Bootstrapped to Millions: a Female Founder in Rarified Air

By Loralyn Mears PhD Loralyn Mears PhD has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team
Published on January 17, 2021

Meet Mae Karwowski, the female founder of Obvious.ly, one of the most successful agencies behind the field of influencer marketing. She’s bootstrapped her company, crediting a lean budget mentality for helping her make “smarter decisions.” As a female founder and one of the more successful women in tech, her tremendous business growth year after year and recent celebration of her 7th anniversary in business puts her in rarified air.

Leadership is all about being authentic.

~Mae Karwowski, founder of Obvious.ly

When asked what her competitive advantage was, she thoughtfully replied, “We’ve been in the space so long that we have a really good understanding of the space and how it’s changing. We’ve worked with over 100K influencers so we have a ton of data which gives us a huge edge.” The conversation continued on our Like a Boss podcast where she offered the next generation of women in tech some tips on how to be better prepared for the joys – and perils – of working in the fast-paced and highly competitive startup industry. In response to the question about her leadership, she had only this to say, “I stay humble: I know when I don’t know something and need to bring in an expert. People appreciate that. Facing challenges head-on and with transparency make you a much better leader.”

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By Loralyn Mears PhD Loralyn Mears PhD has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team

Journalist verified by Muck Rack verified

Dr. Loralyn Mears is a Columnist at Grit Daily and a podcast host (The Grit Files, which aims to shine the spotlight on female founders). She is a content marketer, founder of the WORKtech startup, STEERus, specializing in personal and professional development to address gaps in soft skills - communication in particular. In her consultancy practice, she helps clients with content and strategy. Loralyn spent over a decade playing with mosquito DNA, got her PhD, decided she would rather market science than be at the bench and has never looked back. Along the way, she’s wined and dined her way around the globe. She's authored two books, including the 2018 Gold Medal Indie Book award-winning, One Sip At a Time: a Memoir and the hard science thriller, "The Battle for Humanity: How Science Saved Us." 

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