Crafting Success Stories: Lori Sussle Bonanni's Journey as a Communications Trailblazer

Lori Sussle Bonanni, Founder and Communications Consultant at elssus, LLC, has carved a remarkable path for herself and others in the world of strategic communications. 

With a diverse background and a passion for storytelling, Lori has made significant strides in elevating high-performing leaders’ and innovators’ profiles. Her primary focus lies in the realms of B2B technology and healthcare, where she aims to make these companies more accessible and distinct from their competitors. Additionally, Lori has taken up the crucial cause of raising awareness and driving innovation in women's health, an area that is often underfunded and understudied. Throughout her career, she has embraced intrapreneurial roles, thrived in international environments, and built new business departments from scratch, showcasing her creative problem-solving skills, adaptability, and determination. By leveraging her expertise in public relations, she helps companies attract investors, talent, and potential partners. 

With a track record of milestones, achievements, and a passion for making a positive impact, Lori continues to shape the communications landscape and empower businesses to thrive in an increasingly competitive world. 

In the following interview, she delves into the story behind her career, her approach to overcoming challenges, and what she would tell her younger self if she were to start her entrepreneurial journey all over again.

Q: What problem does elssus, LLC solve? 

A: I partner with fast-growing, funded startups and Global 500s to pique investor interest, attract, hire and retain top talent, and get noticed by potential partners. I help launch products and services, announce milestones, and ghostwrite for executives.

I do all this by building and growing companies’ reputations to increase awareness, business results, and credibility. Think of me as a nontraditional publicist for B2B technology and healthcare companies. 

Q: What are some of the most meaningful impacts elssus, LLC has had so far? 

A: I have secured my client’s first major press, helped leaders find their voice, and announced launches and funding rounds. 

I love being able to tell stories for high-performing leaders and innovators. B2B technology, specifically SaaS, helps companies identify gaps and operate more efficiently and these companies invest in their client’s success. Making B2B technology accessible and differentiating certain businesses from their competitors is a challenge I love. A nice perk is that I constantly learn about niche areas.

My corporate experience allowed me to work on pharma brands where the indications spanned anti-nausea, bone health, diabetes, eczema, HPV, and oral chemotherapy, just to name a few. As a consultant, I’ve partnered with startups and companies focusing on women’s health including menopause and female urinary incontinence. Women’s healthcare is underfunded and understudied. I feel I am playing a small, positive part when I can help raise awareness of the importance, and urgency, of driving innovation and closing the funding gap when it comes to women’s health.

Q: In what ways has your upbringing or past experiences contributed to how you operate as an entrepreneur?

A: Intrapreneurial roles that required me to be scrappy and creative were the one constant in my corporate career. While in London, I landed an assistant role at a publishing firm. Having no formal work experience, aside from a summer internship in the states, I figured out how business worked and how I could thrive in such a visible role while learning the nuances of working in another country.

I started my first job in the U.S. at Shire Health, a healthcare communications firm headquartered in Europe. I helped build the U.S. office. Initially, we were four full-time employees in New York City. Had I joined a larger company at this point in my career, I would never have had the exposure, experiences, and conversations that I did at Shire Health. The company is now part of Ogilvy Healthworld.

Then I joined the new business department at DDB, a global marketing and advertising network under the Omnicom umbrella. The former new business team had recently departed and my boss took over. She needed to build a department, and I was her first hire. By the time I left nearly five years later, we built a team and new business machine that, up to that point, had some of the best years of new business wins the agency had ever seen.

At NBC, I joined Skycastle, the creative, marketing, and production house that had just been acquired by NBC. We were a distributed team before distributed teams were cool.

At World 50, an invitation-only, C-suite membership community for the Global 1000, I was the first dedicated marketing hire in the ten years the company had been around. I was a team of one until I received a budget that allowed me to hire an intern. That intern is now a literal rocket scientist.

At minimum, every role required creative problem-solving, flexibility, adaptability, curiosity, persistence, honesty, risk taking, and cohesive communication. In addition, I needed to break down silos, have a backup plan for the backup plan, and get comfortable outside my comfort zone. The get-it-done, intrapreneurial mindset ingrained from corporate easily translated to entrepreneurship.

Q: Have you ever felt like you’re “different”? If yes, in what ways has this contributed to your journey as an entrepreneur?

A: Always. After college graduation, I was hell-bent on studying abroad. After nearly 15 years in New York City, I quit a perfectly good job to fulfill a dream to travel throughout South America. For many years, it’s always been, “What is Lori up to now!?”

After returning from London, a friend a few years younger asked me about the visa program. She went. A few years later, another friend was about to graduate from business school and was torn between accepting a job offer and traveling. We chatted and he chose to travel first. Another friend inquired about my decision to leave New York City for South America and he went from Wall Street to Ecuador. I like to think I helped nudge them over the finish line.

My willingness to zig when others zag and embrace uncertainty has defined me and my nonlinear career path. And I’m so happy when I’ve been able to inspire others!

Q: What’s one thing you wish you had known before starting elssus, LLC?

A: What to do first. I would have loved a checklist. Instead, I made my own. I probably did everything backwards. 

Q: What were the most difficult and most impactful lessons you’ve learned starting and running a company?

A: My website designer turned friend, Becca Wood, reminds me regularly that “perfection is the enemy of progress.” 

In terms of impact, over the years, I have been very generous with my time through office hours, volunteering, and mentorship (shout out to the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center as one of the places where I give my time). It lights me up. I also speak to communications students at universities around the country regularly. I get as much out of those 60-to-90 minutes of conversation, if not more, than they do.

Q: What’s the biggest misconception that others have around entrepreneurship?

A: I never thought having my own consultancy could be possible because I thought you had to have a trust fund. If you have the desire, drive, determination, persistence, resilience, and a sense of humor, go for it!

Q: What would you tell your younger self if you were to start your entrepreneurial journey all over again?

A: Do it! It’s possible. If it's not your thing, you'll realize that quickly.

Q: How would you describe the journey you’ve had in a few sentences? Would you do it all over again?

A: My journey has been anything but linear. And I’d do it all over again. I’m exactly where I’m meant to be right now.

Lori is a member of Dreamers & Doers, an award-winning community that amplifies extraordinary women entrepreneurs and leaders by securing PR, forging authentic connections, and curating high-impact resources. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and get involved here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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