A competitive swimmer for 12 years and now a marathon runner, Amielle Lake’s drive has propelled her startup, Tagga Media Inc., to grow 800% in 2010.
“I have a hard time hearing no,” she said. “I don’t give up very easily.”
Lake left a corporate communications role in the mining industry to launch software company Tagga in 2008. Tagga has created a platform that leverages mobile marketing technologies to drive companies’ success.
Why the focus on mobile?
“All you have to do is look around; we’re all completely connected to our phones,” Lake said.
Under Lake’s leadership, Tagga has grown to a staff of 14 with offices in Vancouver, Chicago, New York and Toronto. Key to that growth, Lake said, has been finding the right talent to take the company forward.
“The most important thing is hiring a kick-ass team and building a company with people far brighter and more experienced and better than you are,” she said.
Lake said the company has proven its business model is now in a position to start scaling its operations.
“It’s that really exciting growth stage,” she said. “So [the focus is] getting customers, wowing them, shortening the time before they buy again and expanding how you sell to them through channels so it’s expedited.”
Lake said while the pace of the entrepreneurial life has been break-neck thus far, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Would I do it again? Over and over and over again.” •
