“When things don’t go right, go left,” advises Katie Schibler Conn, founder of KSA Marketing.
Katie learned this mantra when, in 2010, she found herself burned out, stressed out, and unfulfilled. She left her dream job at PlayStation with a one-way ticket to South America. For a year, she traveled alone from Peru to Uzbekistan, gaining clarity in every moment that went sideways. “Like the scars from flipping over the handles of a bike as I rode down a Volcano, midnight border crossings, bribing customs agents to avoid deportation, or paying to sleep on the floor of a hotel lobby,” she says.
When she returned to the US, she opened KSA Marketing and embraced the “oh sh*t” moments. “After more than a decade of running KSA, I have learned more from all the mistakes I made than from when things went perfectly,” says Katie. “I tell my staff and clients chaos creates clarity and opportunity - the most transformative and impactful change comes from the tension that happens when nothing goes right.”
Embracing what goes wrong has clearly gone right for Katie. Her agency is in the midst of a growth spurt and just moved to spacious new headquarters in Warwick. She’s an alumni of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, on the Forbes Agency Council, and was named the 2021 Creative Services Woman to Watch by PBN. “After over 20 years in this industry, I still love every part of advertising and marketing,” she says. “But the best part is mentoring employees in their own growth and building a team that shows up every day ready to kick a*s. Watching people I have managed or mentored achieve great success, personally and professionally, just lights me up.”
Katie and her team are fearless in the face of chaos, helping map a path to her clients’ success. “Be bold, crazy, and not afraid to kick some a*s,” she says.
100 Metro Center Blvd, Unit 4, Warwick • 401-681-4900
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