People Don’t Believe My Boss Exists, Part 11

I am a strategist. That means I research everything. By way of example, before I bought my first motorcycle I spent everyday for 2 months looking at jackets. I deep dive.

I didn’t meet the Founder & CEO of Rock Candy Media, Annie Liao Jones, until after my interview, when she called me. We spoke for over an hour, and by the time I got off the phone I was excited. I found Annie’s energy infectious.

Annie gave me the weekend to consider her offer and what did I do? You guessed it, I researched be bejeezus out of RCM. After only a few hours I realized something wasn’t adding up. There’s a website where employees can review their workplace, which had some unflattering accounts. I read these alongside the amazing awards RCM has racked up over the years and the cool, smart RCM people I had met during my interview. I brought all this up with Annie. She explained that a few disgruntled ex-employees had done most of the reputation slander. As a response she offered me the opportunity to anonymously email any employee at RCM and ask all the questions I wanted. She then thanked me for bringing it up… and it was then that I realized I wanted to work with someone this dynamic and confident about what her people, the people who matter, will say.

It wasn’t until my first day that Annie and I actually met face to face. She had many backpacks, was elegantly dressed and very welcoming. Throughout the rest of that day I got to see Annie in action, her honest approach to clients (a what-you-see-is-what-you-get attitude), the earnest relationships she has with her employees, especially with Kelsie and Jake, the two managing partners. And the exuberance she carries with her, into every meeting, interaction and game played in the studio. She seemed the epitome of an inspired entrepreneur: savvy, unwavering and unconventional. But who wants to be conventional? And who wants their advertising agency to be conventional? I am excited to not be the norm and to shatter boundaries, and it seems Annie is just the boss to do that with. That first day Annie made me feel comfortable. It was as if I had found my people, found my tribe.

– Matthew Choate
Lead Content Strategist