huge component of the conversation today, but how do we let technology do all the things that we didn't enjoy as we were growing up in our industry? That's kind of amazing. Yeah, if I think back, Give it tables.

Speaker 2: 42:29

Oh yeah, data entry into Excel spreadsheets over and over and over again. Right, let some of that do the work for you. This is my only caveat Don't let it do all the work that you're not learning about your industry, about your category, about your client. You still have to do the work. Maybe it's the things that are not as interesting, like the manual data entry or the you know filing of things. I say that with quotes because when I started we actually did file actual paper.

Speaker 2: 43:10

But like so, so learn, use that time that you now have to learn deeper to read the have to learn deeper to read the annual reports, the shareholder letters, jump in and like learn as much as you can about the industry and the category and the clients that you are servicing. If you will or you're looking to help better their businesses, like understand their business almost better than they do. So you approach it with a common language and not just and using technology to do that. Yeah, and not just selling your product, but using tech to help you really gain that advantage.

Speaker 1: 43:56

Perfect, beth. Thank you so much for being here. I will put everything Beth mentioned in the show notes her website, her TEDx talk her Spacely. All that information in the show notes and we want to hear from you. If you have questions, email us at hello at jillgriffincoachingcom. We will get them to Beth. I know she will come back Absolutely. Thank you. You'll come back and answer those questions and, until next time, embrace possibility, be intentional, inspired and kind. Thanks so much, beth. We'll see you soon.