To start off, here’s how I introduced Lauren to an industry friend:
I/ToolGuyd will be leveraging Lauren’s media, marketing, and management skills to start chipping away at the long list of deeper stories and explorations I haven’t been able to make time for.
Thanks to her skillset, expanding familiarity in the tool space, and the trajectory AI is pushing programming towards, we’re making more time for the tool and brand stories I want to make, and hopefully they’re also the kind audiences want to read, watch, and learn more about.
I don’t think there’s any way for readers to know this, but Lauren has helped out with ToolGuyd’s coverage at 3 Milwaukee Pipeline events now, and also Dewalt’s Black & Yellow event a few months ago.
A couple of years back, just before I hired her for the first time, Lauren attended a marketing conference for her work, and one of the speakers was from Dewalt. When it came time to determining who to ask to assist with Pipeline coverage, I had a light bulb moment. Milwaukee approved the plus-one ticket, and Lauren attended her first Pipeline media event.
Lauren handled much of ToolGuyd’s social media content at these events, allowing me to focus on questions, deep dives, and product testing.
But she wasn’t just shouldering some of the workload associated with covering major tool events, she was contributing towards strategy, management, and execution.
Her tangible contributions have grown, and new intangible value began to materialize.
Even though Lauren is only moonlighting here, her contributions have already had meaningful impact.
As mentioned in the condensed introduction above, Lauren is helping me turn long-time ideas into actual plans. It couldn’t come at a better time, because AI progress really is prompting changes across the media industry.
Because of her background and work in marketing, Lauren sees the changing landscape from multiple viewpoints.
Oh, I am definitely still in full panic mode over what’s happening to the media industry right now, but we have a focused direction and the drive to get there.
You will see a little more from her here, a lot more on social media, and her expertise will be woven into backbone of what’s to come.
She’s been extremely excited about everything tool and ToolGuyd-related. It’s been a little scary, because I recognize the pattern. But scary good.
When I asked Lauren to help out with that first Pipeline event, I thought maybe somehow it could have some career benefit for her, somehow. I couldn’t think of anything specific, it just seemed like a good idea. Anybody could have helped me with Pipeline coverage at the time, but I just thought maybe it’d be good to share the exposure and experience with family. That, and I thought it would be good to have a fresh take on things through different eyes.
I didn’t foresee Lauren taking on a bigger role, but here we are.
Lauren is family – my little cousin – so be extra-nice.
At another time we’ll talk more about some of the deeper stories and explorations we’ve started to plan. Despite the impact of AI and such, there’s a lot that I’m looking forward to in 2027. Things are feeling a bit easier having someone with complementary skills at the table.
