“I don’t think of entrepreneurs as risky, they just see opportunity where others don’t and want to make that vision a reality.”
Paige Arnof-Fenn is the founder and CEO of Mavens & Moguls, a global branding and digital marketing firm whose clients range from early-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies including Colgate, Virgin, Microsoft, and The New York Times Company. She was formerly VP Marketing at Zipcar (IPO & sold to Avis) and VP Marketing at Inc.com (sold to Bertelsmann). Prior to that, she was SVP Marketing at Launch Media (IPO & became Yahoo Music).
Arnof-Fenn has also worked as a special assistant to the chief marketing officer of global marketing at The Coca-Cola Company and held the position of Director of the 1996 Olympic Commemorative Coin Program at the Department of Treasury.
Thank you so much for giving us your time! Before we begin, could you introduce yourself to our readers and take us through what exactly your company does and what your vision is for its future?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I started a global branding and digital marketing firm 20 years ago. We are a network of seasoned marketing experts who can do anything a marketing department, market research shop, public relations firm or ad agency does on an as-needed or outsourced basis. We help our clients tell their stories in compelling ways to create interest. We have resources in major metro areas across the country and around the world.
My vision has always been to bring world-class marketing talent and expertise to organizations that want to make a difference in the world regardless of size or budget. Especially now in the new normal post-pandemic, we believe every organization deserves the right words and pictures to tell their story in compelling ways. As our tag line says we love our work because marketing matters, your core values, and mission statement are intangible assets that are your roadmap to success and it’s important that they are reflected in your branding because people choose to do business with companies that align with their own values, so this information needs to be visible to them. It also gives your team a clear objective, which helps them to make decisions that align with the company’s purpose.
NO child ever says I want to be a CEO/entrepreneur when I grow up. What did you want to be and how did you get where you are today?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I did not plan on starting a company but I did not want to be a nurse, teacher, or astronaut. My father and both grandfathers were successful in business and ran regional companies so I always wanted to push further and go work for a large multi-national business and be a Fortune 500 CEO. When I was a student I looked at leaders like Meg Whitman & Ursula Burns as my role models. I started my career on Wall Street in the 80s and had a successful career in Corporate America at companies like Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola and worked at 3 different startups as the head of marketing, they all had good exits.
I became an entrepreneur and took the leap right after 9/11 when the company I worked for cut their marketing. I had nothing to lose. Being an entrepreneur provides me a platform to do work I truly enjoy with and for people I respect. I get to set my priorities, pre-Covid I had time to travel and hang out with my inner circle, and I work out every day. It has been a journey to get here but I am lucky to have found it. I love the autonomy, flexibility, and the fact that I know every day the impact that I have on my business.
When I worked at big companies I always felt the ball would roll with or without me, that if I got hit by a bus someone new would be in my office right away. Now my DNA is in everything we do and I can trace every decision and sale to something I did or a decision I made and that is incredibly gratifying and fulfilling. Like most entrepreneurs, I am working harder and longer than ever and I have never been happier. Working for yourself and building a business you started is incredibly rewarding and gratifying.
It has been a lot of fun, I joke that I am an accidental entrepreneur. I knew I had made it as an entrepreneur when Harvard wrote 2 case studies on my business a few years after I started it, we were very early to pioneer sharing resources on the marketing front (before my company it was really only done with HR, legal and accounting/finance).
Tell us something about yourself that others in your organization might be surprised to know.
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I can say the alphabet backwards faster than forwards.
Many readers may wonder how to become an entrepreneur but what is an entrepreneur? How would you define it?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: My business school professor defined entrepreneurship as the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled. The dictionary says it is a person who starts or organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so. I don’t think of entrepreneurs as risky, they just see opportunities where others don’t and want to make that vision a reality.
What is the importance of having a supportive and inclusive culture?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: Culture is so important in an organization. I have been fortunate to work in several world-class businesses in my career like Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola with a supportive and inclusive culture and a growth mindset and l have tried to create that culture in my company too. In my experience, it attracts the best people who collaborate to create success by realizing that the more happiness and wealth they acquire the more they can help others succeed too. Their gratitude becomes a multiplier and virtuous circle creating a positive environment for future success.
They do not see the world as a zero-sum game, so if someone else is winning they must be losing. This culture attracts people who never stop learning and experimenting, they are focused on the future and see opportunities ahead through learning together and growth.
How can a leader be disruptive in the post covid world?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: My strategy is to be like Apple and “think different.” To do that you have to talk with new people, ask more questions, shake up your routine by reading different blogs, visiting new websites, listening to alternative music genres, eating other ethnic foods, shopping in different neighborhoods, listening to new podcasts, and taking new routes home from activities.
Basically, you have to open your mind and be exposed to a fresh perspective so you get the synapses firing and connect the dots in new and exciting ways. Disruption requires getting out of your comfort zone and considering new possibilities.
If a 5-year-old asked you to describe your job, what would you tell them?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: I help people and companies find the best words and pictures to talk about themselves so they can sell more stuff. Then I would ask them about foods they like, movies they watch, etc., and use an example they could relate to personally.
Leaders are usually asked about their most useful qualities but let’s change things up a bit. What is your most useless talent?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: Probably saying the alphabet backwards 😉
Thank you so much for your time but before we finish things off, we do have one more question. If you wrote a book about your life until today, what would the title be?
Paige Arnof-Fenn: “Falling Up“
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.