440: Entering the Consumer Market while Driving Sustainability with Elyse Winer CMO & GM of Consumer at GenPhoenix

Elyse Winer, CMO and GM of Consumer at GenPhoenix, began her career at Merrill Lynch before transitioning to healthcare consulting at Vynamic, where she gained branding and sales experience. She then moved into startups, leading marketing for Boston-based companies and collaborating with Reebok at MC10. Before joining GenPhoenix full-time, Elyse became a partner at Material Impact, a venture capital fund, where she served as interim CMO for GenPhoenix, overseeing a rebrand and their expansion into the consumer market. Her success in both startups and large companies has earned her numerous accolades, including Forbes' "30 Under 30" in Marketing & Advertising.

GenPhoenix, founded in 2007 for the aviation industry, is a market leader in the mass transportation seating category, with over 250 airlines using their material. Their technology breaks down waste leather to the fiber level and uses recycled water to rebuild the fibers, creating a product even stronger than before. This recycled leather has an 86% lower carbon footprint compared to traditional leather. GenPhoenix has since expanded into the leather goods and footwear industries, collaborating with brands like Coach and Dr. Martens. To date, they have diverted more than 10,000 tons of waste from landfills.

On today's show, Alan and Elyse discuss the sustainability of the fashion industry and its future direction. They explore how GenPhoenix is adapting, shifting from a predominantly B2B model to expanding into the consumer market. They also highlight partnerships with brands like Coachtopia and Dr. Martens, among others, and discuss strategies for promoting and protecting your brand in collaborations. Additionally, they discuss what early-stage companies and scale-ups, like GenPhoenix, should prioritize when allocating their marketing budgets.

In this episode, you'll learn: 

• Strategies when expanding into the consumer market
• How to protect and promote your brand in a collaboration
• What to prioritize when allocating marketing budgets, on a budget

Key Highlights: 

• [01:37] What Snoop Dogg is like 
• [04:36] Career path to GenPhoenix
• [11:00] What is GenPhoenix 
• [14:25] What combined role of CMO and GM of Consumer looks like
• [18:05] Sustainability in the fashion industry
• [23:45] Expanding into the consumer market
• [27:49] How to protect your brand in a collaboration
• [35:22] How being budget constrained can drive creativity
• [40:47] Experience of your past that defines you
• [43:40] Advice to younger self
• [45:19] A topic that you and other marketers need to learn more about
• [47:35] Trends or subcultures others should follow
• [50:00] Largest opportunity or threat to marketers today

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