I build communities that mean something. Not audiences. Communities where strangers reach out because something you made actually resonated with them.
My career has a through-line: how do you get people to believe in something that requires trust before they'll act on it? At Commons, asking someone to connect their bank account to a climate app is one of the steepest trust barriers in consumer fintech. You can't buy your way across it. So I built a content program that earned credibility first and asked for conversion second.
The result: Instagram grew from 6K to 430K followers with zero paid follower acquisition. I helped launch the Second Nature podcast, which Apple featured editorially in its first season. I built Earth Summit into a recurring flagship event, now in its third year, with Mayor Barbara Lee, Maggie Baird, Rivian, ThredUp, and Patagonia joining as speakers, partners, and co-hosts.
At Brightly: co-created Good Together, Apple's #1 podcast for conscious consumerism. 450M+ organic views. Community of 28,000 brand ambassadors. No ad budget.
I also founded Marketers for Sustainability, a quarterly curated happy hour for 50-60 marketing leaders, founders, and brand builders working at the intersection of technology, climate, and business. Four editions so far, last one at Rivian.
I find the real story. I tell it well. I build the system so it keeps working.
Currently CMO at Commons. Previously: Co-Founder at Brightly. Co-Founder at GlobeIn (acquired).
In another life: came to the US as a competitive swimmer on a full scholarship. Probably explains the thing I have about building from zero and starting from scratch.
See my full experience right here.
A bit more about my journey below:
In March 2020 Liza co-founded Brightly.eco, the #1 voice in sustainability for millennial and Gen Z women. Brightly is a media platform that features content, community, and brand recommendations that ignite change via conscious consumerism. Brightly reached an audience of 1.5M+ changemakers every day through their website, social media, and podcast (and ended up at the top 150 podcasts in the US just after 10 episodes!) Brightly has experienced massive growth since graduating from Snap Inc's Yellow Accelerator program in May 2020 and went on to raise almost $2mln to scale its mission and operations.
Previously, Liza co-founded GlobeIn, a fair trade subscription box company. Through her work, GlobeIn has invested more than $3.5 million in fair wages into artisan communities over the last three years alone.
Liza was recruited from her native Russia to swim at the college level for Old Dominion University, where she began her social impact work before graduating. She went on to found the first online community for social entrepreneurs in Russia before joining the GlobeIn team as co-founder.
She has a tenacity of spirit and a notable mix of strength and empathy that have made her a rising star in the social good space, leading her to speak at such industry events as the groundbreaking 2018 Direct Brands Summit, among others. Both her personal journey and her professional work make her an inspiring founder to watch.