A Boss Like No Other . . .

I will never forget the first time I heard Monica tell her bio. I had just been hired to do social media for a franchise development company and sat in with twenty-or-so new franchise owners to watch Monica give her presentation on how to market their new business.

While I already knew Monica was going to be unlike any boss I had ever had before, I had no idea to what extent. While I thought that it couldn’t get any cooler than my boss formerly being an extra on Friends, her bio went on and I realized that being an extra on some of my all-time favorite 90’s shows was far from the coolest thing she’s done.

Fast forward a couple years and Monica asked me to go with her to start FlipperSplash. I said yes with zero hesitation. Hearing the concept of FlipperSplash paired with the undeniable passion Monica felt for the concept was enough for me to happily plunge into the unknown of the startup world and I am thankful everyday that I did. Don't get me wrong - not everyday has been laughter and happiness. We’ve peppered in frustration, tears and a bottle of wine, ok, lot’s of bottles of wine. While the startup world is a rollercoaster, one thing has remained constant and that is the fearless leadership that Monica has brought to the FlipperSplash team. Her unwavering belief in the power of FlipperSplash is enough to get anyone through the toughest of days and for that, I am forever grateful.

After 5+ years of working with Monica, I can happily say that she has become more than just a boss - rather, a best friend and a part of my family. In addition to being such an incredible mentor with such a multitude of experiences, she has a knack for making me laugh til I cry, challenging me when I feel defeated and always supporting me both professionally and personally.

While not all of you will get the privilege of knowing Monica like I do, I hope you enjoy reading a bit about her journey and what led her to the creation of an App that is destined to change the world of Influencer Marketing.

What led you to FlipperSplash?

Prior to FlipperSplash, I had a very interesting career path. I could tell you about my last 10 years, but it may not be as much fun as taking you on the whole ride? I started in retail in high school and summers during college at Nordstrom, where I learned the power of truly listening to customers which led to those hefty commision checks. If I didn't listen, they wouldn't buy. People also like to chat at bars, so my obvious next step was cocktailing at night which was so much more fun and entertaining. The grey skies of Oregon were more dull than imaginable and my quest for sunshine won out. Southern California was calling and I answered. You can NOT live in Burbank without working in the "industry." While I cocktailed at night, I started working as an extra and day-player for numerous shows, including my stint as a nurse on ER for the first two seasons, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Models Inc., Seifeld, Friends and I can't leave out that uber-insane Saved By The Bell. During my second hiatus from ER, I went to Hawaii for a 2-week vacation that lasted a year. You definitely get "island-fever" after a year on a rock and I felt the SoCal pull once again. This time, I wanted a real-job, so I answered an ad in the classifieds (in an actual paper) and won a coveted spot at an investment company, where I worked as the office admin. On the West Coast, the financial markets close at 1:00pm, which left plenty of time for me to pursue my acting dreams. What I didn't expect was actually being good at my day-job and enjoying the atmosphere, working with money managers, hedge funds and highly motivated professionals that didn't give two shits about the Hollywood-machine that was all around them. To say they were unimpressed with the whole moviestar thing would be an understatement. So my day-job took precedence and I began to actually learn. Those listening skills came in handy once again which led me up to San Francisco, the financial capital of the West Coast. During the late 90's banks were merging, which meant positions were merging and people were bouncing from one institution to another.  Luckily during this craziness, I guess that I impressed the right person and she introduced me to Marc Benioff, who at the time was working at Oracle. He hired me and our work with Colin Powell, Mohamed Ali and America's Promise was so fulfilling. I thought I'd be there forever, until one day when Marc asked me if I wanted to join him for a little start-up that he was planning to open called salesforce.com. Those were the days in San Francisco, start-ups on every corner and in every basement, my answer was a resounding YES! Tech town was on fire! We started something that changed my life. It taught me all about Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the sales pipeline and the power of a long-term relationship between a Brand and a Customer. While working an insane amount of hours, helping to build the base of a multi-billion dollar Brand, I had 3 babies in 3 years.  WHAT WAS I THINKING? I have no idea, but my husband and I were definitely a little crazy. The dot-com's were tightening their belts and it was a good time for me to be a mommy and stay at home for a year. It was only a year, because I'm a worker bee, I was NOT good at staying home. We all have our place and mine is NOT at home. I applaud the stay-at-home moms and dads...it's the toughest job that I can think of.

My next professional stint was that of Tony Robbins EA. I had to do something while waiting for my Salesforce stock to come off lock-up, so back to Southern California we went and I dove into one of my most challenging roles to date. Working with the Hollywood elite, professional athletes, entertainers, singers, designers, financial upper-crust and world leaders all looking to bend Tony's ear for some enlightenment made for some very interesting days. Oh the stories that I could tell.... 

With a little money in my pocket post stock lock-up, I decided to invent a product for children.  Seeing the need that I had when it came to potty-training, I decided that if the perfect potty-stool didn't exist, I would create it. After years of CAD design, patents, attorneys, proto-types, physician and pediatrician input along with mold-making, the Little Looster - Booster for the Loo was ready for store shelves. 

That's when the true path to FlipperSplash began. You see, both big-box and small boutique stores don't just take your "word-for-it" when you say that your product will surely sell out in no time.  They like a little more insurance than that. They want proof. The proof had to come from demand. The demand needed to be from moms. Moms that would review the Looster and tell their friends all about it and where to get it. In 2010, pre-Instagram, Influencer Marketing was done (in my case) with mom-bloggers. I needed an army of advocates. Ambassadors that would review and post all about how incredible the Looster was. I needed them to tell their audiences how the Looster worked for their children, saving time, money and energy! So the Google search began. How would I find a mom that had a potty-training child in a certain location? Cue the Google search bar....mom, blogger, potty-training, toddler, Portland. Trust me, the results and time it took to find one possible person that I could email and begin the relationship building process in hopes for a review and post was NOT SCALABLE. The time and money spent never delivered an ROI that I could rely on or count on. When I finally decided to drop $10,000 and work with a Marketing agency, I learned the expensive way that they didn't deliver, either! I needed an affordable tool, a platform where I could discover, connect with and manage those relationships all in one place. No more searching through my emails or the myriad of post-its on my wall that were my reminders of who I had sent a Looster to and when they were supposed to post about their experience. I was bleeding cash with zero management of any relationships. I needed a CRM for my small Brand and the Influencers that I was trying to discover and work with.  I needed FlipperSplash and if I needed it, I knew there were millions of other small businesses that could use it.

Why did you want to create an app like FlipperSplash?

To save businesses money, time and precious resources that small-medium size Direct-to-Consumer and local Brick and Mortars are all so short of. To save them the pain, cost and frustration that I felt for years. Our App allows any Brand the opportunity to dive into the most effective form of marketing and customer acquisition - all within the palm of their hands. If a business is interested in creative content, buzz, social love, more Brand advocates and more sales, FlipperSplash does it ALL.

What advice would you give someone, especially a female, looking to start their own business?

Jump-in, the water's fine! I believe the only regrets anyone will have at the end of their life are those opportunities not taken. I would also tell them NOT to listen to the nay-sayers. Keep positive reinforcements around at all times.  If someone doesn't believe in your mission or passion, don't surround yourself with them. This life is short and believing in something feels good! I'm from Beaverton, Oregon where the Nike World Campus sits and us Portlanders truly believe in the Nike motto...JUST DO IT!

What are some of the challenges you have faced as the Founder and CEO of a tech startup?

This list is long. As non-tech founder that's building a tech-platform, it is important to find that translator that you can trust to take your words and turn them into the language that your team of developers will understand, while taking the developers issues and turning them into something that I can visualize. One of my biggest challenges is believing that having no salary for years will eventually pay-off. Being cash poor is not fun but having a passion for what I'm doing has filled that void for many years. I believe we are on the cusp of success. Finally. Brands understand the power of an outside sales-team which is exactly what we offer them. 

Where do you envision FlipperSplash going in the next five years?

Into the hands of thousands of Brands, allowing them unlimited access to micro and nano-Influencers that will help them build successful consumer-driven businesses that thrive.

What makes FlipperSplash different from all the other Influencer Marketing Apps?

We LOVE our micro and nano-Influencers, so much so that we gave them a new name, Splashers! We believe that engagement is more important than following or "likes." FlipperSplash is affordable, user-friendly and a complete management tool from initial discovery to managing the Gigs, tasks, calendar and long-term-relationships! 

Why do you use the term “Splashers”?

As so many people rushed into Influencer Marketing, the term "Influencer" started morphing into a bad word. A term of entitlement. We believe that every person has influence over someone. The mom that sits on the PTA committee may only have 500 Instagram followers, but can she influence 50+ women at the monthly meetings? Will her small following on Instagram heed her advice about a movie, book or restaurant where she has recently dined? You bet! She is a "trusted-voice" to her audience.  They care about what she thinks. She has INFLUENCE! We decided to coin the term "Splasher" because we believe that people are more excited to help a Brand make a SPLASH, than "influence" for them. It's fun and easy and exciting all at the same time.  Who do you want to help make a splash for?

Just for fun …

What is something on your 2020 bucket list?

More travel. Specifically, I am ready (once the travel restrictions are lifted) to get to Italy for great food and wine, Thailand for the elephants and beaches and back to California for much-missed friends and fun!

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, do you have a morning routine?

I wake up early. Too early for most. The first thing that I do is make a lemon-water and listen to a few minutes of barking from my chocolate lab, Blue. He gets lonely at night apparently and has a lot to say every morning. I'm sure he's actually just trying to annoy me into leashing up and heading out for our walk. Blue and Tiki, our Golden Retriever have my full attention for an hour or more every morning for our walk to the dog park, where they run free with their friends. I spend the time listening to podcasts or music that will get me hyped for another day and all the possibilities that it holds.

Do you have a favorite local restaurant?

Locally, I love Llama's Peruvian flavors. When I'm in Portland it's a tie between Andina, also Peruvian and Nonna Emelia's...the best pizza, ever!

Do you have a go-to cocktail?

A great glass (or should I say bottle) of Pinot Noir is my go-to.

If you were having a dinner party and could invite one celebrity guest, who would it be?

I'm a product of the 60's and have been to 312 Grateful Dead shows, I am an avid music festival lover. If this question includes anyone, dead or alive, then I choose Jerry Garcia. He was a musical genius among the many talents that he encompassed but I am most interested in finding out how he led hundreds of thousands of people, teaching peace, compassion and tolerance, all aspects that I want to learn as a CEO of an up-and-coming company.

Life is busy, but when you get a break, is there a hobby you enjoy?

I'm a yoga novice but love it when I can find the time. I wish that I had more drive for "me-time" every day, but I'm still learning that personality trait.