Scaling with Purpose - Melanie Fellay - Not Another CEO Podcast - Episode #24

6 snips

Jan 2, 2025

In this conversation, Melanie Fellay, Co-founder and CEO of Spekit, shares her journey as a female entrepreneur and AI advocate featured on Forbes 30 Under 30. She discusses the power of early branding and unconventional customer acquisition strategies, like her breakthrough at Dreamforce. Fellay emphasizes the importance of hiring self-aware leaders and reflects on navigating growth challenges faced by Spekit. Her story of resilience and innovation in the tech landscape inspires future generations of entrepreneurs.

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ADVICE

Early Brand Investment

Invest heavily in brand identity early on, including distinctive colors and a unique mascot.
This differentiates your company and fosters emotional connection with customers.

ANECDOTE

Branding Inspiration

Melanie Fellay took inspiration from Salesforce and Drift for Spekit's branding.
She used a distinct pink color and incorporated a mascot like Salesforce.

ADVICE

Community Engagement

Leverage LinkedIn and Twitter communities strategically for customer acquisition.
Tailor content to specific platforms and target key influencers for maximum impact.

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Joining the show this week is a woman who's dedicated her career to giving employees access to knowledge and elevating women in business. Featured on Forbes 30 Under 30, 100 Women of Influence, and more, this guest is none other than the Co-Founder and CEO of Spekit, Melanie Fellay.

Fellay shares her experiences as a female founder and her journey to raising millions to build her current business. She provides insights on early branding strategies, overcoming operational hurdles, and the challenges of building a high-growth company.

Takeaways:

Branding Early: Fellay emphasizes the power of investing in brand identity from the start, using distinct colors, mascots, and unique marketing to differentiate Speckit in a crowded market.
Creative Customer Acquisition: From leveraging LinkedIn and Twitter communities to booking a booth at Dreamforce before having customers, Fellay highlights unconventional methods that helped land Speckit’s first clients.
Leadership Evolution: Fellay reflected on learning the importance of hiring leaders with self-awareness, vulnerability, and a growth mindset rather than overvaluing industry experience.
Navigating Growth and Challenges: Fellay shares a pivotal period in 2022 when Spekit faced product performance issues, economic pressures, and team transitions during a period of growth, and how these hurdles shaped the company for the better.
Iterating on ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): Fellay discusses the journey of narrowing down Spekit’s ideal customer profile, focusing on enablement leaders, marketing professionals, and RevOps teams to optimize impact.

Quote of the Show:

“ You don't want to be sounding like you're just like a marketing ad for your product… talking about the journey, the lessons I'm learning, those tend to get the most engagement. ” - Melanie Fellay

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniefellay/
Twitter: https://x.com/melfellay
Website: https://www.spekit.com/

Ways to Tune In:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261
Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Spekit