Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cassie Petrey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cassie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

Creative problem solving is one of the core skill sets I use in my job on a daily basis. One thing that I think is super innovative at Crowd Surf is that we have “after hours” teams to help alleviate the workload of things that need to be done at night and on weekends. They’re specifically assigned this shift. Social Media can be so 24/7, and I think this is a step in the right direction to give people who work in social media a relief from that grind.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started off as an early fan girl of the Backstreet Boys, and my passion really started when I created a Backstreet Boys newsletter at age 12 (that reached fans worldwide!). It was incredible being part of a fan community that gave me life-long friends through shared concert experiences and love for music artists. This inspired me to want to work in the music industry — to help artists connect with their fans on a deep level. At age 17, I became a college rep for Warner Music Group, and my development of some of the industry’s earliest artist social media pages on Myspace and Facebook led to a full-time position in Warner’s Nashville office where I oversaw social networking campaigns for label stars, including Faith Hill and Blake Shelton. I met my co-founder Jade Driver when we were both attending MTSU in 2004, and we founded Crowd Surf in 2007 to give back to the artists that helped us so much over the years. Helping artists and knowing their importance in our world is still what drives me today.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Consistency. My career has not been about the big moments, but rather the ability to be patient and stick around with something for a long time. I love that I’ve worked with the Backstreet Boys for over a decade. Keeping myself motivated to show up and do great work on an ongoing basis is one of my biggest strengths.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I don’t know if this is necessarily a lesson I needed to unlearn, but I’ve had to do a lot of work to be okay when it comes to “abandonment” in the workplace. It’s ok if a beloved employee quits. It’s ok if a client fires you. It will sting, but you will survive and your career continues on. It’s not the big apocalyptic moment you envisioned in your head.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://crowdsurf.net/
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/cassiepetrey
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassiepetrey/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cassiepetrey
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cassiepetrey

Image Credits
“How I got Backstage” photo of Cassie and Co-Founder Jade, Photo Credit: Brandon Phillips All others, photo credit: Annie Noelker