Francesca F.
Studied at Harvard Business School
Works at ConiferCo
Not currently taking new clients
About Francesca
Hi! I'm Francesca. I got my MBA from Harvard and my AB from Princeton. I'm a marketer, brand strategist, and writer--all of which are key skills for university admissions. I was named one of Leland's Top 25 Coaches in 2022. I'm the CEO of ConiferCo, a marketing and branding consultancy that I founded in 2018. I have extensive experience working with C-Suite leaders across myriad industries to create innovative campaigns and digital products. In prior lives, I served on Clark Construction’s in-house strategy and innovation team where I worked with company leaders to develop new digital products and to grow an in-house startup. I also held the role of Marketing Director at Emma’s Torch, a non-profit culinary social enterprise. My tenure at SPARK Experience, a creative agency, gave me insight into all aspects of the marketing world: I specialized in content strategy and content creation, and worked with designers, developers, and UX researchers to create new brands and websites from scratch. I'm looking forward to meeting you!
Why do I coach?
Take a look at my blog post for Leland on this topic: https://www.joinleland.com/library/a/why-i-coach-francesca-f
Work Experience
Founder and CEO
ConiferCo
May 2018 - Present
ConiferCo, which I founded in 2018, helps startups and small businesses grow with marketing, branding, and strategy. My clients span a range of industries such as D2C baby and senior products and B2B education, technology, and staffing. I offer short, targeted engagements during which I help clients solve an immediate challenge. I also embed with client teams as a Fractional CMO, giving them the advantage of a trusted marketing and business expert who knows their company inside and out. ConiferCo is agile. For each client, I assemble the right team at the right time. Depending on the project’s needs, I bring in talent from my team of designers, web developers, writers, social media managers—and more.
Strategic Project Manager
Clark Construction Group
July 2019 - October 2021
As a member of Clark's Strategy, Research & Development team, I worked with members of the C-Suite to develop solutions to company-wide challenges and partnered with teams across the country to test and implement those solutions. • Developed a new service for Coda, a new business within the Clark enterprise. Guided product development based on extensive research, managed pilots, designed business model and strategy, and created marketing materials. • Spearheaded creation of a proprietary pricing dashboard so that Clark's C-Suite can better advise clients on project costs. Managed company-wide rollout of estimating software used to capture pricing data. • Managed the design, development, and launch of a client-facing portal for an existing internal application; product increased client satisfaction during building punch list and turnover phase. • Co-authored white paper on value-based pricing for CFO; paper is now mandatory reading for all product developers.
Marketing Director
Emma's Torch
April 2016 - July 2019
Emma's Torch provides refugees with culinary training and job placement assistance. Our students get hands-on work experience in our restaurant in Brooklyn. • Crafted and implemented marketing strategy including website design, company branding, social media, online advertising, and email marketing. • Through deep audience insight and strategic content development, garnered engagement rates consistently above non-profit industry averages: email open rates and click-through rates were 2x and 3x higher, respectively; Facebook and Instagram engagement rates were 10x and 2x higher, respectively. • Created videos for Starbucks Upstanders Challenge, which generated 500,000+ views.
Innovation Strategist
ViiV Healthcare
May 2017 - August 2017
• Collaborated with a 5-person cross-functional team to design a chatbot for patients transitioning to new HIV treatment, taking into account product desirability, business viability, and technological feasibility. • Through conversations with tech specialists and doctors, identified chatbot strengths, weaknesses and possible use cases along HIV patient and physician journeys. • Crafted a strategy for how ViiV should use chatbot technology in the future. Presented that strategy to ViiV management who decided to start implementing it.
Content & Marketing Lead
SPARK Experience
July 2014 - July 2016
Managed multiple projects simultaneously, with interdisciplinary teams of up to 5 people. Developed digital products, 360 marketing strategies, names and brands, and new experiences for for-profit and non-profit clients. • Promoted from Content & Marketing Associate to Project Lead after three months, four months faster than nearest peer, based on exceptional team leadership and client communication skills. • Cultivated client from initial test project to five additional projects, turning them into SPARK’s biggest client through strategic conversations and stellar project management. • Partnered with CEO to shift projects to a “lean startup,” rapid-prototyping approach, allowing completion of design projects in half the usual time. Trained over 15 staff on the methodology. • Spearheaded use of design thinking and consumer research for company’s naming and branding projects. Transformed traditionally subjective and political process into one that resulted in greater client satisfaction.
Assistant to the CEO
Telcare
July 2013 - June 2014
• Promoted to write and edit company communications within one month due to demonstrated writing skill. • Developed booth branding strategy for the CES Unveiled NYC show, and managed all aspects of the event. • Participated in manufacturer contract negotiations in Taiwan.
Development Assistant
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
July 2012 - June 2013
• Worked on a team that raises tens of millions of dollars annually for the performing arts. • Developed marketing materials for 1,000-person Spring Gala and Mark Twain Prize events. • Through deep knowledge of fundraising software, introduced faster and more efficient method of identifying prospective donors, increasing both likelihood of gift and its size.
Education
Harvard Business School
MBA
2016 - 2018
Princeton University
AB, Comparative Literature
2008 - 2012
Francesca was also personally admitted to
Columbia University
Barnard College
University of Chicago
Duke University
Cornell University