Her Story
About Trish
I've been in my field for about 22 years now, since 2004. I have a bachelor's in advertising from Texas State University, and that really did inform my career path. From early on, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to be doing, specifically within advertising. I knew I wanted to be a creative, though it took a while for me to figure out what path to take with art direction and all of that. I didn't go to grad school or anything like that. I definitely just kind of worked my way up from a very entry-level role to where I am now, working for really strong brands and great leadership. Previously, I was more specifically a creative, working as a creative director in my last few roles, and before that just in the creative part of the marketing chart and on the brand side as well. I'm very proud of the work that we did at Yeti in the hockey stick years to really build that brand into what it is today. I also feel a lot of satisfaction seeing the career growth that has come with two members of the teams that I've managed over the years. Those are probably the two things that I feel most strongly about. For the past 2 years, I've been in a broad marketing role at Backer, an early-stage startup. My main area of expertise is creative and brand strategy. Since this is a very early-stage startup, my day could be anything from our social media strategy to working with the team on new sales channels and how to break through on those, to digital marketing. Sometimes I also package up the orders and ship them out. We do a lot of events that I head up, not just from afar, so sometimes I'm packing up my car and driving to Dallas or something like that for a pop-up. I touch broadly so many parts of the marketing function.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Trish
01What do you attribute your success to?
Well, I mean, to some extent, luck and timing, as with anybody. I'm also very open-minded and adaptable, and I try to stay that way. I'm not afraid to speak up. I've never had a very firm, concrete idea of what my career path should be, and that has, I think, opened the doors to some cool opportunities. Staying open-minded and curious has really helped me along the way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I guess, move towards the conflict, as opposed to shying away from it or anything like that. Instead of avoiding difficult situations, it's important to face them head-on.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say it's important to try to find a champion, which could look like a mentorship or could be a mentor, but it's finding somebody that will help you speak up. I know sometimes with more introverted people like myself, finding those opportunities to present yourself could be challenging, so it is helpful to have somebody that can support you in that. And don't be afraid to fail. I mean, I think the phrase that we used to always say is fail fast. You're gonna make mistakes, the business is gonna make mistakes, and it's just important how you bounce back.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think I'm in the middle of one currently, being at Backer, which at this very early stage of being a startup, it's honestly nothing but opportunity. There's so many different ways to be involved because there are few of us, and we have to just kind of, you know, it's all hands on deck all the time. I've been able to dip my toe into things that I never really thought I would be involved in. That's a normal part of being in a startup, but then also the way that technology is changing and moving so quickly, you have to be creative in how you engage in new parts of the business, new-to-me parts of the business, I would say. As far as challenges, I have struggled to find really strong, consistent mentorship. I have found that to be somewhat of a challenge, and because of that, I have tried to make myself very available as a mentor. And just the normal things, like, you know, with the economy not being so great in the last 20 years, going up and down a lot has been somewhat of a challenge as well.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I mean, equity, first and foremost. I also think it's important, and I guess this goes along with equity, but it's important to stand up for yourself and for others who may not have the access and voice that you have. Making sure everyone has a fair chance and using my voice to advocate for those who might not be heard is really central to how I approach both my work and my life.
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