Own It

Own It

We’re buying out of the ad industry boys’ club. Hosted by Cornett owner Christy Hiler, Own It lifts up the stories of women and nonbinary ad agency owners: their challenges, their successes, and their goals for the industry. We’re aiming to start a movement—because you don’t have the power until you own it.

Episodes

November 11, 2025 40 mins
This week on Own It we’re talking to Anjali Ramachandran from Storythings. She is based in the UK but is really a global citizen, having lived in many different countries and cities. She told me was always drawn to the colors, vibrancy and stories that advertising had to offer, even as a child. She has an impressive career journey that included a stop at Nike, and working with brands like Burberry and Warner Brothers. She started ...
Mark as Played
This week on Own It we’re talking to Bethany Wilcox from Unusual. She started her firm to help brands stand out. They strive to help their clients be genuinely differentiated. She says they entertain, instead of advertise.  Entertaining is an apt description of Bethany as you will see. She’s full of energy, creativity and ideas. That makes her the perfect guest for us to dive into her journey, her inspiration and her thoughts on c...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Heather Waisanen from Coastal Maverick. Her firm is a custom out of home consulting company. That segment of the advertising world became her passion and she has built an amazing company around it. Heather was a gymnast in her younger years and wound up as a gymnastic coach living in places like the Grand Caymans and South Africa out of college. She’s based in Florida now and has such a smart o...
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This week on Own It, we’re talking to Elizabeth Rosenberg from The Good Advice Company. Her firm is focused on executive personal branding, thought leadership, and brand positioning and high-level PR strategy. But she also founded a company or project called Chief Spiritual Officer.  We talked about that, her amazing career, being present and so much more. I loved her perspective on closing the gender gap in agency ownership and g...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Carrie Stein from Bridge Insights and Media. She obviously came up through the media side of the ad business, working for many years at Neilsen before co-founding Bridge with her partner Jenny Griffith 10 years ago. They started with the idea that advertising could be smarter, more cost-effective and easier for clients. We talked about her firm, her journey to ownership and her thoughts on the ...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Jessica Blumberg from hunterblu media. It was formed in 2018 to make working with a media agency easier for brands and creative agencies, and has blossomed. Jessica certainly came up through her career on the media side of the advertising industry. She spent time at Crispin Porter + Bogusky before turning consultant, then agency owner.  We talked about her journey, her passion for media and ma...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Casey Benedict from Maverick Mindshare. Her firm spawned from the conflict between bloggers and public relations professionals that emerged in early days of brands being involved in social media. She began bridging the gap between the two sides and brokering brand deals with what we now know as influencers.  We talked about her journey to starting and building her agency, her thoughts on the ag...
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September 16, 2025 42 mins
This week on Own It we’re talking to Courtney Lewis from The Variable. She just stepped into the role of partner and CEO there two months ago after being on the strategy and leadership team for several years.  Courtney didn’t land at The Variable from the agency world. She was in business and management consulting before and brought that experience and knowledge to the firm. We talked about everything from her journey to agency l...
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September 9, 2025 37 mins
This week on Own It, we’re talking to Holly Conti of Full Swing PR. If you remember the firm’s name, Holly is the co-owner with Caitlin Copple, who was our guest back in November of 2022. She wasn’t originally an owner, so we get to hear how an employe moves into an ownership role.  Holly and Christy had a great conversation about her journey from wanting to be creative and the boss when she was young, to being creative and the bo...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Erin Emmerson and Kelsey Cross from Tower 28. It is a global agency built on a network of in-market experts that helps brands globalize content for any audience. Their unique approach to the business is fascinating. We also enjoy hearing how co-founders and co-owners carve out that journey together. We certainly talked about that, but also parenthood, their paths to find one another and start t...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Hope Harris Refuerzo from TillSow. It is a fully integrated global storytelling studio. Hope told me they serve the needs of an evolving culture by providing a modern, bespoke experience for companies, brands and artists.  Hope is based in Los Angeles and has a production background and was once a casting director in Hollywood.  We had such a fun conversation about our industry, our challenge ...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Amy Edwards from Quality Meats. Her firm does amazing work, but don’t take my word for it. They have earned Small Agency of the Year awards from both AdAge and AdWeek. The firm launched during the pandemic with no clients and no investors.  What they did have was two partners and a producer who wanted to do great work and remove what they call the “B.S.” of the advertising world. Obviously, the...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Amanda Lucey from The Partnership. She’s been in that role for almost 13 years and has navigated through both growth and expansion. She came into the agency world from a career in associations, diplomacy and  politics. So her knowledge of that world certainly informs some interesting perspectives on the gender gap in agency ownership, and how we can attack that challenge. Amanda is so interest...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Genna Franconi from 22squared and Trade School. She and they are based in Atlanta, Georgia. As you probably noticed, she runs two agencies. One is over a century old. The other was born out of a client need for scaling audience-based content.  Genna came up through the account side of the business and worked her way to the C-Suite at 22squared before founding Trade School as a spin-off firm, ev...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Jen Harrington from Hatch. She jumped into the world of ownership when she founded Hatch over 16 years ago. So she has been at this a long time. Her perspective on the gender gap in agency ownership is full of experience and insight. Jen is also investing her time and energies in fostering the creative world. She creates on-ramps into the creative world for diverse talent and spends time volunt...
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July 15, 2025 36 mins
This week on Own It, we’re talking to Lisa Kribs from TGW Studio. She is based in Rochester, New York, and came up through the creative side of the business. Her firm is a social impact marketing and creative studio that helps clients tell their stories. She is also a musician and recently finished an E-P! As you can imagine, we had a lot to discuss. I’m always excited to learn from creative brains. This episode certainly has a lo...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Erin Gwiazdon from Level Mpls. She spent several years at Level before joining the executive team, then moving into an ownership role. Most of her career has been on the agency side, but did jump out and work for brands in healthcare and arts.  We had a great conversation about spending time outdoors on the lake, her journey to ownership and her thoughts on closing the gap in advertising agency...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Kristen O’Neall of Mirage Media. She came up through the account services side of the business and founded Mirage Media last year.  Kristen is an admitted workaholic and is passionate about being a strategic visionary for her clients.  We had such a fun conversation about her journey, her influences and her thoughts on the state of gender balance in advertising agency ownership. She is so ener...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Liz Seelye from StarryEyed Strategy. Her firm believes to be starryeyed means to be creative, collaborative and visionary so you can dream new ideas and make them a reality.  But she also has a renewable energy company with her husband, trail runs and has been to over 40 countries, a dozen or so with one or more of her five children.  As you can tell, Liz is multifaceted and fascinating. We ha...
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This week on Own It we’re talking to Kerry McKibbin from Mischief. What can you say about the success of her firm? They’ve been in the top three agencies on Ad Age’s A-List each of the last four years, including topping that list twice in that time.  Their work is amazing. Their success is something we’re all both impressed by and maybe a little envious of.  As you might imagine, I tried to mine her for all sorts of insights from...
Mark as Played

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