Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Widtfeldt
Hi Kristine, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Mission-driven startups have my heart. I love working with small, scrappy teams to tackle giant problems, innovate cool products, and communicate value. Although I started in media, marketing quickly became home—particularly marketing for brands that elevate women, families, and entrepreneurs creating opportunity and jobs.
I have moved from entry-level to C-suite, serving as CEO, CMO, and President in different brands and industries. I chose roles that often made little sense on paper, but that stirred my imagination and got me hopping out of bed in the morning. Titles impressed me less than chances to build something with smart people. What that journey looked like in practical terms has been anything but a straight line, including experiences at an educational publisher, creative agency, workplace coaching firm, and consumer goods from fashion accessories to papercrafting to home fragrance.
My three tips for creating a career you love are:
1. Dare to ask—raise your hand for opportunity. The worst anyone can say is no, and you either win or you learn.
2. Do the work—confidence is borne of competence and repetition. Show up prepared, punctual, and powerful, and you’re already ahead of the pack.
3. Align with people who push you, not just praise you—Empowerment comes from within but also from without. Find people who believe in you but also hold you accountable to stretch. These people will be your “fuel forward” for the rest of your career.
I’m not a brilliant product innovator, but I know how to take an idea and grow it, which is what I had the opportunity to do as CEO of Chalk Couture, a category-creating home decor brand that resonated deeply on social media and with content creators. Partnering with thousands of independent women (and some truly great men) to bring creativity home was filled with joys and challenges, and together we grew the brand from launch to $40+M in annual revenue in under 4 years. After a majority exit, I remained at the helm for another 18 months, departing to seed fresh fields. A year ago, I joined a venture services firm as chief marketing officer, and get to serve on boards and support dozens of hard-hustling, big-vision founders creating the technology, products, and services that will change the world.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There is no such thing as a smooth road in a career. Not an interesting one or a growth-oriented one, that is.
I once had a supervisor who told me I’d only be a success in business if I learned to do two things: golf and smoke. I thought, “I am SUNK because I don’t want to do either of those.”
My biggest challenges externally were poor but well-meaning advice like that or “choose the job with the biggest paycheck,” which is the worst advice on the planet. My greatest challenges came from within, specifically worrying whether I had the chops for a big job. Imposter syndrome can be great fuel, though, if you learn to channel your anxiety into energy.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m known for having non-stop energy and being a fountain of unique marketing ideas—and then rallying a team to turn them into reality. (But first, with ample discussion and analysis on data and budget—I’m not crazy.)
Early in my career, I learned that marketing is not about “showing value” only, it’s about CREATING value: events that people rush to register for, incentives that motivate behavior (not just a “discount” or a sale on your website, recognition and rewards that turn customers and team members alike into raving fans and creating a story around a product that connects with people’s hearts, because we buy first with our heart and second with our head.
I’m known for the “double clap,” at the end of a meeting or brainstorm with the team—a fun signal that says, “let’s get to work and make this happen!”
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I have had more mentors than I can count. They are everything in my journey: partners, leaders, managers, clients, subordinates, coaches…there is generosity and talent everywhere and people are so good to lift each other. One of my dearest mentors was the CEO and founder of a consumer goods brand where I was a VP for a decade. She was tough, unyielding, and had fought for everything in her business, never taking a dime from an investor or bank. She also had a huge heart and regularly dropped truths that have become the gold standard for understanding people. Some of my favorite things she taught me:
–“Focus on building people first, then add technology or infrastructure second.”
–“I care…but not that much.” (This one shocked me when I first heard it, but what she meant was, never care so much about a project or profit that you compromise a relationship. Don’t care THAT much.)
–“People work for money, but they live for recognition.”
–“If you listen rather than talk, you will learn everything you need to know.”
–“Desperate people do desperate things.” (Don’t judge someone too quickly for poor performance or bad behavior; there may be something deeper going on that you haven’t learned yet.”
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