The value of teaching someone to believe in themselves cannot be measured. Sometimes you may invest your time and encouragement into another person without seeing the growth or knowing the impact you’ve made. Such is the story of today’s guest, who learned to believe in herself and embrace her identity as an entrepreneur because a mentor believed in her first.
Cameron Cegala is co-founder and COO of AdKaddy, a mobile app that keeps your personal inbox free of brand clutter. AdKaddy works by sorting incoming emails and keeps promo emails, receipts, and shipping notifications organized and separate from your personal inbox. Before AdKaddy, Cameron spent her corporate career working in sales and client management at Procter & Gamble. In this episode, Cameron shares about the powerful role sponsors and mentors have played in her career acceleration, how she was able to make the leap from a big corporation to startup life, and how she handles self-doubt.
Making the leap
When Cameron learned that her division was being divested from P&G, she found herself at a crossroads. Staying with the company would mean another move, which she was hesitant to do, but her other choice was to leave P&G and branch out into something new. As she pondered her options, she realized that she had the readiness to take a leap into the unknown, and the new opportunity presented itself at just the right time. Looking back, Cameron is grateful to have made the right decision that allows her to live her best life now.
People who made a difference
Cameron never saw herself as an entrepreneur and was even scared to label herself in that way. As the startup opportunity came along, Cameron turned to her dad for wisdom and advice. She says he’s always been the biggest influencer on her education and career. He’s loyal and level-headed, and she can always count on him for inspiration. Another person who made a huge impact on Cameron was the president of her division at P&G. Even when Cameron was an intern, this person helped her identify her strengths and talents, reaching out to her and spending time with Cameron. This mentor said she believed in Cameron, which allowed her to believe in herself and see just how great she could be. A third influential person in Cameron’s development has been her co-founder at AdKaddy, who has helped to elevate Cameron and shown her how to embrace her identity as an entrepreneur.
Startup challenges
Cameron admits that the biggest challenge she faces today is balancing her personal and professional life. Back in the corporate world, she always seemed to fall into the trap of prioritizing her professional responsibilities and letting her personal life go to the back burner. Startup life brings the freedom and flexibility that Cameron loves, but she still struggles to figure out how to place all the elements of her life for optimum balance.
The COO skillset
When asked what being a COO means, Cameron’s answer is, “It means I wear a lot of hats.” AdKaddy is a relatively new venture, with the idea for the app coming less than two years ago. The app just became fully enabled and available a couple of months ago. Since Cameron works with a small team, she has her hands in every aspect of the business. Having lots of interactions with contractors, developers, artists, and team members mean there is never a dull moment. The continuing challenge for women is to be invited to the table in the tech world, which becomes another opportunity for women to believe in themselves, their worth, and their capabilities.
Overcoming challenges
Cameron has learned to overcome the challenges in this startup world by asking to be included in every part of the business flow, especially on strategic meetings and fundraising conversations. She’s learned to advocate for herself and to insert herself into the important pieces of what goes on at AdKaddy. She says it’s too easy for women to sit back and spectate and let men run the show, but it takes assertiveness to step up and be part of the important decisions.
What Cameron wishes she knew back then
Back at that crossroads, when Cameron was deciding whether or not to step out of the corporate world, she wishes she had known that taking this step into startup would be the best decision of her life. She was hesitant to leave the security of a big corporation and the identity that had become her self – worth but had no idea what her life would turn out to be, all because she took the risk of something new.
The pay cut that has paid off
Leaving the corporate world for a new venture means taking a cut in pay. AdKaddy is still at an early stage in its development, so Cameron and her founding partner have had much communication and understanding around the subject of salary. Cameron was able to get equity in the company to compensate for the pay cut she took in coming on board with a startup. This level of ownership brings much satisfaction, has made the pay cut easier to handle, and has given Cameron the best life possible.
The broken system
Cameron learned quickly in her P&G days that it’s difficult for brands to communicate with customers effectively. It’s equally daunting for consumers to sift through all the brand communication received on a daily basis. Most brands take the “spray and pray” approach to email marketing, resulting in our inboxes being flooded. Last year, almost 50 trillion consumer emails were sent, which leads to personal inboxes being completely bombarded and overwhelmed. Both brands and consumers are frustrated with this system that is fundamentally broken. AdKaddy provides a better alternative.
The magic of AdKaddy
Why do people allow their inboxes to suffer in this way? Cameron says that people have FOMO, “fear of missing out.” We want to keep up with the brands we love, and we want to know when a sale is happening, or a new product is released, but people want to receive these communications in a way that’s within their control and on their own terms. AdKaddy takes consumer email out of your personal inbox by providing an organized stand-alone platform to manage your consumer life. AdKaddy makes the experience better by putting the consumer in control. The AdKaddy app is free, so check it out!
Highlights of this episode:
- 7:36 – Making the transition from the corporate world to startup
- 9:01 – Important people who helped Cameron along the way
- 20:36 – Defining challenges in a new role
- 22:15 – Being COO at AdKaddy
- 24:58 – Overcoming the challenges
- 28:43 – What Cameron wishes she knew earlier
- 29:35 – Negotiating for pay
- 32:52 – Solving the problem of email overwhelm
- 35:00 – The magic of AdKaddy
- 42:45 – Fem Five
Resources mentioned:
- www.adkaddy.com
- Visit the App Store to download AdKaddy for free!
- Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg
The Fem Five:
1. Favorite book to recommend for women?
- Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg
2. Favorite self – care hack?
- “I get outside and walk anywhere and everywhere. It’s good for my mental health.”
3. Best piece of advice and who gave it to you?
- “A leader at P&G taught me to work smart, not hard.”
4. Female CEO or thought leader you’re into right now?
- Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Bumble and co-founder of Tinder
Last Time on The NextFem Podcast
Finding Virtual Help for Your Business to Scale Beyond Your Dreams – with Barbara Turley
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