Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Jansen.
Hi Emily, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Emily Jansen! I am a marketing, branding, and communications leader with 15+ years of experience across nonprofit, corporate, consulting, and private sectors. Today, I run my own brand and strategic communications practice—Emily Jacob Agency—and am in the process of writing my second book for women navigating life and relationships with ADHD. I spent years in corporate before embracing my passion for entrepreneurship and starting my own company.
Like many women, I didn’t receive my ADHD diagnosis until nearly 40. For most of my life, I felt “too much”—too emotional, too intense, too scattered—without understanding why. This year’s diagnosis has unlocked decades of clarity and has become a turning point in how I want to spend the next decade of my life: helping women reframe ADHD not as a flaw, but as a superpower.
Professionally, I have led integrated brand narratives and global marketing campaigns for Fortune 50 companies like Samsung, Deloitte, and ScottsMiracle-Gro. I consult across sustainability, real estate, healthcare, and technology—and I bring a unique global perspective from living and working around the world, from Kenya and Korea to Washington, D.C. and now Austin, TX. This year, I was honored to be a finalist for Austin 40 Under 40 in the PR/marketing category.
I am also a bestselling author of a memoir, A Wilder Eden: How to Keep Dreaming in a World of Disappointments. I frequently speak and contribute articles in outlets such as Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland, Propel Women, Growth Roots Journal, Today’s Purpose Woman, Austin Woman Magazine, The Love Offering Podcast, Soho House Austin, and the International Christian Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
When not working, I’m a competitive athlete and Half-Ironman finisher. I serve She Saves A Nation in Kenya on the board, and my mission is to ensure that all young women in Kenya have the opportunity to pursue their dream through education, spiritual, and financial support.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In 2022, I was a part of a re-org layoff from a leading consulting firm in the U.S. It was political, it wasn’t fair, and it happened suddenly. What followed was months of struggling to find another job, filing for unemployment, and experiencing severe trials in 2022-2023, from knee surgery twice, to a bad breakup, to being runner-up to jobs 5 times. I had $500 left in my bank account at one point. I started my consulting practice, Emily Jacob Agency, and slowly began re-building. To be honest, I wasn’t all-in at first. By early 2023, I decided to go all-in, and that changed everything. I landed a huge client, and over the next two years, continued to build my business. One of my greatest struggles during this time was realizing that I had a wealth of experience and people to vouch for me, but my network and community in Austin, TX wasn’t as strong as it was back on the East Coast. Rebuilding relationships took time, one event at a time, one conversation at a time. Austin is such a great town for entrepreneurs, I knew it was the right place to be, but I wasn’t sure how long it would take for me to really get the wind back in my sails. Finally, in early 2025, I landed my biggest clients to date, and this past year, my business has experienced over 160% growth.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Emily Jacob Agency?
Emily Jacob Agency, LLC (EJA) was established in 2022 out of Austin, TX as a full-service brand, marketing, and PR/communications consultancy. Over the years, we saw a disconnect between brand teams and business units, where stories were purposeful, but they weren’t always powerful, because the two departments weren’t talking. We wanted to build stories that were purposeful and powerful, driving sales and bottom-line results for businesses.
EJA serves clients across the non-profit, small business, start-up and corporate space. Whether building a brand’s visual identity, messaging playbook, website, brand activations or marketing campaigns, we are constantly asking, “So what?” and “What If?” and “Why”? Why this logo, why this typography, why this mission statement, why this consumer segment, why this campaign, why this ad copy, why now? We love to work with the following companies and individuals:
Corporate Misfits who leave large-scale companies to develop their own personal brands, consulting groups, and thought leadership efforts
Certified B Corporations who are both philanthropic and profit-generating
Non-profits seeking to expand, grow, re-brand, and deepen their impact, locally and nationally
Corporations and Fortune50 companies seeking to drive change, impact, and consumer awareness around specific issue sets/themes
Female-led and owned businesses that benefit female entrepreneurs
I also lead corporate women’s workshops on branding + dreams. It’s been a terrific outlet for getting to know companies around the country!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe in luck. I believe that everything is happening for me, whether good or bad, and that through dreaming in community, hard work and diligence, building authentic relationships, and having champions, everyone can thrive and grow. I am grateful to have many people in my corner who have cheered me on, helped me build my business, and provided essential introductions that have led to significant business opportunities. Sometimes, bad things happen because of others’ choices, and perhaps that is the greatest lesson and challenge – responding positively, graciously and classy to individuals who want to pull you down. I am constantly learning how to stand for others, and myself, in a way that is kind, but clear. As a giver, this is a life lesson, and a constant work in progress.
Pricing:
- Corporate Dreams Workshops for Female Employee Resource Groups – $3,000
- Monthly Retainers for consulting services starting at $2,500 a month
- My business has grown to over a half-million in gross revenue since 2022
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.emilyjacobagency.com
- Instagram: emilyjjansen
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-j-25795411/
