"Be ready for the most difficult and most rewarding thing you’ve ever done" with Angela Leavitt

Photo credit: Mark Thorsen

With nearly 20 years of sales and marketing experience, Angela Leavitt founded Mojenta (formerly Mojo Marketing) in 2010 - the first and only full-service marketing agency with an exclusive focus on the telecom, IT and cloud services industries. Since then, she has worked with 200+ companies including Comcast, BullsEye, Spectrum, MicroCorp, Intelisys and Time Warner Cable, as well as numerous VARs, MSPs and traditional telecom agents. In July 2018 and 2020, Mojenta was named to the Top 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in San Diego. An accomplished speaker, Leavitt has been a regular presenter at ITExpo, COMPTEL, Channel Partners, Cloud Partners and Women in the Channel events. In 2021, she was a finalist for the San Diego Business Journal’s Business Woman of the Year award.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

After graduating college with a B.A. in Spanish Translation & Linguistics, I spent my early career in a variety of sales and marketing positions. In 2007, I landed the director of marketing position at Telesphere (now part of Vonage Business). While there, the company grew from $4M to $25M in a 3-year timespan, and that helped to establish me as a go-to person for B2B telecom marketing. 

In 2010, I left Telesphere to go out on my own, thinking I would freelance for a while and potentially land at another company. But as fate would have it, that freelance gig grew and has turned into a full-service marketing agency with 25+ staff and 300+ clients over our 11 years in business.

What inspired you to start your business?

It hadn’t really occurred to me until people started reaching out to me asking for marketing help. They had seen Telesphere’s success and wanted guidance with their marketing strategies.

At the same time, my work schedule had become very intense. I was traveling frequently and consistently working until 10 pm, so the idea of more time and control was appealing (oh how naive I was!).

Lastly, I had worked with various agencies during my tenure at Telesphere and experienced some issues that I thought could be easily remedied with the right approach.

All of these things came to a head at the same time, so I decided to take the leap. I didn’t expect it to go beyond me acting as a freelancer, but I’m so grateful that it has 

Sometimes I feel like I’ve ‘cheated’ since I didn’t really set out to start a business. I’ve adopted the philosophy that when a door opens, I’ll walk through it, and that has served me well so far. 

Where is your business based?

San Diego, CA but we have staff throughout the USA.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

I had a few clients lined up before I left my full-time job, and I had saved up about one year’s worth of expenses as a cushion. I was living in Arizona at the time, so the cost of living was relatively low. 

From there I created a website and started publishing content with one of our industry’s top media outlets. One of those posts landed a very large client, which led to many more clients in a short period of time. Within six months, I had more work than I could handle and began outsourcing to contractors. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Early on, I applied to speak at a few of our niche industry conferences and was selected to present breakout sessions and participate in panels. That really helped to put me and Mojenta on the map and establish our expertise in the industry. In fact, many of our new clients have come from audience members at the conferences. 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

In 2019, we experienced some classic growing pains. Our sales really took off and we kept onboarding clients without enough infrastructure in place. That led to employee burnout, lower quality output, and customer and employee churn. By the end of the year, I brought on an operations leader to build our processes and ensure we never face that challenge again.  

The last two years have been almost entirely focused on building out that infrastructure and the differences in how we operate are night and day. We’re now ready to throw fuel on the growth fire, and have much better systems in place to handle it.

How do you stay focused?

Focus may be one of my biggest challenges since I’m an ‘idea person’ and love to get lost in daydreams and new possibilities. I know this, and my team knows this, so I surround myself with people who can pull me back down to reality once in a while. 

I’ve also come to accept that I tend to have big bursts of focus and productivity followed by needing some downtime, so I take full advantage of those bursts when they occur.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

While most marketing agencies focus on a geographic region, our biggest differentiator is our niche market focus. We only work with clients in the B2B tech industry, especially telecom, IT, and cloud. 

That focus translates into a much shorter learning curve when we onboard a client since we already know the industry’s terminology, structure, and best practices. With 11+ years focusing on this industry, we’ve built a track record of success, and that’s very attractive to potential clients. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Building a reputable brand with a solid reputation is the best thing we’ve done for ourselves. When you do good work, word spreads quickly, you get referrals, and clients take you with them when they change jobs. Many companies downplay the importance of their brand’s reputation, but it really is the foundation of all successful marketing. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Be ready for the most difficult and most rewarding thing you’ve ever done! It’s a roller coaster for sure - some days you’re on cloud nine and others you’re daydreaming of going back to a ‘stable job.’  

That’s why I think the most important quality to develop is tenacity. I’m no more intelligent or talented than the next person -  I just won’t give up - and that alone has saved the company a few times. 

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

App: Reddit. It satisfies my never-ending curiosity on a variety of topics, and believe it or not, I’ve gained some valuable insights that I’ve implemented into my business and life. I certainly can get lost in Reddit so I definitely have to watch my time. 

Blog: HubSpot. They cover every topic a business could want to know from a growth perspective. The best part is they don’t just tell you what to do, they show you how to do it.

Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman. This book has changed the entire way we operate the business and has given us a solid framework that will allow us to scale effectively. Many business owners I know are huge fans of Traction and the Entrepreneurial Operating System it promotes. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Since I already mentioned HubSpot, I’ll go with Asana. We switched to it two years ago as our project management software and practically our entire business run through it. It’s given us excellent visibility into workloads, productivity, and other important data that allow us to make better decisions. 

Who is your business role model? Why?

Melanie Perkins, founder, and CEO of the design app Canva. First off, I love her app and use it frequently, but more importantly, I love that she’s a young woman who shook up an industry with something truly innovative. 

How do you balance work and life?

I have two hobbies I spend a lot of time with, and my commitments to those activities ensure I maintain some balance! I sing and play guitar gigs a few times each month, and I also dance on a salsa performance team. When I’m dancing or playing music, I have to focus on those things entirely, which gives my brain a nice break from work. They also both provide additional creative and social outlets, which I find very energizing. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Growing up, I spent my summers at a forested lake cabin in British Colombia, Canada, so I find spending time in nature - especially forests - to be a great way to unwind. 

I’m also a big fan of yin yoga, which is very gentle and frequently paired with meditation. Yoga with Adriene on YouTube is my go-to! 

What do you have planned for the next six months?

With a larger staff handling more of the day-to-day, I’ll be focusing on more ‘front of stage’ activities. I’m looking forward to writing more, speaking more, and in general, sharing more of my expertise. I have strong ‘teacher genes’ and find sharing knowledge to be incredibly rewarding. I’ll even be dipping my toes into LinkedIn Live, which I’m really excited about.

How can our readers connect with you?

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelaleavitt/. 

Email: angela@mojenta.com

Instagram: @angelakleavitt