Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elizabeth (Lizzy) Neufeld. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Elizabeth (Lizzy), thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

When I founded Strat Labs in 2017, it was just me—working from a home office and lots of different coffee shops. I had a big vision and an even bigger dose of determination. I felt the industry desperately needed a social-impact agency: a place where nonprofits could benefit from an all-in-one approach to consulting, providing marketing, communications, and philanthropy as part of one strategy versus having marketing and communications live outside of fundraising.

The early days were scrappy. I wore every hat—strategist, project manager, accountant, copywriter, and sometimes tech support. It was equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. When it came time to bring on those first few team members, I knew I wasn’t just hiring employees; I was building a foundation. I needed people who shared my passion for creating positive change but also had the grit and adaptability to thrive in a startup environment.

Recruiting those first team members was deeply personal and HARD. I tapped into my network, reaching out to people I admired or who had shown a spark of purpose-driven thinking in their work. I didn’t follow a conventional interview process; instead, I focused on long, candid conversations where I could learn what truly motivated them. One of the first hires was a young professional with incredible ideas but limited formal experience.

They lacked a traditional resume, but they had great ideas. However, it wasn’t enough. Their work quality and commitment weren’t there, and they were ready to jump ship after six months. I was exhausted, but I needed to find that next team member as soon as possible.

The following person came in the door as a referral from a friend. They saw the vision of what Strat Labs could become. That set the tone for how we’ve always approached building the team: looking beyond the surface to find individuals who fit the role and the purpose. With a new team member willing to get to work and build, we set the tone for the next three team members to come in.

Training in those early days was less about handbooks and processes, which made building a team complicated and ever-changing. I invested time in mentoring and ensuring every team member felt empowered to contribute ideas, experiment, and even make mistakes. It was messy but also magical because we were creating something entirely new and doing it together.

If I were starting today, I might approach scaling a bit differently. In hindsight, I leaned heavily on my ability to juggle too much, which, while effective in the short term, wasn’t sustainable. I’d focus on delegating sooner, putting systems in place earlier, and maybe giving myself more grace. I wouldn’t trade the lessons learned from those early challenges. They shaped who I am as a leader and helped forge the culture that defines Strat Labs today: ambitious, purpose-driven, and unafraid to do things differently.

Every person we’ve added to this team has brought us closer to fulfilling our mission of providing services to nonprofits to help them scale their impact.

Elizabeth (Lizzy), before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Lizzy, the founder of Strat Labs, a woman-owned social impact agency I started in 2017. I come from a background rooted in creativity and strategy, having worked in marketing and fundraising for nonprofits. Like most good entrepreneurs, I have had a few jobs, including working at an internet startup (long live the dot com era), selling real estate, and peddling science and math textbooks. However, my passion lies in helping nonprofits and purpose-driven brands achieve their missions in a meaningful way, and I am happy to sit squarely in this nonprofit space. I am fully committed to this work and not going anywhere.

From the beginning, I envisioned Strat Labs as more than just a marketing agency—it’s a space where nonprofits can access a unified marketing, communications, and philanthropy strategy. Too often, these elements are siloed, and organizations miss the opportunity to fully integrate their efforts to drive social impact. At Strat Labs, we break down those silos to create a cohesive, all-in-one approach.

Our services are designed to help organizations amplify their impact. We build comprehensive strategies encompassing branding, marketing, engagement, donor communications, and philanthropic initiatives, all tailored to advance social and environmental change. Whether helping a nonprofit increase fundraising, connecting brands with their community, or crafting campaigns that align with a client’s values, our work is about making a difference while achieving measurable results.

What sets Strat Labs apart is our ability to meet our clients where they are. We’re ambitious but flexible, always focused on the specific needs of the organizations we serve. Our team brings decades of experience in marketing, philanthropy, and strategy, but our shared commitment to our mission drives us. We’ve been called scrappy—and we embrace that. We are agile and creative, constantly finding new ways to solve challenges and elevate our clients’ stories.

One of the things I’m most proud of is the culture we’ve built at Strat Labs. Those early days were challenging—starting alone, recruiting team members, and figuring out how to scale. I learned so much about resilience, adaptability, and leadership. Today, our team is a collective of thinkers, doers, and problem-solvers who care deeply about our work and clients. I’m proud of the trust we’ve earned and the impact we’ve made through partnerships with incredible organizations.

If there’s one thing I want potential clients and partners to know, it’s this: we’re here to help you tell your story, build your community, and make a difference. At Strat Labs, we believe that purpose and profit can go hand in hand—and we’re excited to work with brands and nonprofits that want to create a more just and equitable world.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience, for me, is deeply rooted in my family’s history and the lessons passed down through generations. My grandfather, the son of illiterate immigrants, was brilliant and driven. Thanks to the intervention of a teacher who recognized his potential, he gained an education that shaped his success in the Air Force and later as an entrepreneur and innovator. He always told me, “No matter what you do in life, find a way to work for yourself.” That advice stuck with me, even as my journey took unexpected turns.

My grandmother was equally inspiring. She began college at 16—a rarity for women in the 1930s—and became a social worker. For 45 years, she volunteered at a hospital, helping new parents transition into parenthood. She modeled what it meant to find joy and purpose in serving others, something I carry with me to this day.

My parents worked hard but weren’t fulfilled by their careers. My dad, a lawyer, loved helping people but felt constrained by the legal profession. My mom, a teacher turned bookkeeper, had a passion for numbers and organization but found her deepest satisfaction in volunteering. Their stories taught me the importance of aligning your work with your purpose.

When my dad passed away suddenly when I was 24, my life shifted overnight. His death forced me to grow up fast, and I felt untethered, unsure of what direction to take. I meandered through various jobs—real estate and textbook sales—but none of them felt right. It wasn’t until I started working in the nonprofit sector that everything clicked. I found my calling in helping organizations tell their stories and scale their impact. Losing my dad was devastating, but it ultimately set me on the path I’m on today, guiding me to create Strat Labs.

Through my family’s legacy and my own experiences, I’ve learned that resilience isn’t just about bouncing back—it’s about finding meaning in the challenges and using them to fuel your purpose. My work at Strat Labs is an extension of that resilience. It’s my way of honoring the lessons my family instilled in me while carving out a path that feels authentically my own.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

A few years ago, I came close to selling Strat Labs to a larger agency. The pandemic had drained me—I was burned out, dealing with some really tough hires, and struggling to motivate both my team and myself. When this agency approached me about acquiring Strat Labs, it felt like a lifeline. The deal was set to close in October, and I would have transitioned into a leadership role within their organization. It seemed like the perfect solution: I’d continue doing the work I loved but with a bigger team and none of the headaches of running payroll or managing a business.

But just a week before closing, the deal fell apart. They walked away. I was devastated. It felt like everything I had worked so hard to build had crumbled. I gave myself a few days to sit with the disappointment, and then I made a decision: if selling wasn’t an option, I needed to double down and rebuild.

What I hadn’t realized at the time was that I wasn’t just burned out—I was missing the right people on my team. A hire I had made just before the deal collapsed turned out to be the spark we needed. She was young, full of energy and fresh ideas, and she had an infectious excitement about the future of Strat Labs. She helped pull me out of my funk and showed me that we didn’t need to sell to move forward; we just needed to approach things differently. Together, we started reimagining what Strat Labs could look like, and it reinvigorated my passion for the business.

Looking back, the experience taught me that selling a business isn’t always the solution—it’s often a symptom of something deeper, like burnout or misalignment. For entrepreneurs considering a sale, my advice is this: before you sell, take a hard look at your team, your processes, and what’s truly draining your energy. Sometimes, the right hire or a shift in perspective can make all the difference. I’m grateful the deal didn’t go through because it forced me to rediscover my “why” and ultimately led to a stronger, more purpose-driven Strat Labs.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stratlabs.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestratlabs/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethneufeld