The Power of Transferable Skills

[00:00:06] Hey everyone, welcome to the Boomband Showcase. I'm Jeff Taylor, I'm your host. And I'm Madison Kiefer, I'm the Showcase Sidekick and the Players Coach. Coach, love it. We're so excited about our show, let's jump right in. Hey everybody, welcome to the Boomband Showcase. How we doing? Hey guys. Hey. Alright, we got a cool show today. I know Madison has gotten to know each of you, but Madison, let's start it out and do a quick introduction.

[00:00:32] Absolutely. Jeff, we've got three great players today. First, we have Chetna Rojella. She is joining us from Boston, Massachusetts and she is a marketing specialist. Hey, how's this? Then we have Lauren Taylor. Lauren is in Southlake, Texas. However, she just relocated a few months ago. She was originally in Boston. And Lauren is an operations leader.

[00:00:59] And finally, we have Derek Pierce. Derek is in Georgia currently, but if you ask him where he's from, he's going to tell you he's from everywhere because he's done a lot of traveling and a lot of relocating in his life. Derek is a recruiting and marketing coordinator as well as a 20-year Army veteran. So welcome. I'm so excited to dig in. We had great pre-conversations and we're going to have a lot of fun today.

[00:01:21] Awesome. So the goal of the show is to bring a face and sort of the human to a job search that is, I think, really challenging right now. And it's really easy to get sort of lost in the black hole and it's tough to make your resume stand out from others. And so the show is meant to just have some fun and let your personalities out. And so I want to welcome all of you. And I have a kind of way I like to start the show.

[00:01:48] And it's like, I'd love to hear kind of what's it like out in job search land and what's one word. If you need a couple of words to describe your experience, maybe share how long you've been looking and then what's your superpower. And what I find is there's this interesting tension between the way you describe the marketplace and then how you use your superpower. It doesn't always connect together, but I think it's sort of fun. So, Lauren, why don't we start with you? How long have you been looking? Just give us a little sense of it.

[00:02:19] Yeah. So thank you. Nice to see everyone. Madison, thanks for the introduction and mentioning. So I recently relocated from Boston to South Lake, Texas, which is right in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. And I was able to keep my job in Boston for about eight weeks. But after that, they have an in-office hybrid policy at the Lego Group in Boston.

[00:02:40] So for the past, let's see, it's probably about two months now, I've been navigating the new market, I would say. It's even evolved since I was at the Lego Group for about two and a half years. So even over the last three years, it's really evolved and lots of things have changed. So that is where I'm at in my journey. Happy to answer your other questions or whatever makes sense. So you're evolving. Is that your word?

[00:03:07] You know, one of the interesting things, you move to a new city, no network. You know, tell me about that because that's, I think a lot of people have this experience. It's like, I don't know anybody. I don't know what to do. Having spent, I'll age myself, over 40 years in the Boston area, you really develop a pretty deep network. People tend to stay in the Boston area, not a lot of people moving from other regions unless they have really a specific reason. And so like I would run into people from like elementary school in Boston who'd still be living in the area.

[00:03:37] So definitely a change that there isn't a network here necessarily that I've established yet in the Dallas area. What I will say is that even though there aren't necessarily as many people I know here, the opportunities to work remotely have increased. And so even if I, you know, I'm looking at roles that are based elsewhere, there's an opportunity for me to potentially have a connection that works at that company that I have for my existing network.

[00:04:05] So that has made, that has made it, I guess, somewhat easier. It's still, I'm still trying to learn the market and figure it out here. But I get the end, you might go remote and it wouldn't matter that you're in Dallas. It's really about the people, the role that those are my biggest, my biggest qualities. So if I had to pick a word, there were two I was thinking of when you said that one was intentional. I have, I've had a lot of different jobs.

[00:04:33] I don't want to take a job just to take a job, even though I've moved and I'm not working right now. But the other is network. So I do think that there is a power in your network, even if it's not necessarily localized. Yeah. And is your network, or let me fill in your superpower here. So I hear you are evolving. Here's the evolution. You're intentional about what you're doing. And we were just talking about your network could be challenged, but yet maybe that's a strength.

[00:05:03] So how about your superpower? It's definitely a strength. So one of my superpowers has definitely been networking in the past. I have gone to a ton of events. I will classify myself as an extrovert. I really thrive on conversations with people. It gives me a lot of joy and just love doing that. And so networking is definitely a strength superpower. The other, I think, with regards to the intentional piece is I, in both my personal and professional life, am what I would call an aggressive prioritizer based on impact.

[00:05:33] So I want to spend my time in the right places to drive the biggest impact. And so that definitely comes into the job search as well. All right. All right. Great. Derek, let me pull you into the conversation. Welcome. Talk to us about your experience. What's happening? So I've been currently in the job market for about four months now.

[00:05:56] Before, I would actually say that my last semester of college, because after my time in the Army, I decided to go back to college, get my degree in marketing. During that last semester, I was thinking about doing entrepreneurship, opening up my own restaurant over in Japan. But things had changed.

[00:06:19] So I actually pretty much focused in on just trying to find almost an entry-level position over in marketing or recruiting. Right. So I was looking at your record. First of all, thank you for your service. Thank you. I was looking at your record. I can't wait to hear a little bit about high-volume workflow management and events logistics and how we transfer all that.

[00:06:44] So is there a word in this four months for you that you would describe? Honestly, I would say it's disillusionment. Because you're seeing a lot of advice being thrown out on LinkedIn as far as do this, do this. You'll get interviews. Here's how you beat the ATS system.

[00:07:13] And it seems like none of it connects. None of it really clicks in together. Like it doesn't work? Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay. So is somebody giving you this advice or is this just the advice you're kind of receiving from the market? Honestly, it's just advice that I'm seeing from the market. And like you see all of the recruiting influencers on LinkedIn giving this advice to you.

[00:07:41] And, you know, I follow it to the letter and haven't gotten anything. I mean by haven't gotten anything, I mean I've gotten out of 200 applications one interview. Yep. You know, one of the interesting things is some people are talking about they get interviews fairly easily. And others are talking about that they've had hundreds of applications and no interviews.

[00:08:11] And I think so what you're saying is 200 applications and you've gotten an interview. And so that may be not out of the norm, you know. And I think that for some people in their search, you start sort of broad and then you actually narrow in. And the more you narrow in, the more potential successes you have. And so let's talk more about that kind of as we go here.

[00:08:37] Is there a superpower that you have, Derek, that you rely on in these moments? Personally, I look at my superpower as being, I would say, quarterbacking. So during my time in the Army, I was placed in a lot of positions where we had to, you know, assess a situation, find some gaps, and then drive in success.

[00:09:00] And I think that I am pretty adept at finding gaps and finding out where I can move the pieces to make everything work. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's great. And I think, you know, one of the things that I hear, we talk to vets pretty regularly, and the military jargon doesn't always translate out into the world where you're looking for jobs now.

[00:09:26] And so let's keep unpacking that. But this idea that you're not only willing, but as a superpower to be the quarterback, almost every company needs quarterbacks, you know, especially with all the change and all the macro kind of pressure that companies have, any people that will take on responsibility. So I think that's good. We'll talk more about it. Chetna, welcome. Hey, thank you for having me here. Yeah. So you and I met at a marketing conference. Yeah.

[00:09:56] And pretty cool. And here you are on the show. So welcome. Tell me about your search. My search, one word that I would describe for my search would be, it's a lot painstaking, and it involves a lot of patience. So to chime in on what Derek is experiencing, I feel most of us have been feeling the same way, four months, 200 applications, one interview call.

[00:10:24] And as you said, it's becoming a norm right now. It's not becoming uncommon. It's being very common right now. And my job search has been like for five months now. I am working on a fractional basis right now at a company. But that is also not leading to a lot of results for me personally. And there is a growing market of having part-time work to sustain yourself.

[00:10:50] But then in the long run, you do require some place to be, you know, call it your home because you want to connect to more people. You want to be a part of the team that contributes and, you know, gains a lot of traction. That's something that I'm looking forward to. But again, going back to the word patience, it is going to take some time. And I hope to see some results at the end of it. Good.

[00:11:19] Do you have a superpower that you rely on in the middle of that? I do. So on the side, I am also podcasting. So storytelling has become my niche right now. I'm very into how the narrative can be changed with just a few words. So playing with words, I feel, is my superpower to change the direction, to change the narration. That's what I strive for. Yeah. I noticed on your LinkedIn that you regularly promote your podcast.

[00:11:49] And I think that's exciting. And if I step back, the storytelling piece, I think it's a challenge that we all have. And I think having a great story in the center is what your resume lacks. And we'll talk about some of your dossiers and, you know, kind of going through that process. And what's exciting is that getting back to that ability to tell the story, I think with each of you, you have different experiences.

[00:12:17] And putting that human storytelling out in the world and, like, you know, having people be curious and interested in what you're up to, I think, really critical. I also wanted to say, Chetna, the way you describe this new normal, I think it's really important as a job seeker to reflect on this new normal and not get down as a result of it. And I think one of the reasons why I ask people, what's that word that describes where you are?

[00:12:45] And, you know, the word painstaking process and then the patience associated with it, the disillusionment, Derek, that you're feeling. And ultimately, the intention that, Lauren, you're saying, these are all, like, even putting them together is exciting, I think, when we think about this market. So I want to make sure, Derek, that you don't feel that this is, like, odd and only kind of picking you, you know, out of the pile.

[00:13:12] And especially if you've been an entrepreneur and thinking about that and then now resetting and thinking about looking for a job, kind of give yourself a little extra time to kind of reset as you go through that process. And, Chetna, you're fractional. You know, that's this cash stack people have been talking about, you know, the idea that in order to get your full paycheck, you're actually doing two or three or four things. But I love what you said about, I really want a connection with a team. I feel like we're building on something.

[00:13:41] And sometimes that fractional work doesn't get that. All right. We have a sort of a style and a rhythm to our show. And what I want to do is I want to take each of you into more of a one-on-one, one-on-two with Madison scenario, where we're actually talking with you and getting more into your background. And what we're going to do is I'm going to take each of you, you've all seen the show, into the breakout room, and we'll talk a little bit more about your career. What are your dreams? What's that perfect job? So you can be thinking about that.

[00:14:12] And why don't I take Lauren first? And you'll go in. And then, Derek, I'll bring you in second. So, Lauren, you'll come with us, Derek and Chetna. You guys will stay here in this room. You guys can chat, get to know each other. I like this little mini foxhole, this little mini support system on many of the shows, the people that were on the show together sort of check in with each other. So getting to know each of you that way, I think it's cool.

[00:14:39] And then, Lauren, when we're done in the breakout, you'll come back to this room. So you'll see on your calendar there's a breakout room as well as the main room. And then you'll tag Derek. Derek will come. You get the idea. And then Derek will tag you. And then we'll come back at the end and just talk a little bit about the experience and kind of celebrate being human in the middle of all this. So welcome to the show. And, Lauren, we'll see you over at the breakout room. See you guys in the breakout room. Give me a sign. Hey, Lauren.

[00:15:09] Welcome to the breakout room. Hi. Thank you guys for having me. Excited to be here. Love this. I can't wait to hear more about your background. Yeah. You want to kick us off? Absolutely. So, Lauren, Wonder Woman, Supermom, Operational Architect. You are the person organizations rely on when things need to scale, align, and actually work. You don't just manage operations.

[00:15:35] You create the systems, the processes, and the structure that allow teams to move faster and perform at a higher level. What makes your story stand out is your ability to bring clarity to complexity. You've spent your career navigating high-growth environments, balancing strategy with execution, and helping companies make smarter decisions through data, operational discipline, and cross-functional collaboration.

[00:16:00] Whether you're optimizing workflows, building prioritization frameworks, forecasting growth, or driving alignment across teams, you know how to turn moving pieces into momentum. You understand how every part of the business connects, and you know how to bring people together to make it happen. Your career journey has taken you from global brands like Lego and Wayfair to startup leadership roles where adaptability, resilience, and vision were critical.

[00:16:28] You've been a co-founder and COO. You've helped scale a company. You've secured venture funding and built an operational foundation where growth was needed the most. You really are a builder. With your bachelor's in psychology and your MBA in marketing, you make your leadership style unique, and that is because it's rooted in both strategy and empathy. You know how to create environments where teams feel aligned, empowered, and are able to do their best work.

[00:16:56] And you carry that mindset home with you as well. Your favorite title of all is mom to your two young children. As we chatted about earlier in the show, you and your family relocated recently from Boston to South Lakes, Texas, which is why you're now on the search for what's next. You shared with me that walking away from your previous role wasn't easy, but you knew it was the right decision for you and your family. You're a supportive wife and mom above all else.

[00:17:22] Your kids love being outside, and you can be found often volunteering in the community, showing up at school events, and cheering at their games. You love to travel, especially at the Atlantis, and we also bonded that we love a good Marriott's Day. And really and truly, anytime you get to spend time with your family is the time you value the most. And you make juggling it all look so easy. You're passionate about networking, helping others, and making sure that people are always optimizing their talents

[00:17:51] and reaching their full potential. You're analytical, strategic, adaptable. The kind of leader who can zoom out to see the vision while still knowing exactly how to execute the details. One thing's for sure, Lauren. Wherever this next opportunity takes you, the organization is going to be extremely lucky to have you on board. Welcome to the breakout room. Let's dig in. I'm so excited to learn more. We'll showcase your dossier a little bit, and let's have some fun. Oh, that was amazing.

[00:18:20] I could not have written anything like that. That was amazing. Thank you, Madison. That was great. Did she miss anything? I don't think so. I mean, really, like, it's crazy to hear it reflected back on you, I think. Sometimes we don't spend enough time. And obviously, interviewing, I'm starting to get my elevator pitches down a little bit more accurately around threading the needle because I have had so many different, like, on paper seemingly types of roles.

[00:18:48] But there are so many similarities across what I've tactically been responsible for and executing on within each of those roles. So I think you did a fabulous job summarizing that. I also think one thing I added to my profile actually recently was that I was a college athlete. And I think a lot of what's been instilled in me throughout my life is working as a team, bringing, yep, there it is. There you are. I love it.

[00:19:12] Because you are only as strong as your, you know, I sort of don't like the term weakest link, but you're only as strong as the person that's maybe not feeling like they're doing their best job. And so for me, it's all about making sure that we're all working in alignment towards the same goal. So that was great. Thank you. Yeah. What was your experience building your dossier? Like just seeing you, looks like softball. Yep.

[00:19:35] What, was that fun to kind of mix it up a little bit and share some of the differences and kind of showcase some of your life work instead of just your commercial work? Yeah, it was, it was really fun, especially because it kept sort of like triggering new ideas as I was going through the process. So experiences or life work that I would never even really maybe think about to bring up in an interview or wouldn't even have the opportunity to maybe do so.

[00:20:02] But when I was looking through those pieces and like tagging skills in them, I actually found like, especially my job as a mom, I have so many skills in there where I'm like, these are all applicable to my job as in a professional environment. So I found that to be really interesting and it was really fun. The conflict resolution for sure, right? Every day. Literally two hours. The conflict resolution.

[00:20:28] I'm proud of this part because I think in a lot of cases, you've got a woman that actually goes on a career break on LinkedIn and goes and has a family. And it's just, it's such the opposite of a career break. Like there's so much that you learn in that time and your CEO household and you're raising these human startups. And I'm sort of funny with the idea, but it's so important and there's so many skills.

[00:20:56] And I just find that sometimes in interviews, you get done with talking about Lego or talking about Wayfair. There's no time, right? So you never get to say like, I was a college athlete and like some of what I learned there. And so it's so fun to see all of that in your dossier. And it's one of the things we're really proud of. Talk to me. It seems like you might have come into Lego right when they came into Boston. Do I have the timing about right? Yep, about right.

[00:21:21] So I started December 2023 where they had already announced their transition or the plans moved to Boston in January 2023. So they're about a year into the transition with the plan of it lasting about two and a half to three and a half years based on which teams would move to Boston when. So they opened the Boston office. They actually have a Lego education office on Boylston Street. So I was always in the Boston office in some way. But then they built a new headquarters over by the Heinz Convention Center, which opened in May of 2025.

[00:21:51] So definitely going through quite a large people transition for the company. I mean, there were a lot of people that were trying to figure out if they wanted to make the move. Did they want to follow their job? It's about a two-hour drive from Enfield, Connecticut, which was their old headquarters to Boston. And there were many people that had families that their kids were in school that it was just not a good time. Their spouse or partner had a job they couldn't leave or, you know, couldn't really move.

[00:22:18] And also the Boston housing market is a completely different housing market than in Connecticut, right, or where they were kind of, you know, looking at. So very expensive. So there are a lot of factors. So it was really exciting. But at the same time, there was, you know, there was definitely some a lot of hard conversations that were being had. And I think a lot of even with the three-year timeline, a lot of, you know, stress among people in terms of that decision. Yeah. What's the biggest? You're a Bostonian. I'm from Boston.

[00:22:47] I grew up in Needham. And I lived in Connecticut. And then I now live in Rhode Island. And so I've been a New England person. Now you're in Texas. What's the biggest difference? Do you feel the difference being in Texas? It's interesting. So we are actually in a city, and this seems to be pretty common in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, where there's actually a ton of people that have moved here in the last 10 or so years.

[00:23:16] And so I'm actually, it's pretty cool that I'm actually meeting a lot of other, and right now it's generally like neighbors and like parents of the kids that are in my kids' classes. But a lot of people that, I know somebody from Rhode Island, actually. They just moved here last September with their family, their four girls. So there are a lot of people, which is not always the case in Boston. My husband is actually from Chicago. And when he moved to Boston after college, he went to USC in L.A., he said it was interesting.

[00:23:42] His group of friends, they were all from, not from Boston, because it's really, can be challenging to kind of break into the world. Yeah, exactly. And I was obviously, you know, just didn't even really realize that until I had that perspective shown to me. So I've actually really enjoyed, you know, seeing different perspectives. The most challenging part is leaving. I have still a bunch of family. My parents still live in New England. So that's been a challenge. Tactically, there's a lot more weather down here, especially this time of year.

[00:24:11] The thunderstorms and tornado watches are new. And then there's a lot of bugs. And we had a bobcat run through our driveway just two days ago. So there's that. Yeah, there's that. Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about like an ideal job for you. You've had some big jobs. And, you know, let's maybe we start with the Lego job and sort of what your responsibilities were. And then how do you bridge that into what would be an ideal role for you? Yeah.

[00:24:36] So setting the stage a little bit, the marketing area of the Lego group was under a bit of transformation while I was there as well. So I actually started in a global insights role. So as a business partner to the U.S. marketing team, driving insights and analytics that would inform decisions they were making on marketing planning. And then that led me to my second role, which was head of operations for U.S. marketing. But stage setting, they went through a pretty big structural change while I was there in terms of removing a regional level from the marketing team.

[00:25:05] So you only had global and business units. That was a pretty big change. And then they were also taking, you know, we were being really trying to be very fiscally responsible with how we're spending our marketing dollars. And so a lot of what I was responsible for.

[00:25:18] So as head of operations, I was responsible for the entire U.S. marketing budget in terms of that financial management, as well as what I would call kind of all the other operational pieces of what we were doing, like ways of working, how, you know, I was running meetings, basically supporting the head of U.S. marketing in terms of all the things that she kind of needed assistance with.

[00:25:40] So it was really a lot of really different operational running efficiencies and making sure that all of our processes were continuing to improve. So we were, again, making sure we were spending all of our capital in the right places at the right time with the right audiences. And then the team was working together as seamlessly as possible. How big was the team that you were involved with? Did you have direct reports? Yep.

[00:26:07] So I managed a team that had three direct reports. The entire U.S. marketing org, I think, is about 50 people somewhere in that vicinity. But they'd grown pretty significantly over the last year based on the needs of the business. So there were a lot of changes with like, and I'll relate this to my startup experience, inflection points when you have a growth of a team from, you know, 5 to 10 to 20 to 50. That's, there are many changes you have to make in terms of how people work together, what the meeting structures look like, communication, all of those things.

[00:26:36] So that's where, and then I worked very cross-functionally. So one of the people I worked most closely with was our finance director for the Americas. We were very, had to be very much in lockstep in terms of making sure that we had the right data and the right visibility around the budget. And then I also worked very closely with our commercial teams, our account teams that were working with our, you know, B2B partnerships and our demand planning team.

[00:27:00] So if we're spending marketing dollars, what do we expect our inventory needs to be within all of our channels to make sure that we were not, you know, running low on inventory or overstocking on anything? Yeah. Yeah. It was very interesting. You were a COO and co-founder, and then you, you went back into working for others. Yep. And let's, let's bridge that to what you want to do now, because it sounds like you've had a good operations experience, good marketing experience, good sort of like business partner experience.

[00:27:30] So where does it lead you? Yeah. Yeah. So for me, I, I'm classifying my target, I guess, role is I'm not necessarily industry focused. So I'm, I'm really looking across a broad number of industries and I'm not necessarily functionally focused where I have to be an operation specifically, because a lot of times that could be supply chain or something that's a little bit outside of my, you know, I haven't done supply chain manufacturing operations.

[00:27:54] For me, it's most, it's a lot of internal operations. And then, so that, that could be a need on like in many different functional areas of a business. So what I'm really looking for are companies that are in a, or companies or areas of an organization that are at an inflection point where they need help figuring out how to scale, whatever it is they're doing. I've worked with engineering teams, product teams, marketing teams. And is it marketing or is it operations? Like what, do you want to stay in marketing?

[00:28:21] I have enjoyed working in marketing because I also find that my skillset complements a lot of the skillsets of marketeers very well. And the fact that I was saying to Madison, I like to remove roadblocks, operational roadblocks for teams that really shouldn't be spending their time on operations and it's not their passion or what they want to be spending time doing. So for me, it's, it's, it's really looking for a job, which I was also saying, these jobs are not really posted, right?

[00:28:47] Which is where the networking piece comes in because you're not necessarily going to find like a lot of people that know they need operations help have a hard time even writing that rec. They're like, we know that there's challenges here, but like, how do we even describe that, that challenge to, in a job description? Um, so for me, it's really, it's, it's taken a lot of conversations and that's why similarly I've had very similar experiences as Derek and Chetna with applying to like a ton of different jobs. And I really quickly was like, this is not how I'm going to get my next job.

[00:29:17] I was like, I have to lean in and spend the time making sure I'm, I'm using my network, which for me again, because I would say, because I spent so much time doing that in Boston and people have networks everywhere. I've really, really leaned into that a lot. Yes, exactly. Is this you? Yes, that's me. I can't, I can't, I can't get it to show a very good picture of it. I could see that. I could see the outline of it. It's on your LinkedIn. Tell me about this picture. It's so funny.

[00:29:46] It's like, uh, you're sort of, um, astonished and you got Legos all around you. Like that must've been a photo shoot. It was a photo shoot. Um, they were going through an employee, um, branding re or not rebranding employee branding sort of effort where they were, I think they took 20 of us in the U S market and maybe it was actually other places too. But I know we had about 20 people in the Boston office where they, uh, they had us do our, our, a story on our career path at the Lego group.

[00:30:15] Unfortunately, I believe that's no longer posted because I'm no longer an employee at the Lego group. I did look for it the other day and maybe I need to do some more digging, but they, I had a whole, you know, sort of article. That I did the photo shoot and then I got a new role within the next like six months. We'd go back and rewrite the article because it was no longer relevant with my old role. Is it in your link? It wasn't my, it was, it was, it was, it was on their career page. So you could actually go in on their page. Is your LinkedIn post and does it reflect that story? It is. A link to that story. Yeah.

[00:30:45] It was a link to the story. It had a short summary. Now I'm like, I should have copied it. It was a cool story. You could probably, probably still get it. That'd be a good thing to put in your dossier. Like just, you know. I agree. I like that picture too. That, you know, that picture is fun. The thing I like about images is it tells a story and you're the only one that can tell that story. And so as a way to create some intrigue when you're, you know, kind of talking about new marketing opportunities, the fact that the company felt that you really represented the

[00:31:15] company, I think is, is a great sign. I felt very honored to be asked. I'd only been at the company for maybe six months or so, but you know, I've, I, and I will also say one thing I acknowledge. And one thing I was thinking about as I was talking about networking is that networking is a challenge for some people in different ways. Like for me, it comes very naturally, but I was thinking, you know, if there's a way for a dossier to like help empower and enable people that maybe feel a lot less comfortable

[00:31:43] with that networking, because I do feel like it's such a differentiator in today's job market right now and where we're at, it's, it's really all about who, you know, and getting your foot like in the door. And I would say that's kind of been the case for a while, but even more so now. Yeah, that's good. Let's have a little fun. Did you ever build a Lego thing while you're at Lego? Uh, I, you should see how many Legos we have in one house. Uh, yes, I am an adult builder. I love building.

[00:32:11] I, I was a little bit before I started there, but now I'm just like, I, I bought a bunch of sets before I left. Um, so there's a thing called an adult builder. Oh my gosh. Yes. Adult building is like a huge, huge thing. Now we have all these adult product lines. My cousin loves to do that. She has Lego sets and she does it all over her house. It's the coolest product I've ever built. And I need to take, it's still packed because I'm like scared to open it to see if it fell apart, but it's the home alone house. And I put in a light up kit in the home alone house.

[00:32:40] So all of the like lights in the house, like the Christmas tree with Michael Jordan lights up. It is like the coolest set. It's awesome. So that's my favorite. Um, but really like building my son or, or do you assemble it yourself? Uh, no, I've assembled myself. Yep. I did all myself. Yep. I build all my sets myself. So, um, I didn't buy a kit. That's the home alone kit. Yes. There's a home alone set. Yep. Exactly. There's a home alone set.

[00:33:08] And, um, it's funny. It's go to the site and look at like 18 plus, um, sets and you will find so many cool things. The world cup is a big one right now too. They've got a bunch of cool world cup sets. Nice. All right. Um, favorite era of music. Oh boy. I will be, well, there's two actually. So one is I really love the Beatles. Um, I have been to a few of those like performances that obviously are not really the Beatles, but

[00:33:35] they're, I, you know, I just find that there's so many different songs. Yeah. Yeah. It's the, it's just such a good, like feel good song. And I think because I grew up with like my parents playing that music for whatever reason, it's a little nostalgic. And then admittedly, I've been to see Taylor Swift, like before she sold out concerts in like, you know, 30 seconds, I did go to see her a few times. Um, and then are you a, are you a Swifty? I would consider myself a really old Swifty, like a millennial Swifty, which I don't know if that's a good label to have. I don't know.

[00:34:05] I saw Taylor Swift in concert before she was even a thing. Yeah. Opener for the opener of the opener. And everyone was taking photos and we were like, who's this girl? And now flash forward, here we are. I mean, it's pretty, it's pretty amazing because we're about the same age. I'm a little older than her, but to kind of see her journey, which I know we see what we see, you know, but I, I do think there's a lot of, for us, a lot of her journey. Yeah. No question. Yeah. All right. So, so is there an era in that?

[00:34:34] Like, so, uh, Beatles was like your parents music who then kind of brought you into that. Uh, let's see favorite Beatles song. That's a good one. Hey Jude is one of my favorites. I would say that for whatever reason, that's a really good one. My kids love yellow submarine. I'm like, where did you even hear this? I don't even, they must've heard me play it or something. A lot of these, uh, songs are in, in their movies, which, uh, yeah, that's a really good one. That one's popping up on my playlist. All right.

[00:35:04] Let's balance it out. Favorite Taylor Swift song. Favorite Taylor. That is a really, really hard one. Oh my gosh. Okay. So there's just so many and they all correlate to like different emotions. Right. So, uh, I've been listening to like ruin the friendship and father's daughter a lot on her new album for whatever reason. I think the, the, the father's daughter piece really speaks to me.

[00:35:29] I was the oldest daughter and you do really go through a lot of things as the oldest kid. And, um, I pushed the envelope quite a lot. I've been blessed with an oldest son who will probably put me through the exact same thing, which is what my mom told me. So, uh, you know, but I think that's a skillset. My mom always said, I'll just say, this is really funny. My mom would always say that I used to say, that's a, that's a stupid rule. So I'm not going to follow it. Like when I was growing up, they were like,

[00:35:54] well, this is really fun for us, but it kind of applies to like within reason in my professional career where I'm like, if it's, if it's not working and there's these rules and regulations around it, like let's look at what we're really trying to do here and why these boundaries exist at this point. So it's kind of interesting to see that. So, so you're a rule breaker. I, and my husband hates it because he is a rule follower. So I don't know if that's funny. You're an aggressive prioritizer, but you're also a rule breaker.

[00:36:23] I think that's a good tension. You can break the rules a little bit because I also think sometimes when you're aggressively prioritizing, you're doing things that people may question as to why you're focusing on that first. And for me, it's always thinking about not what, you know, people think I should do, but like, what is actually going to drive the best outcome and the highest impact of, of whatever we're working on. So like, it's not just what you think you should do or how you put together the original list. It's like, this is where we're at now. And this is what we need to do now. And with kids, that's like, you always have to do that.

[00:36:52] Like it's ever changing your environment. Last question. I think a lot of people are thinking about, should I go to college? You went to Colby, great school. You went to BU, got your MBA. Why should someone who's a senior in high school right now, why should they go to school? It's a great question. So, so many thoughts on this. And a lot of people would also ask me about my MBA after I finished that degree. Like, do you need an MBA? So I can maybe split those. I'll start with the college piece because I can kind of split those apart.

[00:37:22] The whole education world is changing right now. So I'm actually signed up for a masterclass executive program, which is focused on leveraging and learning about artificial intelligence in ways that feed you information, like the right information that you need for your specific job and giving you coursework that is specifically going to help you in either the job that you're in or the job that you want to get. And I think that's like really scratching the surface of like- Who's doing that education course? It's masterclass. It's a masterclass executive. Yeah. So we had a call.

[00:37:50] It's being run by the CEO and the chief, I think it's the CTO is the other sort of like co-founder of that program. Um, so that starts in July. And I think I'm going to learn a lot about like, what does, what is the future of education going to look like? Because I think, you know, when I went to college, we, we, you kind of did it because you should write like everyone was going to college. I obviously loved it. I had a fabulous experience at Colby, but when you're applying, you're kind of doing it because that's like, that's, I grew up in Lexington right up the street.

[00:38:17] Um, and like, I think like 98% of that class went to college somewhere, right? Like that was what you're, you're supposed to do. So now I think, you know, when you look at all the, the debt crisis that we're having and the lack of support from, you know, I won't get political on this, but there's a lack of support for, for, for that and now enables and empowers people to go to college. Um, and I, you look at it and you're like, does it make sense to be potentially at this point, almost $400,000 in debt when you graduate? Like for me, that is, that is startling.

[00:38:44] And, um, I, you know, I think it's almost like, is there, is there a better way? Um, and then there's like the decentralization of education. Like that's a limitation for people. Some people absolutely could not take on almost half a million dollars of debt, where for other people, they're just getting, getting paid to go to college. And that, you know, that creates an uneven playing field. Um, I, at Lumini are the co-founders there. They've raised almost $20 million for Lumini. They just raised a series B, um, a few weeks ago, or maybe it's about a month ago.

[00:39:12] Neither of them went to college and they just kind of jumped into building this company. Um, and we're just so motivated, really smart guys and got this, you know, this company off the ground. So I think that's a great example of like, there are different ways to do this and you don't have to go. I don't know how I feel about that as my kids get older. Um, you know, I think it's like to be determined. I, I, but that's, that's how I'm feeling about it right now. And I do think it'll be a completely different world. Um, by the time I send them to the eight. Yep.

[00:39:40] So, um, all right, let's send you back to the main room. Uh, you can grab Derek. Derek, it's an absolute pleasure to have you in the breakout session. And, uh, thank you so much. Very good. Hey, Derek, welcome to the breakout room. Hey, Madison. Hey, Jeff. How is it back in the main room? Did you intend to have a good conversation? Yes. Yes. We actually were talking a lot about food. So I mean, that was good conversation.

[00:40:11] Yeah. So, uh, uh, maybe before we jump totally in, uh, you were thinking of opening a Japanese restaurant or an American restaurant in Japan. So my restaurant was going to be, um, I guess like the concept would be close around like struggle meals. Uh, one of the concept or one of the problems that I saw when I went over there for a, uh, it was a business abroad course over the summer. Yep.

[00:40:39] Was that a lot of like the younger, um, the younger students like college age, high school age, they would be eating a lot of like convenience store foods, stuff that was like overly processed, not necessarily healthy for you. Um, but then it kind of brought me back to when I was around that age and I was thinking like, okay, what kind of struggle meals were I, was I eating? Like when I was, you know, just joining the army or right before I joined the army and it

[00:41:09] always went back to like chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. I used to make, um, English muffin pizzas and English with some tomato sauce and a piece of American cheese on it. Like it was good. That was my struggle. So let's, um, let's pause for a second. Uh, Madison, do you want to welcome Derek and let's get a little background in and then we'll talk. Absolutely.

[00:41:34] Well, Derek, you are the definition of adaptability, resilience, and service. After dedicating 20 years to the U S army, you are now channeling that same discipline, leadership, and operational mindset into the world of marketing. You thrive in fast moving environments for organization, communication, and execution matter the most. Whether you're coordinating large scale training logistics, managing hundreds of moving pieces, building workflow systems, or supporting live activations.

[00:42:03] You know how to keep things running smoothly under pressure, and you don't get overwhelmed. Your story is inspiring. You spent eight months in Afghanistan in 2013. You have relocated multiple times throughout your career, and have traveled all over the world. With a background in HR during your time in the army, you're now looking to settle in and explore your next chapter with that same passion and determination that has guided you throughout your life.

[00:42:29] You graduated on the dean's list with your marketing degree last year, building an entire new career path for yourself. At the same time, you also earned your certification to teach English as a second language, and you really have a true love of learning about different cultures and languages. You speak Japanese, you know a bit of Chinese and Mandarin, and you have a fascination with North Korea.

[00:42:53] You and I were actually chatting about how one of the other guests we've had on our show recently, Justin, also spoke Japanese, and he demonstrated head, shoulder, knees, and toes for us. So now I'm totally going to put the pressure on you, Derek, and we're going to have to have you sing some sort of a song and have like a song on it. Okay. Your travels have really shaped so much of who you are, and Taiwan has quickly become one of your favorite places. You are a proud husband and father.

[00:43:18] While you're still open to travel opportunities, your biggest priority is to making sure that your family now feels settled and supported in Georgia. An unexpected fun fact, you're also a professional wrestler, which shows a level of grit and toughness like no other. After suffering some ribbing injuries in the Army, you decided it was time to get back in shape and somehow ended up thrown directly into wrestling training.

[00:43:42] Day one, 200 squats, a two-mile run, and 50 push-ups, and that was just the warm-up. So if that doesn't define resilience, nothing does. But you have a soft side too. Your wife loves collecting BTS stuffed animals, and they have fully taken over the office, as I think we can kind of see behind you too. Whether it's singing karaoke, cooking, or cheering on the Chicago Cubs, you know how to bring people together and create memorable moments. You're disciplined, strategic, and very humble.

[00:44:12] A natural leader who knows how to execute under pressure while keeping people at the center of it all. And this is just the beginning as you embark on your next chapter. I really think it's going to be incredibly powerful, and you're going to bring all of your experiences together. Welcome to The Breakout. You have so many great stories. We're going to have a lot of fun and excited to showcase you to the viewers. Okay. Thank you. Awesome. Did you miss anything? No.

[00:44:41] 100%. Jeff, you've got to stop asking that. Come on. I mean, my track record's pretty good. I mean, I think there's always an opportunity maybe just for people to say, well, I don't know if we really talked about this, but I think you're right. It's pretty complete. I'm interested in – let's talk about your career in the Army. How long were you in? And let's start there. So I had spent 20 years in the United States Army.

[00:45:11] I enlisted originally out of Indianapolis, Indiana. And from there I went – I mean, as Madison said, pretty much all over the world. I was stationed over in – okay, let's see. Kansas, Georgia, Texas, England. I spent some deployment time in Afghanistan, as Madison said.

[00:45:35] I spent deployment time over in Romania, California, Arizona, and then I did some recruiting over in – This is obviously a big impact for you. Do you like that idea of moving around? Were those experiences rich? Personally, yeah. I love traveling. I love going to new places and exploring new – just new locations, new places, meeting new people. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:46:04] What – I was going to ask you about the difference. Like, what's the most dominant thing that's different about being in the Army and then being in the civilian world? And, like, are there – I don't know what the right question is, but, like, are there things that you have to translate, almost like you would translate from French to English or Spanish to French or, you know, as you're kind of going through these experiences? I'm curious.

[00:46:36] There's a lot, actually, to translate. Like, we have even, you know, courses right before we – right before we even leave the Army and, like, how to kind of, like, translate your – what you do in the Army into, like – I mean, we say it's, like, civilian speak. Mm-hmm. But it really is.

[00:46:59] Like, you have to translate, like, the things that I did in the Army was, like – were things involving, like, human resource pipelines and – I'm looking at your dossier right now. I don't mean to interrupt, but it talks about you as a senior all-source intelligence analyst. And so one of the really exciting things about that is the kind of density and depth of that experience.

[00:47:28] And then how do you translate that? Like, what's a job title that might have similarity in the civilian world? Well, that's kind of interesting because I've been trying to actually pull away from that. Uh-huh. But as far as, like, an all-source intelligence analyst, obviously there's, like – you can still work in the public sector doing similar.

[00:47:58] And same thing with, like, the private sector utilizing, like, intelligence analysis. So you're saying you want to pull away from it. So that's fine. So what do you want to pull to? And let's describe, like, an ideal role for you so that, in your words, you know, this is what I would really like to do if someone's listening right now. So ideally I would love to get into, like, a coordination type of role. Making sure that everything's lined up. Making sure that everything's on track.

[00:48:29] Even in, like, recruiting coordination. So, like, making sure that people are scheduled to where they need to be at. That kind of stuff, yeah. Uh-huh. And is – so you mentioned recruiting. Do you like human resources? I loved my time doing recruiting. So, yeah, I would say I love doing human resources. Just learning about people.

[00:48:59] When you're applying for jobs, have you focused in on recruiting? Yes. I've been mostly going with, like, entry-level marketing and then entry-level, like, recruitment coordinating positions. And what's the reaction to you coming in? You shared that you've had a lot of applications in one interview. Let's talk about that one interview for fun since it's a learning for us.

[00:49:30] So the one interview that I had was – it was a HireVue interview. So it was one way. Yep. And it was a – it was a rejection within about 24 hours. So I don't know if that was, like – You don't have a lot of feedback. No. No feedback at all. Just thanks. No. Mm-hmm. And it got me – I don't know.

[00:49:57] Like, just, like – I would say, like, it was a little bit angry at it. I wouldn't say, like, just angry. But, you know, like, I wasn't necessarily happy with, you know, not getting feedback. And the stuff that I would look online was, like, you know, how can I improve for this kind of, you know, this kind of interview? And they're saying, you know, be more animated.

[00:50:21] And it's, like – I feel like if I was more animated, you know, it wouldn't be me. Right. So good, right? What – it's really hard that when you're in a video interview, it may reward being more extroverted or more body language, you know?

[00:50:45] And if you're more conservative or more matter-of-fact, it's – you know, that's a hard thing. I think I can see where the disillusionment comes from, you know, as it relates specifically to that one interview. And the challenge is you only have one to go by, right? So I would try to, like, pack that up and put that away and, you know, kind of keep working because they're not all going to be like that. Funny, I talked to one woman.

[00:51:11] She applied for 900 jobs over 15 weeks. And of those 900 jobs, 300 turned her down within about six hours. About 300 didn't respond at all. And about 300 said, we're considering you. Thank you for, you know, putting in your resume or whatever. She got 17 of that 900 turned into interviews.

[00:51:36] Two-thirds of them were a bot type, you know, like a higher view type situation where there wasn't a person she could interact with on the other end. She ended up getting two volunteer offers and one full-time offer. And she accepted that one full-time offer, right?

[00:51:54] And so this was part of when I was talking about the new normal when we were out in the main room that, you know, here's somebody just with a lot of grit and determination who didn't take no for an answer. But she did say that one of her interviews she was very excited about. And it turned out to be like a robot interviewing her. And she started crying. And she didn't know how to deal with that situation. And neither did the robot, right?

[00:52:21] Neither did the avatar that she was crying with. And so she just hung up. And I'd say these are challenging situations. You just got to push through, kind of move on to the next thing. Let's talk a little bit about some of your experience. Like you've done event logistics and high-volume workflow management. And, you know, let's just talk a little bit about, you know, your quarterbacking. What are you like in these situations?

[00:52:48] You know, how can you share a little bit of your expertise with everyone? So talking about the event logistics side. Yep. It was actually involving recruiting. So one of our – so I would find – I love finding gaps in things, in processes. Yep. Can we talk about what you mean by a gap?

[00:53:14] So one of the things that we saw while we were doing recruiting was that our leadership wanted us to recruit people who were athletes. And there's nothing wrong with that. But if – I don't know, Jeff or Madison, if you guys have ever played sports before. But like after you're – I'm not a big athlete.

[00:53:38] But like after I'm done, you know, working out or doing any kind of sports, I don't want to talk to somebody for 30 minutes. I want to go home. I want to shower. I want to eat. So I took essentially what a gap was in that we couldn't find people who could sit down with us and talk with us and pass practice tests. Mm-hmm. And I went and I thought, well, okay, I'll talk to some people that I do know.

[00:54:07] And so I got involved with talking with a – it was a local comic book convention. And I essentially took control of that entire process from just the initial like talking to people, networking, to fully stocking our tables, to setting up our scheduling for, you know, who's manning the tables for this entire convention.

[00:54:37] And it led to us getting over 600 qualified leads that we pre-qualified there at the table. Nice. That's cool. So you really shaped that experience. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. And it sounds like maybe the management was open-minded as well because the type of applicant might have been a little different than an athlete in that scenario. There was definitely some pushback at first.

[00:55:07] But I had to – you know, I put together presentations for it. I showed him numbers. Mm-hmm. And that convinced him to, you know, push forward with it. Yeah. All right. Let's have a little fun here. You like karaoke. Oh, yeah. What's your favorite karaoke song? Oh, it depends on the vibe, you know, obviously. But I have – Oh, so I don't like karaoke.

[00:55:36] I run from it. So I need to figure out – so you're vibing the room as part of your song selection, okay? Yeah. Because, I mean, like if you're not feeling it, then, you know, it's not going to be a good night for anybody. You know, like – Right. And there's definitely some people who will think like, okay, maybe if I sing this song, it'll – but it brings the mood down for the entire – Okay. So you have some range here.

[00:56:06] Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, like give me an example. Are you going to sing a Frank Sinatra song or like – what do you like to sing? So usually I will sing some like Billy Idol. What do you like? Rebel Yell. Rebel Yell. Oh, classic. More, more, more. More, more. Yeah, yeah. All right. And what else do you like? Let's see.

[00:56:36] Billy Idol. It's that White Wedding. I have definitely picked up on Chapel Rhone recently. Yeah? What is it? It was Pink Pony Club. All right. And then – oh, gosh. I used to do Meatloaf. Like Bat Out of Hell? Like I can belt it. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:57:06] I think we might have to hear just a little bit here. It might not have to be in Japanese, but we have to hear something. Come. I think we can hear something. Oh, gosh. Oh, man. Well, we'll think about it. All right. Okay. So there's a meatloaf. What's your favorite Meatloaf song? Oh, Meatloaf.

[00:57:36] It would – it's a toss-up between I would do Anything for Love, but I won't do that. You know, it's a classic one. Such a crooner song, huh? We got Two Out of Three Ain't Bad. Yeah. Gosh. There's another one that I used to do all the time, and it's – Oh, okay. Hold on. Hold on. I used to do all the time. Like, so do you go to karaoke? Is that – and like in Japan, karaoke is big, right?

[00:58:06] Oh, yeah. Huge. But it's also like way different from the U.S. So like in the U.S., it's in front of everybody. It's a crowded bar. Yep. But over in Japan, it's in its own separate room, and you could even go in there by yourself if you're feeling like it, or you could split it with a couple friends. Yeah. So you rent a karaoke booth, and you go in there and belt it out? Yeah.

[00:58:37] Nice. All right. All right. It's funny. My other question here is what's an unusual skill that you have that would surprise us? And so we're talking about karaoke. That's maybe an unusual skill. How about another one? As Madison said, I used to do – well, I did pro wrestling for 12 years. Yeah. Like let's talk about that. What kind of pro wrestling?

[00:59:04] As in like the stuff you would see on television, like WWE or AEW type of wrestling. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But on a much, much, much smaller scale. Uh-huh. Did you have a persona? Uh-huh. Yeah, I do, actually. So when I was – I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't even guess, Derek. What's your persona? Throw it out there.

[00:59:32] So it was a little bit of a mishmash and like last-minute preparation type of thing. When it got started, they wanted me to do a soldier gimmick. And it was – I'll say that it was not ideal because we were 30 minutes away from Fort Stewart. So, you know, soldiers are going to come to the shows. That wouldn't be – that wouldn't make any sense because they wanted me – To be something different.

[01:00:01] To be a bad soldier, you know, evil and stuff. And I'm like, I can't do that. You know, I can't do that. So he was like, all right, cool. Tell me about it. You know, like where we trained at. So did you get hit by chairs and did you get thrown out of the ring? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I picked up a British gimmick because I was trained over in England. Uh-huh. And at the time, I still had a little bit of a British accent to me. Uh-huh.

[01:00:30] You know, I still – I could still talk with a little bit of a British accent. So that's what I was – that's what I rolled with. That's what you did, huh? Well, Derek, you're full of surprises. I like it. But if I were to guess, you know, are you a big karaoke person? And did you do professional wrestling? It's funny. I was just watching the Hulk Hogan documentary series. Have you watched that?

[01:00:55] I haven't watched it, but I am very, very – I admired Hulk Hogan. Yeah, it's neat. I had an appreciation. I'm not really a WWF or E or whatever. I don't watch it. I don't know much about it. But I sort of liked him and what he represented. And I think he had a hard life. And I think he was very famous for who he was and what he did, his persona.

[01:01:23] And so, Derek, I'm finding out about Cheers. You're the mean Brit. Mean – you're the big hulking Brit. And singing meatloaf on stage. That would be a good combination. All right. Well, listen, I wish you the best. Being in the breakout session, we get to know people. And I think a lot of this stuff wouldn't come through on a resume. It does start to come through on your dossier. Thank you for doing that with us at Boom Band.

[01:01:54] And let's send you back to the main room. And you're going to grab Chaitna. And we'll go from there. All right. See you back in the main room, Derek. Thanks so much for doing this. Chaitna, welcome. We're so excited to have you in the breakout. How's it been going in the moon room? It's been great. We have been discussing all the things about this planet. And it's been a great conversation. I love to get to know about Derek and Lauren. And they were amazing people. Derek said you guys talked a lot about food.

[01:02:24] Oh, yeah. We did. We did. That's what I told him, too. That food is one of the things that I talk about the most when getting to know a person. Because instantly you can connect to strangers on a single stream of thought and find out more about great restaurants in that area. And I love talking to Derek about Korean barbecue chicken and also barbecue cheese slider. No, not barbecue. Just cheese slider. And I was happy to know that he would choose a Korean barbecue over a cheese slider.

[01:02:54] Ah, that's fun. The things you bond over, right? I love it. All right. Let's do it. All right. Well, Chaitna, we chatted last week. So it's just so great getting to know you. We're excited to dive in more. But this is just kind of what I put together. You are the strategist turning marketing into momentum. You don't just run campaigns. You engineer growth across every stage of the funnel.

[01:03:19] From go-to-market strategy and audience segmentation to paid media and CRM orchestration, you understand how every touchpoint connects and more importantly, how to make it perform. You thrive where creativity meets analytics. You know how to take complex ideas and turn them into marketing that actually lands with people across industries. What makes your story stand out is your ability to move between strategy and execution without losing momentum.

[01:03:49] You've worked across enterprise, SaaS, and agency-style environments, scaling campaigns, improving conversion rates, driving engagement, and building systems that make marketing more effective and measurable. No matter the challenge, you bring a performance mindset to everything you touch. Your passion runs deep, and your impact goes far beyond the day-to-day.

[01:04:11] As VP and podcast host for AMA Boston, you're helping shape discussions, build community, and grow audiences through storytelling, partnerships, and content strategy. You've also built your own brand, Echo Engine, out of the love of marketing, a microphone, and meaningful conversations. You don't just understand brands. You understand people, and that is what makes your work resonate.

[01:04:36] You believe in constantly building yourself, which led you to pursue your master of science and marketing. You're now freelancing, as you mentioned, with a high-profile client as you search for your next full-time opportunity. You believe deeply in the power of networking, community, and giving back to those that have helped you along the way. You love a challenge, and you aren't afraid to try something new. From moving to the U.S. from India to taking up kickboxing this summer, you embrace adventure head-on.

[01:05:04] However, the kickboxing piece may have come from, you know, wrestling your younger brother when you were a kid, so you're going to be a pro at it by now. But either way, it's going to be a really cool new adventure for you. Your perseverance showed up in every part of your life, including when you got married during COVID, something you and I have in common. Being a COVID bride was not easy, but you pivoted, you transformed, and you took a 200-person wedding into an intimate, magical night for about 25 people.

[01:05:33] When you're not building brands and communities, you love laying on the beach, soaking up sunshine in your garden, of course trying new foods, and getting lost in a good book. But most importantly, at your heart, you are so passionate about marketing. You're analytical, you're creative, you're adaptable. A modern marketer who knows exactly how to connect the dots between data, storytelling, and growth. And wherever you go next, there's no doubt it's going to be another boom moment for you.

[01:06:02] Welcome. Let's dive in. We're so excited to have you here. Madison, I love that introduction that you just gave me because it was just, I had forgotten quite a few words about myself, but you reminded me and I'm back to my game. So thank you so much for giving me that great, great introduction. I love that. Tell us about the journey from India to the United States.

[01:06:25] My journey from India to the United States was, well, in short, I would say that my journey was because my husband worked here at that time. He still does. But my actual journey started when I started to pursue my master's in marketing at Suffolk University in downtown Boston. That's, I feel, where my journey actually starts. And from a city girl to moving to another city such as Boston.

[01:06:53] I feel the transition was easy. What was difficult was to adapt to this new environment, to make sure that I stand apart from the crowd that I'm in and to make sure that I become the person that I'm trying to become. So when I joined, my destination was to become a force in the field of marketing. And today, when I look back, I think I am at least starting my journey to become a force in this field of marketing. What does it mean to be a force?

[01:07:23] I mean, I think I know, but I'd like to hear your definition of it. I think force would be, Jeff, a person like you. You started monster. That's something to reckon with. So to say that what force means, I feel it would be to fearless and to start your venture without thinking where it will land you. Because you believe in your idea.

[01:07:49] You believe in the power of changing the idea into execution and not just on the piece of paper. So that's what I mean when I say I want to be a force in marketing. I just don't want to be a name on a piece of paper. I want to be known more than that. And I believe that I'm working towards it. And I'm very happy to be doing that. It's funny. I met you in the audience of Speaking Engagement where I was speaking. And you stood out in the audience and also talked to me afterwards.

[01:08:17] And so I see you. I guess I see you. I think that's the first thing. And I felt you when you're speaking, you always try to get some content from your audience. And I always come away having met people that changed me.

[01:08:38] And I think part of why we're here today is because you were brave being a force in the audience and being a marketer in that experience. What's your read of that exchange that we had? That my read was that. See, the thing is that ideas drive me. My thought process might be whatever it is currently. But it's the ideas that fueled me, that give me the power to change the scenario that I'm in.

[01:09:08] And when I heard you talking, you were talking not just about an idea. You were talking about changing something very deeply situated in our current field. And how to remove that. And it is currently a bottleneck. The product that you're creating, boom, ban. It's about showing the recruiters that the person that you're reading about is not just something that you're reading about. It's an actual human behind those words.

[01:09:33] It's an actual human who's executing all these strategies that you want to be implemented in your own organization to succeed. So here's this platform. Get to know more about this person. That's what you sold me on. And that's what I took away the most from that meeting, from that engagement that we had. And that's what I did. Is that you're trying to change the system that you helped create. Yeah. You know? You helped create that platform. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[01:10:02] And that drives me a lot. A big part of what I try to do is relate to an audience, right? Like don't just have a PowerPoint and, you know, it's just so horrible. I think most presenters just put people to sleep today. And there were a couple of good ones at that show. But yeah, it's interesting. But I am pretty sure to say that a lot of people connected with what you were saying.

[01:10:27] Because when your talk ended, I was looking around and everybody had this phase of, you know, curiosity about, okay, I have to jump on this platform. I have to know what is it about and how I can be a part of that system. That curiosity, that phase that you leave, that's the impression. And that's, I feel, the key takeaway in your talking engagement. Let's skip, keep talking about you.

[01:10:54] Like one of the things, tell me about the AMA experience that you have. Is that a volunteer experience? And you are the vice president in that. And how did you get there? And then let's talk about your podcast. So my first interaction with AMA was in my college study hall. They were having a presentation. And that's where I got to know that such and such organization even exists. And later that year, I was like, okay, I have to start something and somewhere.

[01:11:23] So what better way to join rather than to join an organization that's already excelling at it. So I joined the podcast division. And that was at that time being headed by Alan Abraham. And I got lucky enough to witness him in action. He taught me all the ropes about it. And he was a great, great mentor for me. And when last year, there was this conversation about him moving on to another opportunity.

[01:11:51] So that would mean that he had to leave this opportunity. And the conversation started between me and another person. And Alan was like, may the best person win for this. And somehow I stood apart. I stood out. And that's how I got the position that I'm currently at. And at the starting, it was pretty daunting for me because podcasting, I sure I have seen from the back end of it.

[01:12:17] But to actually host and to have that confidence, you know, to talk to a complete stranger, get to know about them. And ask them questions that they feel legible to answer. And to also engage with the audience and create content on its own. So that's like a whole different theme that I have never done before. And I never backed down from a great challenge. That's also where I would say that I enjoyed. I took that upon as a challenge. And it's been a year almost now.

[01:12:46] How many podcasts have you done? I have currently done 15 podcasts. I'm trying to get published five more before the year ends. Year as in July, our financial year ends in July. So I'm trying to offload more of a few podcasts. And my recent win, I would say, was to record an episode with Krispy Kreme and Milk Bar. So that was a great win for me and for the whole AMA department.

[01:13:11] We have really enjoyed this conversation with Krispy Kreme. And my team behind me, as in the AMA board members, they have really rallied for me. So part of my confidence comes from them rallying for me. Even before I start believing myself, they keep on saying that I'll do it. And somehow I end up doing it. So I would say my peers have really helped me gain this confidence to engage with strangers

[01:13:39] and to learn from the industry leaders in marketing and also thought leaders. And it has been a great journey so far. That's really good. Let's tell the audience what would be an ideal role for you. Let's describe that if I could just set the table back to food here for what I would like to do in my job, what would it be? So my dream goal is actually to be behind, to be in the team where strategy happens.

[01:14:08] I'm pretty great at strategizing our next move. So go-to-market strategies, how to make sure that we capture the audience intent. That's where my dream role is. And I'm also pretty good. I would not say great right now because I'm still building that, but I'm pretty good at storytelling. And this convergence of go-to-market strategies and storytelling is where I find myself.

[01:14:35] I am pretty good at making sure that the product, be it a service or an actual product, it relates to the consumer. Because at the end of the day, that's where we are getting our traction out of. So to make sure that we can engage our customer, we can leave an impressionable impact on them so that when they go out in the market and they interact with their other friends or relatives, they can say great things about our product.

[01:15:03] And my journey for this actually started with my last role. That company gave me a huge responsibility and opportunity to be a product marketing assistant with them. And that product, hands down, I feel it was a healthcare B2B SaaS company.

[01:15:20] And hands down, one of the best products that I've ever interacted with because it will solve so many challenges on a day-to-day basis for kids, for adults, for anyone who's involved in such a thing. I'll tell you more about the product. It's a headset that helps you diagnose ADHD, TBI and concussions. And I feel they are pretty great at what they do.

[01:15:48] They have a great team behind them. The CEO of that organization is an amazing, down-to-earth human being. And I'm just so lucky to have interacted with him. Shout out to Gary. Is that what your fractional role is? No, that was my last role. My fractional role is with the company and their current client, which I'm working on, is eBay. So we are currently developing their AI projects. And it's a lot of strategical work.

[01:16:17] But it's also a lot of analytical work. I try to shy away from analytics. But I do enjoy it. But I shy away from analytics. And I try to more get into strategies. That's where, you know, the engines start rolling. And I'm just like, okay, full open. You know, it's funny. We've been talking about building an ambassador program for Boom Band. And when I think about the person that would be out there telling the Boom Band story, like the way you are storytelling is like getting me excited.

[01:16:46] So we'll have to talk more about that. I want to have a conversation with you. The favorite book, you said you like to kind of dig in with a good book. Share us a book that has moved you, that shaped you. Yeah, I would say this book has been, it's a fictional book. And it's a book I keep going back to. It's The Illicit Happiness of Others. It's by an Indian writer called Manu Joseph.

[01:17:16] And it's a tragedy. And weirdly enough, tragedies sometimes make me laugh because it shows me, you know, at the end of the day, we are just small human beings. And our lives right now, the problems, the issues that we are facing might seem really great and huge in the moment. But they're really tiny in the huge expanse that we are living in. It just brings me out of the box.

[01:17:44] It pulls me away from the problem. And it helps me focus back to the solution. I'm a solution-oriented person. And to have a constant reminder that my problem is just temporary and solution is something that I can actually work on. That's where my power is. That book really helps me get into that, you know, solution-solving mode. And I really enjoy that. Who's the author? Manu Joseph. Okay, well, we'll have to find this book. That sounds great.

[01:18:14] All right. How about a rule you had growing up that feels ridiculous now? This is cool because you've got some cultural crossover here as well. That the only way is through harder stuff. My mom used to always tell me that in order for you to succeed, you have to go through a lot of rigorous, harder approaches. And that's only the way you can get your success.

[01:18:40] But then in the grand scheme of things, I realize I don't have to choose the harder thing. I can easily choose the easy way out and still make a good journey for myself. Because if the story is not about the destination, it's about the journey, then why not enjoy the journey? Why do I have to cry for it? So it's all about, I think, making the most of my journey and making sure that I don't actively sabotage my life.

[01:19:09] Have you ever debated this with your mom? Yeah, of course. I love a good debate with my mom because there's a lot of things that she and I disagree on. But she's also the love of my heart. So I can't actually disagree with everything that she says. She grew me up into the person that I am today. So yeah, that's that also. All right. How about what's the strangest thing that you've ever found? As in what terms? Any terms.

[01:19:38] It's completely open. It could be the coolest thing you've ever found. Oh, the strangest thing that I ever found was this movie that I was watching back. It is Weapons, I call it. It's a it's a it's a scientific dystopian world of where children are lost. And it was absolutely the strangest thing that I've ever seen. Like, because scientific dystopian world is something like out of bounds for me.

[01:20:08] And I can't really imagine a scenario like that. And that movie had me so engrossed. And I was constantly thinking, wait, please tell me how is this happening? I have to know. And not having like all the answers. It just really creates a havoc in my mind. I have to know all the answers. I have to know the solution to it. And I just I couldn't figure that movie out. It was the strangest thing ever. Yeah. And when you figured it out at the end, did it did it have a good payoff?

[01:20:35] It broke my mind for two weeks. I could not still think about what happened. It completely broke my mind. That's funny. All right. Well, you know, I want to ask you about your name. I haven't heard your name before. Does it mean something? Yeah, it means consciousness. So when I was born, my grandparents had the duty to name me.

[01:21:01] So my grandmother fixated on a different name and my grandfather fixated on a different name. In English, my name Chetna, it means consciousness. The second name I have is Ruchi, which means interest or desire. And it's like when I'm interacting with a person and a person calls me by one name and not the other. I switch to a different mode. It's like switching personalities. So Chetna has a different personality.

[01:21:31] Ruchi has a different personality. And I'm constantly struggling between both these words. So you say Chetna. Yeah, Chetna. As in Che Gueira. Yeah. So similarly, Che Chetna. Yeah. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing your story. You make me smile. I remember meeting you very well. And I'm glad you were on the show. I wish you the very best in kind of finding the career that's right for you. And you're going to do great. I'm just, I'm proud of you. I'm enjoying your story.

[01:22:00] Give me a sign. Hey, guys. Welcome back. You know, this is a special episode. I really enjoyed getting to know each of you. Uh, this format is sort of magical for letting, uh, like the super mom come out or, you know,

[01:22:28] letting the, the quarterback, uh, you know, turns out to be like a professional wrestler or, uh, in this case, just talking about your name, Chetna. And, and I would say it again. Chetna. Chetna. I, it's your, the, the spelling and, uh, the way you say it are different, which is good. Uh, so, uh, uh, you want to just share for, uh, for these guys, like what your name means? I think it's totally cool. Yeah. So my name means consciousness.

[01:22:57] Oh, cool. Uh, and I just thought it was, it was pretty and, uh, uh, just different. I hadn't heard her name before. So just asking her about it, I thought it was great. So, um, so this is it. Uh, do you feel like it's a safe place? Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Uh, I mean that, that in its own right is that's one of our goals is that, you know, can you talk about yourself?

[01:23:23] Can you pump up a little bit and, uh, and just enjoy the fact that this moment is about you and bring your background and your stories to life, which our resume can't do. And, uh, the, the dossier, uh, experience is meant to give you a chance to tell your stories. It's meant to connect those sort of, um, those keywords that are all alone on a resume with

[01:23:49] no support and to kind of build back into the stories of your life. And, and so I'm, I'm really proud to see each of you, uh, kind of going through this process and it's great. And, you know, as we wrap the showcase, I think it's really important if there are others out there, you'd like to be on the showcase, just go to showcase at boom band.com. Um, I would like to just share if you're interested in speaking with any of our guests that you

[01:24:15] can get to Madison, I have boom band.com or just go back into showcase at boom band.com and say, I want to talk to one of these guys and we'll make it happen. Yeah. Madison, thank you for, uh, your synthesis as you've, uh, corrected me. I don't need to ask what did she miss? Because of course she doesn't miss the thing. Uh, and it's great. And so it's great to have you as my partner here on the show. So, uh, cheers to all three of you. Best of luck in your job search and get in touch with these guys. They're ready to come and work for you. They are ready.

[01:24:45] Bye guys. Bye. All right. That's a wrap for this week. What a great show. Three strong guests. One of the things I love is this opportunity to be human. Tell your stories, get away from those keywords. If you want to meet any of these players, or maybe you even want to be on the show yourself, email showcase at boom band.com to connect with me. From both of us. Give us a sign that you love your life. If you love your life. Bye. Come back and see us next week.