Founder & Partner @ Kanvas | Foster Innovation, Develop Business Strategy, Drive Growth

Katie Nowak

It’s been 3 years without my dad.
Here’s what I'm reflecting on today -

My dad taught me to build a career that I loved.

He did that by taking me to his medical presentations and dinners around the world when I was young.

I remember I joined him at a private investigator meeting in Munich, Germany, and his colleagues were torn over whether or not Dr. Nowak’s 12-year-old daughter needed to sign an NDA to attend. 😂 

In that same meeting, he introduced himself as being from “Day-toi,” instead of Detroit, as everyone else was from various European cities. Lots of laughter ensued, and the whole room suddenly felt warmer, kinder. It was his magic.

Every time I travel internationally for work or step on stage (virtually or in-person), I think of my dad. 

Every time I make a pun or a joke in a meeting (approx 23408 times a day) and see my team light up, I think of my dad.

I wish I could share with him how watching his love of his work, and thus his love of people, all over the world fundamentally shaped who I am today….

…someone who loves what she does.

I often reflect on how I could someday pay this forward to my future family, someday.

How could I involve them in international travel? Have them attend my presentations or panels? Ask them to join me while I write invoices in my office? (That was hilarious - “what do you think, Kate, let’s add an hour, I read fast!!”) … and how might I make each shared moment more fun than the last?

Today, I’m reflecting that I hope to be even half of the role model that he was for me.

I hope this inspires a reflection for you, too - he would love that.

Miss you, dad.

—
I'm Katie Nowak, an investor, innovation leader, and new venture designer sharing examples & lessons weekly. Follow me + hit 🔔 to stay tuned.

Innovation Leader, New Venture Designer, Speaker @ Kanvas || Investor @ Altra Venture Partners

Stacie Sussman

CRO l We're the all-star team that'll actually increase your bottom line revenue l Business Strategy l Operations l Sales l Marketing l Revenue Growth

After 17 years in media sales, I thought success meant grinding harder and steering the ship alone.

Then I looked around at the CROs I admired—brilliant, well-paid executives who looked… haggard. Burnt out. Like they’d lost their spark somewhere between board meetings and impossible targets.

That’s when it hit me: the system was broken. And I’d lived it.

I spent those 17 years running into obstacles that shouldn’t have existed, feeling like a one-woman show when sales should have been a team sport. I watched talented leaders march in place, trying the same patch-job solutions while the real problems—misaligned departments, broken attribution, CROs and CMOs working against each other—went unfixed.

For the past 7+ years, my team and I have been fixing foundations, not symptoms.

At RevUp Advisory, we take B2B businesses from duct-taped growth to marketing and sales alignment that actually works. We create cohesion between departments that have been at war, align everything with executive vision, and build operational excellence that turns chaos into consistent revenue.

Here’s the truth: we often rip out bad consulting work first. Everyone says they can drive more sales. But saying it and delivering sustainable results? Two very different things.

The transformation? Those scathing emails from bosses stop coming. Pipeline reports finally line up. Attribution makes sense. And instead of being seen as “that hopeless department,” you’re respected as the strategic partner you always were.

Because here’s what I’ve learned: companies should work smarter, not harder. And when you fix the foundation instead of patching the cracks, everyone gets their spark back.

Ready to stop the patch-jobs and actually scale? 

Let’s talk: stacie@revupadvisory.com

CRO - Revenue - Sales - Marketing - Operations - Business Strategy - Growth Plans - Customer Journey - Salesforce - HubSpot - Enablement - Training - OKRs - KPIs - Tech Stack - Pipeline - Forecasting - Sales Operations - Marketing Operations - Revenue Operations- B2B - Founders - CRO - CMO - CRM  - Pricing - Revenue Modeling - Sales Funnel - Marketing Funnel - Customer Success - Foundational Structure - ICP - CAC - LTVC - ARR - MRR - Fundraising - Leadership Consulting - Management Consulting - Sales Coaching - Compensation Planning - Workshops - Training - AI Agents - Process Optimizations - Flows - Automations - Tech Stack

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