Ericaswallow has extensive experience in education, entrepreneurship, and digital strategy. She holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and a BS from NYU Stern. As founder of Southern Swallow, Inc., she consults with brands on digital strategies. Previously, she was VP of Product at Noble Impact, a summer associate at General Catalyst, and co-founded Deliverish. She actively volunteers with Accelerate Arkansas and has spoken at numerous tech conferences.
1. ERICAERICA SWALLOSWALLOWW
ericaswallow@gmail.com ▪ ericaswallow.com ▪ @ericaswallow
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
— Nelson Mandela, former South African president and revolutionary
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; Cambridge, MA August 2013-May 2015
! MBA; Concentration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
! Co-organized the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Trek, Served on the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Club marketing team
! Invested in student-led ventures alongside student partners from across Boston’s top universities as a Rough Draft Ventures partner
New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business; New York, NY August 2005-May 2009
! Bachelor of Science in Marketing and International Business; Concentration in Mandarin Chinese and East Asian Studies
! Selected Honors: John Caples International Student Campaign of the Year Award, China Care Foundation Outstanding Leadership Award,
Sphinx Senior Award (for excellence in student service), Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
East China Normal University, NYU in Shanghai Study Abroad Program; Shanghai, China August 2006-December 2006
! Focused on Mandarin Chinese, East Asian Studies and Chinese business practices
! Directed and produced an independent film entitled “China’s Economic Boom: How it Affects the Masses”
Experience
Southern Swallow, Inc.; Founder and Digital Strategist; Little Rock, AR September 2009-Current
! Consult with brands, such as Bloomingdales.com, City Winery, and Innovate Arkansas to communicate their vision effectively on the web
! Write tech and lifestyle content for publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and Mashable
! Engage and develop my personal social media following of more than 60,000 individuals who follow and give feedback on my work
Noble Impact; VP Product, Little Rock, AR June 2015-August 2016
! Created business plan and financial model that structured the organization for sustainable growth in three business areas
! Led product development for a K-12 Digital Portfolio Platform to help students build their credibility and access opportunities
! Launched the Noble Impact website, Community Blogging Program (with 30+ bloggers), and video storytelling project
! Produced the first ever #NobleTalks event and co-organized the Noble Impact Educators Summit
General Catalyst Partners; Summer Associate; Cambridge, MA May 2014-August 2014
! Focused on investment thesis around the future of work, sourcing early stage startups addresses workforce and workplace evolution
! Supported early stage investment team in sourcing, due diligence, and community engagement
Deliverish; Co-founder and CEO; New York, NY March 2013-December 2013
! Led product and marketing, focusing on growing our beta list, eliciting feedback from potential customers, and gaining press
! Recruited and managed a team of brilliant developers, designers, and business minds in building a peer-to-peer delivery platform
Contently; Director of Community; New York, NY January 2012-January 2013
! Managed the startup’s community of writers and publishers, focusing on social media, event planning, and email marketing
! Launched and ran three Meetup groups and multiple conferences focused on Contently’s core audiences
Mashable; Associate Editor, Partner Content; New York, NY May 2010-September 2011
! Managed the partner content program, which was supported by top advertisers, including BlackBerry, British Airways, IBM, and UPS,
among others
! Wrote business and marketing features that garnered 12.9 million total page views
The New York Times; Social Media Marketing Consultant; New York, NY October 2008-May 2010
! Managed The Times’ social media marketing strategy, collaborating across departments with journalists, editors, developers, and publicists
! Represented the voice of The New York Times across key social sites (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) and managed team of interns
Saatchi & Saatchi; Account Management, Olay Design Team, Intern; New York, NY June 2008-August 2008
! Sourced and managed pro bono 501(c)(3) account; negotiated $70,000 of free media placement in and $10,000 in donated image licenses
! Blogged about my internship on CosmoGirl.com and met then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for a group discussion, photo shoot, and
article for CosmoGirl magazine about young women leaders, as I was chosen for this internship from a pool of 3,000 applicants
2. Volunteerism & Community Involvement
Accelerate Arkansas; Advisory Board Member, Little Rock, AR May 2016-Current
! Lead the “Made in Arkansas” campaign initiative to educate Arkansans and others on the technology movement happening in the state
! Provide a sounding board, along with 9 other Central Arkansas-based advisors, for the Accelerate Arkansas Board of Directors
Rough Draft Ventures; Student Partner, Boston, MA September 2013-August 2014
! Invested between $5,000 to $25,000 each in Boston’s top student startups to kickstart entrepreneurship among college innovators
! Organized the monthly Rough Draft Sketch Student Entrepreneurs Meetup, which brought together university students from around the
Boston area to discuss and learn about the pros and cons of starting and running technology startups, particularly while in school
SXSW; SXSW Accelerator Advisory Board Member, Austin, TX September 2013-August 2014
! Identified early stage technology companies to participate in the annual SXSW Accelerator
! Judged hundreds of startup applications in order to choose finalist startups that travel to Austin to compete on-stage during SXSW
TechStars; Associate, New York, NY March 2013-April 2013
! Assisted the Summer 2013 New York TechStars cohort with public relations, social media, and communications
! Attracted event sponsorship deals from vendors such as Naked Wines, Pretzel Crisps, and Honest Tea to minimize expenditures
Selected Honors & Awards
Dean’s Fellowship; MIT Sloan School of Management August 2013
The MIT Sloan School of Management awards several competitive, merit-based fellowships and scholarships to incoming and second-year
students, one of which is the Dean's Fellowship.
Sphinx Senior Award; New York University June 2009
Each year, one NYU Stern senior is chosen to join the Sphinx Honor Society, for those who excel in extracurricular activities. I was honored
for my excellence in student service with China Care NYU, a college chapter non-profit I co-founded to help disabled Chinese orphans
receive life-saving surgeries.
John Caples International Student Campaign of the Year Award September 2008
The Caples Awards is an international direct marketing awards show for courageous creative. I led a team to victory in 2008 for creating the
most insightful marketing campaign of the year, focused on Pentel's line of eco-friendly pens.
CosmoGirl Project 2024 Winner; CosmoGirl Magazine May 2008
Chosen from a pool of 3,000 applicants, I won a coveted internship at Saatchi & Saatchi, the opportunity to blog on CosmoGirl.com, and the
chance to meet then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, through a national internship competition hosted by CosmoGirl Magazine.
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship; United States Department of State June 2006
Awarded one of 777 Gilman International Scholarships in 2006, I was a recipient of both the undergraduate study abroad award and the
Critical Need Language Award, both of which were applied to my study abroad program in Shanghai, China.
Notable Speaking Engagements
SXSW Interactive (Austin, 2016): “No CTO, No Problem – Building A Non-technical MVP”
ASU Women’s Leadership Conference (Jonesboro, 2016): “Womanhood and Entrepreneurship: My Journey From Paragould To Prosperity”
Lean Startup Conference (San Francisco, 2015): “Using Lean Startup in the High School Setting”
MIT Start6 (Boston, 2015): “Market Segmentation for Early-stage Startups”
Web Summit (Dublin, 2014): “Managing Your Career in the 21st Century”
Harvard Innovation Lab Startup Scramble (Boston, 2013): “Measuring Viability and Scalability in Early-stage Startups”
Social Marketers Summit (Prague, 2010): “10 Emerging Social Platforms and How Businesses Can Use Them”
Social Media Brasil (São Paulo, 2010): “How Traditional Media Is Using Social Media”
Interests and Skills
Technology: HTML, CSS, Jira, WordPress, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Slack, Basecamp
Marketing: Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Hootsuite, Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, MailChimp, CoreMetrics, WebTrends
Language: Mandarin Chinese (Intermediate), Spanish (Elementary), English (Native)
Just for Fun: Winemaking, ballroom dancing, traveling, blogging, volunteering, all things chocolate