Startup Stories with Hilary Borndahl, July 2021: Building resilience through every obstacle

I never realized how attached I had become to Mason during our covid time together until we faced the difficult decision to say goodbye.?Lockdowns have provided challenges, but I am eternally grateful for the silver lining of having more days with my fur baby.?They say dogs are a person's best friend, but dogs are also the best coworkers.?Mason joined our family during our time in Connecticut, right around the time I fell in love with MMM.?He took turns keeping me company, while I modeled and worked from home, or joined Mark at his office in South Norwalk.?His favorite activity was to take breaks to play basketball.?

Fast forward 14.5 years and Mason was my consistent co-worker across roles at TMG, Nielsen, Kantar and now Miix. People would always comment on my calls that my puppy was so cute, not realizing he was the equivalent of a 90-year-old. Despite hiding it well, we came to understand Mason’s health was declining and our old guy was in physical and mental pain. We knew it was time to let him cross the rainbow bridge and are appreciative to our vet for a very peaceful death.

A word that became very popular in our third lockdown is #Resilience. I attended two virtual events in June that focused entirely on it. Google defines Resilience as, “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”?Wiki explains Psychological Resilience as “the ability to mentally or emotionally cope with a crisis or to return to pre-crisis status quickly. Resilience exists when the person uses mental processes and behaviors in promoting personal assets and protecting self from the potential negative effects of stressors."

When asked during one of the networking events how I have leaned into my Resilience during covid, my immediate response was through my creativity.?But if I really think about it, one thing that always put the bounce back in my step on a tough day was the love from my pet.?Mason provided a calm hug, a moment to step outside, or a brief walk around the block. This created space to pause and act on my mental processes so I could pivot back into a positive zone and creatively problem solve the task at hand.?I know I can do these things without him here physically by my side, but man was it great to have him here through the launch of Miix Analytics. Here’s a great quote by Lisa Lisson, President at FedEx Express Canada, that sums up my feelings from June:

"Now you have to find your own happiness.?You can do that by accepting what you can't change, thinking about what brings you joy & focusing on that." - Resilience, written by @LisaSLisson

Building resilience on a personal level is something that has taken time for me across my life, built from the experiences I have encountered in love, loss, faith, and death.?We are all on different journeys in building resilience. I have only lost a few pets in my life, and Mason's death hit me very hard despite being what I would consider a strong individual. If you see someone suffering through the death of a pet, please remember this - it can hurt more than anticipated. For some, it hurts more than losing a human. Offer a shoulder, an ear, a tissue, or a hug (if you can).

Building resilience in business is also important.?Across the waves and variants of covid, we continue to face new disruptions and challenges.?But, I am more hopeful than ever for a strong bounceback as I observe the aggressive vaccination trends across North America.?As of June 29th, 29.6% of Canadians are fully vaccinated and 68.3% have received at least one dose. 47.0% of Americans are fully vaccinated and 54.8% have received at least one dose (source: Our World in Data).?

In the world of data, at 18 months into covid, we are now at a great time to dive deep into analysis on how to optimize the rebound strategy.?While Category Demand Forecasting became an important tool in 2020, it’s time for the resurgence of strong Marketing Budgets to support Brand Preference and Brand Love.?It is best not to risk your returns using budget allocations of the past. We are entering a new era and brands should be building measurement solutions that can accurately capture attributions, better-predicting outcomes, and do so in a very agile time-sensitive manner.??

We have spent these first 6 months preparing and catering our #MarketingAnalytics and #CustomerAnalytics solutions to be ready for this moment.?You can be assured that on July 5th, our 6 month anniversary, I will be raising a glass to Mason, to toast our successful launch in building a world-class team and brand.?It’s time now to move forward into the second half of 2021 and all of its promise.?It’s time to get vaxxed (if you can).?It’s time to move from being #Resilient to being #Awesome - and I’m ready for it.

~ Hilary

Professional Photography of Mason & family by Kate Kuok. contact: [email protected]