COVID disrupted the world collectively, and now that much of our lives are returning to normal, many will return to the safe and predictable ways of life. On the flip side, a handful of others will ride the wave of chaos that COVID created and turn that frenetic energy into deliberate action, disrupting their sectors to create meaningful change and dynamic growth.
Here are the accounts of five industry leaders who are disrupting their sectors in 2021.
Tara Levy
1. Tara Levy is the founder of TL Projects, a sustainability and social impact consultancy focused on the luxury and fashion industries.
What she’s doing in 2021 to disrupt her industry: In an effort to drive much-needed diversity in the luxury space, we are consulting for the Natural Diamond Council and Lorraine Schwartz on the Emerging Designers Diamond Initiative to provide opportunities, remove barriers to entry, and offer access to industry education and resources to Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) jewelry designers. In addition to this important work, we are also helping our industry become more sustainable. For example, we’re working with a fashion start-up to help them reduce water in their supply chain, and communicate this to potential customers and stakeholders. All of these are win/win approaches to business that we hope to see more of in our industry.
Lindsey Corbin
2. Lindsey Corbin is the founder and managing partner at delegate.legal, an IP legal services firm providing paralegal, docketing, virtual assistance, marketing, and strategy services to law firms and in-house counsel.
What she’s doing in 2021 to disrupt her industry: The legal industry is very hierarchical and set in its ways, which often leads attorneys to start their own practice and flex their entrepreneurial muscles. We’re one of the few firms providing an a la carte service for attorneys wanting as much or as little support as needed and without having any concerns about employee overhead. This type of scalable legal talent is unheard of since most paralegals in the IP space are well-compensated and traditionally spend entire careers in big law firms or corporations.
Rachele Haber-Thomson
3. Rachele Haber-Thomson is the cofounder of Blue Dot, a resource for thoughtful company swag that positively impacts people and the planet.
What she’s doing in 2021 to disrupt her industry: 77% of people toss company swag in the garbage bin or the back of the closet. We’re helping companies eliminate tons of waste and build true brand loyalty by only offering products that have been vetted for their impact, both environmental and social. We also provide our clients with impact reports so that they can measure and share the story behind their gifts, including unique calls to action so that marketers and HR folks can measure the impact of their swag campaign. We’re also offering selection and opt-out solutions so that people can either choose the products they want, or opt-out all together, empowering the end-recipient to decide what they truly want.
Therese Gedda
4. Therese Gedda is the founder and CEO of Reimaginez, an award-winning company that specializes in designing, redesigning, and scaling thriving company cultures.
What she’s doing in 2021 to disrupt her industry: We are challenging the traditional profit-only business structure, while championing thriving people and purpose-centric company cultures. As a result, we’re seeing our work impact everything from productivity, engagement, and customer loyalty, to talent retention, speed of innovation, growth, and, of course, profitability. Particularly post-COVID, the human side of the Future of Work is increasing the importance of workplace flexibility, achievement, and sense of belonging. By building a thriving culture, we’re helping businesses have a significant competitive advantage.
Rosie Kosinski
5. Rosie Kosinski is the Brand Queen and creative director at Shattered Pencil Studios, a marketing and brand design firm.
What she’s doing in 2021 to disrupt her industry: Being purposefully contrary--the anti-marketers in a marketing industry—has served us very well post-COVID. We are encouraging skepticism, and celebrating simple solutions. And despite all of the technology and data available to marketers today, we aren’t pushing our clients to use customer SMS messaging, click-baits and trends. Instead, we’re investing time into learning about the real people our clients serve and fostering the core values that fuel the business. It’s not trendy, but it produces big results for clients during a time when customers are seeking deeper brand connections more than ever before.
Author’s Note: The disruptors in this article are members of The Upside, an award-winning community and accelerator for consultants and industry experts who support and advance one another in business.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.