Please introduce yourself. What do you do? Why? What do you want people to know about you?
Hi, I’m Katy and I’m the Co-Founder and CEO of Foodie Tribe, an influencer marketing and creative agency that works exclusively with food + beverage brands. In the years leading up to the founding of Foodie Tribe, I built my career in public relations, advertising, and marketing software, working closely with Fortune 100 marketing teams first as an account manager and later as a customer success manager.
Alongside my career, I created a food blog in 2009 called RandoMiami, featuring local restaurants and the best places to eat in Miami. It later became the catalyst that sparked the idea to create a network of food influencers in 2016 – Foodie Tribe!
Outside of the office, I’m an avid runner, mom of two, and (of course) a foodie!
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
What makes me unique is I am the CEO of a creative marketing agency that has over 10 years of experience, not only in agency life, but my last job before taking Foodie Tribe full time was working for a SaaS company. Those years at the software company really helped me operationalize and build the company that is Foodie Tribe today. And, that is now a huge advantage seeing how software focused the marketing industry is now.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you’re doing what you were born to do.
I started writing a food blog in 2009 for a class at University of Miami. My passion for food and writing quickly turned into the opportunity to be invited to local restaurants to review their food and environment. In 2016 I decided to create Foodie Tribe, a community of local foodies who wanted to promote their city through its food and culture. Very soon after opening our application process we began receiving applicants from all over the U.S., and even from around the world who wanted to be a part of our community.
From one day to the next Foodie Tribe transitioned from a local community organization to a global influencer talent agency – where we were pairing influencers to projects with brands within the food & beverage industry.
Now, six years later we’ve grown to more than 3,000 approved vetted content creators around the world who are working with brands including Sub Zero, McDonald’s, Caviar (a DoorDash company), Litehouse Foods, Del Monte Fresh Produce, HP, American Airlines and more.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to go through and how did you grow through it?
My biggest challenge was letting go, and delegating. Before I decided it was time to start hiring and bringing on team members to help me build Foodie Tribe, I remember being in the hospital having just delivered my second baby and working on my laptop. Even though working hard is definitely an admirable trait, I believe that learning when is the right time to delegate and build a team of people that are amazing with their own strengths is just as important.
Who are the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could elevate your career or business? Why these specific individuals?
Erika Priscilla: She is probably one of the funniest people I follow on Instagram. I would love to meet her and pitch her some collaborations with some of the brands we work with!
Arianna Huffington: I would love to have a conversation with her about how she built her empire, and her road to success. Whenever I am going to make a big business move I love hearing others stories to learn what could possibly be my best path forward.
Susan Wojcicki: Considering that Susan is the CEO of one of the most influential social media channels, just having the opportunity to pick her brain on how she made it to this role, her thoughts on the social industry, and how much YouTube has changed since it got started in 2005 would be a dream!
Drop your social media links.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodietribe/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foodie-tribe/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/foodietribe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foodietribe/