Indie AUA: Molly in the Hot Seat

In this Ask Me Anything style conversation, host Molly Baker answers live, unscripted questions from Indie team members on leadership, growth, and the realities of building a business over time. Drawing from real world experience and hard earned lessons, the discussion explores mentorship, decision making, AI, and shifting marketing priorities. The episode focuses on thoughtful growth, sustainable leadership, and staying aligned while navigating an ever changing professional landscape.

TM (Team Member): What is your best productivity habit?
MB (Molly Baker): I keep my inbox at zero by the end of the day and usually start the day the same way. I email myself tasks and use my inbox as a working checklist, then organize items so nothing gets missed.

TM: What is the best advice you have received?
MB: Weaknesses can be strengths if you reframe them. My anxiety can be a driver. Also, the best thing you can give a team is psychological safety.

TM: What marketing tactic do you hope goes away in 2026?
MB: The constant volume of content required to feed social platforms. I hope content can have a longer lifespan.

TM: What inspired you to start your own company?
MB: I have always wanted to build a business. I ran small businesses as a kid and learned the fundamentals early. I thought I would invent a product, but I kept getting pulled back toward services. I wanted to build a services business that makes client services a high quality, positive experience.

TM: What was your first big lesson as a founder?
MB: The basics take real work. Building processes like invoicing, onboarding, and taxes is hard, especially while billing full time. I made mistakes early and learned through trial and error.

TM: What do CPG founders overestimate and underestimate when building a brand?
MB: They overestimate the need for the perfect brand look, feel, and packaging at the start. They underestimate consumer feedback and how much cost, capital, and hustle it takes to produce and distribute a product.

TM: How is retail digitization changing CPG, and how should brands think about retail media?
MB: Retailers have a lot of power and are building media networks. Consumers keep shopping online more. Brands need to partner with retailers thoughtfully while still creating strong shopper experiences. DTC alone is not realistic at scale.

TM: How do you see HiFi photo and video changing with AI?
MB: AI will support editing and iteration, but strong foundational assets will still matter. Great creative and production quality remain essential, and AI can help extend lifespan and create variations.

TM: There is a trend toward analog and in person activation. How does indie fit into that?
MB: We want more physical touchpoints with our community and will keep doing events. We are not turning events into a core offering, but our services can support in person work, especially through influencer and content creation that connects to real world experiences.

TM: What founder inspires you?
MB: The Skinny Confidential founders. They share openly about what works and what fails, and they have built across media and product while raising a family.

TM: What decision felt risky but became pivotal for indie’s success?
MB: Publicly rolling out our fractional resourcing offering. We had done it quietly, but after a flat year in 2023 we needed momentum. Many mentors advised against it. I moved forward anyway. It has been a major success, and we are careful about positioning so we do not become a staffing agency.

TM: What is the most urgent opportunity for AI to positively impact marketing?
MB: Reducing manual work such as content calendaring, social copywriting, reporting, analysis, and insight writing. AI is useful as a thought partner, but not a replacement for strong strategy or high quality creative.

TM: What is your biggest concern about AI?
MB: Overreliance. Some people assume AI can replace experts for strategy and planning. The risk is skipping real expertise.

TM: Where do you see indie in five years?
MB: Doing what we do today at a bigger scale, with broader and more optimized services. I want stronger capabilities in measurement, analytics, and attribution as marketing swings back toward performance and measurable impact. I also want continued team growth and great client partnerships.

TM: How has becoming a mom changed how you lead?
MB: It has made me more intentional. My priorities shifted, and I focus less on being busy and more on what matters. Building a company has required constant self reflection and accountability, and that carries into parenting too.

TM: What was maternity leave like as a founder?
MB: It was scary to step away because the business is part of your daily identity. It took time to reset mentally. I felt grateful for the time, and I was lucky the team could step up while I was out.

TM: What has being a founder taught you about confidence and vulnerability?
MB: Confidence sometimes means acting certain even when you are not. Vulnerability is owning when things do not go as planned and normalizing mistakes. Experience builds confidence over time.

TM: What CPG brands do you admire, and who is your dream client?
MB: Ithaca Hummus and Graza. Ithaca used lo fi social early and it worked. Graza modernized the category with smart branding and clear usage occasions. My dream client is La Colombe Coffee.

TM: What is surprising about being a founder and CEO?
MB: A lot of the work is unglamorous. Policies, handbooks, and operational tasks are unavoidable. You never fully escape the unfun parts.

TM: What resources have shaped your leadership?
MB: Books, podcasts, and mentors. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team has been helpful. Mentors have been the most valuable, and different mentors have supported different phases.

TM: What advice do you have for someone looking for a mentor?
MB: You have to seek it out. Be clear on what you need, ask specific questions, and be prepared for rejection. Send questions or a pre read even if they do not ask. Make the time productive.

TM: What advice would you give college students trying to get into marketing?
MB: Take any marketing job or internship. Build skills in the less glamorous areas first. That experience is more valuable long term than chasing only the fun work.

TM: What 2016 trend would you want to see come back?
MB: People having fun and not taking everything so seriously.

TM: What is your masogi this year?
MB: Running the Tokyo Marathon six months postpartum. It will be my 11th marathon, but returning after having a baby has been a major mental and physical challenge.

TM: What is a masogi?
MB: A commitment to do one thing each year that you are not sure you can accomplish, usually a physical challenge, to push you outside your comfort zone.

TM: What are some past masogi you have done?
MB: A relay race from LA to Las Vegas through Death Valley where I ran 60 miles with little sleep, a half Ironman, and an unmedicated birth, which was the hardest challenge.

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