🅴 Note: This week’s episode contains explicit language.
Business coaches tell you one way to stand out from the crowd is to change the business conversation. When you’re a pioneer like Rachel Braun Scherl, that scenario is going to be different than you might imagine. On this week’s episode of Happy Marketer Connection podcast, learn how Rachel secured the attention and funding she needed for her business with a $100 bill and a bold statement.
Today Rachel, the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SPARK Solutions for Growth, helps companies and brands forge new paths, utilizing pragmatic strategy to not only determine what needs to be done, but to help make it happen. A successful veteran of large companies and entrepreneurial ventures, she believes her diverse background is her “secret sauce.”
Hear how to pioneer a new industry, how Rachel became the Vagipreneur, the top three skills every businessperson needs, how to create a creative pitch, and the important lessons the movie Rollerball  has for all of us.
To listen on Apple Podcasts click here.
To listen on Spotify click here.
Episode Highlights
- Intro
- [0:17] Sue Frech, Happy Marketer Connection, Vesta
- [0:39] Rachel Braun Scherl, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SPARK Solutions for Growth
- Sue Frech interviewing Rachel Braun Scherl on being a PIONEER
- [1:30] Pioneer
- [1:54] Entrepreneurship
- [2:04] What is a Vagipreneur?
- [2:14] Abby Ellen, The New York Times
- [2:23] Female Sexual Health
- [2:49] Trademark
- [3:05] Sexual Wellness, Healthcare
- [3:12] How does working in the startup world compare to Fortune 100 brands?
- [3:44] Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Tylenol
- [4:29] Mary Wallace Jaensch
- [6:04] Innovation, Growth
- [6:19] What do smaller brands look for in working with Rachel?
- [7:02] Survey, Pragmatic Strategy
- [8:07] Consultants
- [8:18] Business Plan, Marketing Plan
- [9:37] How did Rachel become the Vagipreneur?
- [10:00] Venture Capitalist
- [11:22] Shareholders
- [12:21] Marketing
- [13:00] 2008 Financial Crisis
- [13:20] Business School
- [13:28] Orgasmic Leadership by Rachel Braun Scherl
- [14:55] Pandemic
- [15:07] Women’s Health, Mental Health
- [16:01] Why is building a community such a communal effort?
- [16:42] Heather Morrison, Handi, Cerebral Palsy
- [17:13] Quarantine, COVID-19
- [17:32] Zoom Series: Quotes from Quarantine
- [17:47] FemTech
- [18:35] Podcast
- [19:12] What skills do you need to succeed and advance in the CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) world?
- [19:25] P&G (Procter & Gamble), Reckitt Benckiser (RB), CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), Associate Brand Manager
- [19:47] Stanford Business School
- [21:09] Packaging, Advertising, R&D (Research & Development), Consumer Innovation
- [23:00] P&L (Profit-and-Loss Statement), Supply Chain
- [23:14] Community powered marketing delivers a new world of sales growth. Learn more at Vesta-Go.com
- [23:35] Kraft, GSK (GlaxoSmithKline)
- [23:51] What is the entrepreneurial mindset?
- [26:01] How can you survive and thrive in 2020?
- [28:08] What moment is Rachel most proud of?
- [28:52] PR (Public Relations)
- [29:12] Rachel’s Stanford Case Study
- [30:05] Question from the Smiley360 community: What advice does Rachel have for students beginning their careers?
- [30:38] Rocky
- [30:49] Rollerball
- [33:06] Internship
- [33:48] What three skills do you need to succeed in the business world?
- [34:39] Mentors, Negotiation
- [35:01] What positive story does Rachel have to share?
- [35:18] Silicon Valley
- [35:30] VIAGRA
- [36:19] Publishers Clearing House (PCH) check
- [38:15] Unembarrassable
- Outro
- [40:02] Thank you for listening! Subscribe to Happy Marketing Connection on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more
- [40:12] Connect with Sue on LinkedIn or Twitter at @SueFrech, and Vesta-Go.com
- Theme Song: Hello (Extended Version) – Paul Werner – provided by Jamendo
About the Happy Marketer Connection Podcast
Rachel Braun Scherl, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, SPARK Solutions for Growth
Rachel is a Women’s Health and Wellness Pioneer and Trailblazer who has passionately focused on driving the conversation on the business of women’s sexual and reproductive health. A growth strategy consultant, marketing expert and sought-after public speaker, Rachel is regularly featured at leadership and entrepreneurship events at colleges, universities, corporations and conferences, including SXSW, Stanford University, and Johnson & Johnson.
Host: Sue Frech, Founder and CEO, Vesta
Sue has spent her career redefining digital marketing in brand and retail marketing, Martech, and advertising, at brands such as Kraft and Glaxo-SmithKline. She is committed to creating fellow Happy Marketers through Vesta’s all-in-one online community building software, transforming the relationships between brands and consumers with Community Powered Marketing.