Pivot With Purpose Season 6 Episode 19 Jessy Klein Fofana Full Transcript

Meghan Houle (00:02.306)

Hello, Jesse. Welcome to the Pivot With Purpose podcast. How are you? Honestly, one of my favorite people right now. How is it going?

Jessy Klein Fofana (00:10.625)

It's great. Thank you for having me. Happy to be on today. Love you too.

Meghan Houle (00:15.502)

such a pleasure. And I feel like synergistically, we've come into each other's spaces through all of our amazing connections. But I'm just so in awe of all that you've built within your career and your incredible company, LaRue PR, which we'll obviously dig into heading up into like a really big milestone that you're celebrating almost like two decades, right with your business. So I'm sure you have some fun pivot stories to share and also sharing in

Jessy Klein Fofana (00:36.527)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (00:41.498)

Yeah.

Meghan Houle (00:44.204)

this incredible business that you've not only retained and maintained, but also your team members who I feel just historically, once everyone finishes this episode, scroll down and check out Jessie, click the show notes, go into LinkedIn and check out her company. Like you have a lot of people that have been with you a really long time, which speaks volumes. And especially from someone that hires and recruits, I mean, that is certainly the first thing that a lot of people look at in terms of companies and cultures are, you know, deep diving into like how long people have been there.

Jessy Klein Fofana (01:00.987)

Luckily.

Meghan Houle (01:13.418)

and it always speaks volumes. So I can't wait to dive into your story and share it with everyone listening in. But to kick off, tell us about the here and now. Where are we catching you right now as we like head into like the back half of this year? What are you loving? What's going on in your world? And then we'll dive into other topics. Yes.

Jessy Klein Fofana (01:33.051)

yeah, well, actually this is, this, this podcast is especially relevant for me right now. I have spent, you're catching me at a, a, a big pivot. so I've had the, agency for it's, I guess, about 19 years now. and about five to six years ago, we decided to evolve our services and really go from full service PR to doing that alongside affiliate marketing, which has now become part of PR. And it was,

a pretty big pivot after being in business for a long time to kind of go in that direction. So we've been working towards growing the affiliate side of our business, expanding on the PR side, merging the two together, and really scaling. And it has been an undertaking, and it's lots of exciting moments, some challenges along the way, but we are working hard at it.

I'd say, you in all the years I've had the business, really, this is the probably the first big move we've made in terms of, you know, evolution.

Meghan Houle (02:45.102)

Well, tell us like going back maybe into the beginning of founding Leroux PR in 2025 or 2005. Sorry. You're like, no, not the future, Megan. Where's our time machine, DeLorean? 2005, what inspired you to start your own PR firm? Where was that like big juicy pivot early on?

Jessy Klein Fofana (03:05.419)

So without boring everyone, I in my 20s started a different company, a cosmetics company, like with a business partner, an artist named Megan Barnes, who's amazing. We started this little business together and we ended up kind of growing it and selling it to

Echo Unlimited, which was a clothing brand. And we did that for most of our 20s. so that was really, I had come from journalism, music journalism, working at Vibe Magazine. I had loved hip hop and the cosmetics company we started sort of had one foot in that door many moons ago. And so I really got my first dose of PR from being on the media side and getting pitches from publicists.

And then we started this cosmetics company and I kind of had to step into the role of publicist for my own business. And we did that, you we worked on this brand together. I was like the de facto publicist, sort of just gorilla style. My partner did more of the creative and the design piece. And when we sold the company outright,

that I was like, what am I gonna do? And I went and worked in house, I worked at agencies, I worked on the brand side. And the last brand job I had was in New York City, super exhaustive. It was the kind of gig where I like, traveled a lot, worked a lot. And I was pregnant. I newly married and my husband and I decided to get pregnant and at seven months pregnant, I quit. And I was like, fuck this. I just will never see this child.

If I continue in the career path, I'm on. And so I left with the plan of just like, I don't know, there was no plan. The plan was like, we'll figure it out. We had like a little one bedroom in Queens. was probably not the safest move. three months after my daughter was born, I started freelancing. And just because I had connections and relationships and one freelance client became

Jessy Klein Fofana (05:15.747)

two became three and then I was like this this might be the start of a business and that's really that was sort of the the kernel for Leroux and how it how it came to be.

Meghan Houle (05:25.422)

Well, it's awesome. And I feel just talking to individuals too that will obviously go unnamed, but the PR world sometimes gets a bad rap with some agencies that I, we won't name names, that I've talked to these individuals that are literally soulless. They're exhausted, they're overworked. And sometimes it's like you're fairly new in your career and you're like, is this it?

Jessy Klein Fofana (05:45.892)

Yeah.

Meghan Houle (05:54.934)

It doesn't have to be. But I think early on, it's super easy to get really burnt out and then almost bitter about it. What are some misconceptions? Or what are you seeing? Just again, knowing the community listens and a lot of people are interested in PIVOTS and a lot of marketing and PR individuals. But what are some misconceptions or just industry shifts that you've seen to over the past two decades and sharing any wisdom and advice there? Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (06:19.248)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (06:23.469)

Yeah, I mean, it's that's funny. I so I came up like, you know, I'm in my late 40s. So I came up in a time when thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I feel like I was in the media landscape working in media, working in PR when it sort of earned that.

Meghan Houle (06:31.552)

and fabulous, okay, we like look amazing.

Jessy Klein Fofana (06:45.275)

shitty reputation, you know, and I had a lot of, I had a lot of those jobs where I was working, you know, till nine or 10 PM at night, picking up, you know, people's dry cleaning and, you know, walking dogs for people. And it was, it, you know, it, it, it, feel like it sucked, but it also gave me a really strong work ethic. but I do feel like a lot of the mean girl kind of PR vibes,

were born in that time period in like the 90s. I would say it's a stereotype that has stuck with the industry. think it's a tough industry to be in. mean, it's not tough in the sense that we're like, certainly not saving lives. I don't wanna imply that it's super.

lofty, but it's tough in that there's a lot of expectations. There's from clients, from team members, and you are in a position where you don't always have a ton of control. So you can be the best writer, you can be really great at pitching, you can have strong relationships. And at the end of the day with PR, it still might not help you get the placement if the timing isn't right, if the story isn't good enough.

And so it's a hard job and it's a hard job that comes with a lot of expectations that aren't realistic and it's a lot about managing those. I do think in terms of the...

the PR field, there's lots of wonderful people. There's a lot of disruptors now that are trying to kind of break the mold, do things differently, approach PR differently. That's sort of how Affiliate, that Leroux sort of ended up in the affiliate landscape because it, PR has evolved over the years and kind of taken on some new and exciting aspects. But in terms of

Jessy Klein Fofana (08:45.267)

of, I guess, the field as a whole, I think there's a lot more to it and, you know, it's going to continue to evolve. But I also think it's our job in the world of PR to kind of sort of push the envelope and educate the people who aren't familiar with what PR really is and what a publicist does and how it should work. So I guess it's a changing, anything tied to the media is changing and PR is part of that for sure.

Meghan Houle (09:13.614)

All right. And I feel like sometimes the agencies get a bad rap, but I mean, it's all in who is leading them and then the team behind it. So in creating this incredible agency, what were your pivotal moments, you know, back from 20, 20 or 20 2005 until now that really changed the trajectory of like building your team, hiring, you know, any big milestones that just really stand out for you in this process of of pivoting, leading up to where you are today.

so curious of how it all came together. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (09:43.931)

Yeah, I feel like I think that actually key moments were tied to hires. Like, you know, the first real hire I had was Emily, who is also my sister, my twin sister. And she's been with at the agency. She came from the pharmaceutical world. I forced her to work with me. She's been at La Rue for 12 years. She's now the president. She's amazing. And we're polar opposites. And I feel like each

Each person, each kind of talent that came through the door really was like a definitive milestone in the business. And it continues to be because we're a small team and so, you we're 25. And so with each hire, there's real impact.

And so I think those were important moments. have Jackie, who I think you've met and who was, I think at the event we did together, who's been at the agency like 14 years. She's our chief strategy officer. sort of was early on in her PR career and we got ahold of her and she's been with us ever since. And there are quite a few team members like that. The other thing is I think we had key business milestones, like key moments in terms of our sales or client acquisition.

where it just, could feel we had to ante it up and we were kind of, we were leveling up and those continue to happen because we are a small agency still working towards some goals. So we're still on that journey, even though it's a really slow journey of almost 20 years, but we're building it slowly.

Meghan Houle (11:26.742)

Yeah, well, and I mean, I feel like you work with some amazing brands and do really incredible pitches, campaigns, you know, really support them from the presentation I saw that you give during our event together.

It's really incredible what you do and the exposure that you get for these brands and how much you care and how much thought and curation goes into everything, which we know is not for the faint of heart or easy. But I feel like when you really know what you're doing, the results are there and then you're the trusted support and get referrals and then it all continues to grow. knowing that you're really known for your innovative approach.

What are some clients that you just love working with right now and maybe what are some strategies, not to like give away all of the ideas, but like what are some strategies that you really are proud of, clients that you've worked with that you really feel like you guys have had tremendous success, like talk to us a little bit about who you work with, yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (12:20.611)

Yeah. So we have some clients that have been at the agency for a really long time that we have gotten to kind of grow with them and help in that growth. And those are super rewarding. just sort of off the top of my head, one is HealthAid, Kabucha. We have been with them for a really long time. It has been a really wonderful relationship. You know, we have worked on almost every aspect of the brand from

product to thought leadership and done everything from events and influencer to media tours. You name it, we've done it. And it's wonderful to watch a company grow and evolve and achieve such amazing success. We have another client called Lulu in Georgia that's like a darling of the home decor world. We've been with them for like, it could be 10 years now. And

Meghan Houle (13:12.302)

Love. Yes.

Jessy Klein Fofana (13:17.891)

have done everything with them, have kind of, I'd say we grew up together, know, LaRue and Lulu in Georgia, and that's super rewarding. The founder of that company is brilliant, and her and I have stayed in touch all these many years as we've worked together, and it's just been.

amazing to watch. think in terms of how we approach, PR, think, you know, we're, we're a scrappy agency still, you know, and that, I think there's, perks to bigger agencies and smaller agencies. And with us, we are, we are really trying to function like the in -house team. are.

absolutely hustlers and very scrappy and very proactive and trying to create the media angles, come up with ways to drive coverage, achieve the hit list of goals that we're tasked with. And sometimes it means we're pitching stunts or we're pitching event ideas to the client. But I think we really get it on the ground floor and try and make it happen.

And now since we've added this affiliate piece, which is a little bit different than traditional PR, it's just another layer of what we do that's really helping to move the needle for the brands we work with.

Meghan Houle (14:39.446)

Yeah, and I would love to dig into that affiliate piece because my next question, you know, after almost two decades, continuing to maintain your creativity and drive in such a fast paced, ever changing industry. Tell us more about the affiliate marketing for people. I mean, I think now it's just like out there more than ever. And I feel like a lot of people are talking about it a bit more openly. But for those who don't know, or maybe could be an interesting partner, what does that mean? And like, what does that look like in how you work with?

Jessy Klein Fofana (15:08.643)

Yeah, mean, so for us, we came into the affiliate lane. It wasn't like I had an epiphany and I was like, let's do this. It was like it came to us. You know, it started to kind of bleed into the world of media. So for anyone listening, if you, you know, if you ever.

Meghan Houle (15:08.95)

individuals that way. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (15:28.513)

know, shoplisticles, you're looking for the best new flat iron for your hair and you Google that and Wirecutter comes up, you know, that's an example of affiliate marketing. And there's, it's a whole funnel and the top of that funnel is called Commerce Content. There's a lot of names for it. And Commerce Content is a lot like PR, but there, it's a partnership between the publisher and the brand. And everyone is making a percentage off of that. And so,

it's leaned into PR and it's leaned into performance marketing and it's sort of up for grabs. But the way LaRue really looks at it as it's sort of the white space between performance and public relations. And so for us, it started to creep into the traditional PR world. Our brands were asking how to do it. We were trying to figure it out and we just started kind of learning the ropes and then hired experts to kind of

along the way to kind of make sure we were building the right foundation. You for me, having been in the game for so long and having seen media change from, you know, print to digital to social to influencer, I really, it was more of like a fear move. I was like, we need to be on the front end of affiliate marketing because I think it's how media is going to monetize going forward or one of the strongest ways they're going to monetize it if we're not.

you know, we're going to miss out. And so it was, think the right call, it still kind of remains to be seen, but it's bringing us a lot of, of exciting business opportunity and, and expanding what we can do for the brands we work with. So it's been great. It really, it's really been great.

Meghan Houle (17:14.306)

No, that's so great. And I feel like I was listening to another podcast earlier of like, and you know, I work with a lot of brands across all the categories. So it's like, you have those legacy brands that invest a lot of marketing dollars into like the brand storytelling and like the famous shoots and blah, blah, blah. But that's more legacy. I have to imagine less ROI where then you're sitting on your phone at nine o 'clock at night watching like the Bachelorette, like eating chips.

I mean, truly a scene from my house. And you're like scrolling if anyone wants to know what my Monday looks like. But like scrolling and you're like, my God,

Jessy Klein Fofana (17:39.737)

Yeah. Yes.

Meghan Houle (17:47.544)

that so and so I haven't heard of this brand, but like so and so is using this like or hair straightener. I'm like, say yes, I need more one of those right now. And then you click and then you know that and I just feel like the way that marketing dollars too are spent so differently across like brands and I'm sure you have to counsel a lot with individuals that like come in and they're like, let's do this and you're like, no, that's not really it anymore. What are you seeing in terms of trends and then do great? mean, some of those bigger brands are just like, yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (17:50.299)

1000 %

Jessy Klein Fofana (18:10.042)

Yeah.

Yes, it's so there's so much education now. I mean, the way we look at it is PR like what you mentioned, like thought leadership, brand awareness, the big stories, those features, those those are really about building name recognition for the brand, brand awareness, brand positioning. In the from from a marketers perspective, it's way harder to track the ROI on PR, you know, you know that if you were on Good Morning America, or you had a

Meghan Houle (18:17.762)

Yeah.

Meghan Houle (18:29.202)

huh.

Jessy Klein Fofana (18:41.295)

big story of the New York Times that it's gonna move the needle, but the ways, the metrics used to quantify that are still, from a PR perspective, are still a little wonky. And so PR is often looked at as a brand awareness play, big and bold. Affiliate sort of drives the consumer through the purchasing funnel and helps close the deal because it is a listicle, it is a product roundup, it is more transactional.

the data on the sale is really easy to look at. So you need both and you need a lot of other things too. It's not just those two. are lots of, need paid search, paid social, you need creative marketing, you need the PR and the brand awareness, you need affiliate, you need all of it because it's a competitive landscape. And so I think for what we do, we have to spend a lot of time.

educating, re -educating, fighting against sort of unrealistic stereotypes about how quickly PR can work or affiliate marketing can work. And when it all comes together, it's amazing, but it needs the runway to do that. And that's one of the challenges we face. There's lots of marketers that want...

They want things to come to life within a month. and it's unusual. Certainly, maybe for a more established brand, it's a little bit faster, but an emerging brand or a brand new to the affiliate or PR world, takes a little longer.

Meghan Houle (20:01.368)

Like quick, right? Yeah.

Meghan Houle (20:16.416)

When does a brand know or an individual over here, you know, building a brand know maybe it's time when you need PR or, you know, it's time to invest in PR. I there's so many benefits, but I also I'm sure, you know, you have a process of like applications and like vetting clients, I guess, like when does someone know and then, you know, what is what is your ideal client profile that you just love to work with and how does that work? Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (20:40.951)

Yeah, so I would say the, you know, when do know? I feel like, you know, I feel like, yeah, yeah, I think, I mean, I think if you have momentum to your business, you're seeing a lot of a lot of buzz and inbound interest, that's an indicator that the time is right. Doesn't have to be inbound PR interest necessarily.

Meghan Houle (20:45.55)

Like, I need one today, so argue for hire. You're like, yes, Megan.

Meghan Houle (20:55.512)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (21:04.923)

I don't think that there's ever a time where you, unless you, like if you're a product based or you're service based and you're, you don't have a website up or something ridiculous, like maybe don't do PR, but like if you are, if you are set up and looking to grow, it's worth exploring. Now, whether you invested it with an agency or a freelancer or try and do some of it yourself, those are different sort of stages of PR.

like a startup where you're still, you know, have a side hustle, you might want to take a crack at, you know, doing some of your own PR. When you get past that level that it might be, you really want a freelancer. And then, you know, as the business evolves, you may look to hire an agency. So I think, you know, I think, but there's always a good story in terms of the clients that we like. mean, I'm like a,

Meghan Houle (21:48.974)

Great. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (22:00.571)

I get, you know, in an ideal world, it's so much easier to take a brand that has name recognition. Like, it's like working with like an emerging fashion designer versus Gucci, right? As an agency, we'd love to get the Gucci's of the world because you snap your fingers and you're gonna be able to get the press. It makes the job easier. That doesn't always happen. And if we only worked with those kinds of brands,

Meghan Houle (22:12.311)

Mm -hmm.

Meghan Houle (22:19.202)

Right. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (22:28.025)

the world would be a very boring place. I mean, for me personally, I get like really excited by individuals that are creative. Like we just started with a new company, a new haircare brand. The founder is amazing, like the coolest person. It's a husband and wife team. They're both really cool. They have a great product. It was well designed, well thought out.

Meghan Houle (22:47.79)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (22:54.163)

smartly marketed and I just see like a huge amount of opportunity and it's not that they have a ton of name recognition, they just have something different. So for me, think anyone with a great hook is, or a brand with a great hook is something I'm interested in working on or a great story. Yeah, so.

Meghan Houle (23:03.224)

Yeah, that's cool.

Meghan Houle (23:13.164)

I love that. Yeah. But on the other side for brands and individuals, it's like you have to be able to tell that and articulate it. And for all that I've been like working on creating, I've been in like pitch meetings today and just like how to tell your story. I mean, I have to imagine too, when coming to you, someone is either being referred in.

or reaching out to say like, hey, here's my story. And like you said, you kind of have to link it and be like, okay, let's do this. I believe in you. And the passion that you get behind it, I mean, that's where all the results come in. Cause you want to work with somebody that believes in you too. Right? Yeah. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (23:47.279)

Yeah, I would say like a thousand percent. And I would say like, you know, I think we have pretty good Spidey sense at Leroux. A lot of the team has been doing it, but there are times where like, I will meet someone or talk to someone and be so sold and, you know, and convinced it's gonna like crush. And then it will take months and months to get picked up. And that's really hard. And...

Meghan Houle (23:53.762)

Mm -hmm.

Meghan Houle (24:02.552)

Mm.

Jessy Klein Fofana (24:12.247)

In those instances, when there is a delay, it's really hard to not second guess all that you're doing and all that your team is doing, but it happens. And then we have other brands and clients that come on and in week two, we're landing some major media moment for them. And yeah, that's wonderful when that happens. It's fun.

Meghan Houle (24:18.55)

Right. Yeah.

Meghan Houle (24:32.238)

Awesome. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, sometimes, I mean, it's sometimes it's a of work and it links and then other times it's divine timing. It's kind of like our world that we live in. So you just got to keep putting in the work and just showing up and the right things are going to come, you know? Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (24:45.047)

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Like I always will say it's like a combination that like there is an element to PR. is, yes, building a narrative, smart storytelling, relationships, you know, a great product, a great founder story, all of that has to has to come into play. Then it's timing and a little bit of luck, you know, you could have like the best pitch.

Meghan Houle (25:06.306)

Mm -hmm.

Jessy Klein Fofana (25:10.715)

But if the media is focused on Black Friday and Cyber Monday or the Me Too movement, it's not the time for your story to get told. And so you exist in this space on the PR side without control, without the final decision making power. And that's a hard, it's hard, know, it's a hard place to be in because you can do your best work, but still be told no. And to go back to a client and say, you know, we did all the things, but it still didn't work. That's a hard, that's hard.

Meghan Houle (25:40.366)

Yeah. Well, before I want to dig into some directed questions for you in terms of just picking up on that statement, challenges, you what are you really proud of that you've overcome maybe in this creation process or even over the past few years? I know, you know, not to go back to 2020, but so much has even evolved in the past year, the past four years. Like what has been a really big challenge that you are just so proud that you've overcome business wise or just like in general in bringing everyone together? Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (26:07.833)

Yeah. I mean, I think for us, standing the test of time is our biggest accomplishment, you know? And for sure, we've been a lifestyle business. I didn't start Leroux with the plan to sell it or to be anything other than what we are in the moment, essentially. So I think that's an accomplishment. Of course, for us,

Meghan Houle (26:13.08)

Mm -hmm.

Meghan Houle (26:16.867)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (26:33.883)

COVID and sticking and navigating that going from being an in -person business to a remote business. We had no layoffs during COVID. We kept everyone. And I'd say that's another thing we always tout is we've never done layoffs at Leroux. it's interesting because there are times when we'll be hiring and we'll get people with trepidation that are like, I've never worked in a small business. Is there job security?

And my answer to that is, yeah, there's more job security because you know me and I know and care about you, we hope. And I'm gonna like go into my, I'm gonna keep you, like for us to let someone go for a monetary reason, it hasn't happened. And if we've ever gotten close, which would be during COVID, I figured out a way not to do it, right? You make sacrifices. So I think that's something that,

Meghan Houle (27:06.584)

Right.

Yeah.

Meghan Houle (27:25.644)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (27:30.361)

Myself, Emily, Jackie, like the executive team at Luru, we are all really proud of, for sure.

Meghan Houle (27:35.874)

Yeah. And here comes the onslaught of resumes after that. Jessica might, we'll get to that at a later point. But on that topic, you and your leadership, you at the top have a big part in this retention. What is your leadership style and how do you feel like it's evolved over the years? You're like,

Jessy Klein Fofana (27:39.609)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (27:57.915)

I feel like I don't know what my leadership style is. I I will say I rely a lot on Jackie and Emily. They run the day to day of the business. I certainly in years prior was way more involved in the day to day, but now I'm focused on like business development and evolving the agency. so I don't...

I'm not in the trenches as much. Emily, my sister who's the president came from an HR background. And so she has brought a lot of like procedures and SOPs and more polished than we would have if it was me at the helm because I was a total like hustler the whole time.

Meghan Houle (28:26.478)

Mm -hmm.

Jessy Klein Fofana (28:45.627)

You know, I had a business in my twenties. Like I literally started a company when I was 22. I worked out of my business partner's kitchen in Brooklyn. Like there was no, you know, like, like just, yeah, yeah. Like it was, yes. So Emily has, has put in a lot of procedures and formalized processes. I think our biggest thing, and Jackie as well, I think the biggest thing for us is we're in a place where now we like want to hire.

Meghan Houle (28:53.366)

Right? Main space, like a manual. hmm. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (29:15.479)

adults. We've had, you know, we want to hire people that don't need to be micromanaged. And we've had phases at the at the company where we've had to do more of that. And it's miserable. And it makes us be like the quote unquote bosses we don't want to be where we're like, you know, Betty, where are you? Right. Like we who wants to do that? Why didn't you do this? And it's really fun. And so I think I think now, you know, our position is like

Meghan Houle (29:30.68)

Right.

Right. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (29:44.603)

We wanna hire people who wanna be at the agency, who are career focused, who have goals and aspirations that they think we can help them achieve, that are proactive. Like whenever we're interviewing, I always say I want somebody who's gonna take my job. Like that's what I want. I want someone who wants my job. That is the person I wanna hire. Even if they're 22 and they're interviewing for a coordinator.

Meghan Houle (30:00.098)

Mm Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (30:08.077)

role, if they have enough spark and presence and seem driven enough, that's the dream, like that level of accountability. So, so yeah, I mean, I curse a lot. Like I, I feel like there's, there's a lot of like un -HRE things that I bring to the table, but yeah, yeah. But it's, yeah. But I think we're at, at, at the core, we're, pretty sincere. We.

Meghan Houle (30:26.594)

That's okay. Everyone still ride or die. It's fine. You're doing something right. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (30:37.465)

You know, we want people to be as happy as they can working, you know. So we try. We try pretty hard.

Meghan Houle (30:41.57)

Yeah, yeah. yeah, I mean, those are culture pillars in itself. It's like valuing people's authenticity, working hard, but like having a real human element to it is super important and certainly a key to success. Hire me for your next pitch. No, I'm just kidding. I'm the next team ever. So in your work life balance, I know we talked about our love for fitness. Yes.

Jessy Klein Fofana (30:57.187)

Yeah, that's well said. I'd say that's accurate.

Yeah, I need to.

Jessy Klein Fofana (31:10.276)

Yes.

Meghan Houle (31:10.51)

Running a successful firm, as we know, and just in general, super demanding. How do you maintain, and I know like balance, you know, it's just like, what is that word? But like, how do you maintain that split between your professional responsibilities, your personal life? It's like, we got to take care of ourselves too. And I know as founders, we're not always like great at doing that at times.

Jessy Klein Fofana (31:30.277)

There's not, there's, yeah, I don't, there's not a lot of balance, but I will say it's, it's changed and morphed over the years. And I'd say for myself or Emily, for Jackie, like the three of us and, and a few other key members.

we have the least balance on the team because we're the ones at the top sort of moving things forward. But I mean, I am committed to the gym. I go six days a week. It's something that's a non -negotiable for me. I'm also a mom. have grown ass daughters now. I have almost 18 and almost 19 year old. And them getting older, that...

that the pressure and like, I mean, of course there's still like bomb things I do, like I'm dropping off my oldest at college this weekend. When they were younger, that poll to divide my time was...

was much harder for me. And by nature, like my preference would probably have been towards more work related things than mom related things. I love my daughters, but I'm not the most traditionally maternal. But I would say, you know, I had what I couldn't do myself. I made sure like in the home, had my mom was, you know, an integral part of helping myself and my husband raise our kids.

There's not a lot of balance, I also am not someone who's... My work is part of somehow woven into the fabric of my identity. And so if I have the gym and my dogs and my daughters, my husband, I can go shopping, sneakers, and have a fulfilling work life, I'm pretty happy.

Meghan Houle (33:08.226)

Mm -hmm. Yeah.

Meghan Houle (33:28.68)

Hold on, I'm coming back. Okay, see, I told you. Wait, go back. Let me just ask the question again and then we'll cut it. So, how did you find that balance? Yeah, with the motherhood too.

Jessy Klein Fofana (33:29.998)

I'm here.

Jessy Klein Fofana (33:35.331)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (33:41.691)

I mean, I think really I didn't find balance, but I sort of, found people to help and support on the things that I couldn't give a hundred percent to. And so that would be, you know, people helping. My mother was a big part of raising our kids, finding great team members to grow the business and rely on. I've always, know, the gym has been, a focal point in something that I've tried to maintain certainly in recent years and as a non -negotiable for me.

And as long as I have the things, my family, I can go shopping, I can buy sneakers, I have my best friend I can hang out with, my husband, I'm pretty good not having a ton of balance. I'm happy.

Meghan Houle (34:23.57)

That's awesome. Yeah. It's those non -negotiables, right? I feel like I've made my list a little bit longer of the days where know I can't fit in the things I want to do. I definitely am a bit more reckless energy wise. That's putting it nicely. But otherwise.

Jessy Klein Fofana (34:36.757)

You

Meghan Houle (34:39.358)

Today's kind of getting to be one of those days where they're no, we're going outside after this. But you got to put in those non -negotiables. But also know you put in the work and you have an awesome team around you and it flows. And I know you always bring such a great energy. So you do what you got to do. And here you are. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (34:42.133)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (34:54.979)

Yeah, and I also don't, I don't expect like, feel like for me, and maybe this is like dated or like, I don't know, but like, I like the buck stops with me. I don't feel entitled to balance. Like I have a lot of perks that have come with launching my own business.

being the quote unquote boss of the business, there have been headaches and perks. And I don't think you take on that role, move things forward with the expectation that it's gonna be a nine to five, you know, and that you just can't. So I'm good with it. My daughter is maybe not so much, but I'm good with it.

Meghan Houle (35:25.06)

No. Yeah, same. love that. Aw. Aw, no. You're the cool mom for sure. Yes, you are. So with that, what advice would you give to inspiring entrepreneurs, especially maybe women looking to start their own PR firm or get into PR and marketing as a career choice? What advice would you give?

Jessy Klein Fofana (35:35.44)

Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (35:52.249)

I have met so many young female, young entrepreneurs and young female entrepreneurs that have their shit so to get like, they're so on top of it. I, yeah. So I mean, the things I would say are probably things that they've heard or that they know, but like, you know, I am, I am a big believer in, in, in just moving forward towards your goal. Almost not almost,

Meghan Houle (36:00.486)

Right? Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (36:22.351)

without a second thought. Like I just think that you have to commit to the idea, drive it forward, make it happen, and sort of be a little bit savage about making, know, bringing it to life. And I feel like that's something that I did. I don't know that I did it on purpose, but I was, I'm a little bit like tenacious that way. And so I think that's important. I think sticking with it, I think managing your own expectations. What I said is true. You can't expect,

to build a successful business. I mean, I guess you can. I hear it all the time, but I think it takes sacrifice. I think it takes the understanding that you're gonna have to make hard choices. And I think that's part of it. I think that surrounding yourself personally and professionally with great people, I absolutely would not be...

anywhere without my husband, my sister, my mom all helping. They don't get the level of credit that I do. I get to be like the face of the business and it's not always great, but usually it's good. But surrounding yourself with like people you can trust, people who are smart and talented.

Jackie, I've mentioned, is another key member who's been at the agency a long time. And I hold them all to kind of a different standard. So it's not easy. And hopefully they feel rewarded for the torture. I think that's important, surrounding yourself with talent. Not being intimidated. Trying to be a sincere, decent person is always a standard.

that I do my best to live to. I'm a little bit of an emotional person, so there are times where I lose my temper. But again, I do have people like my sister is very clinical and methodical and a great balance to me. So I think key players like that in any business are important.

Meghan Houle (38:30.206)

Well, as we've seen, just for thankfully some of these in -person events that have just really blown up over the past two years now, with 2023 towards the end, we got into it. And then I feel like 2024 for sure, all these big conferences coming back. Who you surround yourself with is everything for sure. And I'm so grateful for all the connections and the wonderful people I've met getting outside of my own four walls, putting yourself out there, finding mentors, especially early on in your career.

Jessy Klein Fofana (38:46.991)

Yeah, for sure.

Meghan Houle (38:58.338)

You can get a lot of bad advice and then you can get some great advice, but it's just kind of navigating those highs and lows because I do feel at some point you have to fail in order for you to learn. Like, please let us all fail. And I don't know, I'm seeing it these days with some of the younger individuals, like real young, like middle school kids and things where, you know, we've been in these moments. And I think even in our generation -ish where it's like everyone's winning awards in school, everyone has to win, we all have to win, like it's just not real.

Jessy Klein Fofana (39:08.111)

thousand percent, yeah.

Meghan Houle (39:28.222)

We can't always win. So surround yourself with great people, meet your best self sometimes at your lowest moments and just keep going. So I love that advice. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (39:28.409)

No, it's not real life. Nope.

Jessy Klein Fofana (39:37.991)

So true. Yeah, it's so true. I mean, my very first business, the Cosmetics Company, it was ultimately a failure. We hit some big benchmarks. We like sold it to a well -known company, but it really didn't go anywhere. And I think that has informed how I've built LAROU and how it's evolved over the years.

Meghan Houle (40:00.542)

And here you are, but from doing it at a very young age and believing yourself and just doing it. No, no, please. That is way cooler than what I was doing. Do you remember Contempo Casual and Wet Seal? I was selling flammable clothing in my early 20s. My clurb tops.

Jessy Klein Fofana (40:04.793)

Yeah, or just being an idiot, like just convinced I was like, just being stupid.

Jessy Klein Fofana (40:16.039)

of course I remember that was like a destination while I was at. Yeah, I mean, was at NYU and there was I lived on Broadway. There was a Contempo on on 8th Street. And it'd be like Tuesday and we'd be like, what are we wearing Thursday? Let's go to.

Meghan Houle (40:26.396)

Yes.

Meghan Houle (40:34.504)

Go to Contempo, get those deals. Maybe your strap will break. It's fine. It looks great though. Seriously, I could tell stories for days. For days we could talk. But before I let you go, when you look back at your career, what do you hope your legacy will be in the PR industry? What mark do you want to leave?

Jessy Klein Fofana (40:40.924)

It was a good time. was a good time. Yep.

Jessy Klein Fofana (40:56.415)

I honestly don't care about leaving work. I really don't. What I care about is doing good work, being proud of the work I've done and having the agency, I think being proud of the agency and having it be.

Meghan Houle (40:58.94)

My God, I love you. Yeah.

Meghan Houle (41:06.237)

Mm -hmm.

Jessy Klein Fofana (41:16.623)

Like we pride ourselves on being like down to earth and straightforward and no bullshit. And I think if that is the legacy of LaRue and me, like that's fine. I do have moments where I'm like my oldest daughter is very similar to me. And although she has her own career aspirations, I'm like, and she will run it one day. But when I say that to her, she's like, and no, thank you. It could change, but maybe.

Meghan Houle (41:26.088)

Yeah.

Meghan Houle (41:36.595)

Yeah.

Aww. But someday, someday. Look at Mauricio and all those Richard's kids and the agency. you're just, it's just timing, you know, let them get through school and amazing. my gosh. Well, you're just the legacy in yourself. So thank you for like answering all these amazing questions and for spending your time with me. What are you most excited about looking into the future? Like the back half of this year, like any fun plans or any big things going on? Lots of brands you're working with.

Jessy Klein Fofana (41:45.633)

Yes, yes. You never know.

Jessy Klein Fofana (42:07.652)

Yeah, have some, we do have some events coming up, but I can't, we have one really fun, I can't reveal anything. Yeah, there's things I'm excited about. I mean, for the agency, just, it's exciting to see it grow and scale and continuing to work towards that.

Meghan Houle (42:08.284)

New clients, yeah.

Meghan Houle (42:14.302)

Okay. Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (42:28.847)

You know, I'm, yeah, there's lots on the horizon. I wish I could reveal more.

Meghan Houle (42:33.54)

No, hey, know lot of us like under wraps until it's not. So are you taking on new clients or what is the best way someone can find you, engage with you? Like obviously we'll link everything up for people to hang out. What's your favorite place? Yeah.

Jessy Klein Fofana (42:43.833)

The website, yeah, know, laroupr .com, I go to our Instagram. I'm on Instagram now, which is kind of hellish for me, but I'm trying. Thanks, you're sweet. It does not come natural. So there's, yeah, any of those methods. We are always looking to take on new and interesting clients.

Meghan Houle (42:53.328)

No, it looks great.

Jessy Klein Fofana (43:08.953)

And we have a great biz dev team that can kind of go through the process with anyone who reaches out. So definitely hit us up.

Meghan Houle (43:16.114)

Yeah. you know, I've obviously we're under, you know, this audio, but I have seen you firsthand, IRL, seen a lot of clients you work with. Jesse and her team are top notch. And I'm so fortunate, I feel like to have you now in my space and my universe, maybe more to come there. So thank you so much for all your time and your incredible insights and congrats on all your success. You're amazing. Thank you. Yeah, you're the best.

Jessy Klein Fofana (43:33.978)

Thank you, I feel the same.

Thank you so much, this was awesome. You're the best. We love you.