As we close out Women’s History Month, out of curiosity, I asked my boss and Rebrandly CEO Carla Bourque to share some of what has helped her become a scaleup CEO.
In my 20+ year career in tech, I have had the opportunity to work with strong, smart, and highly accomplished women who held roles ranging from CMO to COO and from VP of Sales to VP of Engineering, but until I joined Rebrandly in August of last year, I had never worked at a company where a woman had the top job of CEO.
FH: You have an accomplished career in tech that has led to your current position as CEO of Rebrandly – but you didn’t start as a CEO.
How did you get started in your career, and what is one piece of advice you would like to share with women who are getting into the workforce today?
CARLA: The advice I give women is the same that I share with men or anyone, really, who is looking to find their path forward – which is before you set your sights on a role or a title – do the personal work to understand who you are at your core – your intrinsic values and what you care about – then set goals that will support your learning and growth in that direction – essentially create and design the life – and the work – that fulfills you.
My career actually started when I was 14 working on a local family farm in New England. I could have chosen to work at MacDonald’s (not many other options back then!), but I knew I wanted to be outside and active so off to the fields I went. Farm work was physically challenging (and my friends thought I was crazy – always dirty) – but also incredibly satisfying.
At the end of each day, I could look back at the fields I had plowed, the crops I harvested, or the irrigation I had set up and know that my work had made an impact. I worked on that farm all throughout high school and college, supporting myself with the money I earned, picking up more responsibility and skills over the years – leading teams, managing inventory and sales operations, and interacting with vendors and customers. Farm work was an amazing experience that taught me much about resource management, forecasting & pricing, scaling for growth, and market dynamics. I draw on that experience often in my role as a CEO.
People often tell me that they want to be a CEO someday, and the first thing I always ask is, “Why”? Just as every individual and business is different, no two CEOs are alike and it’s really important to be honest about what motivates you and what your strengths and weaknesses are (an objective peer or self-audit is a great exercise to capture feedback) so that you can position yourself for success and create value – for yourself and others.
FH: Every business is looking for growth in a challenging market.
What are some opportunities you are seeing that businesses might be overlooking right now?
CARLA: Oftentimes companies focus too heavily on the external factors that could accelerate their growth trajectory (M&A, new channels, geos, partners, etc.) and overlook the internal opportunities to cultivate growth through optimizing existing assets (e.g. product, pricing, packaging, people, systems, and processes) to capture and create value. Growth is the result of a number of factors (back to my farm experience – each crop requires certain conditions to thrive – soil, water, light, pruning, symbiotic adjacent crops, pest mitigation, etc.), and it’s important to look at all of the potential levers that a business has for growth.
When everyone is looking for (and expecting) growth, especially during challenging market conditions, smart growth investors and business leaders tend to focus on efficient growth vs. growth at all costs. While steady, efficient growth may not be as sexy or headline-grabbing as wild valuations and rocketship-promising IPOs, the past few years have shown that for companies without a large TAM, solid cash position, consistent growth and retention, and a scalable business model, the growth at-all-costs playbook can lead to disappointing outcomes.
FH: What is something you learned recently that changed your perspective?
CARLA: How to rock-climb! I’m still very much a beginner but the process of understanding the equipment, choosing a partner I trust to belay me, getting certified, and tackling steeper and more challenging routes, helped me understand that rock climbing is really puzzle-solving and like a lot of puzzles, preparation and perspective can really impact whether you make it to the top or lose your grip and need to regain your position. As in life, with rock climbing, there is always a new route to explore, and sometimes, you need to drop to the ground (or reset) to get a clear view of where you’re headed.
FH: What is the most underrated leadership skill?
CARLA: Curiosity.
Effective leadership requires many skills including understanding, adaptability, empathy, strong decision-making, trust, and accountability. In my experience, great leaders are the ones who also exhibit and cultivate curiosity. Leading a project, team or business requires a lot of discipline, skill, and coordination, and if the purpose or mission isn’t clear to everyone involved, things can go sideways quickly. Leaders also need to always think about the Why and ask questions that will reveal the essence of the individual, opportunity, challenge, or risk.
Curiosity requires intellectual and emotional humility, the self-awareness to know that you don’t know everything, and being vulnerable and open enough to say – “How could this XX work better?” or “Why do certain initiatives fail so we can we do better next time?”
FH: What is on your Spotify playlist?
CARLA: So many playlists! I love music – all kinds – even better when heard live. I just discovered Big Thief – bluegrassy and poetic – the lyrics of “Change” give me goosebumps. My all-time #1 favorite is Blue Sky by the Allman Brothers.
Feather Hickox, Vice President of Global Marketing at Rebrandly.
Carla Bourque, CEO at Rebrandly as well as a board member, advisor, and investor.
