#MeetTheHiringManager - Colleen Stauffer
In this edition of Meet the Hiring Manager, we share a little bit about Colleen Stauffer, who joined us recently as Chief Marketing Officer and is already making waves. Read on to learn a little bit about her journey to HoneyBook, what she looks for in a marketer, and some of her endearing quirks.
Tell us a little bit about your rise to CMO. Is this something you’ve always aspired to, and was your path always clear?
My career aspiration was always to become a CMO but my path was not a straight line. I’ve had many successes and many more disappointments in my journey. But my work-ethic (thanks, dad!), dedication and drive led me to this wonderful company — it was all worth it.
During my sophomore year of college I landed an internship at ABC in Washington, DC, and my boss there taught me how to be a thoughtfully direct leader. After college, I interned at several advertising agencies in Chicago. I was lucky to work at Cramer-Krasselt which has an incredible culture and I was able to make an impact even as an intern. While there I discovered my passion for innovation and building, and my proudest accomplishment was founding the social media team. It was the beginning of the digital media revolution and I helped the company expand into this emerging space.
Seven years later, I moved to San Francisco to work at Clorox, which became another formative moment in my career. This was my first in-house role where I learned how a business operates end-to-end, launched award-winning TV spots, designed packaging, and unlocked new social media channels. Learning how to sell routine everyday items was a great lesson in creative marketing — let’s just say I know a lot about garbage bags!
From there I had the opportunity to join the Pinterest team and fell in love with the company. It was pre-IPO, high growth, and in the middle of a reinvention — my favorite combination. As an avid Pinterest user, I felt connected to the brand and could see the potential to evolve the product. I launched and scaled the Creator Marketing team from one to 70 people globally and led the most complex marketing campaign in the company’s history where we established a new Pinterest audience and debuted a renewed platform for creators and consumers.
That brings me to today and my new role as CMO at HoneyBook, the leading business management platform for independent professionals. I can’t wait to be a part of the journey and bring this amazing brand to a broader market.
At HoneyBook, we love what we do. What about your role do you love, or are you most excited about right now?
I LOVE learning deep insights about our target audience and coaching my team to produce first-class work. I truly love my job and don’t take for granted the responsibility I have for both our internal team and our members (customers).
What drew you to join the team at HoneyBook? How did you know this was the right place for you at this point in your career?
There were three big drivers for me. First, the team. Everyone at HoneyBook is kind, driven and collaborative. It’s a truly special place, and it’s reflected in our incredible retention. Take for example, our CFO, Yen Yen. She’s been at the company for seven years, which is unique and not typical in tech.
Second, the audience really resonated with me. Independents, solopreneurs, consultants — no matter what name they go by, are the most inspiring, hardworking and fearless people, and we get to be just a little part of their journey. Helping them legitimize, streamline and centralize their business operations gives them time back to focus on their passion and take time off!
Lastly, it came down to the opportunity. While HoneyBook has been around for 11 years, there is so much opportunity ahead of us to serve the millions of independents out there, and enable them to live their best lives.
What is the one trait that you look for in all marketers and why?
I have to pick two because they go hand in hand — curiosity and resourcefulness. With these two qualities you’ll be successful in marketing no matter what.
Tell us something quirky about yourself.
I carry my own pink Himalayan sea salt everywhere I go. Also, I LOVE doing laundry.
What’s the one business/professional development book you always find yourself recommending, and why?
Hidden Potential by Adam Grant. In it, he talks about finding superpowers on your team and knowing how to grow them.
We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about Colleen, just one of the many amazing people at HoneyBook. If she sounds like someone you’d love to work with, we invite you to visit out careers site to see what types of opportunities we have available on the marketing team and beyond.
Lastly, if you like what you read, we invite you to subscribe to this blog to keep up with the people and culture at HoneyBook.
