Ep. 11. Challenger Brands, Emotional Revenue, & Category-Winning Growth - with Kathleen Booth, VP of Marketing @ Sequel.io — Her Path to Revenue

You're listening to the Her Path to Revenue podcast. In this show, we spotlight the powerhouse women who are driving results, building careers they love, and sharing the untold stories behind how they balance it all. Every episode, we get real about the wins, the pivots, and the mindset it takes to thrive at work and in life. I'm your host, Janelle Amos. If you're ready to drive revenue like a boss, grab your hoops. Let's go. Welcome back everyone. Thank you so much for tuning in. Today's guest is a household name that you probably know. She is a B2B SaaS marketing leader and founder who's built high-performing teams across cybersecurity, ad tech, e-commerce, and SaaS. From serving as CMO to leading marketing and growth at a well-known community, which you all probably know, it's called Pavilion. She's known for creating brand-forward go-to-market strategies and community-led growth engines that compound over time. Today, she now leads marketing over at sql.io, and she is helping redefine how marketers use owned experiences to drive pipeline and sustainable growth. She's also the author of Code Meets Creed, a Substack focused on building AI-first marketing teams without losing taste. Judgment, or humanity. So thrilled to have you. Welcome to the show, Kathleen Booth.

Thanks, Janelle. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for asking me.

This is going to be a great conversation.

Yeah, I'm excited.

So outside of what we just heard from your many accolades on your bio, walk me through your revenue journey. I mean, you know, as a woman, there's probably lessons, challenges, plot twists, regrets. So I'd love to take me and the audience down, you know, how you got to where you are today and how that shaped your career and who you are.

Yeah, absolutely. So I am actually a career switcher. I started out the first 10-ish years of my career working in something completely different. I was an international development consultant. I was doing work for the US Agency for International Development and the World Bank, and it was all about clean water. And it's kind of funny. It's because when I was in school, I had two different focus areas. I was a political science major who went on to get a master's in international politics. But halfway through my master's degree, I went and got an MBA in marketing, funny enough. And so think of it as like the first 10 years of my career were on the politics side, and then the rest of it was on the marketing side. And I didn't really start in marketing in big tech. I started really scrappy. My husband and I built a marketing agency from scratch when we were just getting married and I was just getting started having children and every dollar mattered, right? Like if I didn't sell it, we didn't eat. So that period really wired me to be very focused on revenue and stability of revenue, cash flow. You know, it's very humbling to have your own business and live or die by it, especially when your spouse is also in it with you because you, you rise or fall as a family. So I had that business with him for about 11 years. And then in 2017, we sold it and I moved in-house and focused since then have been focused on really scaling revenue inside of businesses and as you mentioned, communities. And so really learning how different it is to drive predictable pipeline as opposed to one-off wins because like the agency world, which we, you know, that was our business. It's very different. It's not SaaS where you have subscriptions. I mean, we did have retainers, but it was a really different business model. So it's been a great shift for me. I've learned a lot. You know, some of the key lessons learned being like brand and revenue, they're not opposites. You know, brand is not a nice to have. It's key to your to your go-to-market motion, and that the companies that win compound in trust over time. So lots of lessons learned from that, but that's really sort of what got me to where I am today.

Awesome. I appreciate that journey. What I have found with myself and with every guest on the show so far is that there's some point in our career where we needed that big confidence boost, whether it was walking into a boardroom, starting your own agency, you know, whatever it is that happens at the time. Um, for me, when I need a confidence boost and I walk in, I wear my signature hoops and I wear them for every episode. That helps me tap back into what I call my alter ego of reminding myself of everything that I've achieved and reminding myself that I can do it again. And so I ask every guest on the show, when you need that boost of confidence or you're about to go in and like tackle something, what's your go-to?

Yeah, I mean, I think there's probably two things here. I would be lying if I said that the outer armor isn't a part of it. You know, I love that for you it's earrings. I feel like I was really shy growing up and how I got over that was I had actually taken acting lessons and it was not until college when I realized I could harness what I learned in acting and almost have like a separate persona who was this more outgoing persona. People always are shocked when I tell them I'm an introvert and it's sort of funny because like you hear about this in celebrity circles, like Beyoncé has Sasha Fierce, right? I've heard people talk about this and it actually really does work. So having like, you know, your stage presence, your different persona, your, your hair, your makeup, your outfit, like all of that is, is a big part of like putting on the armor and getting ready to go do the thing. But I think the other thing that really helps me is, and this is where I think community is so important, is like, community of peers. Because in so many of these jobs that we do, especially as we get to the executive ranks, they're very lonely and isolating because most of the time you're the only one doing your job in the company, right? Unless you're at a really, really huge company where there's lots of VPs or CXOs or what have you. But I think it's— you can get in your head and you really wonder, like, do I really know what I'm doing? Am I doing this right? Who do I compare myself to? Is there anyone else out there who's been down this path who can tell me like, no, no, you've got it. That's actually, you know, you're doing well. And for so long in my career, almost the entire thing, that's been my situation. I've been either the CEO, in which case it's even more isolating, or I've been, you know, working in a company where there are no other senior marketing leaders. And so having a community of peers, especially since I also live in a place that is not like a tech mecca, I live in Annapolis, Maryland, not New York City or San Francisco. So for me, the ability to connect with other marketing leaders who I really respect and who I know have affected truly measurable outcomes and to share what I'm working on and have them say, yeah, that's right. You're doing it right. And those results are good and you're not crazy. That is just so reassuring, I think. And so that combination for me of like, let's put on that outer armor and then let's tap into the hive mind of community to remind ourselves that we're not alone and that, you know, we are doing things correctly. I think that those are— that's a very powerful combination.

Yeah, I love that. Thanks for sharing. I think it's so important for us to remind ourselves what brings us back into that energy just in everyday Everyday talk, you know, I mean, there's so many times where you forget as being myself, just a solopreneur, um, you know, there's sometimes I forget, you know, week over week it's slow or it's lonely and, uh, you know, you take a minute, you're like in your feels and you're all depressed and it's like, okay, wait a second. Like to your point, let me go back out. Let's talk to the people who support me. Let's remember all the things that we've done, you know, let's go do it again and like tap back into that mental side of things. I think that's really important, both, you know, reminding yourselves with something like physical, like for me, the hoops or red lipstick or a specific song for some guests. But I think that's really important is, you know, having people who have your back too. And I think that's important.

Absolutely.

So you started your career mostly with the agency, right? With your husband. I'm curious that we're going to get a little sassy here. What is something that you learned in your era of entrepreneurship that corporate could never teach you about revenue?

I mean, honestly, I think it's that revenue is incredibly emotional, right? Like if you, if your career from start to finish has been working in bigger companies, you're not owning the risk. You're not living the day-to-day, like, can I meet payroll? You know, I have these people responsible for me and it's also like very metrics-based, right? Like, KPIs, OKRs, all those great 3-letter acronyms that we measure ourselves by. But when you own your own business, and I mean, at our largest, I think I had 13 employees and I was responsible for those 13 employees' paychecks, their families counted on us. It is truly an emotional thing. And like, I was also the person that made all the main buying decisions for our company. You know, I was not only the one who had to pay the people, but I was the one who had to spend the money on vendors. And so every one of those decisions I made was a big trade-off. It wasn't just like, oh, you know, is this a nice to have? Is it worth it? It was like, hey, will buying this jeopardize my ability to make payroll this week? Or, you know, am I going to put myself in a position of risk because I'm spending this money? And I'll be honest, there were times in my journey as an entrepreneur, particularly earlier on when I probably made bad decisions about that. And then I did put myself in a really difficult position financially. And it was understanding the consequences of that, like, that, wow, it's not just me this impacts, it's all these people. I have this responsibility to my employees, to my lenders, to my investors that I need to make good on. That, you know, that really drove home how much revenue, not revenue and spending, is really very emotional for people. And so I think when you're a marketer, when you're a go-to-market leader and you're thinking about how to take a product to market, you do need to understand that, yes, there are— it's the logical and the lizard brain, right? Like you have to understand there's a logical side to selling something and you need to check all those boxes and answer all those questions and build that ROI case. But then there's the emotional side, and that's where I think as an entrepreneur, I really learned to embrace how powerful the emotional side is in getting a yes or a no out of somebody.

Yeah, I think that's super valuable. And just to play off of more of that emotional side of things, my favorite class in college was marketing psychology and learning about consumer behavior and really about how emotions affect the way that individuals buy. And between that class stuck with me, I did my research paper on Christian Louboutin with red bottom heels, for the record. Story for another day about the psychology behind why it was red and what red indicates as a color and blah, blah, blah. But between that and becoming a business owner with that same financial ties of, you know, whether I make it or don't, my family is on the line, to then transitioning that over to corporate, I feel like my impact becoming a business owner is a lot stronger with my clients because the fact that I've had to hold that bottom line financially and I understand the emotional side of things. So that's my mostly key learning from what you just said, because it matters even though it's corporate money, because it's still somebody's money. And I, I have experienced some folks that are like, oh, well, we're just going to spend it because it's not our money, or we can blow through it because, you know, we have investors. Um, and I have found that the more cautious you can be when doing your budgets and talking about where you're going to be spending and actually taking that into consideration helps balance both sides of the emotions as well as the financials when it comes to corporate even. Yeah, I resonate with what you said.

Yeah, that's so true.

Transitioning over to your job at, uh, SQL now, that's a huge congratulations because you're fairly new there. Um, I, I hope it's going well, but when we first did our podcast intro chat, you had mentioned that two major competitors were just acquired and that opens up a huge opportunity for you as head of marketing and for the company. So I'm curious to tap into your brain with this big opportunity. How are you going to decide on where you're going to place your biggest bets for 2026?

Yeah, it's a great question. So the webinar and virtual event space, which is where Sequel plays, has just gone through a massive consolidation. And I think it's fair to say that we are probably the last remaining real independent challenger brand in the space, which is such a great place to be as a marketer. I love nothing more than being the challenger. And it's a moment of opportunity, right? Our two competitors got acquired by Cvent, which is a huge legacy in-person conferences and events software platform. And I, you know, I'm sure it is a robust platform, but it is like, I don't know anyone who's ever been like raving and so excited about it because it's, it's clunky legacy tech, for lack of a better word. Others may argue with me about that. But having two competitors get subsumed under a company like that, the opportunity that I see is for us to go faster. I joined SQL after being a customer for 2 years, and I experienced firsthand how great the platform was. The only reason that I would go to a company like this and leave a wonderful place like Pavilion is that I so believe in the product. It's such a good product and it's so different than everything else on the market. And when I look at this consolidation that's happening, I think, you know, every time I've seen smaller companies get acquired by larger ones, their pace of innovation slows down because they're more focused on how are we going to integrate with this behemoth that we are now a part of. You know, they, they get more cautious in how they market because they're a part of a corporate structure now. So, you know, I'm like salivating when I think about all that. To me, the opportunity is I already think we have the best product. So, you know, you asked where we're going to place our biggest bets. We're doubling down on the product. We think we have the best product already and now we're just going to go faster. And I've been kind of loosely describing this to people as like, hey, I think we're going to be the Apple to, to see events, Microsoft, you know, and some people want a Microsoft, some people want the safety, the security, the lack of any risk, right? And they're willing to tolerate a clunkier platform, a higher price tag, etc. Most of the people I know in tech really love Apple. And that's because they're innovating, they make a phenomenal product. It's all about product quality and innovation and speed and edginess. And I think that to me, like, that's what I want to be a part of. So we're leaning in on the product where, I mean, we're doing something like one new tier one release every week. It's crazy. And we have some really, really exciting things happening. And so from a marketing standpoint, I'm investing in how do I really shine the spotlight on this product innovation? Like, how do we carry out really great product launches? How do we create enablement content for our customers so they know how to use them? How do we partner? A lot of these releases are integrations. And so how do we work deeply with these companies that we're integrating with to ensure we're, you know, sharing use cases and telling that story? So, you know, to me, it's not about copying what the competition is doing. In fact, like, I think they're probably going to copy us because I think we're going to we're going to be the most cutting edge. We— I already believe we are. Um, and so to me, the opportunity is keep that focus on product, take market share. I'll absolutely take market share while everyone else is consolidating and slowing down, and just like focus on what we know matters, which is solving for the customer.

Hmm, that's awesome. You're doing so much in just a short amount of time, and with that opportunity, I see nothing you know, but positive on your horizon.

Yeah, I mean, it's kind of a, it's an interesting moment because like we've always been different. I mean, we're the only webinar platform that was purpose-built to host webinars on your website, which is like, on the surface, it's sort of like, oh, that's cool. But what that really does is it unlocks all the data underneath that, all the data that happens on your site, we have visibility into. And so what we're really doing is building an incredible virtual events platform that also is a rich source of first-party intent data. And, you know, with what's happening with AI, the platforms that can surface unique data are the ones that are going to win. None of our competitors can do what we can do with data. So, I just think that's really exciting. And I think that's what's going to make us the category winner. And I think enable us to really redefine the category because everyone's always thought of event platforms as a place you have to go to, you know, like you, you go to a webinar on Zoom or on On24 or on these other platforms. And we're asking the question like, why, why would you do that? Why would you send all that good traffic someplace else when you could bring it to your own website and gain access to all the data? It's kind of crazy that it hasn't been done before, but I'm, I love that we're the ones doing it.

Yeah, I didn't know it was that technical from a first party and integrating with the website. Like my marketing brain right now is nerding out because my whole mantra is twofold. One, exactly what you just said about different domains, about breaking that traffic. One, reporting to buyer journeys, like being able to track that. But then two, first-party intent. For me, that has been my winning playbook for probably the last two years, is finding a way to leverage that, capitalize and pounce on it. And so to your point, like now we're able to do this from a webinar standpoint, event standpoint, like I feel like the whole game just changes as a marketer.

100%. I mean, I think most people running webinars are— have no idea the game that they're playing. They're, they're so focused on who registered and who attended. And then let's like print out a list of the people that came and send them an email. When, you know, when, when in our case, because we're on your site and we have access to that data, we can tell you all that. But we can also say like, how did they answer the question in the poll? What was the speaker saying in the moment when they clicked the heart emoji to react. Like that information is so much deeper and richer than did they attend, you know, and, and it gives you all that context that you really need in order to effectively follow up and understand like, is this somebody really interested in buying or are they just, you know, window shopping, et cetera. So yeah, I could nerd out on it for hours too, but that's not what we came here to talk about.

So I was going to say, are you, are you sure that you're in the right role as head of marketing? Like, I think you need to be over on sales because you're, you're getting me.

I love the platform. I mean, like I said, I bought it, so I was sold.

Totally. I love it. I love it. So clearly you're doing a lot. You have this passion. You're going to be doing some big things on the horizon. You also have a family at home. How do you go about balancing it all? Is that even possible between marrying, work, and family?

Oh gosh, it's such a good question and something I'm pretty passionate about because when I first started my business, my— I was pregnant with my son and I have 3 stepchildren who are older and then one of my own. So I had 4 kids in the house when I was just beginning my entrepreneurship journey. And I, I don't really believe in the concept of balance. I don't— I just think it sets like an unrealistic expectation for us. I actually believe in 2 things. One is this Japanese concept of ikigai. Which, if I remember correctly, it's like what you're good at, what the world needs, what somebody is willing to pay you for. And when all those circles intersect, that's where you have ikigai, which is like a joy in your work. And I am very lucky that I really love marketing. I love my work. I say, and I used to say it kind of in an embarrassed way, but now I— it doesn't bother me that like work is my hobby. I really love work. And I'm lucky, so it doesn't feel like I'm not in a position where I feel like, ugh, I have to work and it's taking away from my life. That being said, I also am a believer in like seasons of life. And there's a concept called the four burners. And I don't remember all the four burners, but it's something like work, family, friendships, and I don't remember what the fourth one is. Love, maybe. And the idea is like you can't fire all 4 burners fully at once. It's like not possible. And so it's okay. You give yourself the grace to be like, that's okay, I'm gonna fire this burner for a little while, knowing that like over the course of my life, all of the burners needed to have fired. And that's how you get to that balance. It's not— balance isn't a state that happens in one moment in time. It's something that unfolds over a lifetime. And so I guess I, I should amend what I said earlier. I do believe in balance, but I believe in it over the course of a lifetime. And so for me, I'm loving work. Um, I also have seen, you know, since I've been working since my kids were little, um, my kids saw me work. And today, now that a lot of them are older, like my youngest is 19, last week I had the 19-year-old on the phone asking me for resume and cover letter advice. I had the 26-year-old calling me for advice on an interview for a new job. Like, you know, my kids know that I've worked hard. I think they respect me as a professional. Um, and it's just, it's introduced a different dimension into our relationship that I'm very grateful for.

Yeah, I love that. And still being able to have a good relationship with your kids at that age.

Yeah.

For me, that's a goal is being able to actually like a teenager. I have, she's almost 5 now.

There are moments when it's difficult, but yeah, it goes back to the concept of seasons. There are seasons when you probably don't like each other very much, but it all comes full circle, you know, and your topic of seasons is a very relevant and consistent one with guests on the show.

I think almost, if not every single person mentions seasons in some way, shape, or form about the seasons of life and just learning to roll with the season that you're in, do it well, and then next season, you know, very similar to what you were doing is like switching from the burners. Um, so I think that's a very relevant topic and just goes to show that us in the trenches right now, we're in a particular season. And, you know, there's another season that will be good for us when we're out of the young kids, toddler seasons and on the outside of being able to be a mentor to, you know, college-age, adult-age children and still having that relationship. So that gives me some hope, at least.

Yeah.

I have one more question for you for today. And if you were to sit across from yourself with a version of yourself from 10 years ago, you're sitting at a coffee shop talking to yourself, what advice would you give her that would inspire the next generation?

You know, it's, it's such a tough question because part of it is like, what was I doing 10 years ago, right? And 10 years ago was right before I sold my agency, and that was an agonizing decision because we had that business for 11 years. My husband was my business partner. Um, it was like our 5th child. And that was right around when we were thinking about exiting and doing something different. And it was a really, really hard decision. And I think I would just say like to myself and to anyone else that there are going to come moments in your life when you are presented with the opportunity to, to make a, what seems at the time like a really scary change. And I think what I've learned is that at any time I've been in that situation, the outcome has been beyond my wildest dreams, right? Like when I've taken the leap and done the thing that scares me the most, I've grown so much. And I think fear in a situation like that is, is healthy, but it's also a sign that if something's worth doing, it's gonna scare you a little, right? Like if you, if it's not frightening, you might not be stretching yourself. And so, I just think you have to like look at the fear and, and believe, like it goes back to your thing of like, how do you get the confidence? You have to believe I have it in me to be successful and I'm going to succeed in this next chapter. And it is worth taking the risk. It is worth stepping into the unknown and doing something scary because that is how I'm going to grow. And that's absolutely what happened. I mean, the last 10 years have been amazing for me. I'm so happy I made the change and that we sold the agency and I've changed roles, and the opportunities that have come out of it have been unbelievable, beyond anything I could have imagined. So take the leap is my advice.

You're a powerhouse. That's so inspiring. Thank you so much for joining the show, Kathleen.

Thanks for having me. This has been so much fun.

That's it for today's episode. If you like what you heard, give it a 5-star rating and share it with a friend. This is Her Path to Revenue. Until next week, put your hoops on, make it count.