What does it take to build a successful career and scale a business without sacrificing your authentic self or taking life too seriously?

Lauren Aquilino, Co-founder & CMO of EMMIE Collective, joins Mallory Lee and Shannon Curran to talk about breaking away from "traditional" agency norms, embracing being a "personality hire" in tech, and using humor and grace as essential strategies for both business and parenting. Together, they reflect on offloading the tasks that don't serve you, why human empathy is the ultimate differentiator in the age of AI, and how to navigate working-mom life when things literally explode, like neon green slime across the living room.

Throughout the conversation, they explore overcoming founder fear, building a company culture centered on fun, handling crisis communications, and navigating the daily chaos of motherhood, picky eaters, and chronic illness with a sense of humor.

If you're a working mom, founder, or tech leader trying to scale your career while staying true to who you are, this episode offers a funny, relatable, and candid perspective on making it work in public.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Intro

(01:11) Meet Lauren Aquilino and EMMIE Collective

(05:15) On crisis comms and navigating PR emergencies

(07:01) Boy mom advice and short-lived first loves

(08:29) How to build a business vs. maintaining it

(11:00) Bringing on a co-founder and scaling a team

(18:06) The "Is He Trash?" series and Pretty Funny Business

(20:16) Injecting humor and personality into B2B tech

(29:58) About gentle parenting and sibling fights

(32:15) The great neon green slime explosion

(37:43) Saves of the week

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Connect with Lauren Aquilino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenaquilino/

Check out EMMIE Collective: http://www.emmieco.com

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com