A 20 year digital marketing veteran on spotting the gap nobody else is filling, building the nerve to step into it, and why the skills you take for granted are usually the ones that move your career.
A volunteer class teaching Excel and Word at a church is what got Kristi Daraban hired at NBCUniversal. Not the film degree. Not the festival work. The computer.
White space is not the thing everyone is already chasing. It is the room left on the page, and the real question is what you add that nobody else is adding.
She was told her poker face was horrible, so she filmed herself until it was not. Then she started applying to speak at conferences.
What you will learn
Quotes
It’s what do you add to that that makes it different so that it’s not a shiny object?
Kristi Daraban, Head of Social Media, The Aspen Group
That doesn’t mean I’m smarter than them. It doesn’t mean I’m more advanced. It just means I know different things.
Kristi Daraban, Head of Social Media, The Aspen Group
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to The Power Lounge
02:25 First generation, latchkey kid, and paving her own way
04:18 Teaching Excel and Word as a college volunteer
05:46 The NBCUniversal hire, and the two words that explained it
06:37 A grad school thesis turns into a budget and a promotion
11:07 What white space actually means
13:56 White space versus the shiny object
14:49 Fear, shyness, and reinventing herself in Los Angeles
16:10 Executive presence, the mirror, and imposter syndrome
17:58 The thread across NBCUniversal, Nestle, Disney and Nationwide
20:25 Disney Channels worldwide with a team of two and no agency
22:15 Nationwide goes viral, from a Jeopardy clue to SNL
26:15 Upskilling with two boys and a full scope of work
28:22 Helping a team find their own white space
30:48 The exercise for anyone who feels stuck or stalled
33:46 Where the next white space is, community and real people
37:29 The power round
About the show
The Power Lounge is a weekly conversation for women in digital, hosted by Amy Vaughan of Together Digital, a community of women who choose to share their knowledge, power and connections.
Connect
Kristi Daraban on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristidaraban/
Kristi Daraban online: https://www.kristidaraban.com/
Together Digital: https://www.togetherindigital.com
