From Marketing Professional to Founder and CEO: How Other Leaders Can Find and Share Their Voice You can change your path at any moment.

I never thought my passion for marketing would translate into my role as CEO and co-founder of my own company. I have always been driven by engaging with others and channeling my creativity from concepts to creation. Much to my surprise, though, my experience as a marketer has had a strong influence on my entrepreneurial journey.

Over the years, I've held many different marketing roles, from running strategy for digital marketing agencies to leading the marketing teams of global B2B brands. My last position before founding Casted was as the VP of brand and content at global SaaS enterprise, Emarsys, which has since been acquired by SAP. During my time there, I discovered the power of podcasting, which influenced me to completely rethink the way our marketing team leveraged audio and video content within our strategy.

Pinpointing an area of opportunity

In a world where there is so much noise, companies only have one-tenth of a second to make a first impression. With most communication, information and even business operations being digital, it is essential for companies to humanize their brands, especially through those digital channels.

Playing into my passion for creativity at Emarsys, my goal was to help humanize the brand by using the voices of experts in the industry, customers and internal thought leaders. But the first step was figuring out how. When it comes to telling a company's compelling story, 280 characters on social media just isn't enough. Using the voices of experts is one thing, but hearing their voices makes a big difference in providing a human touch — and podcasts are a perfect channel for this.

The popularity of podcasts has grown exponentially. In fact, 55% of the U.S. population have listened to a podcast, and there are hundreds of thousands of podcasts available on practically any topic you can think of. Podcasts establish a connection between the humans in an audience and the humans behind a brand. They create connections unlike any other form of content because of their authenticity and human interaction.

After spearheading the Marketer + Machine podcast at Emarsys, it was clear that podcasting was a vital component of our marketing strategy. The podcast quickly became popular with the brand audience, customers and employees. From there, the podcast fueled other marketing channels, including blogs, keynotes, social media, sales materials and webinars. The podcast became highly valuable to our overall content strategy, all driven by simple conversations.

As we dove deeper into the success and benefits of our show, I realized that there was a significant gap in the overall podcast technology landscape for businesses. Historically, podcasting tools have been crafted for hobbies and influencers who have different strategies and success metrics than B2B marketers. As a marketer, I saw the potential for podcasting firsthand, but as our podcast grew in listenership, the lack of tools and resources for our B2B use case made it hard to constitute a marketing channel, let alone use our show to fuel our broader marketing strategy. I knew that if I saw the benefits of podcasting and needed the tools to help it reach its full potential for our brand, other B2B marketers did too.

Together with my co-founders, we were able to use our shared vision and unique skill sets to create the first platform made explicitly for B2B marketers to harness the power of podcasting.

Advice for aspiring leaders

How does my story help other business leaders? In considering my experience and how it has translated into my role as an entrepreneur and business leader, I've uncovered a few valuable lessons along the way. Below is just some of the guidance I can share with others who have found an opportunity to change the status quo and want to act on it:

1. There is no "one best way" to be a successful entrepreneur

Being a successful entrepreneur looks and feels different for every person. Yet, learning from others can help prepare you for your journey. Don't do things the same way as those who came before you. Instead, read the books, listen to the podcasts, do the research and ingest all the information, advice and expectations you can. From there, you can stitch together pieces of what you have learned to pave your own path and share your own advice with those who follow.

Related: Is Pivoting a Last-Ditch Effort or a Sound Business Strategy?

2. Don't do it alone, but make sure you have the right people by your side

Co-founders, investors and board members matter. It's essential to partner with those who have a shared vision for building the company and company culture. This translates even into your personal life. Those who are true partners and invested in the big picture and goals will be a part of late-night conversations, problem-solving, and celebrations. Don't just fill an open spot because you need to. You should be excited about who you have with you on this journey.

3. You are the expert

Unsolicited advice will happen, and while it's built on good intentions, don't be afraid to do what makes sense for you, your instincts and your goals. While it's still important to listen, consider what they have to say, you are the expert on yourself and where you want your future to go.

4. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable

You will be uncomfortable at times — maybe even most of the time— whether that be making demanding decisions or having tough conversations. But, as a leader, you have to decide on the company's direction and how to get there. Understanding and accepting that these moments will happen also allows you to enjoy the good exciting moments that come from the stress.

Related: 5 Ways to Pivot Your Business During a Crisis

5. Celebrate the small victories

Don't forget to celebrate. Among all of the chaos, there will be moments that should be recognized and rewarded. Like I said before, even in the uncomfortable times when decisions must be made, there will be small wins that arise from these moments, and things will happen as they were supposed to. When this happens, take the step back to recognize the hard work that has taken place to show where you came from and where you are headed — using these small victories to rejuvenate your momentum and vision for the future.

6. Boldly be yourself

It's important to truly embrace who you are and let yourself — as you are — drive the goals and vision of your company. Champion your expertise, yet don't be afraid to ask for help from experts who are well-versed in what you don't know or have not experienced before. As the leader, take the vision you have and boldly use your voice to share it with others.

Realize you have the opportunity to change your path at any given moment. I went from being a marketing leader trying to make the most of our podcast to a SaaS founder and CEO changing the game for B2B content marketers. I have been able to help other companies find and share their voices, whether through the power of amplified marketing or sharing advice and insight as a leader to other entrepreneurs. My experience has taught me that you will never work another day in your life if you love what you do.

Related: These Are the Core Elements Needed to Successfully Pivot Your Business