August 28, 2025 • 41 mins
Sit down with the CEO of The Mixx, Robyn Streisand. The Mixx is a NYC-based creative agency that delivers impactful messaging, strategy and visual branding to a broad based clientele.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Raft M and T Bank present CEOs. You should know
Howard by iHeart Media. Let's be Robin Streissan. She is
the founder of The Mix, based in New York City,
a certified full service marketing agency that helps businesses develop
strategies and createive solutions for their marketing needs. They offer
range of services from granting and identity development to campaign
(00:22):
creation and experimental design, with a focus on human centric
and unconventional approaches. Before we talk more about Robin's very
successful business, it's having an upcoming thirtieth anniversary. I first
asked her to talk a little bit about herself, where
she's from and her origin story.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I grew up in Queens in far Rockaway. It was
an incredible place in space and looks nothing like what
it did does now. From then I went to school.
I went to College of Fairleigh Dickinson. I did an
MBA executive program at the Tuck School. And being an
(00:59):
an entrepreneur, all of that education and learning provides some
ingredients for what I'm going to be, what I am
now and what I'm going to be in the future.
But education is an essential part of who we are.
But being on your own is a whole education in
(01:20):
and of itself.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
It sure is. And of course we're here to talk
about the mix your agency, and you're coming up on
a thirty year anniversary, so there's a lot of talk
about what's going on today in the climate, what's in
your future for you and your team when you were
going out of school, And this is kind of a
question for our future entrepreneurs out there, because I know
so much has happened last three decades as you put
this wonderful agency together and all the things that have happened.
(01:42):
But did you have kind of a plan. Did you
know what you wanted to do coming out of school?
Were you really clear on it or did you have
to ebb and flow it and kind of find your
way in all the doorways that we most of us
usually go through to find out what exactly we want
to do for a living.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, I was. I never had a path around what
I was going to be when I grow up. And
I when I think about entrepreneurship is kind of like
my through line. I think it gives us the springboard
to be open to different opportunities as they come, and
we'll never know which one is the right one until
(02:15):
you know it. When you do it and it becomes
a part of you. And the not knowing in today's
world is what has people so nervous and freaked out about,
Oh my god, I'm going to get come out of school,
I'm not going to have a job, or I went
for the wrong thing. It really wasn't what I was
(02:35):
passionate about, but it was the thing that I had
to do so I could secure a job. I think
people miss the boat on this sometimes that what's really
important is in what's in your heart and discovering by
virtue of the journey what you want to be. You
don't have to know in the beginning. And I feel
(02:58):
like this these generations now have such a unique opportunity
to discover things and be effective at them in a
way that I never had, And I wish sometimes I
could just start all over again, because with all these
tools and technology, it allows you to do so much
(03:19):
more now than we could have ever done then. And
maybe it's a little bit of karma around where they are.
Maybe the thirty years of expertise informs where we are
now and wouldn't have been relevant back then. Who knows,
But the journey has been incredible.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
You know, one of the things my takeaway when I
found out that you basically have been a lifer in
that region, and I think there's so many pluses to
that because you know the landscape so well, and i'd
love to just hear you know. I know it's your
personal journey and it's very specific to you about what
you did and what you've created, but can you kind
(04:02):
of tell myself and our lists when you come from
a region and you know the landscape, how much farther
you do get ahead and the pluses and that and
maybe if they're any minuses, I'd love to hear that too.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I started working in corporate America. I didn't belong here,
I didn't fit there, but again, the best training and
development I could have ever ever gotten. And when we
talk about knowing your path, that was just my path
for that moment and what that path led to seeing
(04:34):
a white space for me to open my own business.
It wasn't that I knew that I wanted to own
my own business or have my own business in marketing
and advertising, but that those ten years working for a
Fortune five hundred brand gave me that foresight and then
when the moment became very real to be able to
(04:59):
make the pit and do it. It was about timing and
the right place and the opportunity that went along with it.
And then before you know it, we're starting this business
and we didn't really know what it was going to be,
but we knew that it was going to be something
that was grounded in purpose. It was going to always
(05:22):
be about people. It was going to keep politics, attitude,
and ego out. So it wasn't so much about what
we were going to be, it's what we weren't going
to be sure, and that gave the company life and
it actually what's one of the key things about the
(05:43):
starting of your own business is that you have to
discover all the pieces and parts that you don't even
know go into starting your own business, whether it's finding
the lawyer and the attorney and the right person for
this and for that, and before where you know it,
you have your first kind of fan base around you,
(06:06):
the people that are there to support you no matter what.
And then they become kind of like your guiding lights
for what that go forward could look like, and they
become everlasting and forever friends. And without them, I just
I don't know that I would ever be where I
am and I'm always grateful to have had them at
(06:29):
that time as we rolled forward over these almost thirty years.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Well, that's very cool and a very special thing to say,
and I'm sure everybody's very appreciative. I'm sure they feel
the same way about you, Robin. And I think that
also is a cautionary tale for everybody out there that
when you start your own business, we can normalize it.
It's okay that you don't know what it's going to be,
but you know you've got a good idea and you
just need to run a play. And I think that's
what you're talking about. This is a reoccurring thing. So
(06:56):
what I'd like to do before we get into all
the incredible things that the mixes today and what's in
your future, can you give an overall vision and a
mission about what the mix is for everybody.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
So it's not like a typical mission around like three
lines of a story. There's like four guiding principles that
we live by. One is that we always go for things.
Yes there's criteria and evaluation around what we go for,
but that we go for it. So it creates an
(07:27):
energy around sometimes you just don't know, always trust your gut,
I have to tell you how many times I've questioned
myself or somebody on my team or a client. But
at the core, when you trust yourself as a foundation,
everything will always turn out. Three. We are always purpose
(07:52):
driven and operating with integrity very important to us as
a company, my personal values and miss and we will
always want people to feel seen and heard and everybody
representation is key when I think about who we're hiring
and who we're working for and what matters, and that
(08:14):
finally people first, right, people first, and relationships that these
are like the four pillars of who the Mix has
become as a company and the things that have transcended
over time, of how we've evolved and what we've where
we always come back to as home base.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
You know something I subscribe to that you talked about there.
And once again, this might not be for everybody, but
I learned a long time ago as I was stifling
on some decisions in my business and not just going
ahead and doing something. My boss said, listen, I just
want you to run a play. Don't worry about it.
We'll deal with it afterwards. But if you keep on
hanging on to it, you're never going to get it.
(08:57):
Done and executed. So just run a play. And as
I hear you talk about that, I think that's good
advice for everybody to not think about it for too long.
Just run a play and if there are issues afterwards
that we have to hand or deal with or whatever
they are, the good, the bad, and the ugly of it,
then you can do that. But that's kind of my
takeaway what you're talking about. Just go ahead and run
a play, right you never know? Well, I want to
(09:18):
talk about the Mix and what you do, and I
think this is really integral. You know, I imagine there has
been a lot of ebbs and flows and pivots and
changes over almost three decades of your company. At one time,
there wasn't social media and phones when you started, and
now we are in an AI world whether it's everything
that is at your hand. So there's some easier things,
but sometimes it makes it harder too. So with that said,
(09:40):
if you were to give a thirty thousand foot view,
Robin about what the Mix does, what would you tell people?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
The Mix specializes. Our superpower, our secret sauce is that
we understand audience, audience as in gen x Y or Z,
audience as in Black and brown, LGBT women, his Hispanic
asient and the intersectionality of all of it. Data and
(10:05):
research and analytics inform direction and path for audience and
for strategy. But the nuance of coming from these spaces,
being members of these diverse audiences, the authenticity, the physicality,
(10:26):
the emotional touch and feel is who we are and
so we've brought this foundational piece to our offering. We
started out as a branding firm. How do you build
a brand? What is a brand? Why does it matter?
And again through the lens of audience. Right, So, whether
(10:48):
it's a corporation, whether it's a startup, whether it's another agency,
the same guiding principles around what is a brand and why.
Then we evolve as our clients evolved and the time
evolved into more of a campaign agency. We develop campaigns
for Fortune five hundred brands around these audiences. And if
(11:13):
you think about these movements, right, we look at the
Me Too movement, We look at how marriage equality came
to the form. These are all new moments that matter
in the world that did not exist twenty years ago.
So the mix ultimately was primed for these moments. Right,
(11:37):
how do you build your brand and then how do
you manifest it in the public domain around LGBT and
who they are and all the data and numbers behind
what defines them and what drives them and motivates them
to buy product or black and brown, and how people
(11:58):
have to be at the table being represented in tying
brands to that audience because it resonates so profoundly with
who they are as a DNA, so campaigns and now
what we are seeing across the Fortune five hundred doesn't
matter about size or scale, whether you're public or 'or not,
(12:21):
is the need for the silos inside of corporate America
are causing such politics, fear and uncertainty. And so we
have now taken our offering around inclusion, about representation, about
(12:43):
understanding audience. So we are now offering our clients this
what we call unlocked workshop, where we actually are redefining
the brief, whether it's about a company culture, whether it's
the way they're going to reposition they're offering, whether it's
a new division they're launching. We're bringing people together in
(13:07):
the room real time. It's not like a typical Corporate
America or a McKinsey workshop, where you know you're going
to fill out these five sections and you're going to
you know, get a recommendation or a roadmap at the end.
This is like a real time experience where people are
(13:29):
getting to know each other for the first time. Companies
have gotten especially post COVID. You know, some people don't
even know each other. One person was hired during COVID
and the rest of the Legacy team never even saw
that person. They don't know what's what makes them tick
or the nuances about them. So we're coming into companies.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
And we're we're we're redefining the brief. We're bringing the
brief to life inside of a company, and we're building
community in places and spaces that I never thought were possible,
where they're leaving the room.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Saying, God, I'm so glad we did this. We should
do more of it. And what that unlocks is the
opportunity for people to collaborate and work together again. Right.
So many companies have not come back post COVID, Right,
and even in this hybrid world, they're coming back, and
(14:29):
they're coming back in a way where they're still on
zoom calls for a majority of the day, So you're
not getting like the swell and the energy of what
it's like to really be in a room for an
hour or so and collaborate with people you either know,
don't know, have never met, or you know really well,
(14:50):
but you're there like you're coming together in a way.
And so after the workshop, we are like really culling
through all of what we heard and then we're distilling
it down into what we call ten ideas in ten minutes.
And so the output is either something that the brand
(15:12):
can do on their own or it's something that we
could help them with. It doesn't matter either way. But
it's kind of like mixed the mixed method of bringing
company culture back in a way that somebody never even
was looking at company culture right, because it's about a
(15:33):
given project or an opportunity. But the byproduct of it
is that people are collaborating again and coming back to
what they really care about about their job and why
they're there, and they're learning from each other in a
way that I feel we've lost along these years.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Well, that's all well said, and also a great segue,
because here's what I want to ask you, without making
any assumptions that there's anybody else in your region or
in the United States that does exactly what you and
your team do. I did want to talk about differentiating
yourself from the competition, but if you could take it
a step further, because you've been around for almost three decades,
so your reputation procedes you you've been very sustainable. You
(16:18):
obviously the business model works for you. And with that said,
you also have to sell yourself to new clients too,
So can you talk a little bit about that about
differentiating yourself in those topics.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
I would say for myself, you know, it's it's evolved
to a more a place of thought leadership, right because
there's something about.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
The depth of time that if we could bottle it
and sell it, it would be maybe it'll be the
next form of AI down the road, will be taking
the experience piece and giving it to these younger generations.
So I think it's the energy, the ability to inspire
(17:05):
people to let their guard down and be wherever they
are and it's okay, and creating safe space. I really
think it's a differentiator for US agency services or commodities
in this world. Anybody could do a campaign, anybody can
(17:25):
do an internal comms program, Anyone can come up with
what an experience looks like, but when you are ongoing,
lea bringing what we call liquid magic, right, we bring
liquid magic. It's the joy, It's the opening up the
(17:48):
perferrey and like thinking bigger even though the ask is
so small, but allowing people the opportunity to stink beyond
the brief and let it rip is where we live.
And as much as it might not sound differentiating, I
want you to know it is the very reason why
(18:09):
people keep coming back. I'm not making it up. I
could tell you how many clients from day one till
now have either gone away for whatever reason in their company,
they were relegated a group of agencies that they then
have to work with, and they are bringing me in
(18:30):
as a listener on the sideline or b that they
don't know what to do, and they call us because
we've been there, done that. So I think one of
the points that I didn't make earlier that I think
is very relevant is that the mix doesn't focus in
any one industry. If anything, we are industry agnostic and
(18:52):
we were cross category. So when you think about entrepreneurship,
you have to be ready and always able to adapt
to where the world is right. And I didn't know
that it was going to be from brand to campaign
to a more consultative model. That wasn't our blueprint or roadmap.
(19:16):
That's what the industry and the times dictated, and we
just adapted to what clients needed, right, And that to
me is also a part of you know, when entrepreneurship
is really budding and becoming something else like that you
(19:37):
just didn't even know was going to be possible becomes possible.
So I just wanted to add that little color in
there because I think it's relevant when the listener doesn't
really know who we serve as the audience, and while
the audience is always at the forefront, the industry and
(19:57):
the vertical always do matter as well.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, well, I'm glad you talked about that, and I've
got many takeaways from that, but one of the big
ones is a theme that I talk to people that
are leaders, CEOs, presidents, co founders, doesn't matter what it is,
and you fall under that a whole umbrella, Robin. But
and you didn't say this word, but my takeaway is culture.
And the reason why I bring that up is culture
(20:21):
has a big umbrella of leadership. You know, happy employees, execution,
customer service. I mean There's many things you could talk about,
but a lot about what you're saying is culture, and
it sounds like that's really alter important to you.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Extremely Running a company with humans is one of the
most difficult things I've ever had to do, right, And
you have people coming from different worlds and different upbringings
and backgrounds and education and learning, and before you know it,
you have like a mishmash of beautiful thoughts and ideas,
(20:58):
and like you want to want to embrace all of
that and bring it to our clients, which is in
fact what we've done. But maintaining that and also growing
and taking care of people and listening and being available
(21:19):
for people to help them help them while you're growing
and you're talking about a legacy company. The mix is
now a legacy company. It's the most important thing. And
it's more complicated than ever to kind of especially post COVID, right,
Like I think when you talk to people, a lot
(21:41):
of people didn't make it through to the other side
of that four or four or five year window, and
you know, I still think that we're not through it
yet and what people are going through post but to
be able to come through it on the other side
and like, look at my people in the eye and
(22:01):
see them and feel them and still care about them
and what we are doing and care about clients in
the way. But you know what goes along with the
role that I sit in is there's so many pieces
and parts, and I feel sometimes, and I'm sure lots
of entrepreneurs feel this way because I spend lots of
(22:23):
time talking to people, is that it's hard to do
it all. Sometimes. You know, you're the cook, you're the waiter,
you're the bottle washer, and you're also wrapping the entire
experience because you want everybody to have a good time,
but ultimately the burden falls on you and having people
love the experience and want to come back for more
(22:46):
is what we're always striving for. So culture is everything
that's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Thanks for expounding on that. I did want to talk
to you about challenges because you're specifically in an industry
where you are problem solvers and you also come up
with great ideas too, but problem solving, and you were
kind of alluding to this as you were talking about culture,
but in the industry now, and I'm sure that over
the almost three decades that the company has been around,
now there's been different kinds of problem solving. You know,
(23:13):
there wasn't tech before, so how do we get this executed?
Now there is tech, so this is easier, But this
present is this problem you talked about people, I'm sure clients.
There's all sorts of different kinds of challenges in today's climate. Though,
what kind of challenges are you and the industry seeing
right now that you have to problem solve.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I'd say the greatest challenge there's I'd say two.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
One, there's a lack of strategy. People are very reactive
to what needs to get done, what the street is saying,
what the CEO is saying, what your direct boss is saying,
and they lose sight of what they're trying to do.
So that's number one. And then two, there are very
(23:57):
the infrastructure of this systems around this connected world are broken.
So we are doing a lot of what's called digital
transformation work right now right because we're trying to connect
the brand with the various people and partners, and then
(24:21):
we're also looking to connect to the audience, and those
systems do not work anymore. So we are constantly coming
in and trying to innovate solutions for how to make
this connected ecosystem work seamlessly, simply and successfully.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
And I'm going to translate that it's a very complex puzzle, folks,
So it just is. So you have to be very organized, communication, leadership,
all those things going in a little while. I do
want to ask you about leadership because I think it's
important this yeries too, Robin, But I also want to
talk about what your working and on currently that you're
really proud of over the recent times. And then i'd
like to talk about the future of the agency and
(25:06):
what you think direction is going to go the industry wise,
and also what the mix is working on. But you
don't have to mention a brand, but is there anything
that's been really cool that's come out of the box
over the last couple of years or currently right now
that you're working on with a brand or with a
client that you're most proud of.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
This year's twenty twenty five has been already a banner
year for us. You know, we went through with the
new administration. It was a little bit of a setback
moment because with the audience at the forefront of who
we are, we've had to take a step back ourselves
(25:43):
and the world has completely pivoted when when we have
when we think about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and those
letters are taboo in the world right now, and so
I made a decision that we're going to double down
on that. But we've had to reposition ourselves because of
(26:07):
we had to adapt to what the world is giving us,
and so we have changed our narrative. But we're doubling
down on our mission right and so it's marketing in
its own practice right by virtue of responding to the
challenge of what's needed, and we've been successfully able to
(26:32):
do that for ourselves. I think that that is the
biggest challenge when I look at corporate It's easy to
do it for somebody else, but to be able to
also have the foresight and insight to do it for
yourself in a very short amount of time, I think
is like I'm very proud of us about this, but
(26:55):
it has led to incredible opportunities for us that we're
not on the radar. So we are doing a lot
of work in the animal health and wellness space, and
I wouldn't say that that was in my direct line
as a category that we were focused on. And when
(27:17):
you think about audience audience animals, they weren't necessarily in
our kind of toolkit, if you will, but it is
one of the areas that have really shined the light
around especially during COVID right, which was the need for
companionship and unconditional love. And so the animal health market
(27:43):
everybody wanted a dog and everybody wanted a bird and
a cat and looking for companionship in new ways. And
what it's done for us as a business is it
has now brought opportunities to take what we do around,
the work we do and bring it into this category.
And ironically, we've done a lot of work for this
(28:05):
company called Zoetis, and Zoetis I would call it a
little bit of a baby brand because it's under twenty
years old, so it's still in its earlier stages. But
I worked on that brand when it first launched and
it was part of the Pizor Animal Health World and
(28:26):
spun out into a diversified portfolio of products and the
animal health business became Zoetis. I was involved when it
first launched thirteen fifteen years ago and was working on
how to bring that brand to life and pull it
through in the company, and then I did various projects
(28:49):
and now we're coming back ten years later and we're
bringing our thinking and strategy around digital transformation to Zoetis.
So we were at the beginning when it launched, which
is so cool, and now fast forward, we're back in
the brand helping them in a completely different way than
(29:11):
I would have ever known would have been the case
for an animal health brand that cares about the life
and the longevity of your pets. It has been phenomenal.
So we bring the early brand experience right because it
was in its infancy and now we were growing up
(29:31):
with it and so we've been a part of the
journey the whole time. And I love that. And it's
all new people, so I know more about the brand
origin than a lot of the people that work at
the brand. It's just so cool.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Well, I love that story and I want to ask
you one more thing about that, and it has to
do with that, but also change, and I think this
is a good life lesson once again for our young
entrepreneurs out there that want to start their business. That folks,
you've met her, buckle in because change is going to happen,
and that's life, whether you're moving to a new city
or it's a new job or there's a new boss,
(30:05):
and Robin, you've been to so many things and I
know we can't get onto, but just the big things
nine to eleven, the crash in eight COVID, and how
you've had to pivot these almost three decades, over and
over and over to change and then you bring up
this new category that you didn't think. I don't know
if it's a good fit for our agency. Yeah, you've
done it, You've breached it, and you've knocked it out
(30:26):
of the park. So I want you to talk a
little bit about change in the industry. And once again,
I know it's specific to your journey, but if you're
going to run a business, there's going to be a
lot of pivoting, there's going to be a lot of change.
You have to go with the flow at times, don't you.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
I don't know. Always have a coach and a mentor,
and I mean both. The mentor is going to help you.
They're going to listen to you, they're going to give
you feedback. But the coach is going to get you ready. Yeah,
when they say down to fifty, what are you going
to say, I don't want to or oh, I'm not
(30:59):
coming into the office that day, you're going to go
down and do those fifty Whereas the mentor is always
giving you thoughts and ideas to help make you better,
but the coach is getting you ready for what's going
to come. And I can't live without mine, I swear,
and I've always had at least one, but over the
(31:21):
past ten years too.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
I love that. That's great advice for everybody. I did
want to talk about the future of the industry, and
I know that you know when you look into your
crystal ball, you're hoping that you're making right guesses and
also with all your experience that I'm sure that you're
going and saying, well, we've got that lane, and we
can get that lane. As you see the future of
the industry over the next five or ten years, specifically
for the mix, what does it look like.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
I think AI. We've been using AI for years and
we are invested fully in it now. I could see
in a lot of the conferences and events I've been
going to it's kind of fallen the wayside, which I
think is a good thing because we've were It's an
(32:04):
indicator that everybody's adapting to it. It's not that scary
thing that's going to take everybody's jobs, or that it's
going to be the one that's doing the creative campaigns,
although it is going to be and I don't know.
I've always been one to embrace these things. I fear
is good. It keeps you focused. I'm not going to
(32:28):
let that stop me from being me and being us
as an entity. And I see AI being the saving grace,
right because we don't have the infrastructure we need and
AI is giving us already the competitive edge we need, right.
(32:49):
And I think about talent and how important talent is
to an organization, and yet at the same time, the
best people are the hardest ones to find. So it's
AI is allowing us to supplement the gaps of what
(33:09):
we can't find with solutions that are giving us what
we need. And more so for the mixt's let's keep
it to a twelve month mark. I don't want to
cut off. What is that saying, bite up more than
you could chew. Sure, I think you have to look
(33:30):
at things in small doses. It's not about the ten
year plan, the five year plan, the three year plan.
It's twelve months at best, and looking at the quarters
as quarters, we have very good first quarters, so we're
very happy about that, and the pipeline looks good for
the rest of the year, and we're very hopeful that
(33:54):
we continue on this positive trajectory inside of a world
that is fueled with uncertainty.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Yeah, that's very good advice. Thanks for sharing. I did
want to talk to something about that's very near and
dear to your heart, and that's philanthropic and charity work.
So I know it takes up a lot of your time,
even as busy you and your team are, But when
you do have that time to be philanthropic and do
some charity work, what do you like to be a
part of.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
You don't learn this in school about being on boards
and giving back, you know, I don't know, I don't know.
I mean, I wish there was a better system where
people this was a part of their curriculum in college,
(34:42):
which is you know, the give back piece or what
is philanthropic mean? Or what does it mean to aspire
to sit on a board, whether it's a nonprofit board
or a corporate board, like it needs to be brought
in a lot younger.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I agree, create.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Right, because as somebody that's that's always I've been on
boards for quite some time. I sit on three nonprofit
boards right now. It is a tremendous time suck. And
I don't mean it in a bad way. But when
you come from being a rower, which I'm a rower,
(35:21):
and you want to help and give back, you want
your full time job to be helping them, help them,
And it's really hard, and I like to have three
at any one time because I'm trying to cross polony.
I'm trying to take from one the learnings and bring
it over here to add value. But I focus on
(35:45):
causes that are related to our business, that are extensions
of our business that have us become more and more
relevant and almost like the authority in the spaces and
places is that we want to work in. So when
we talk about audience, whether it's any underrepresented community, I
(36:09):
focus my philanthropic energy on those areas. It's not a
personal passion, it's a business of imperative that we give
back to the communities that we are and that we serve.
And like right now, with the trans community being so
under attack, it breaks my heart that we've made such
(36:32):
progress that we are just going so far back, and
so a lot of my focus in particular is with
the Hetrick Martin Institute, which is all around LGBTQ youth
from the ages of thirteen to twenty four and all
about their mental health. And you could imagine an organization
that is funded by federal grants, what kind of scrutiny
(36:58):
that organization is underwright now. And so the board is
so focused on helping fundraise, whether it's individually, whether it's
through corporations, whether it's through other partnerships. I mean, for
those kids to not get the mental health that they
require and desperately need and deserve because of what is
(37:21):
going on in the world doesn't make sense to me.
So it has so much of my time and energy
being focused on helping them, help them find ways to
get freedom. And you know, there's always moments of gratitude
and grace that we bring to being on a board,
(37:43):
and you know, it's just a very, very challenging time,
especially for nonprofits that rely on federal grants for funding.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Well, I appreciate you sharing all of that. Thank you
so much. Before I get some final thoughts from you
and recapping what we have talked about today, I promise
that we talk about leadership and once again, I know
the leadership for you and the agency specific to your journey.
But once again, a lot of young people are wondering,
you know, and am I doing the right thing? Did
I run the play this way? Should I start that up?
Who should I work with? Mentor this and that? And
(38:13):
the coaches I do all things you talked about. There's
such a big umbrella under leadership. But when you think
about leadership as you've been on this journey so far
and as you look into the future of the Mix
and anything else that you do, Robin, what does leadership
mean to you?
Speaker 2 (38:26):
Do the best you can, be vulnerable, be a good listener,
and trust yourself and gom It really ties back to
the values of the agency, the mission right, the four
things they'll always go for things, trust your gut, purpose
driven right, like give people what they need and people
(38:48):
first and take care of them. So I feel like
this this is perfect because it's kind of gone full
circle to how we open with mission and how we're
closing with leaders right. The leadership values trickle into an organization.
That's what people buy into and it's my job to
(39:12):
lead with those four things at all times. And don't
get me wrong, I'm human just like everybody else, and
I fall off the wagon sometimes or I get mad
because we don't do what we could have done in
order to win. And you can't be everything to everybody.
But as long as you keep coming back to who
(39:35):
you are and what you stand for, at the end
of the day, it's all going to be okay.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
I think that's very well said.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
I really do, you know, and I do think that
people Again, this post COVID world, like, it's really hard
for people. It's just a really challenging time for everybody.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Upstanding, Rob and your delight and I can't tell you
how much I appreciate your valuable time in this talk
tucking you your enthusiasm for the business. But what you
do work and pleasure and everything else and all the
things that you feel about and that you want to
execute in your life, whether it's professor personally, is very intoxicating.
And I love people that are energetic whatever they plan
(40:16):
to do out there, and people I think feed off that.
I think you've noticed that over the years, whether it's
you or somebody else, people want to be around that
person that's sitting in the middle of the room telling
a joke and everybody's laughing instead of standing in the
corner with your head down. And I love that, and
I love that about New York. I love it about you,
and I'm so glad that you've had not only the sustainability,
but the growth in the mix and all the things
(40:37):
that you've been through. And it's a testament to your
leadership and your vision and taking chances, which is kind
of the theme of what we've been talking about in
this series all the time, is just running a play
and taking a chance, folks. So thank you so much
for your valuable time, and I'm so glad we could
feature you on CEOs you should know.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
Thank you so much. I have a great day.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Our community partner, M and T Bank supports CEOs you
should Know is part of their ongoing commitment to building
strong communities, and that starts by backing the businesses within them.
As a Bank for Communities, M and T believes in
dedicating time, talent, and resources to help local businesses thrive,
because when businesses succeed, our communities succeed.
Raft M and T Bank present CEOs. You should know
Howard by iHeart Media. Let's be Robin Streissan. She is
the founder of The Mix, based in New York City,
a certified full service marketing agency that helps businesses develop
strategies and createive solutions for their marketing needs. They offer
range of services from granting and identity development to campaign
(00:22):
creation and experimental design, with a focus on human centric
and unconventional approaches. Before we talk more about Robin's very
successful business, it's having an upcoming thirtieth anniversary. I first
asked her to talk a little bit about herself, where
she's from and her origin story.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I grew up in Queens in far Rockaway. It was
an incredible place in space and looks nothing like what
it did does now. From then I went to school.
I went to College of Fairleigh Dickinson. I did an
MBA executive program at the Tuck School. And being an
(00:59):
an entrepreneur, all of that education and learning provides some
ingredients for what I'm going to be, what I am
now and what I'm going to be in the future.
But education is an essential part of who we are.
But being on your own is a whole education in
(01:20):
and of itself.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
It sure is. And of course we're here to talk
about the mix your agency, and you're coming up on
a thirty year anniversary, so there's a lot of talk
about what's going on today in the climate, what's in
your future for you and your team when you were
going out of school, And this is kind of a
question for our future entrepreneurs out there, because I know
so much has happened last three decades as you put
this wonderful agency together and all the things that have happened.
(01:42):
But did you have kind of a plan. Did you
know what you wanted to do coming out of school?
Were you really clear on it or did you have
to ebb and flow it and kind of find your
way in all the doorways that we most of us
usually go through to find out what exactly we want
to do for a living.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, I was. I never had a path around what
I was going to be when I grow up. And
I when I think about entrepreneurship is kind of like
my through line. I think it gives us the springboard
to be open to different opportunities as they come, and
we'll never know which one is the right one until
(02:15):
you know it. When you do it and it becomes
a part of you. And the not knowing in today's
world is what has people so nervous and freaked out about,
Oh my god, I'm going to get come out of school,
I'm not going to have a job, or I went
for the wrong thing. It really wasn't what I was
(02:35):
passionate about, but it was the thing that I had
to do so I could secure a job. I think
people miss the boat on this sometimes that what's really
important is in what's in your heart and discovering by
virtue of the journey what you want to be. You
don't have to know in the beginning. And I feel
(02:58):
like this these generations now have such a unique opportunity
to discover things and be effective at them in a
way that I never had, And I wish sometimes I
could just start all over again, because with all these
tools and technology, it allows you to do so much
(03:19):
more now than we could have ever done then. And
maybe it's a little bit of karma around where they are.
Maybe the thirty years of expertise informs where we are
now and wouldn't have been relevant back then. Who knows,
But the journey has been incredible.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
You know, one of the things my takeaway when I
found out that you basically have been a lifer in
that region, and I think there's so many pluses to
that because you know the landscape so well, and i'd
love to just hear you know. I know it's your
personal journey and it's very specific to you about what
you did and what you've created, but can you kind
(04:02):
of tell myself and our lists when you come from
a region and you know the landscape, how much farther
you do get ahead and the pluses and that and
maybe if they're any minuses, I'd love to hear that too.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I started working in corporate America. I didn't belong here,
I didn't fit there, but again, the best training and
development I could have ever ever gotten. And when we
talk about knowing your path, that was just my path
for that moment and what that path led to seeing
(04:34):
a white space for me to open my own business.
It wasn't that I knew that I wanted to own
my own business or have my own business in marketing
and advertising, but that those ten years working for a
Fortune five hundred brand gave me that foresight and then
when the moment became very real to be able to
(04:59):
make the pit and do it. It was about timing and
the right place and the opportunity that went along with it.
And then before you know it, we're starting this business
and we didn't really know what it was going to be,
but we knew that it was going to be something
that was grounded in purpose. It was going to always
(05:22):
be about people. It was going to keep politics, attitude,
and ego out. So it wasn't so much about what
we were going to be, it's what we weren't going
to be sure, and that gave the company life and
it actually what's one of the key things about the
(05:43):
starting of your own business is that you have to
discover all the pieces and parts that you don't even
know go into starting your own business, whether it's finding
the lawyer and the attorney and the right person for
this and for that, and before where you know it,
you have your first kind of fan base around you,
(06:06):
the people that are there to support you no matter what.
And then they become kind of like your guiding lights
for what that go forward could look like, and they
become everlasting and forever friends. And without them, I just
I don't know that I would ever be where I
am and I'm always grateful to have had them at
(06:29):
that time as we rolled forward over these almost thirty years.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Well, that's very cool and a very special thing to say,
and I'm sure everybody's very appreciative. I'm sure they feel
the same way about you, Robin. And I think that
also is a cautionary tale for everybody out there that
when you start your own business, we can normalize it.
It's okay that you don't know what it's going to be,
but you know you've got a good idea and you
just need to run a play. And I think that's
what you're talking about. This is a reoccurring thing. So
(06:56):
what I'd like to do before we get into all
the incredible things that the mixes today and what's in
your future, can you give an overall vision and a
mission about what the mix is for everybody.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
So it's not like a typical mission around like three
lines of a story. There's like four guiding principles that
we live by. One is that we always go for things.
Yes there's criteria and evaluation around what we go for,
but that we go for it. So it creates an
(07:27):
energy around sometimes you just don't know, always trust your gut,
I have to tell you how many times I've questioned
myself or somebody on my team or a client. But
at the core, when you trust yourself as a foundation,
everything will always turn out. Three. We are always purpose
(07:52):
driven and operating with integrity very important to us as
a company, my personal values and miss and we will
always want people to feel seen and heard and everybody
representation is key when I think about who we're hiring
and who we're working for and what matters, and that
(08:14):
finally people first, right, people first, and relationships that these
are like the four pillars of who the Mix has
become as a company and the things that have transcended
over time, of how we've evolved and what we've where
we always come back to as home base.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
You know something I subscribe to that you talked about there.
And once again, this might not be for everybody, but
I learned a long time ago as I was stifling
on some decisions in my business and not just going
ahead and doing something. My boss said, listen, I just
want you to run a play. Don't worry about it.
We'll deal with it afterwards. But if you keep on
hanging on to it, you're never going to get it.
(08:57):
Done and executed. So just run a play. And as
I hear you talk about that, I think that's good
advice for everybody to not think about it for too long.
Just run a play and if there are issues afterwards
that we have to hand or deal with or whatever
they are, the good, the bad, and the ugly of it,
then you can do that. But that's kind of my
takeaway what you're talking about. Just go ahead and run
a play, right you never know? Well, I want to
(09:18):
talk about the Mix and what you do, and I
think this is really integral. You know, I imagine there has
been a lot of ebbs and flows and pivots and
changes over almost three decades of your company. At one time,
there wasn't social media and phones when you started, and
now we are in an AI world whether it's everything
that is at your hand. So there's some easier things,
but sometimes it makes it harder too. So with that said,
(09:40):
if you were to give a thirty thousand foot view,
Robin about what the Mix does, what would you tell people?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
The Mix specializes. Our superpower, our secret sauce is that
we understand audience, audience as in gen x Y or Z,
audience as in Black and brown, LGBT women, his Hispanic
asient and the intersectionality of all of it. Data and
(10:05):
research and analytics inform direction and path for audience and
for strategy. But the nuance of coming from these spaces,
being members of these diverse audiences, the authenticity, the physicality,
(10:26):
the emotional touch and feel is who we are and
so we've brought this foundational piece to our offering. We
started out as a branding firm. How do you build
a brand? What is a brand? Why does it matter?
And again through the lens of audience. Right, So, whether
(10:48):
it's a corporation, whether it's a startup, whether it's another agency,
the same guiding principles around what is a brand and why.
Then we evolve as our clients evolved and the time
evolved into more of a campaign agency. We develop campaigns
for Fortune five hundred brands around these audiences. And if
(11:13):
you think about these movements, right, we look at the
Me Too movement, We look at how marriage equality came
to the form. These are all new moments that matter
in the world that did not exist twenty years ago.
So the mix ultimately was primed for these moments. Right,
(11:37):
how do you build your brand and then how do
you manifest it in the public domain around LGBT and
who they are and all the data and numbers behind
what defines them and what drives them and motivates them
to buy product or black and brown, and how people
(11:58):
have to be at the table being represented in tying
brands to that audience because it resonates so profoundly with
who they are as a DNA, so campaigns and now
what we are seeing across the Fortune five hundred doesn't
matter about size or scale, whether you're public or 'or not,
(12:21):
is the need for the silos inside of corporate America
are causing such politics, fear and uncertainty. And so we
have now taken our offering around inclusion, about representation, about
(12:43):
understanding audience. So we are now offering our clients this
what we call unlocked workshop, where we actually are redefining
the brief, whether it's about a company culture, whether it's
the way they're going to reposition they're offering, whether it's
a new division they're launching. We're bringing people together in
(13:07):
the room real time. It's not like a typical Corporate
America or a McKinsey workshop, where you know you're going
to fill out these five sections and you're going to
you know, get a recommendation or a roadmap at the end.
This is like a real time experience where people are
(13:29):
getting to know each other for the first time. Companies
have gotten especially post COVID. You know, some people don't
even know each other. One person was hired during COVID
and the rest of the Legacy team never even saw
that person. They don't know what's what makes them tick
or the nuances about them. So we're coming into companies.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
And we're we're we're redefining the brief. We're bringing the
brief to life inside of a company, and we're building
community in places and spaces that I never thought were possible,
where they're leaving the room.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Saying, God, I'm so glad we did this. We should
do more of it. And what that unlocks is the
opportunity for people to collaborate and work together again. Right.
So many companies have not come back post COVID, Right,
and even in this hybrid world, they're coming back, and
(14:29):
they're coming back in a way where they're still on
zoom calls for a majority of the day, So you're
not getting like the swell and the energy of what
it's like to really be in a room for an
hour or so and collaborate with people you either know,
don't know, have never met, or you know really well,
(14:50):
but you're there like you're coming together in a way.
And so after the workshop, we are like really culling
through all of what we heard and then we're distilling
it down into what we call ten ideas in ten minutes.
And so the output is either something that the brand
(15:12):
can do on their own or it's something that we
could help them with. It doesn't matter either way. But
it's kind of like mixed the mixed method of bringing
company culture back in a way that somebody never even
was looking at company culture right, because it's about a
(15:33):
given project or an opportunity. But the byproduct of it
is that people are collaborating again and coming back to
what they really care about about their job and why
they're there, and they're learning from each other in a
way that I feel we've lost along these years.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Well, that's all well said, and also a great segue,
because here's what I want to ask you, without making
any assumptions that there's anybody else in your region or
in the United States that does exactly what you and
your team do. I did want to talk about differentiating
yourself from the competition, but if you could take it
a step further, because you've been around for almost three decades,
so your reputation procedes you you've been very sustainable. You
(16:18):
obviously the business model works for you. And with that said,
you also have to sell yourself to new clients too,
So can you talk a little bit about that about
differentiating yourself in those topics.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
I would say for myself, you know, it's it's evolved
to a more a place of thought leadership, right because
there's something about.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
The depth of time that if we could bottle it
and sell it, it would be maybe it'll be the
next form of AI down the road, will be taking
the experience piece and giving it to these younger generations.
So I think it's the energy, the ability to inspire
(17:05):
people to let their guard down and be wherever they
are and it's okay, and creating safe space. I really
think it's a differentiator for US agency services or commodities
in this world. Anybody could do a campaign, anybody can
(17:25):
do an internal comms program, Anyone can come up with
what an experience looks like, but when you are ongoing,
lea bringing what we call liquid magic, right, we bring
liquid magic. It's the joy, It's the opening up the
(17:48):
perferrey and like thinking bigger even though the ask is
so small, but allowing people the opportunity to stink beyond
the brief and let it rip is where we live.
And as much as it might not sound differentiating, I
want you to know it is the very reason why
(18:09):
people keep coming back. I'm not making it up. I
could tell you how many clients from day one till
now have either gone away for whatever reason in their company,
they were relegated a group of agencies that they then
have to work with, and they are bringing me in
(18:30):
as a listener on the sideline or b that they
don't know what to do, and they call us because
we've been there, done that. So I think one of
the points that I didn't make earlier that I think
is very relevant is that the mix doesn't focus in
any one industry. If anything, we are industry agnostic and
(18:52):
we were cross category. So when you think about entrepreneurship,
you have to be ready and always able to adapt
to where the world is right. And I didn't know
that it was going to be from brand to campaign
to a more consultative model. That wasn't our blueprint or roadmap.
(19:16):
That's what the industry and the times dictated, and we
just adapted to what clients needed, right, And that to
me is also a part of you know, when entrepreneurship
is really budding and becoming something else like that you
(19:37):
just didn't even know was going to be possible becomes possible.
So I just wanted to add that little color in
there because I think it's relevant when the listener doesn't
really know who we serve as the audience, and while
the audience is always at the forefront, the industry and
(19:57):
the vertical always do matter as well.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, well, I'm glad you talked about that, and I've
got many takeaways from that, but one of the big
ones is a theme that I talk to people that
are leaders, CEOs, presidents, co founders, doesn't matter what it is,
and you fall under that a whole umbrella, Robin. But
and you didn't say this word, but my takeaway is culture.
And the reason why I bring that up is culture
(20:21):
has a big umbrella of leadership. You know, happy employees, execution,
customer service. I mean There's many things you could talk about,
but a lot about what you're saying is culture, and
it sounds like that's really alter important to you.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Extremely Running a company with humans is one of the
most difficult things I've ever had to do, right, And
you have people coming from different worlds and different upbringings
and backgrounds and education and learning, and before you know it,
you have like a mishmash of beautiful thoughts and ideas,
(20:58):
and like you want to want to embrace all of
that and bring it to our clients, which is in
fact what we've done. But maintaining that and also growing
and taking care of people and listening and being available
(21:19):
for people to help them help them while you're growing
and you're talking about a legacy company. The mix is
now a legacy company. It's the most important thing. And
it's more complicated than ever to kind of especially post COVID, right,
Like I think when you talk to people, a lot
(21:41):
of people didn't make it through to the other side
of that four or four or five year window, and
you know, I still think that we're not through it
yet and what people are going through post but to
be able to come through it on the other side
and like, look at my people in the eye and
(22:01):
see them and feel them and still care about them
and what we are doing and care about clients in
the way. But you know what goes along with the
role that I sit in is there's so many pieces
and parts, and I feel sometimes, and I'm sure lots
of entrepreneurs feel this way because I spend lots of
(22:23):
time talking to people, is that it's hard to do
it all. Sometimes. You know, you're the cook, you're the waiter,
you're the bottle washer, and you're also wrapping the entire
experience because you want everybody to have a good time,
but ultimately the burden falls on you and having people
love the experience and want to come back for more
(22:46):
is what we're always striving for. So culture is everything
that's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Thanks for expounding on that. I did want to talk
to you about challenges because you're specifically in an industry
where you are problem solvers and you also come up
with great ideas too, but problem solving, and you were
kind of alluding to this as you were talking about culture,
but in the industry now, and I'm sure that over
the almost three decades that the company has been around,
now there's been different kinds of problem solving. You know,
(23:13):
there wasn't tech before, so how do we get this executed?
Now there is tech, so this is easier, But this
present is this problem you talked about people, I'm sure clients.
There's all sorts of different kinds of challenges in today's climate. Though,
what kind of challenges are you and the industry seeing
right now that you have to problem solve.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I'd say the greatest challenge there's I'd say two.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
One, there's a lack of strategy. People are very reactive
to what needs to get done, what the street is saying,
what the CEO is saying, what your direct boss is saying,
and they lose sight of what they're trying to do.
So that's number one. And then two, there are very
(23:57):
the infrastructure of this systems around this connected world are broken.
So we are doing a lot of what's called digital
transformation work right now right because we're trying to connect
the brand with the various people and partners, and then
(24:21):
we're also looking to connect to the audience, and those
systems do not work anymore. So we are constantly coming
in and trying to innovate solutions for how to make
this connected ecosystem work seamlessly, simply and successfully.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
And I'm going to translate that it's a very complex puzzle, folks,
So it just is. So you have to be very organized, communication, leadership,
all those things going in a little while. I do
want to ask you about leadership because I think it's
important this yeries too, Robin, But I also want to
talk about what your working and on currently that you're
really proud of over the recent times. And then i'd
like to talk about the future of the agency and
(25:06):
what you think direction is going to go the industry wise,
and also what the mix is working on. But you
don't have to mention a brand, but is there anything
that's been really cool that's come out of the box
over the last couple of years or currently right now
that you're working on with a brand or with a
client that you're most proud of.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
This year's twenty twenty five has been already a banner
year for us. You know, we went through with the
new administration. It was a little bit of a setback
moment because with the audience at the forefront of who
we are, we've had to take a step back ourselves
(25:43):
and the world has completely pivoted when when we have
when we think about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and those
letters are taboo in the world right now, and so
I made a decision that we're going to double down
on that. But we've had to reposition ourselves because of
(26:07):
we had to adapt to what the world is giving us,
and so we have changed our narrative. But we're doubling
down on our mission right and so it's marketing in
its own practice right by virtue of responding to the
challenge of what's needed, and we've been successfully able to
(26:32):
do that for ourselves. I think that that is the
biggest challenge when I look at corporate It's easy to
do it for somebody else, but to be able to
also have the foresight and insight to do it for
yourself in a very short amount of time, I think
is like I'm very proud of us about this, but
(26:55):
it has led to incredible opportunities for us that we're
not on the radar. So we are doing a lot
of work in the animal health and wellness space, and
I wouldn't say that that was in my direct line
as a category that we were focused on. And when
(27:17):
you think about audience audience animals, they weren't necessarily in
our kind of toolkit, if you will, but it is
one of the areas that have really shined the light
around especially during COVID right, which was the need for
companionship and unconditional love. And so the animal health market
(27:43):
everybody wanted a dog and everybody wanted a bird and
a cat and looking for companionship in new ways. And
what it's done for us as a business is it
has now brought opportunities to take what we do around,
the work we do and bring it into this category.
And ironically, we've done a lot of work for this
(28:05):
company called Zoetis, and Zoetis I would call it a
little bit of a baby brand because it's under twenty
years old, so it's still in its earlier stages. But
I worked on that brand when it first launched and
it was part of the Pizor Animal Health World and
(28:26):
spun out into a diversified portfolio of products and the
animal health business became Zoetis. I was involved when it
first launched thirteen fifteen years ago and was working on
how to bring that brand to life and pull it
through in the company, and then I did various projects
(28:49):
and now we're coming back ten years later and we're
bringing our thinking and strategy around digital transformation to Zoetis.
So we were at the beginning when it launched, which
is so cool, and now fast forward, we're back in
the brand helping them in a completely different way than
(29:11):
I would have ever known would have been the case
for an animal health brand that cares about the life
and the longevity of your pets. It has been phenomenal.
So we bring the early brand experience right because it
was in its infancy and now we were growing up
(29:31):
with it and so we've been a part of the
journey the whole time. And I love that. And it's
all new people, so I know more about the brand
origin than a lot of the people that work at
the brand. It's just so cool.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Well, I love that story and I want to ask
you one more thing about that, and it has to
do with that, but also change, and I think this
is a good life lesson once again for our young
entrepreneurs out there that want to start their business. That folks,
you've met her, buckle in because change is going to happen,
and that's life, whether you're moving to a new city
or it's a new job or there's a new boss,
(30:05):
and Robin, you've been to so many things and I
know we can't get onto, but just the big things
nine to eleven, the crash in eight COVID, and how
you've had to pivot these almost three decades, over and
over and over to change and then you bring up
this new category that you didn't think. I don't know
if it's a good fit for our agency. Yeah, you've
done it, You've breached it, and you've knocked it out
(30:26):
of the park. So I want you to talk a
little bit about change in the industry. And once again,
I know it's specific to your journey, but if you're
going to run a business, there's going to be a
lot of pivoting, there's going to be a lot of change.
You have to go with the flow at times, don't you.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
I don't know. Always have a coach and a mentor,
and I mean both. The mentor is going to help you.
They're going to listen to you, they're going to give
you feedback. But the coach is going to get you ready. Yeah,
when they say down to fifty, what are you going
to say, I don't want to or oh, I'm not
(30:59):
coming into the office that day, you're going to go
down and do those fifty Whereas the mentor is always
giving you thoughts and ideas to help make you better,
but the coach is getting you ready for what's going
to come. And I can't live without mine, I swear,
and I've always had at least one, but over the
(31:21):
past ten years too.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
I love that. That's great advice for everybody. I did
want to talk about the future of the industry, and
I know that you know when you look into your
crystal ball, you're hoping that you're making right guesses and
also with all your experience that I'm sure that you're
going and saying, well, we've got that lane, and we
can get that lane. As you see the future of
the industry over the next five or ten years, specifically
for the mix, what does it look like.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
I think AI. We've been using AI for years and
we are invested fully in it now. I could see
in a lot of the conferences and events I've been
going to it's kind of fallen the wayside, which I
think is a good thing because we've were It's an
(32:04):
indicator that everybody's adapting to it. It's not that scary
thing that's going to take everybody's jobs, or that it's
going to be the one that's doing the creative campaigns,
although it is going to be and I don't know.
I've always been one to embrace these things. I fear
is good. It keeps you focused. I'm not going to
(32:28):
let that stop me from being me and being us
as an entity. And I see AI being the saving grace,
right because we don't have the infrastructure we need and
AI is giving us already the competitive edge we need, right.
(32:49):
And I think about talent and how important talent is
to an organization, and yet at the same time, the
best people are the hardest ones to find. So it's
AI is allowing us to supplement the gaps of what
(33:09):
we can't find with solutions that are giving us what
we need. And more so for the mixt's let's keep
it to a twelve month mark. I don't want to
cut off. What is that saying, bite up more than
you could chew. Sure, I think you have to look
(33:30):
at things in small doses. It's not about the ten
year plan, the five year plan, the three year plan.
It's twelve months at best, and looking at the quarters
as quarters, we have very good first quarters, so we're
very happy about that, and the pipeline looks good for
the rest of the year, and we're very hopeful that
(33:54):
we continue on this positive trajectory inside of a world
that is fueled with uncertainty.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Yeah, that's very good advice. Thanks for sharing. I did
want to talk to something about that's very near and
dear to your heart, and that's philanthropic and charity work.
So I know it takes up a lot of your time,
even as busy you and your team are, But when
you do have that time to be philanthropic and do
some charity work, what do you like to be a
part of.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
You don't learn this in school about being on boards
and giving back, you know, I don't know, I don't know.
I mean, I wish there was a better system where
people this was a part of their curriculum in college,
(34:42):
which is you know, the give back piece or what
is philanthropic mean? Or what does it mean to aspire
to sit on a board, whether it's a nonprofit board
or a corporate board, like it needs to be brought
in a lot younger.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I agree, create.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Right, because as somebody that's that's always I've been on
boards for quite some time. I sit on three nonprofit
boards right now. It is a tremendous time suck. And
I don't mean it in a bad way. But when
you come from being a rower, which I'm a rower,
(35:21):
and you want to help and give back, you want
your full time job to be helping them, help them,
And it's really hard, and I like to have three
at any one time because I'm trying to cross polony.
I'm trying to take from one the learnings and bring
it over here to add value. But I focus on
(35:45):
causes that are related to our business, that are extensions
of our business that have us become more and more
relevant and almost like the authority in the spaces and
places is that we want to work in. So when
we talk about audience, whether it's any underrepresented community, I
(36:09):
focus my philanthropic energy on those areas. It's not a
personal passion, it's a business of imperative that we give
back to the communities that we are and that we serve.
And like right now, with the trans community being so
under attack, it breaks my heart that we've made such
(36:32):
progress that we are just going so far back, and
so a lot of my focus in particular is with
the Hetrick Martin Institute, which is all around LGBTQ youth
from the ages of thirteen to twenty four and all
about their mental health. And you could imagine an organization
that is funded by federal grants, what kind of scrutiny
(36:58):
that organization is underwright now. And so the board is
so focused on helping fundraise, whether it's individually, whether it's
through corporations, whether it's through other partnerships. I mean, for
those kids to not get the mental health that they
require and desperately need and deserve because of what is
(37:21):
going on in the world doesn't make sense to me.
So it has so much of my time and energy
being focused on helping them, help them find ways to
get freedom. And you know, there's always moments of gratitude
and grace that we bring to being on a board,
(37:43):
and you know, it's just a very, very challenging time,
especially for nonprofits that rely on federal grants for funding.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Well, I appreciate you sharing all of that. Thank you
so much. Before I get some final thoughts from you
and recapping what we have talked about today, I promise
that we talk about leadership and once again, I know
the leadership for you and the agency specific to your journey.
But once again, a lot of young people are wondering,
you know, and am I doing the right thing? Did
I run the play this way? Should I start that up?
Who should I work with? Mentor this and that? And
(38:13):
the coaches I do all things you talked about. There's
such a big umbrella under leadership. But when you think
about leadership as you've been on this journey so far
and as you look into the future of the Mix
and anything else that you do, Robin, what does leadership
mean to you?
Speaker 2 (38:26):
Do the best you can, be vulnerable, be a good listener,
and trust yourself and gom It really ties back to
the values of the agency, the mission right, the four
things they'll always go for things, trust your gut, purpose
driven right, like give people what they need and people
(38:48):
first and take care of them. So I feel like
this this is perfect because it's kind of gone full
circle to how we open with mission and how we're
closing with leaders right. The leadership values trickle into an organization.
That's what people buy into and it's my job to
(39:12):
lead with those four things at all times. And don't
get me wrong, I'm human just like everybody else, and
I fall off the wagon sometimes or I get mad
because we don't do what we could have done in
order to win. And you can't be everything to everybody.
But as long as you keep coming back to who
(39:35):
you are and what you stand for, at the end
of the day, it's all going to be okay.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
I think that's very well said.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
I really do, you know, and I do think that
people Again, this post COVID world, like, it's really hard
for people. It's just a really challenging time for everybody.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Upstanding, Rob and your delight and I can't tell you
how much I appreciate your valuable time in this talk
tucking you your enthusiasm for the business. But what you
do work and pleasure and everything else and all the
things that you feel about and that you want to
execute in your life, whether it's professor personally, is very intoxicating.
And I love people that are energetic whatever they plan
(40:16):
to do out there, and people I think feed off that.
I think you've noticed that over the years, whether it's
you or somebody else, people want to be around that
person that's sitting in the middle of the room telling
a joke and everybody's laughing instead of standing in the
corner with your head down. And I love that, and
I love that about New York. I love it about you,
and I'm so glad that you've had not only the sustainability,
but the growth in the mix and all the things
(40:37):
that you've been through. And it's a testament to your
leadership and your vision and taking chances, which is kind
of the theme of what we've been talking about in
this series all the time, is just running a play
and taking a chance, folks. So thank you so much
for your valuable time, and I'm so glad we could
feature you on CEOs you should know.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
Thank you so much. I have a great day.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Our community partner, M and T Bank supports CEOs you
should Know is part of their ongoing commitment to building
strong communities, and that starts by backing the businesses within them.
As a Bank for Communities, M and T believes in
dedicating time, talent, and resources to help local businesses thrive,
because when businesses succeed, our communities succeed.
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