Lauren Bickerstaff Talks Fierce, Family Love and Healthy, Career Ambition
Written by Meg Seitz · Photography by Julia Fay
Lauren Bickerstaff is fierce. Like, the very best kind of fierce. Bright, bold, smart, warm, strong. (Ya know, the fierce we need more of in this world.)
As Marketing Manager for the recently-formed Experiences division of Condé Nast, Bickerstaff works on a small team out of Charlotte as an integral member of a team responsible for critical, marketing action items; things like monitoring social media, creating fresh content ideas, and keeping an eye on trending events and happenings {Continued below}
But, there’s something different about what Bickerstaff does as it compares to other marketing managements positions. She’s also responsible for keeping a pulse on event-tech happenings – or tech platforms or applications built to manage and support planning and execution of top-notch, luxury events.
Here’s how that happened: In September 2016, Bickerstaff joined Ribyt, a start-up, event tech platform that was, for lack of better terminology, really good at what they did. They were based out of New York City. Bickerstaff was working for the platform from Charlotte. Then, Condé Nast bought that platform. Bickerstaff continues to work with and for the platform – just now under the Condé Nast brand.
“We’re constantly developing new features of our platform and coming up with ideas as to how to market it,” she noted. “But the game has changed now that we have access to the Condé Nast publications and brands and experiences – events like the Met Gala.”
“I’m ambitious, I care about my work, I want to do well,” she noted. “But it’s sometimes a slippery slope to put so much of your worth in your job. Becoming a mother has been a good refresher for me. Jobs change. Companies change. But my family will always be my family. They’re my constant.”
As this acquisition wraps up, the team is still in transition; Bickerstaff is one of two who continue to work for the brand from Charlotte; as expected, the rest of the team is out of NYC. Bickerstaff and team are currently looking at what the next year looks like and what makes the most sense when it comes to how focus on the Condé Nast portfolio.
This role speaks well to Bickerstaff’s professional experience. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Bickerstaff moved to Charlotte during high school before then attending the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to study journalism. She returned to Charlotte after graduation and worked in brand positioning and copywriting for the traditional agencies in town.
However, it was her freelance work in content strategy with Queen City Forward that initially introduced her to Hygge.
“I liked the people; I liked the atmosphere at Hygge,” she noted. “I met Garrett, and I really liked how laid back he was and, in turn, how comfortable the space was.”
Then, when a former co-worker approached her about joining the Ribyt team, she trusted his take on the start-up. She took a leap, and she joined the team. They just needed a place to work from.
“We were actually initially working from another space, but wanted to find something else. So, then when it came to finding a new space for me and my co-worker, I remembered Hygge,” she noted. “And it just so happened that they had opened the Remount Road location.”
“It’s tough to be at home working by yourself, and I knew I wanted to establish a repertoire with like-minded people who were also looking for not only company, but also inspiration.”
Now Bickerstaff and her co-worker in Ribyt (now under the Condé Nast brand umbrella) spend the majority of their time working from Hygge at Remount Road.
It was a decision that Bickerstaff knew she would need. An extrovert who worked from home for a long time, she craved working around people.
“I love having coworkers without having co-workers,” she shared. “It’s tough to be at home working by yourself, and I knew I wanted to establish a repertoire with like-minded people who were also looking for not only company, but also inspiration.”
Hygge has provided that. The community’s roll-with-it vibe and her coworkers’ fluid, flexible schedules brings an unexpected charm and joy. “We are all genuinely happy to see each other when we see each other, she said. “It’s like a mini-celebration every time.”
Serving as a fierce advocate for how she works best is something that Bickerstaff knew she needed not only as an ambitious, driven professional, but also as a full-time working mother.
Bickerstaff and husband, Josh, who have been married for seven years, are parents to 18-month-old Celia. And they are expecting their second child this August.
“I’m ambitious, I care about my work, I want to do well,” she noted. “But it’s sometimes a slippery slope to put so much of your worth in your job. Becoming a mother has been a good refresher for me. Jobs change. Companies change. But my family will always be my family. They’re my constant.”
Hygge’s community has also served as a strong support system for Bickerstaff as a mother.
“I am still a fairly new mom, and I find myself continually inspired by the other parents at Hygge in the way they can balance a fierce love of their kids and also a healthy ambition for their careers and interests,” she noted. “It shows me that there is no one way to do it well, which is so refreshing and encouraging.”
Lauren, thanks for showing us what it means to a fierce, strong, loving, and ambitious; they are not separate character traits, but those that strengthen and empower each other.
Happy Mother’s Day, friend. (Insert mini-celebration here.)
Meet the Author: Meg Seitz is the Founder and Managing Creative Partner of toth shop, an agency with one goal: Elevate your brand’s content through powerful writing, creativity, and strategy. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor with Queens University and Founding Partner of the children’s book series, “Bea is for Business”.
She’s an English major with an MBA, so she can talk Homer’s “The Odyssey” just as well as she can talk sunk costs – though she’d much prefer the former.
Meet the photographer: Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Julia. I’m my happiest self when my camera is in hand and I’m taking in this big beautiful world around me! People are my jam and the fact that this job brings so many wonderful people into my life is pretty special.
I grew up performing mostly in front of the camera! Singing, acting, comedy improv – anything on a stage or in front of a lens. The roles began to switch as I entered my freshman year of college and found a creative outlet through photography. My first “real” shoot was when an engaged friend of mine asked me to photograph her and her fiancé. Within moments of getting started, I knew that this was it. Telling peoples love stories, that is what I’m supposed to do! I shot my first wedding at nineteen, and well you know what they say..the rest is history! We’ve been together ever since 🙂
