Wednesday Women

Building visibility for extraordinary executive women leaders - on LinkedIn, keynotes, podcasts, and panels.

Founder & CMO

The Joy of Connecting Show

Creator and host of the show about about modern professionals investing in connection with other humans – to increase business success, career growth, and personal happiness.

Creator & Host

Matcha.so 🍵

Led team, product, and marketing for an startup that builds matching technology for communities.

General Manager / Chief Executive Officer

2 Pizza Marketing

Host of the show (and community) for scrappy, small-team marketers.  Find out more at: https://www.2pizzamarketing.com/

Host

Gated

Gated is a startup built to help busy professionals focus on what matters most in this noisy digital world. See what we built at www.gated.com.

Google

Expert in Digital Strategy, Mobile, & Travel
Advocate for Remote Work and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Global Education Program Manager, Mobile

Mobile Strategy Lead, Travel

Crafting strategic recommendations that reflect the changing travel consumer and global market, for the long-term growth and success of Google's largest partners in the travel industry.

Industry Development Manager, Travel, Global Top Accounts

I manage marketing and research for Google's Travel team - working to inform the strategy of our largest partners in the travel industry.

Sales Development Manager, Travel

Account Planner, Travel

· Drove coordination of internal and external messaging for Google's Travel Industry Team, including production of public relations and direct marketing materials and identification of opportunity for thought-leadership.
   
· Centralized national industry brand message through speaker preparation programs and the development of Google Travel's Executive Storyline.
   
· Directed evaluation and re-prioritization of corporate participation in national industry association and partner events, including project management for TravelThink ­- Google's annual event providing insight and dialogue around key issues in the travel industry.
   
· Managed development and production of Snapshots ­ a multi-faceted program designed to convey Google's data-driven insights to partners.
   
· Supported industry research efforts by producing online content, hard-copy materials, and webinar presentations for studies including `Travel Shopping in Today's Economy' and `The Brand Value of Search for Travel'.
   
· Streamlined internal information flow globally for Google Travel and nationally for Google's NW Regional Office, across Director-level and day-to-day activity in the areas of Operations, Marketing, and Sales.

Industry Associate, Marketing Project Manager - National Travel Industry Development Team

Independent

Freelance Editor

Landmark School

Specialist Educator, M.Ed.

⚡The next evolution of Gated is here! ⚡

I'm entrepreneur and full-stack marketing executive with a passion for user-first products and a talent for creating clarity from chaos. I believe deeply in finding your focus and taking big swings. And I believe a go-to-market strategy built on human relationships is the best way to do that. 

- I am currently working full time as Cofounder and CMO on Wednesday Women: a movement to amplify extraordinary women leaders for *everyone* to be inspired by. And (newly-launched) a highly-curated network for the amazing women themselves.   
- I also work with a select portfolio of businesses that appreciate my superpower of growth-stage marketing strategy, leadership, and execution.   
- Most recently, I was CEO at Matcha - an growth-stage startup for communities and professionals invested in building connection through tech solutions.  
-Previously, I ran SaaS startup Gated as CMO & Founder, building a foundation on brand narrative and executing rapidly on multi-channel GTM strategy. 
- I've always been a passionate advocate for fast, frictionless user experiences on the web. Over 14 years at Google, I worked with Fortune 500 Travel companies to build effective cross-channel marketing strategy and create amazing user experiences.  
- I'm a major advocate of remote work and the benefits it brings for mental health, families, and the earth. 
- I am addicted to product ideation and helping entrepreneurs find product-market fit. 

When I'm not working, you'll find me busy working on my most important, fun, and ongoing project - my family. I am an avid fan of the outdoors, reading, and travel.  Bonus conversation starters:  Taskmaster, The Killers, Modern Stoicism, Mitch Hedberg, and who your favorite F1 driver is.

🚀 Day 2. Let’s go.  We’re back with another round of women founders who are scaling with serious power—and blasting into growth-stage success.

As part of our 'Founders in Focus' series—brought to you thanks to Metropolitan Partners Group and Audience Haus—we’re spotlighting five more leaders building the future in real time.

Here’s why this matters—a LOT:
 ⚡ Women-founded companies still receive less than 2% of all venture capital funding.
 ⚡ That stat hasn’t moved much in years—but these women have.
 
They’ve scaled past it, through it, and beyond it. They’re not just hitting revenue targets—they’re creating culture, setting strategy, and making bold moves in industries that need their leadership.

We're pleased to introduce:
🔹 Emily Dong — Founder & CEO, Snout
 Emily launched Snout after facing her own stress with surprise vet bills. Her startup helps pet parents afford routine care—paying vets directly at the time of service. Her advice? Be radically honest with yourself. The dream matters—but so does what’s real.

🔹 Melissa Rosenthal — Co-founder, Outlever
 Melissa is reshaping how companies go to market—drawing on deep roots in digital media and B2B SaaS. Her founder mindset? There’s no single path—just constant forward motion. She’s building with focus, and scaling for $100M and beyond.

🔹 Feyi Ayodele — CEO & Founder, CancerIQ
 Feyi is transforming cancer care—bringing precision prevention to patients everywhere, not just in academic centers. Today, her platform powers 50+ health systems. Her belief? The tools to beat cancer exist—we just need to get them in the right hands.

🔹 Oana Manolache — Founder & CEO, Sequel.io
 At HP, Oana saw the disconnect—marketers sent users away at peak engagement. Sequel.io fixes that, keeping webinars on-site to boost conversions and insights. Her edge? A strong team, smart GTM, and grit to navigate volatile markets.

🔹 Maryna Hradovich — COO & Co-founder, Maestra.io
 Maryna’s mission is personalization at scale—without the chaos. At Maestra, she’s helping DTC brands unify their data and deepen customer engagement. Her advice? Build your support system. Family, community, and culture will carry you through.

💥 This is just the start - of December and this VIBE of supporting founder-leaders throughout the year.

We've got another day of #Founders to follow coming up tomorrow... stay tuned...

Melissa Moody

Startup Exec | Marketing Leader | Podcaster | Mom

Founders in Focus |  Spotlight on Excellence...

The gifting season... and YES, I wanted Pistachio Spread!   

It's founders in focus this week (all week) with Wednesday Women and I wanted to give a shout-out and thank you to the amazing founder Debbie Quintana - who created the curated, specialty food gifting platform Jocelyn & Co., LLC.

This wasn’t just a box of treats — it was a gift of care, beautifully wrapped and clearly crafted with intention. They gathered my preferences and produced something memorable. And honestly? It's been making me smile ever since the box arrived a few weeks back. 

It's also a reminder of how meaningful the little things can be — a small gesture, a surprise delivery, a thoughtful message. They connect us. They bring us smiles. They spread love.

If you’re looking for a woman-owned business that knows how to elevate the everyday and make people feel seen this season — definitely check out Jocelyn & Co., LLC. - the specialty foods they have will leave you saying mmmmm....

brb, I need to go bake some cookies now... 

#JoyOfConnecting #HolidayGifting #WomenSupportingWomen

I know I'm not supposed to "add my thoughts" to reposts but....  Here are my THOUGHTS. 😛 

1. No one appreciates the spotlight and more eyeballs than Founders who are working around the clock to bring something new into the world.  Your follows of these amazing women (all week) will go a long way. 

2. More than most any other group of professionals (except the #neversearchalone crowd), Founders need to connect with and hear from and take solace in OTHER folks who have walked in their shoes.  So this series does more than just #AmplifyAwesome.  It builds the connections that are so critical to our personal success as well. 

3.  These women blow me away with their vision and company-building chops.  And it gives me hope that companies like Metropolitan Partners Group and Audience Haus are working to increase their energy, time, and capital into women who are founding companies. Who WOULDN'T want to be even tangentially connected to these rockstars.  (I do not use the term lightly.)

4. This is the ENTIRE REASON that I'm running my business as it is today. I wanted to see more female founders in my feed... and I feel like today, things have come FULL circle for me.   What a marvelous way to head into the end of the year on a sparkling note... ✨ 

Stay tuned... the series and FOCUS ON FOUNDERS continues all week.

🚀 Founders in Focus kicks off today - and we’re starting off with a 💥

In proud partnership with Metropolitan Partners Group and Audience Haus, we’re spotlighting three full days of powerhouse women founders leading growth-stage companies and setting a new standard for leadership.

These leaders aren’t just building—they’re creating companies with purpose, momentum, and impact. They’re proving that women at the helm of venture-scale businesses are a force. Today, let's meet: 

🔹 Mada Seghete — CEO & Co-founder, Upside
 After 10 years as a CMO, Mada was tired of guessing what actually worked in closing deals. That frustration sparked Upside—her second startup—bringing AI-powered clarity to B2B revenue teams. Her advice? Choose your early partners wisely. The right ones help you flourish.

🔹 Mehak Aggarwal — CEO & Co-founder, Sybill
Mehak saw sales reps drowning in admin work—and built Sybill to give that time back. Her AI assistant handles the busywork so reps can focus on real conversations. Her biggest lesson? Execution beats invention. Details matter.

🔹 Arianna Cignarale— CEO & Co-founder, Nomad
 Arianna didn’t just launch a company—she pioneered an industry. As the creator of “Marketing Operations as a Service,” she made expert-level ops accessible to all. Her secret to growth? Stay focused on why you started—and build a team that challenges you.

🔹 Cristina Flaschen — CEO & Founder, Pandium
 After 20 years using clunky tools, Cristina turned frustration into action—building a developer-first integration platform that works. Her founder edge? Ruthless focus. No hype, no distractions—just solving the right problem, deeply.

🔹 Esha Joshi — President & Co-founder, Yoodli AI Roleplays
 Esha is helping people speak with confidence. At Yoodli, her AI-powered speech coach gives judgment-free feedback—used by Google, Toastmasters, and beyond. Backed by $7M+, Esha is leading with purpose: helping everyone own the room.

✨ This "Founders in Focus" series is about showing what’s possible when vision meets execution—and amplifying the women doing it.

A huge thanks to our partners for helping us share these stories at scale—go check out how Metropolitan Partners Group and Audience Haus are thinking about growth - and the power of women at the helm. 

We'll see you here tomorrow for five more can’t-miss leaders… 👀

Founders in Focus - Let's get started...

Hey folks with an email newsletter 👋 This might be my biggest generalist-marketer gap and, despite all the research I've done, I have to ask:  

Kit vs. beehiiv for growing your subscribers and list?  

Debate away... my comment thread is open 👇 👇 👇

From my early days at Google, I learned firsthand how powerful search could be — not just as a marketing tool, but as a window into how people seek and trust information. 🔍 

Now, watching that behavior evolve with AI? Fascinating. And honestly, a little wild.

That’s why I’m definitely going to be attending this upcoming session led by Swati Paliwal on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — a whole new lens on organic search in the age of LLMs.

From a marketing lens... it isn't about keywords and rankings anymore.  (Hot take: Was it ever?) It’s about being referenced in AI-generated answers. It’s about helping the right people discover your brand, your ideas, and your value — even when they’re not looking in traditional ways.

(Makes me think of a convo I also had today with the brilliant Anne-Marie Avalon about the role of GEO in press/PR strategy...)

So I keep hitting the right events, to soak it all in and keep up with the learning curve.  

And if you haven’t yet really grasped what the exec membership of Wednesday Women does... this is just one example. The women leaders pushing corporate thinking on AI are killing it. ( Yunique Demann Dominique Levin  and MJ Patent  come to mind right away...) ⚡️

You coming? 👇 
https://lnkd.in/gCCCFBt7

"Books are a quiet form of self-investment that compounds over time."
I am kinda proud of that quote that  Michelle Pippin included in her recent article — and she expanded on that thought in this important (and holiday-related) piece on leadership books every woman should read. 🙌

Michelle captured what so many of us feel but rarely say out loud: Leadership doesn’t live in silos. We’re building businesses, leading teams, raising families, navigating burnout, and trying to stay human in the middle of it all.

Which is why her picks go beyond the business section — they speak to the whole woman. Books that offer stamina and strategy, power and presence. 

The article includes one book by a woman we featured on Wednesday Women - Allison Walsh, JD (She Believed She Could) that speaks so clearly to women who are ready to own their personal and professional evolution. 

It also tagged books from other amazing authors including Shelley Smith Mel Robbins and Anna Cabeca, DO, FACOG that I'll be grabbing to read ASAP.

💥 Of course… we also have an entire Wednesday Women directory featuring books from our own community of bold, brilliant women — to fuel our growth in the boardroom, at home, and everywhere in between. (If you're looking for your next read, it’s a goldmine. 😉)

A huge thanks to Michelle for inviting our input and weaving our voice into this! Let’s keep sharing the resources that keep us strong, smart, and connected.

👇 What book changed your leadership lens this year?

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