Way Out #19: From Being Told What to Make to Building a $1M Agency with Marianne Kaiser
consultant (marketing) Vanessa Jupe consultant (marketing) Vanessa Jupe

Way Out #19: From Being Told What to Make to Building a $1M Agency with Marianne Kaiser

Marianne Kaiser counted the bad mornings that she dreaded her job, and at the three month mark, she decided to leave and build her own business. She quit in June, filed her LLC on July 8th, launched Contrary Collective publicly in September, and is on track to hit $1M in revenue one year later. She also has two small kids. What got her there wasn't perfect timing or a flawless plan; it was the willingness to accept, as she puts it, that both options were going to be hard anyway, so she might as well do the thing she actually wanted to do.

Read More
Way Out #15: From Startup Toxicity to Building a Balanced Life with Anna Duin
consultant (marketing) Vanessa Jupe consultant (marketing) Vanessa Jupe

Way Out #15: From Startup Toxicity to Building a Balanced Life with Anna Duin

Anna Duin spent 11 years doing marketing at startups — always doing the work of multiple people for the price of one. She navigated layoffs, negotiated flexible hours, and went through two terrifying years with a seriously ill child while her last company turned toxic. When she finally left, she didn’t have a plan. Just a conversation where she heard herself say: “I think I just have to build my own thing.” This is what happened in the year that followed.

Read More