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“You want to treat someone the same whether they are a VP or a CMO or they are a junior person whose job is to find the next agency to do this beautiful body of work.”
What does it take to build a successful business that lasts 25 years? For Cassie Hughes, co-founder of Grow Marketing, the answer starts with trusting your intuition, building meaningful relationships, and defining success on your own terms.
On this episode of the Entreprenista Podcast, Cassie joins Stephanie and Courtney to share how she took a leap of faith 25 years ago, teamed up with her former biggest competitor, and built a women-owned experiential marketing agency working with some of the world's biggest brands, including Google, Target and Meta. She takes us behind the scenes of the iconic Barbie Dreamhouse collaboration on Airbnb, shares how relationship-building has fueled the agency's growth, and reveals the secrets to maintaining long-term client partnerships.
What We Talked About:
Leap And The Net Will Appear [3:39]
Relationships Over Cold Outreach [11:49]
The Barbie Dream House on Airbnb [19:57]
Referring Work And Reciprocity [28:21]
The Comeback And Pivoting To Virtual [41:13]
Community And Giving First [49:23]
Connect with Cassie:
@cassiehughesbahan on Instagram
Cassie Hughes on LinkedIn
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Guests
Cassie Hughes
Hosts
Stephanie Cartin
Co-founder of Socialfly and Entreprenista.
Stephanie Cartin is the co-founder and CEO of Entreprenista, an all-in-one platform – which includes a private community & business membership called The Entreprenista League that's made up of over 2,000 women founders at all stages of business, a weekly newsletter received by 60,000 readers, two podcasts, in-person educational & networking events, and an award program – that women founders at all stages can turn to for everything they need to grow.
Stephanie is also the co-founder of Socialfly (acquired by Truform Media Group in 2024), Markid, and Pearl Influential Capital. She has won countless awards, including the SmartCEO Brava award, which recognizes the top women CEOs in New York, and a Stevie Award for Women-Run Workplace of the Year. She has also appeared in Bloomberg, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Refinery29, and more.
Courtney Spritzer
Co-founder of Entreprenista.
Courtney Spritzer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and community builder with a passion for creating brands and platforms that empower women to lead, grow, and thrive.
In 2012, she co-founded Socialfly, a leading social-first digital and influencer marketing agency. Over the course of a decade, she helped scale the business into an award-winning agency working with Fortune 500 brands and emerging startups, building a powerhouse team and culture along the way. In 2024, Socialfly was acquired.
In 2018, Courtney launched the Entreprenista Podcast to spotlight the stories of inspiring women founders. That passion evolved into Entreprenista Media in 2021, a media platform and community supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She now co-leads the continued expansion of The Entreprenista League, a membership-driven community and ecosystem for founders.
As an angel investor, Courtney supports female-led and mission-driven startups aligned with her vision for a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.
She is the co-author of Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business (2015), a strategic guide for leveraging social platforms to drive business success.
Her work and ventures have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The New York Times. She is committed to championing visionary founders and helping build the next generation of impactful, community-driven businesses.
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