Andrea Popova
CEO at CPGD
Website Address: www.cpgd.xyz
Each week on “Marketing for Your Future,” our host talks to media experts across the country. This week, our host speaks with Andrea Popova from CPGD.
To learn more, check out www.cpgd.xyz.
What is the biggest change in marketing that you see coming in the next 2 years?
Brands are no longer sold to consumers, they’re sold to community. We’ll start to see more community driven brands that launch out of a group’s needs vs the other way around.
What is something in your career that you learned from by making a mistake?
In March of 2020 I started what I thought was my dream job. But 3 weeks into my job, I was laid off along with 25% of the company– I hadn’t even fully set up my laptop. So in the middle of a pandemic, as everyone went into a freeze, I tried to find someone who would hire me.
I got an offer at a company completely outside my interests, in a role not suited to my strengths, but making a lot more money than before which meant stability. Looking for security over happiness, I took it and experienced the worst 10 months of my life. I worked close to 95 hours a week for months.
Finally, I decided I couldn’t take the mental and physical anguish anymore and I quit. Initially I saw the entire 10 month period as a huge waste. It didn’t drive my career forward, it broke my confidence, and I left feeling more confused than ever about my passions.
But if choosing that job was a mistake, it was the best one I ever made. I learned invaluable lessons about how to navigate corporate politics, how to push back, how to say no. I acquired a savings for the first time. I learned technical skills that later played a huge role in my biggest wins.
I wouldn’t do it again, don’t get me wrong, but in a way I am glad that it happened because I came out a stronger person than ever before.
