Catherine Connelly

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Contingent workers, a group which includes gig workers, contract workers, and temporary foreign workers, are a growing segment of Canada's workforce. This trend shows no signs of slowing, and as a result there is an increasing need to protect those workers, who are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Today's guest, Dr. Catherine Connelly, tells us about the current state of contingent work in Canada, and suggests some ways we can ensure the safety and security of Canadian contingent workers going forward. Dr. Connelly's 2023 book 'Enduring Work: Experiences with Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program': https://www.amazon.ca/Enduring-Work-Experiences-Canadas-Temporary/dp/0228016681 McMaster Organizational Behaviour Laboratory: https://mobl.ca/ Dr. Connelly's McMaster bio: https://mcrew.ca/member/catherine-connelly-2/ Stompin' Tom's 'Tillsonburg': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YouShACK-H4

In this episode of the Career Slay Podcast, host Kelly Poquiz Burke interviews Catherine Connolly, an award-winning entrepreneur and best-selling author. They discuss Catherine's journey from a young entrepreneur and cofounder alongside her brothers to leading a successful tech company, the challenges she faced scaling her company, The Meet Group, into a $500 million dollar company, and her insights on redefining success. Catherine emphasizes the importance of connections, purpose, and resilience in achieving a fulfilling career. She also shares her experiences in writing her book Designing Success , which offers practical tools for managing burnout and creating a supportive work environment. Download a free digital copy of her book at: http://cconnelly.me/careerslay Enjoying the show? Please consider subscribing, leaving a rating, and sharing to help us #slaythefearincareer. And if you're looking for one-on-one career coaching, connect with Kelly : Website: careerslay.com LinkedIn: Kelly Poquiz Burke Instagram: @careerslay

How product managers can build an environment for breakthrough innovation Watch on YouTube TLDR In my conversation with Catherine Connelly, a 20-year tech entrepreneur who co-founded MyYearbook at 15 and grew it into The Meet Group (a $500 million exit), we explored how to build environments where breakthrough product innovation happens consistently. Catherine emphasized that innovation culture starts with founders but can be cultivated by anyone willing to embrace failure, iterate quickly, and keep customers at the center of all decisions. The key is creating psychological safety, celebrating learning from failures, and making risk-free experimentation possible. Key Topics Building psychological safety that enables risk-taking Structuring product results meetings that celebrate learning from failures Creating systems that make experimentation truly risk-free Implementing a “kill fast” mindset for unsuccessful products and features Using customer stories to drive meaningful innovation Balancing operational execution with innovation initiatives Leveraging storytelling to gain support for innovation efforts Introduction Ever wondered why some teams consistently create breakthrough products while others are barely keeping up on maintenance work? Today, we’re tackling how to build environments where product innovation actually happens! Every product leader has watched promising ideas die because of organizational roadblocks, excessive caution, or flawed decision processes. You know firsthand that brilliant concepts mean nothing without the right conditions to develop them. From this episode, you’ll walk away with methods to immediately transform how your team innovates. Our guest, Catherine Connelly, is a 20-year female tech entrepreneur. She co-founded MyYearbook at 15 years of age and grew it into The Meet Group, a social dating company, later achieving exits totaling $600 million. Her recent book Designing Success: Lessons from 20 Years as a Female Tech Entrepreneur captures two decades of creating environments where breakthrough innovations thrive despite constant market shifts. Building a Foundation for Innovation Culture Catherine explained that innovation culture starts with the founding team and how they approach work from the very beginning. At MyYearbook, the foundation for innovation began with a sibling dynamic between Catherine and her brothers that created natural psychological safety. Working with her brothers meant they were used to bouncing ideas off each other without fear of judgment. This family dynamic established an environment where team members could pitch ideas without worrying about negative consequences if those ideas didn’t succeed. The understanding that a person’s worth isn’t tied to the success of their last idea became a cornerstone of their innovation approach. For product managers looking to foster innovation, the culture supporting innovat

We discussed a few things including: 1. Their career journeys 2. The Meet Group 3. Noom 4. New book Designing Success and female entrepreneurship 5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re health, wellness and tech Geoff is the CEO of Noom. He is also a serial entrepreneur and long-time public company CEO. He co-founded The Meet Group, a NASDAQ-listed social dating and live-streaming company connecting millions of active users globally. Geoff served as The Meet Group’s CEO from 2013 to 2023, leading it through its sale for $500 million in 2020. Geoff grew a live-streaming video & creator economy revenue stream from $0 to in excess of $200 million annualized. Post-acquisition, Geoff also served as co-CEO of the parent company ParshipMeet Group, which includes a portfolio of dating apps including eharmony, MeetMe, Tagged, Lovoo, Skout, Growlr, among others. Under Geoff’s leadership, The Meet Group was early to social networking, mobile apps, live-streaming video, and creator economy. A driving force of industry consolidation, Geoff acquired 4 companies and was acquired twice. With smart viral marketing, Geoff grew MeetMe from nothing to millions of active users. With product and strategic vision, he acquired and turned Tagged into a live-streaming video leader. With Livebox, he created a successful enterprise Creator Economy service powering some of the top-grossing social apps in the US. Leveraging product and technology to transform the user experience, Geoff successfully transitioned The Meet Group from an advertising model to a fast-growing live-streaming video & creator-economy solution, ultimately attracting tens of thousands of Creators and powering some of the largest social apps in the world. Under Geoff’s leadership, the video Platform-as-a-Service enterprise product that he conceived of — Livebox — launched and grew to power 6 of the top 50 social apps in the US by revenue. Geoff is an expert in building culture across disparate teams. As CEO of The Meet Group, he acquired and integrated 4 companies: Tagged, LOVOO, Skout, and Growlr, into one cohesive culture. While building culture, Geoff also drove efficiency, realizing major cost synergies while growing top-line revenue at every acquisition target, through a combination of off-shoring and building a single shared services platform to power multiple apps. Geoff is the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner for the Philadelphia Region. Geoff graduated from Harvard University in 2000 with a BA in Economics. ------ Catherine Connelly is an entrepreneur, engaging speaker, and author of Designing Success: Lessons from 20 Years as a Female Tech Entrepreneur. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DM9C9CC4 Catherine co-founded The Meet Group, a NASDAQ-listed social dating and livestreaming company connecting millions of active users globally. The Meet Group was acquired in a $500 million sale in 2020. Catherine’s nearly two decades of entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding myYearbook at fifteen, creating what would eventually become The Meet Group, and leading brand strategy and marketing for The Meet Group through a series of mergers, acquisitions, and rebrands. Catherine graduated from Georgetown University and holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner for the Philadelphia Region in 2011. Catherine has been featured on CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, MTV, ABC News, Fox News, CosmoGIRL, BusinessWeek, the San Francisco Chronicle, and CBS. Catherine writes the newsletter Growing Up Startup, sharing lessons inspired by her entrepreneurial journey. Subscribe and learn more about Catherine's free office hours at: cconnelly.me. #podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

This week on The Podgecast, we’re thrilled to welcome Catherine Connolly—an entrepreneur, marketing leader, and author of the inspiring book Designing Success. 🚀 Best known as the co-founder of The Meet Group, a NASDAQ-listed company acquired for $500 million, Catherine’s entrepreneurial journey started at just 15 with myYearbook, driven by her passion for connection and innovation. In this episode, Catherine shares her insights on designing a life of purpose and balance, redefining success, and the power of values, boundaries, and authenticity. She’s not just a business leader but a storyteller and mentor who inspires others to dream boldly and lead with intention. 🎧 Tune in now to hear her incredible story and actionable tips for success! #PodcastEpisode #DesigningSuccess #Entrepreneurship #SelfGrowth #WomenInBusiness #ThePodgecast

#12: Today we sit down with Catherine Connelly who cofounded myYearbook at 15 and grew it to become The Meet Group, a NASDAQ-listed dating and livestreaming company. Catherine talks about launching her startup in high school and the challenges of entering the public sector at such a young age. She speaks to the many evolutions of myYearbook leading up to a $500 million sale in 2020, and how ‘people’ always remained core to her company’s success. We also cover themes from her new book including how kindness has a way of ‘coming back around’ and how accessibility for one group doesn’t mean sacrifice for another. If you’re interested in designing a life you actually want, give this episode a listen and be sure pick up Designing Success: Lessons from 20 Years as a Female Tech Entrepreneur. To get in touch with the show click HERE To get in touch with Catherine click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

Starting her first company at age 15, Catherine Connelly is all about meeting new people. As the SVP of Marketing for The Meet Group , the top provider of live streaming video and creator economy solutions for a number of the world's top social apps, Catherine relies heavily on that connection to her users for audience engagement and growth. In this episode, Alan and Catherine discuss her extraordinary career path, iOS changes, The Meet Group's differentiating model for monetization, and the importance of storytelling. In this episode, you'll learn: How to update your tactics for performance marketing The future of social media monetization The importance of PR and storytelling Key Highlights [0:42] First business at age 15 with her two brothers [04:25] Catherine's career path [12:24] Having a place to connect with others [15:48] Knowing where your users are; how to update your tactics [17:04] How iOS changes affect acquisition efforts [19:39] Monetization of The Meet Group [23:57] Catherine's role at The Meet Group [27:45] Best tactics for performance marketing [31:38] App Store optimization [37:31] PR, storytelling, and making viral or sharable moments [42:49] A moment that defines who Catherine is today [44:59] Catherine's advice for her younger self [47:22] What marketers need to learn more about: macro trends and think scrappy [49:54] The companies and causes Catherine follows: Oasis Consortium [52:40] The biggest opportunity for marketers today: Apple really makes things up Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.