» It ’ s been a long and winding road . I fell into marketing ; I never had an ambition to be a marketer and , in many ways , I still don ’ t ! I originally worked in the nonprofit world with HIV / AIDS programmes in Latin America . New York City was my home at the time , and I ended up meeting the CEO of Forbes . com – back when it was a separate business from the magazine . He was looking for someone to “ figure out this social media thing ”, and I decided to give it a shot . It was the start of Web 2.0 in New York , and I met some of the people building the early days of social media , digital marketing and adtech , including a guy named Gary Vaynerchuk , who was starting an advertising agency . I worked in digital ad agencies for 10 years , then spent two-and-a-half years as the CMO of 11 : FS until co-founding Rival late last year .

» Weirdly , I don ’ t think I had one . I had people I looked up to , of course , including my mom , but I wouldn ’ t say I had a hero . That ’ s not to say I had it all figured out ( and I definitely still don ’ t ) – it ’ s more that I take inspiration and motivation in smaller doses from many people rather than a big dose from one big hero .

“ Rival is the first startup that I ’ ve co-founded . Man , it ’ s hard work !”

» “ Always try to bring 51 % of the value ”. This piece of advice is the one that ’ s had the most profound impact on almost every aspect of my life . ‘ Bring 51 %’ means that you are always trying to add more value than you ’ re receiving . If it ’ s a conversation , you ’ re trying to listen and respond in a helpful way . If it ' s a relationship , you ’ re trying to find ways to empathise and help someone out . If it ’ s a client or business opportunity , you are trying to understand their needs and try to help them solve them , whether you get the credit or not . fintechmagazine . com 21