Alexandra Matthiesen on Marketing with Empathy, Clarity, and Curiosity

Overview:

In this episode, Kerry Guard sits down with Alexandra Matthiesen, a seasoned marketing executive who blends brand storytelling with technical curiosity. Alexandra discusses her nontraditional path into marketing, the power of writing and frameworks, and why marketers must step into the mindset of their audience—especially in complex spaces like cybersecurity and developer tools. She dives into how emotional intelligence, clear communication, and structured time management fuel not just high-performing campaigns, but healthy, collaborative teams. Whether you're in a startup or scaling a team, this episode delivers real talk and practical strategies to help marketers lead with clarity and intention.

Transcript:

Alexandra Matthiesen 0:00

You have the ability, the inbuilt ability, to message something in a way that is empathic, that reflects the emotional state of your audience, and sort of captures that in a way that is accurate, so technically accurate and authentic, it's invaluable.

Kerry Guard 0:21

Hello. I'm Kerry Guard, and welcome back to Tea Time with tech marketing leaders. As always, we want to hear from you. We're excited for your questions and your thoughtful conversations that you have on the side, and we will absolutely follow up afterwards so we can join in the fun today with me. I have been looking forward to this conversation. I'm so glad I didn't have to wait too long. So glad today I have Alexandra Matthiesen, who is an accomplished marketing executive with extensive experience leading go-to-market strategies, product marketing initiatives, and multi-channel growth programs for technology companies. Over her career, she has successfully brought products from concept to launch, aligning engineering, marketing, and sales teams to achieve business objectives and drive market presence. Alexandra, welcome to the show.

Alexandra Matthiesen 1:09

Thank you so much. I just have to say, particularly now, at this point in time, when so many in our field are seeking their next role. Do you feel like there's almost this, like a cliche for the marketing leader? Introduction? Like, after a while, it all kind of sounds the same.

Kerry Guard 1:32

That's why I don't spend too much time on what I care about. And what I want is, I want your story.

Alexandra Matthiesen 1:38

Yes, yes. It's this. We were just talking about this before we started recording Kerry like, the importance of building relationships in the industry and seeking to really know and understand people, like, if for any like, what are we here for other than to know and understand other people and personalities?

Kerry Guard 1:58

And what makes us who we are is the journey that we've been on. So tell us your journey. Alexandra, what do you do now, and how did you get there?

Alexandra Matthiesen 2:09

I like this question in part because my background is not traditional. I did not seek a degree in Marketing, and I try to share that as much as possible, because I want people to know that this is a career path, a place in space that can be accessible to them and can ultimately act as a really interesting opportunity to bridge your innate interests and skills. So for me, I am somebody who always knew I wanted to go into brand development. Awkwardly from about the age of six or seven, I've been fascinated by just the concept of a brand, the idea that we have products and services and we create an overarching esthetic and present that esthetic in market and that people ultimately know and understand that product through that esthetic, and even convey that in their own discussions. Like these are things that people absorb and ultimately impact the way they experience and feel about products and services like this concept alone was mind boggling to me at a young age, and I would try to create brands like I'm sure this is not so uncommon, but I look Back at it and think that is pretty goofy and awesome, yet, right? Like I've I've loved it for as long as I can remember, truly. And that said, I did not go into marketing during my time at the University of Washington. I focused on English composition and literature, and I know there's a lot of sort of like colloquial language out there regarding the nature of an English degree, it can be sometimes seen as frivolous. I I've never once regretted the decision if you want to truly excel, not only in marketing, obviously, where understanding the value of a cohesive, coherent message and tone of voice is key to success, storytelling like these are things that are so important to success in marketing, just business broadly, the ability to like sit down and create a thoughtful email message that is clear and concise, like, That's it, and it ultimately has, like been a huge benefit throughout the entirety of my career. If you have a foundation of really solid writing practice, you're kind of set up for success. I. Taught myself the Adobe Creative Suite during my time at the University of Washington, getting my degree, and was lucky in that I graduated knowing kind of exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to go into brand development. And did. I had a really small firm for a short period of time, and then ultimately stepped into a more corporate position on behalf of Wagner Edstrom worldwide, which is Microsoft Corporation's premier communications agency. So that sort of like set me on the path of a technology focus, but that was with a lot of intention, because, personally, I love technology. Love it. I am somebody who, in another lifetime, probably would have sought a computer science degree, but came from the sort of family where women didn't do tech. I had no like place or space to look and see someone who looked like me, focusing in technology, building a career in technology, and so marketing has served as this really cool opportunity for me to explore something I love on a personal level, in a professional capacity. That was sort of like the onset of my career, and over time, I moved from brand development, incorporating elements of communications, product marketing specifically, which is sort of like my sweet spot now, and ultimately building out a whole body of work that has supported a few different really satisfying marketing leadership roles.

Kerry Guard 6:42

We are going to unpack all of that in terms of where you are now and some of the things that you've learned, and we're going to bring that to the audience before we get there. I have a few follow-up questions please.

Kerry Guard 6:55

Do you remember what your very first brand was that you tried to create at a young age?

Alexandra Matthiesen 7:02

I do, and it's kind of embarrassing, particularly as somebody who's like an independent woman with volition.

Kerry Guard 7:12

But you were six, so we're gonna keep that in mind.

Alexandra Matthiesen 7:16

So give me some grace, folks, I believed this was phenomenal. And you know what, Kerry, maybe it is. Maybe this is like, you know, venture 10.0 on the horizon. But it was called Sweet petite, which is, like, too obnoxiously cute. Ad, like, no, no. And I remember my father had a workshop where he would just, you know, take on different home projects. And I remember finding these wood scraps on the floor of his shop. I think they may have been like the trim pieces from two-by-fours. So like long two-by-fours that you might use to frame a home, for example. And I remember taking these, ultimately, like little rectangles and creating business cards, like with my crayons, like thinking that I was creating business cards for this entity, sweet petite. Embarrassingly, I don't remember what I believed sweet petite would do in the market. I just loved the idea of there being this brand and business card. Business cards, you know? Do you know how when you are a child, children see, they see like the simple tactical things of any given like an entity. And they're like, that is the entity, obviously we know now that is just such a small subset. Those are the sprinkles on top. But I believe that business cards were like the path to the future.

Kerry Guard 9:01

Everything they were, they were everything. I love that my daughter is similar. So I feel like she sees marketing as, like, podcasting, because that's so much of what I do. So she's like, Oh, I asked you to run a podcast, like, cool. And so she talks about being, like, a, you know, on, you know, running her own show and stuff, and being a YouTuber. I'm like, we'll figure that out the future. But she's also like, wants to create designs and fashion, and so it's I love that like cultivating at a young age.

Alexandra Matthiesen 9:33

No matter what have you considered just sitting down with her and creating a Figma account? You can get a free account, and it would be such a neat inroad to learn very basic, okay, okay.

Kerry Guard 9:44

I gave her in a Canva account, and so she'll still sit there and create these presentations for days, and then she's on a free account. So she's like, Ma, I gotta send this to you, because you got to print it out for me, because I need all the pictures that are like, All Pro. So she like, knows the difference between what. She's using. And, yeah, no, so I gave her because she wanted to do presentations. I was like, I know exactly what you need. I gave her a Canva account, and it's been really fun to see her explore that. But Figma, that might be the next step up.

Alexandra Matthiesen 10:13

Figma would be cool because that gives you sort of a very gentle inroad to vector graphics, which is where it's at. Like, if you're going into brand development, you need to be working in a capacity that can scale, and vectors can scale infinitely.

Kerry Guard 10:28

So even nerdier is even dirtier. So my husband designs fonts, and he designs, oh, that's cool, and he designs pixel fonts. And so he taught her how to do that. And so she'll just sit there for days designing these little pixel fonts, which are basically another inroad to vector design. So she probably would pick it up between Canva and that; she would probably unlock it real easily, right?

Alexandra Matthiesen 10:58

Oh my gosh. And then you can have her on here, and you can interview her on your podcast, which should be a marketing.

Kerry Guard 11:06

leader one day, oh my gosh, it would be, ah, the dream, the joy. She would love it. She's, yeah, she would absolutely, she would absolutely love it. But I, I mean, the kids imagination. I mean, that's what we're talking about here, of just what you create when you're little, what seems so big and important, and then we find out the truth. But so let's talk about the truth today, because of where we are and the you know for what you are doing. Now, I'd love to understand more around you. Have this wonderful arrangement of skills you've picked up along the way, and now they're like eMERGE, they're they're converging. And so tell us about what you do specifically now and how you've brought those skills together to be successful for your brand.

Alexandra Matthiesen 12:04

Right now, I'm in sort of this, like very easy space. And I say easy in that it's certainly not easy in terms of work and workload, but emotionally, mentally, there is a sense of ease in my day-to-day, and that is in a very real part, because I've built a foundational set of best practices. So when I step into a new company, working taking to market a new product, I have a set of best practices I can draw from to effectively create a functional marketing program quickly, whether that means, if I'm working in a zero to one capacity, so from a product perspective, zero to one meaning the product currently has no in market presence, we're introducing it to market going through the launch experience, and ultimately, all of the brass tack stuff that are required to take a product to market. So, you know, developing the introductory messaging framework, working hand in hand with the engineering team. At this point, I have a way that I do these things that feels replicable and scalable and based in areas I've seen that were successful and areas where I failed, like all of those failures, and there have been many have really been right, that's where we learn. Have been incredibly helpful for me to really hone, like, how do we do this in a way that is not only effective in terms of product, service and market presence over time, but effective at a human level, right? Like, where I can come in and ultimately engage, often, a highly technical team, a group of developers, engineers and other leaders in a way that is mutually beneficial and satisfying. One of the challenges I see a lot of marketers face is they can be unintentionally positioned as sort of this, like, how to put it, a bit of a point of friction for other people in the organization. There can be this sense of like, from the sales perspective, the marketing leader is always kind of putting constraints on how and what I can say. Or from a leadership position, the marketing leader is always sort of like guiding how and when we'll have a presence, and can't we just be and I get it like they're not wrong. A very real part of developing a brand and an in market presence for a product or service is creative constraints. Yeah. Yeah, and it's important to acknowledge that, and part of that is just understanding how to convey the benefits and resulting value to others in an organization in a way that makes clear, like we're all on the same team. We all have the same end goal, which is revenue generation. That's our clarion call together. We are focused on revenue generation, and again, part of it is just being at a point where I've gone through this so many times that I know, how do I do this in a way that builds a sense of like team and truly camaraderie in the process of marketing?

Kerry Guard 15:40

Yes, I imagine it helps when you when you're able to do it more from that zero to one piece, versus coming into sort of established teams.

Alexandra Matthiesen 15:49

Oh my gosh. And you bring up something that is for anyone who wants a career in marketing. I think we need to spend more time in the industry in this space, talking about the difference between, for example, an early-stage startup, where you're building out a foundational marketing practice to stepping into, say, a mid-stage startup, Series B, Series C. It's a different beast, but you're still going to deal with a lot of those, like early entity issues that you might experience in early stage. You're not going to have, like a well defined HR team, for example, and you may have a sense of like freedom and lack of interest in maintaining like day to day practices for acknowledging other people's time and space, that environment can be just as satisfying in different ways, and they're just very different professional experiences.

Kerry Guard 16:52

Very different, very, very different, different pressures too.

Alexandra Matthiesen 16:59

You just don't have as much independent control when you get to like later stage organizations, usually you're marching alongside a lot of other people, so the ability to collaborate really effectively and thoughtfully is going to be key to success, whereas in the early stage world, and this is so it's a trope at this point, but move fast and break things is sort of a a standard in that space. I push back against that because I don't know that moving fast and breaking things has ever been especially advantageous. Marketing, for the most part, is always a long game, in which case, especially now, those, yeah, those standards don't make sense, but you can still find a way to function in that environment effectively with care.

Kerry Guard 17:52

There is this continued challenge that I feel like I would love to know for you, Alexander, having lived in all these spaces, having combated building being able to build teams out of the gate and build this camaraderie, initially, to then joining an existing team on a bigger scale, what for you is like that one tidbit you could give people around communication that you wish you knew at any point in time that has been like that. Aha moment for you.

Alexandra Matthiesen 18:27

Two Best Practices I have forged and fortified over the years, and they have saved me, particularly in terms of just my own mental health in role. One of them is for every meaningful project, any especially like a large initiative that's going to encompass a collection of projects, always kick that off with an introductory meeting to all of your key stakeholders. Make it quick, accessible, and follow up with prescriptive guidance. Be tactical, tell them. This is our intention. This is how I need you to integrate with this process over the next. You know, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. This is our desired end goal, end result. Follow up that meeting. This can be a 15-minute meeting with communication that just clearly, concisely outlines each of the points you hit in that meeting, and at the close of it, be vulnerable, ask people like at the outset, are there any concerns, points of friction that you see on the horizon for us? Does everyone agree like this is sort of our desired end goal? I want to be sure that you all like invite people to contribute to the conversation. Also keep in mind it can fit. Feel there can be this internal tension in saying, asking, do you see any potential issues on the horizon for us as a team? That's the data you need to kick ass, the things they tell you, then that gives you the information you need. Moving forward to say, for example, three weeks later, John, you had said you were really concerned about X, this actually did come up at week one, like you had suggested. But because you had brought that up in our introductory meeting, we kind of had it top of mind. I really appreciate you contributing that, because it actually allowed us to really effectively address that head on, and this was the result. So we're still moving forward. Obviously, that is a very like rosy picture of what that could look like, but that like communicating that you are interested, you are listening, and that you value your colleagues, contributions, that you see that they are based in their own areas of expertise. It can be too easy as a marketing leader to want to just sort of steamroll and say, This is what we're doing over here, and you all need to follow suit. It's really beautiful to give people the opportunity to contribute and share with them throughout the process, like this is how your contribution had a role in our collective outcome. And the second best practice block time on your calendar to do the things you need to do, for example, if you are working on developing a messaging framework for a specific initiative, that's going to take a lot of time, even if you are working from a templated approach that you have proven that you have scaled doesn't matter You're looking at hours of time, hours of necessary focus. So go into your calendar and very intentionally block that time. And something that I've done is I've created this practice for blocking time. Say, over the course of a week, I'm going to block three days, 90 minutes each day to work on that messaging framework, I will then go, pull from a template, create the working document and link to that document in that meeting block for myself, so that when I land on that meeting block, it comes up over those three days, it is as easy as me, just pausing everything else And clicking into that document, I have my focus, and I block the time so people leave me the F alone. It's so helpful. It is so helpful, and then own that time. Tell people you know, I'm really sorry, Mary, I can't meet at that time, I'm actually focusing on the development of our next marketing messaging framework at that time. But how about a later time, another day, like it gives you the volition to ask for the things you need and want professionally?

Kerry Guard 23:12

Boundaries? Yeah, I also there are two things I want to say, first, about the first point you made in terms of communication. When I had the twins, my doctor didn't give me all the best advice, but one thing he said as a pediatrician that I just loved, that I carry with me to this day, is that children need two things: familiarity and forecasting. The forecasting piece is true for even adults, as you just proved so, laying out very clearly what's going to happen in the next 3060, 90 days of this project, saying it very succinctly and clearly, and then giving people space to absorb and contribute, I think, is beautiful and exact. I feel like you can more easily get people on board when it is clear, when you are clear on what needs to happen, versus trying to dance around and over, collaborate and then things get real messy, real quick. So I love that framework you laid out. Thank you for that gift. I am going to carry it with me to every project. And the second thing around the calendar piece, as I mentioned with boundaries, is I had somebody call me. She was working at an agency as an account director, and she was underwater. She was working in the vehicle the motor industry. She lives in Detroit, and she's like, I don't know how to get control of my day. I'm literally just in back to back to back to back meetings. And I was like, your calendar is the one thing you have complete control over. Start blocking it off and take ownership of when you win. Will and will not accept meetings, and she said that was a game changer for her, so yes, to figuring out what you have control over and what you can then create boundaries around calendars, one of them for sure.

Alexandra Matthiesen 25:16

These are issues that I have found over the course of my career, are born often by women in the field. There is this sense that you have to say yes to everything, especially centered in the technology sector. Women only make up about 25% of tech roles. We are a natural minority in the field still, and it can create this sense of scarcity and uncertainty. And I think it's really valuable to just put that to words between us and acknowledge women often feel this undue need to say yes to everything, but you have to say no so you can say yes when it really matters, because there will be those times where unexpectedly, something comes up, and you are The best person at the organization to support like best next steps you want to be able have the freedom to say yes. In those moments, it's only going to be possible in a way that feels thoughtful if you've allowed yourself the freedom to say no, all of those other times when it's just not fair. It's not fair that somebody is routinely working, for example, back-to-back 12-hour days. It's and I hear that from so many women in the industry, especially now, given the current macro economy.

Kerry Guard 26:58

That's why I built my agency, because I was that, that, yes, woman for sure. So I needed, I needed to create. That's why I did that, so that I could have my cake and eat it too. I wanted a family, and I wanted to be there with them, and I wanted a career, and so sometimes you got to go create your own. Yeah, you're an adventure.

Alexandra Matthiesen 27:18

And who who wants cake and doesn't want to subsequently eat the cake? Like, no, thank you. I don't want to just be sitting there looking at a delicious cake.

Kerry Guard 27:31

That's why. Yeah, I'm gluten-free, and my daughter loves to bake. And I was like, girl, do you have torturous That is how mean that is that I get to make this beautiful thing for you that I can't eat,

Unknown Speaker 27:41

right?

Kerry Guard 27:42

No, not doing

Alexandra Matthiesen 27:44

This is that moment where I want to say something like, but there are really delicious gluten on your own. I will say the one, and I'm going to send you a recipe. There is a flourless chocolate tort in my recipe. Oh, my God, it is

Kerry Guard 28:02

That one of those slow-bake ones, almost like a volcano in the middle.

Alexandra Matthiesen 28:09

Yeah, I will send you the recipe, and it has, I am not gluten-free, but this is a go-to for me. And if you do like a nice vanilla bean crème anglaise and maybe like a bourbon caramel sauce and smooth kiss.

Kerry Guard 28:24

I'm here for it. Please do. It's my birthday coming up soon, and I need a new special cake, so maybe I will. I will do that for me. November.

Alexandra Matthiesen 28:39

You are so

Kerry Guard 28:40

soon not ready. I'm at that age where it's like, I get older. I'm good,

Alexandra Matthiesen 28:49

You know, I'm gonna push back on that a little bit. I have been, like, really leaning into owning my age. I think you and I may be similarly positioned. I, in a few months time, will be 40, and I am just like really feeling myself these days, and I feel like for the first time in my life, I'm embarrassed to acknowledge this Kerry, for the first time in my life, I feel like I really know and understand who I am and what I need and want, and perhaps more importantly, have the confidence to put that to words outside my head.

Kerry Guard 29:23

I will, I will agree with that, that is one of the hardest lessons. And I think, as we just said, as women especially, it is one of the hardest lessons to learn, is how to put our needs into words. And as a 40-year-old woman I am said that out loud. So that happens, yes, I but I do feel like there are so many times where I'm like, gosh, I so am grateful that I can give these gifts to my daughter sooner that she will have this language. Knowledge and this ability to do these things younger, because I, yes, I did not Well, I'm grateful to know it now. I can take it with me from here on out, man, but do I wish that we had the ability to do it sooner? For sure?

Alexandra Matthiesen 30:13

Oh, I really feel like I just fell forward on a person in a personal capacity for the entire, like, first half of my life, just sort of saying yes to everything, sort of aligning to and ultimately supporting all social norms, just wanting to reflect what people expected of myself and women broadly. And now I'm like, I'll take some of that and I'll leave the rest, and I'll do so with like, a calm clarity that really is, is 40. It is being 40, and I am here for it.

Kerry Guard 30:54

It is calming, and it's everything you're saying too, about stepping into this new path of career where it's like, I get it now. I know the framework. I know how to approach this. It's it. We're trying to figure out how to reposition us as a as a company. So when we started MKG Marketing a long time ago, 13 years ago, we were on the cusp of so many firsts. We were completely remote. We were people first. We believed in boundaries and working nine to five and piecing out all these things that created a tenure that was unheard of. Three to five years. People would stay with us, right working with experts, directly for our clients, like all these things that agencies were not doing we were doing, and we had clear messaging around those differentiators. And obviously, times have changed. And one of the things I've noticed, which goes into what we're saying and where we're sort of starting to position ourselves and find ourselves, is in that tenure of having been around the block and that calm, that calm in the storm while CEOs are freaking out and meeting the leads like yesterday. It's like it's coming. We know how to do this. We know how many processes. We know what that looks like?

Alexandra Matthiesen 32:07

And marketing is a long game. It's a long game. So having the messaging and the confidence in the messaging to convey to your point, it's coming.

Kerry Guard 32:18

And to be able to forecast that calmly, calm. The story 50-plus is not terrible. Trevor, and I cannot leave for a minute if you're trying to tell us that you're over 50, that is not true. And if it is, man, you go, sir, I appreciate you. And flowers. Chocolate torts. We're gonna get the recipe, Trevor, and you and I are gonna make chocolate torts. It's gonna be awesome. And we're gonna show Alexandra pictures. It's gonna be Yeah.

Alexandra Matthiesen 32:41

I love it. I love it. And come November 19, we are all gonna celebrate your special day, my fly friend. I look forward to it.

Kerry Guard 32:51

I look forward to it in terms of, in terms of the being this calm in the storm, having this clarity of being able to work for companies and the framework that you've sort of developed, depending on how you're stepping in, one of the things you and I talked about as as a prep, you know, in our prepping situation, prepping call that I loved, that I want to just take a minute to address and Make sure I'm living up to our promise that was noted in the card is around the expertise, right? So having done brand as you have since you were six years old, you've clearly known that side, the marketing side of the house, very, very well. But when you're working with very technical brands, as we do, there becomes this push and pull of what does expertise even mean, and is marketing expertise for the industries that we work in enough?

Alexandra Matthiesen 34:01

For me, this is where my natural love and penchant for technology come into play. So marketing has always been a means for me to explore something I naturally love ,and that matters. So when I step into a role. So I'm taking a cybersecurity product to market manage detection and response tool, like I did with pillar when I was cmo there, I become completely enmeshed in the life and lifestyle of the IT professional, the security operations center, staff, their security analysts and threat hunters, who are ultimately going to be using and utilizing the tool and all of its capabilities and supporting features. Um. This looks like leaning in and being a part of daily stand-up meetings in a product capacity, understanding in depth. How does the technology, the software itself, function? What are its subset technologies really exploring the entire history of the technological advancement of managed detection and response, understanding, for example, the inroad by way of endpoint detection and response. And when did that come to the fore, like, when did we need to be attentive to a remote workplace, and how does this enable companies to thrive today versus five years ago versus 10 years ago, understanding that trajectory can be incredibly helpful and grounding in understanding why each iterative step in technological advancement has proven To be valuable for people in a way that has resulted in the tool you see today. But a lot of this just has required my own interest, my own volition, and so I'm not saying that you have to have that you don't have to love, like the thing you're taking to market, but it does help. It helps too, because one of the best practices I have for really familiarizing myself with a product or service is to take on content daily that my primary and secondary audiences are likely to engage. So for example, in the past, I was working for a developer tool company, and I would attend virtual developer events. This was during the pandemic, join developer communities, look at message forums and actually look at like technical message forums so understanding when a developer has an issue, how they are seeking a solution? What do those conversations look like? What is the nature of their ask? Obviously, this wasn't directly relevant to the tool I was taking to market. But was it helpful to see like the message and tone of voice that these individuals were using when they were engaging other developers and seeking a solution? Absolutely, I would find books, audiobooks, and podcasts that were centered in developer-centric topics, and understand what are some of like the secondary topics that developers might be interested in. Are they interested in video games or actual games, physical games, like, what are all of these places and spaces where they have interest and ultimately thrive in their roles? Again, like it almost takes on an approach that's like method acting.

Kerry Guard 38:00

Yes Are you actually deadly? Sounds like that, where you take on the role and you become, yeah, even though you're not actually doing the thing in real life.

Alexandra Matthiesen 38:10

Yes, and here's something I want to prompt all marketers to consider: imagine if you truly can, like, gently transition into the mindset of, for example, a developer, and in some facet of your life experience things from that mindset. It makes your work so much easier as a marketer, if the moment when you see a potential value proposition, instead of saying, you know, the thing A and the blah, blah, B and the value C, no, no, like you have the ability, the inbuilt ability, to message something in a way that is empathic, that reflects the emotional state of your audience, and sort of captures that in a way that is accurate, so technically accurate and authentic, it's invaluable.

Kerry Guard 39:06

For those audiences, developers and IT professionals, in particular, their pedanticism is something to navigate. So they'll see through that authenticity very quickly. So if it's not you as the marketer figuring it out, who are you bringing in that can do that it who is an expert in that industry, to double-check, to help refine, to be part of that messaging outreach? I think that's critical, especially in these industries. I appreciate if you don't have a love for you wanting to be a developer, but I think that you at least have to do that, then the bare minimum.

Alexandra Matthiesen 39:58

Gosh, when I. Right when I was last working on a developer tool, I actually this is so goofy and kind of prescriptive. But are you familiar with Khan Academy? Yes. Okay, so it is typically focused on K-12 environments. They have a few college-level courses as well. And I've shared this with other marketing folks like say, you want to familiarize yourself with what does it feel like to learn to code? I actually went through the entire JavaScript course series in Khan Academy and selected some just simple books that were like in road to HTML, CSS, I had some familiarity with that in past, given past work, but like, really again, in meshing myself in the mindset of, what does it feel like to sit down and want to code a solution? Obviously, at that point, it was incredibly simple, hello world. But like it is, it is helpful just to know what does it feel like to sit down and, you know, open a command prompt and enact interact with a computer in a way that reflects something like what a developer might experience every day, obviously very nascent, very early, But like and where I am now I am actually, I love cybersecurity a lot, and so one of the things that I'm doing is seeking my security plus certification through CompTIA, and probably about 80, 85% of the way through the coursework. But it has been invaluable for me, and I'm a little bit embarrassed to acknowledge Kerry. There have been moments in the coursework where I look back now and realize, gosh, in past campaigns, for example, I could have been a lot more accurate and concise in that messaging, had I known what I know today in terms of just again, like the foundational coursework that somebody who is a security operations center staff member, something they might be taking on in their day to day reality. And I know for a lot of people, I want to acknowledge that this is not going to feel accessible, and if you don't have a personal love for technology, I can wholly appreciate why you would have no interest in seeking a Security Plus certification. Obviously, I am not going to become a security analyst or threat Hunter, no desire, but I will say if you do have the interest in time again, it has been so incredibly helpful for me to really like embody that mindset and know the technical content, content in depth.

Kerry Guard 42:46

It's definitely a mountain to climb, and I'm going to give a little easier example. So I work with both executive coaches and law firms as a fractional leader and marketing leader, and it's very easy to work on those, because I am the Customer. I need to do estate planning at some point. This is very helpful to understand what estate planning is. Why would you need it. I'm hosting a podcast with the founder of the show, simply because I have all these questions, and I get to ask the expert, right? And same with my executive coach, like he's actually my coach. I am the customer. So it's very easy to sit down and write his newsletter from a perspective of knowing what I why I chose him, right? So I know we don't always get that ability, especially in the more technical space, to be able to work for clients of the products that we use, but becoming a customer and using it inside and out, I think, does make it so much easier to sit down and write that messaging and to be So clear and to be so concise, I don't I don't know that I could do it have if I was not already meeting these things.

Alexandra Matthiesen 44:09

And, you bring up something so simple but so important, asking questions, just it is so helpful to allow yourself the freedom to say, I don't know. Can you explain that to me? Ask somebody on your engineering team say you're taking again like an MDR solution to market, a tool, a platform. Ask them to say, I was a security analyst and I had identified what I thought might be an indicator of threat in a corporation's data. What would I do? What would my best next step be? Will you show me in the tool like, give your technical colleagues the opportunity to like show, don't tell what things look like and explain to you? Why like? Why did you guys design it that way? Why does the user experience like look like this, feel like this? Like these things are important, and just again, like feeling as comfortable as you can, being vulnerable enough to say, I don't know.

Kerry Guard 45:16

And actually, that goes back to some of the very first points we made about building bridges, to internally, to teams, is that is the best in road is to be curious, to not judge why something is being done a certain way, but to want to seek to understand why it's being done that way, so you can better facilitate and be a partner to that part of the company is immensely like, one of my favorite tools to use is to be curious. I love that, and it brings us full circle.

Alexandra Matthiesen 45:48

It's a gift. Yeah, it's a gift. It's like, it's a perfect way to show your colleagues that you are invested, that you are all marching to the same clarion call.

Kerry Guard 46:03

And it has to start with marketers. Marketers. You are, you got to build those bridges. That's what we're here for, both externally for the brand and internally for your teams. You are, you were the best for that bridge. So thank you, Alexandra, for so many tools and recipes that we get to take with us today. Where can people? People want to continue the conversation. They want to know what where else you're learning like Khan Academy. Where can they find you? Where's the best place to reach out to you?

Alexandra Matthiesen 46:33

LinkedIn is the best place to find me. I am really. I am invested in the platform. It's please, like, connect with me there, send me a message. I would love the opportunity to share a call and conversation with anybody who's interested, as you and I were saying in our in our prep time. Kerry, like it is all about relationships, and that is one of the beautiful things about social media. As challenging as it can be, it also offers us a chance to connect like you and myself met through LinkedIn and look at us now my friend.

Kerry Guard 47:16

I have to say, I reached out to Alexandra on LinkedIn because of her LinkedIn content, it is wonderful. She is an epic storyteller, so definitely connect and follow. I cannot recommend her enough for just endless insights on life and birth, both personal and professional. So thank you for that, Alexandra. Before we go, as we've been mentioning throughout this whole show, we are more than marketers. You are more than a marketer. And I'd love to know we are in Q4, we are rounding out the year, just a few months left. What are you most looking forward to? Personally, in the next less than 12 weeks or less.

Alexandra Matthiesen 47:59

I need to be a real earnest and vulnerable here. Kerry, I am for the first time in a really long time, exploring dating. So I wish that I could give you something prolific on the professional front. And there are plenty of things there too, but really top of mind for me in terms of, like, closing out 2024 in good fashion. I would really love to, like, start allowing myself the emotional space and time to explore a romantic relationship. And so that is actually something that I'm focusing on right now with a lot of intention, and I just haven't I've like, built this badass career that I love. I've done some really cool stuff, and I'm coming up on 40, girl. I'm like, you know, it is finally time for me to, like, I think I want to date. Get out there. Q4 q4

Kerry Guard 49:07

Absolutely,

Alexandra Matthiesen 49:11

yes. Oh, my God. Oh.

Kerry Guard 49:13

The early days were the best, especially around the holidays. So go enjoy and just take all of the things we learned through dating as through our childhood and know that just have fun. Like, oh, I wish when we were younger, we didn't have so much angst around it, we can just enjoy the ride.

Alexandra Matthiesen 49:36

Yes, and exactly, I worry I have forgotten how to have fun, like I need more fun in my life, and yeah, so I'll keep you posted.

Kerry Guard 49:52

I'll keep you up to you. It's gonna be awesome. Go. Watch. Go, watch. Oh, I. Oh, I want to look it up. It's on Netflix. It's this new show that's out.

Alexandra Matthiesen 50:04

Oh, girl, I already ran through all 10 episodes. It's called, yes, Kristen Bell.

Alexandra Matthiesen 50:17

I was laughing with one of my best friends the other day, Margaret, and I was like, Girl, you're going to be so bummed when you close the first episode, because all you're going to be able to think is, damn it, there are only 10. And by the way, I am not even somebody that is especially invested in television, and yet I just want to like that is the banger I want to play on repeat.

Kerry Guard 50:42

That only four episodes in, but I made myself stop watching last night. I was like, I have to go to bed. Like I have to go to bed, but I am, it is, it is a treat. It is a treat. Only let yourself do one day, bye-bye. They're so short and they're so good, and it is okay.

Alexandra Matthiesen 51:02

One a day is like, and that man, that man, like the things I would

Kerry Guard 51:06

You, I mean, it's totally data now, but he was originally from the OC, and, yeah, that's why my friend was like, you have to watch the show, Seth, isn't it from the OC? And I was like, he's back. So yes, he's back, and he's older, and he's Yes,

Alexandra Matthiesen 51:21

Yes, he is so fire. Well,

Kerry Guard 51:26

Take that show with you and go find it in real life, and I'm gonna follow up with you. It's good. I will. Alexandra, I'm so grateful for this conversation. Thank you so much for your joy, your vulnerability, and all of the great, wonderful life lessons you have brought with you today. I am immensely grateful. So, thank you. This show is brought to you by MKG Marketing, the digital marketing agency that helps complex brands get found via SEO and digital ads. It's hosted by me, Kerry Guard, CEO and co-founder of MKG Marketing. And if you'd like to be a guest, DM me. I'd love to have you on the show. See you next time.