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Command and control. That’s what Cathy Skula did at Rent-a-Center, starting just a few months out of college, and then working her way up for the next 18 years. From working the desk, to driving a truck, and even working collections, she has worked in every possible aspect of the business until, finally, she was tapped to step into a new kind of role—”influencer” (not the social media kind) and motivator, and ultimately Executive Vice President of Franchising. She now oversees 50-60 franchises. While this company is all this successful “Intraprenista” (and working mom) has ever known in her 26-year career, her current place in it was fought for strategically, and now she’s playing a role in empowering other women to be leaders. Cathy joins Socialfly Co-Founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer for a conversation about building her career and describes her journey to success. She discusses why moving into a franchising role was the biggest risk she ever took; why she was willing to make someone uncomfortable to find out why she didn’t get a promotion; the value of being an advocate for yourself; what she thinks about keeping work at work and home at home; why showing your career and imperfections to your kids is a good idea; and, how Cathy was able to move up in the organization. Plus, a surprise!
Guests
Cathy Skula
Executive Vice President of Franchising
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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