We’re a small but formidable team made up of people from all over the world. 🌎 Our varied experiences & paths towards this company is what gives us our edge… because no matter which client we partner up with, there’s always someone who’s an expert!
(Sidenote: putting this Team page together became a fun project that we were all involved in! We found out a lot about each other… and rather than keeping bios and stories professional and industry-standard, we let our hair down and went overboard. Like we do with everything. It’s part of who we are. We’re a colorful group looking to grow with like-minded people.)
Atul Singh, Co-founder and CEO
Superpower: Mental Math
Atul, aka Raj aka Lau’tul, hails from Rajasthan, India – the place of kings. As the other half of our dynamic co-founding duo (Lauren + Atul = Lau’tul), Atul also does a little bit of everything, and a lot of anything algorithm-driven. He attended IIT then earned a PhD in computer science from Rice University. 🖥️
Atul currently boasts no hobbies. Like, none. But…
He says he likes to buy exercise equipment (although, he never uses it).
Oh, and he also knows the strings on a guitar (presumably – he took two lessons).
When he’s not working, we suspect Atul’s downtime includes activities that help him think through work stuff. For instance, he likes driving, barbecue, and ladoos. Lau’tul also recently welcomed Baby Daphne to the fold!
Fun fact from Lauren: “When I first met Atul, he was working at NEC labs. When asked what he did there he replied (dead seriously) ‘basically, I think.’ ” Ahh… of course. We think all this thinking has led to his extreme knack for coming up with the longest-running cringe-worthy Dad jokes ever. 🙈
Lauren Jung, Co-founder and COO
Favorite color: Rainbow
As one of our founders, Lauren’s our “little bit of everything” person, the true force behind all of our creative efforts. She’s had a hand in everything, from writing blogs and designing infographics to overseeing proposals, sweet-talking clients, and front-end (sort of) app stuff (when our developer lets her mess around with things, which isn’t often).
Lauren majored in fine art 🎨 at Furman University (after dropping out of biology halfway through her first semester). Then she went to the Portfolio Center in Atlanta for graphic design. And then started working at Grey (a big agency) as a junior designer with a fierce competitive streak, and freelanced as a fabric designer on the side.
Of course, like most creatives, Lauren also spent time hustling and bustling for “The Man”. She worked as a waitress for five years while in school – at one point, in an upscale restaurant where a newly-knighted Sir Elton John yelled at her for forgetting his corn. 🌽 (Now we know what that yellow-brick road’s paved with, am I right?)
When she’s not working on stuff for The Shelf, Lauren loves camping, painting, and grabbing furniture off the street on trash day.
In real life though, Lau’tul (what we call our co-founders Lauren + Atul for short) just had Baby Xander… so the most likely after-work scenario would be something a little less me-time and way more we-time. Pretty sure.
Another rando fact: She once made out with the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish… but that has nothing to do with previous mentions of the band on our blog or in our marketing emails. Coincidences all.
Artur Siekielski, Sr Backend Developer
Superpower: Beating AIs with custom algorithms
Artur has been with us from the beginning: solving problems, outwitting robots 🤖, and doing other back-end-y things… the results of which we see and enjoy. Gonna be honest here – not quite sure what he’s cooking over there in Poland, and he’s too busy to explain his job to me in words that I can grok. So, let’s just get on with the other introductory stuff.
Artur is in Poland, originally from Sorkwity, Warmian-Masurian and now living in Gdynia, Pomerania. He studied Computer Science at the University of Gdańsk. And worked with Nordea Bank, developing the back-end of an e-banking system before joining us full time.
Artur is a developer’s developer, with enough hands-on experience to be able to solve whatever problems we send his way (which is sort of his thing, focusing on problems instead of technologies). He’s developed multiple back-end components and custom algos that leave standard solutions in their dust. 💨
He’s not really one to brag, but he also contributed code to the Mars Rover!!!!!! F-yeah Artur!
And last but not least, he’s not all ones and zeros all the time. In addition to programming, Artur enjoys hiking, bicycle tourism, and listening to music.
Sabrina Fenster, Creative Director
She’s worked with every single client we’ve ever had. 😊
Sabs heads up our Account Management department, overseeing all of the AMs and the campaigns they run. Sabrina is our most senior team member – she was The Shelf’s first employee, way back in 2014 when we were a SaaS company (talk about a throwback!). Sabrina’s had a pretty active hand in helping the founders drive growth and shape The Shelf culture.
Meaning if this were the 90s, she’d have earned her own special parking space near the door.
Sabrina lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she attended Concordia University, British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Diploma in Marketing Management/Communications.
Aside from being arguably the most fashion-forward person on the team, Sabrina is a street style photographer 📸 and micro-influencer (on Insta @streetscout). Before being the glue that holds our Account Management team together, Sabrina (or Sabsaroni or Sabserella… you can cast your vote for your favorite nickname here) used to moonlight in the limelight. She ran an event-planning company called Strut Inc. where she planned fashion, lifestyle and art events, celeb red carpets, and other opportunities for fanfare.
Sabrina is a cat mom 🐱 to Scout the ragdoll (her mascot for streetscout and for life), and she holds the unofficial title of highest kicker on The Shelf team.
Pavel Sukhanov, Sr Full Stack Developer
AKA: Toothywalrus
Pavel is a wizard with a keyboard. If you have a programming wish, this guy can probably grant it. As one of the most senior members of our team, Pavel has been responsible for making many a functionality dream come true on our platform.
As our only Ukraine-based team member (living in Kharkiv), Pavel’s claim to fame is that he somehow finds better and better ways to improve the structure of our client-side application and API layer, to make it more predictable and maintainable. If that sounds fancyish, it totally is – because we have the distinct benefit of being able to request features and have them built out for our clients and account managers in weeks, not years.
Before joining The Shelf team, Pavel developed web applications at AnvilEight. He studied Computer Science at the National University of Kharkiv, and he has a real knack for thinking through and working out problems. He’s pretty awesome.
Pavel’s a dad and he enjoys bicycle riding in the woods 🌲, listening to classic 60s and 70s records, solving competitive programming problems, playing with Raspberry Pi, reading/watching Math & CS books/articles/lectures, and occasionally reading something to fill his gaps in non-technical knowledge (philosophy, history, etc).
Like we said – awesome.
He also has a particular love for discovering new concepts and ideas and being introduced to old music and movies.
Sorilbran Stone, Visibility & Pipeline Strategist
I’ve named my AI Maverick, and we’re unstoppable.
Sorilbran (pronounced suh-RIL-brən) oversees the content strategy for our branded channels – playing a neverending game of chess against Google and Bing and influencing the heck out of AIs. She joined The Shelf in 2015, when she answered a hilarious job posting on Upwork (or was it Elance back then?) to edit blog posts and make them funnier.
Sorilbran is a #girlmom and #dogmom. When she’s not momming or obsessing about content ecosystems, she’s creating and publishing stuff – articles, planners, books, newsletters, music. 🤗
Before joining The Shelf, Sorilbran held a weird little mix of different positions like…
Co-owning a window company and a hair salon, producing Hip Hop, and fronting a vintage soul band. She once ran for public office just to see her name on the ballot. Then she won, and things got awkward for everyone.
Sorilbran grew up in Detroit, spent a little time in LA, then lived in the sticks outside of Atlanta for 13 years, during which time she raised a show pig (Dr. Schmidt, the Running Pig (RIP to a real one)) before returning home to Detroit.
Sorilbran is a fan of gardening, live music, local shoppes (with the extra “p” and the “e” at the end), bad sci-fi movies, cult comedies, and the UFC.
Muhit Alam Razon, Data Management and Lead Gen
AKA: Muhit (it’s a thing)
If you know him well, you probably call him Razon. If you don’t, you call him by his nickname, Muhit. Which is also his first name, by the way.
Muhit is on the data management 📊 side of things (you knew there was probably a data management side, right?). He joined the team in 2016 to jump-start some of our more aggressive lead generation efforts. Originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Muhit has a BBA (Accounting) from Dhaka College.
Now, here’s a little data about Muhit that you may not know. He’s actually worked in Lead Generation and Data Management for years, providing support for TelcoDR, Busuu, and Affluent.co. He has a deep understanding of the strategies that make B2B lead generation most effective, and he’s an energetic, responsive, reliable team member and problem-solver.
As great as Muhit is at managing data, he’s better at making spicy curry. 🔥 You may find him, spicy curry in hand, watching thrillers. If he’s not in front of a computer or in the kitchen, check the roof (he likes to garden) or else, he may be traveling.
Konstantin Smirnov, Illustrator and Design Ninja
Superpower: Reads minds
Константин Смирнов has been our beloved illustrator since 2018ish. He has an uncanny knack for dreaming up fantastical illustrations that convert complex concepts into really cool visuals… and you barely have to tell him anything (we think he reads minds). Just hand him some stats and he. goes. INSANE. 🎨 He’s also gotten totally on board with Lauren’s love for Rainbows, Unicorns, and Pugs. You’ll find them tucked into graphics everywhere!
So… those whimsically magnificent designs you see everywhere on our website, blog posts, infographics, marketing materials, ebooks, and even these cute little bio pic frames? All Konstantin.
“Hey, Google… what time is it in Moscow?”
You probably guessed from the Cyrillic letters that Konstantin may be Russian. He’s based in Moscow, and studied Environment Design at MGHPA Stroganov.
Here are a few things about Konstantin you may not have guessed: he loves playing chess, he’s a runner, he likes drawing funny things, and he can work on something all day and not get tired.
Any hidden talents? Yes. Konstantin can cook an egg to perfection, without a timer (no easy feat – let’s be real here: Lady Luck pretty much has to be on your side to not undercook or overcook an egg). 🍳
Elizabeth Hassett, Director Client Engagement & Operations
Superpower: Book smarts (you’ll see what we mean in a sec)
Notable clients she’s worked with: All of them.
Elizabeth is our Accounts Supervisor, and she’s in charge of making all things beautiful. She oversees the day-to-day planning and execution of our clients’ campaigns. She uses her keen people-reading abilities to help clients zero in on their goals. And she helps the account managers nudge influencers toward creating the kind of content that can help clients reach those goals.
Elizabeth grew up on the mean streets of Charm City and earned her Masters in Library and Information Sciences 📚 from the University of Maryland. And everyone knows that Library scientists are ninja-level marketers – what with their mastery of customer relations, problem solving skills, and the ability to mentally catalog all sorts of information just to whip it out when it’s most useful. Well, that’s her. That’s Elizabeth.
Elizabeth’s creativity isn’t limited to finding clever ways to get the most ROI from campaigns, though. She’s also an avid crafter – she knits, embroiders, paints, and makes magic with Canva Pro. She’s also also a dog mom to Beau (you can usually spot him in the background of calls, being a really good boy). 🐕
Before joining The Shelf team, Elizabeth worked as the Punch! manager in the DMV area locations, and as a digital imager for the Old Weather Project at the National Archives.
Anja Nell, Associate Director of Strategy
Guilty Pleasure: She has a sweet tooth and craves everything from Mountain Dew to Skittles.
🎭 Meet Anja Nell, our imaginative Pisces with a bottomless well of creativity! 🐟 She’s like a magical unicorn sprinkling marketing tricks and process hacks that make life smoother for everyone. As one of our brilliant brand partnerships strategists, she’s the mastermind behind countless concepts and campaigns that leave people in awe.
Hailing from the great white north, Anja is a true explorer. When she’s not shaping marketing strategies, you’ll find her diving into fictional worlds, devouring horror movies, and penning beautiful poetry. And did I mention her unique talent for turning anything into a catchy jingle? 🎶 It’s her secret weapon for remembering anything and it’s totally mind-blowing!
💄 But wait, there’s more! Anja is a freelance makeup artist extraordinaire. She has glamorized over 30 weddings, adding her touch of magic to countless faces. Beyond that, she’s a fundraising superhero, having raised thousands for the Children’s Hospital and the Canadian Cancer Society. Talk about making a difference!
🌟 Anja, our intuitive water sign, feels most at home in the electric atmosphere of an outdoor concert. 🎵 She’s a cosmic goddess with a heart of gold, tuned into the emotions of those around her like a psychic superhero. We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have her on our team, spreading positive vibes and making our days brighter.
Join us in welcoming Anja Nell, the quirky, creative powerhouse that makes our team shine like a constellation in the night sky! ✨🌙
Krista Sung, HR Consultant
**Tagline**: “Balancing Numbers with a Splash of Creativity!” 🌆🎨
Meet Krista Sung, the Bookkeeping Wizard from Vancouver, BC 🌆. She may have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia, but her true artistry lies in numbers.
For two decades, Krista’s been a freelance bookkeeper, covering Payroll, AP, AR, and more. But she’s not your average numbers person. In a past life, she dabbled in theatre, film, and even styled celebrities like Carly Rae Jepsen and the Vancouver Canucks.
Krista’s superpowers? Organization and creative problem-solving. She’s your financial Sherlock Holmes 🧮.
Beyond the spreadsheets, she’s a mom who memorizes her kids’ favorite songs and a crochet enthusiast from the pre-kid era.
She also moonlights as the Hot Lunch Co-Ordinator at her kids’ school – trust us, it’s a wild gig!
Krista’s got a talent for finding things she never lost and a love for her kids, adventurous eating, travel, sushi, and dim sum.
What makes her an asset? She’s always ready to meet her clients’ needs, turning their financial dreams into reality with a dash of creativity. Oh, and don’t offer her sweets – she’s all about the savory! 🍱🧮
Chloe Lessaris, Account Supervisor
Strategist, Solo Traveler, and Sudden-Ring Leader of 174 Creators
Chicago native turned Washington, DC local, Chloe has an instinct for strategy and a knack for making big campaigns look effortless. She studied Business Marketing (with a side of Sales Management) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, but it’s her on-the-ground experience that makes her a force in the influencer space.
She cut her teeth at OMD as a paid media manager, then jumped into account management where she promptly organized INFL’s first major ambassador program — 174 creators, 740 posts, all in just six months. From Xfinity and Comcast Corporate to Macy’s, the NBA, and Doritos, she’s guided campaigns for some of the biggest brands out there, always with an eye toward what will actually move the needle.
Outside of client work, Chloe is a card-carrying concert hopper, a sudoku ninja, and the kind of friend who will text you “dinner?” and already have the reservation booked. She’s also a nine-year veteran of the United States Army Reserve, where she led a squad of 12 soldiers and somehow still found time to become an excellent shot. 🎯
She’s happiest when she’s moving — whether that’s traveling solo, pushing a campaign forward, or taking the scenic route on the way to somewhere new. Chloe brings precision, perspective, and a quiet but undeniable authority to everything she does at The Shelf.
Meg Tazelaar, Associate Director of OptiFly System
Can haggle in Rome, foster seven kittens at once, and still beat your ROAS goals. 🎢
Chicago’s very own paid social maestro — speaks just enough French and Italian to haggle like a pro in Rome (they never saw her coming). A proud Northeastern University alum, Meg majored in Music Industry & Business as a Northeastern Husky 🐾 before diving into a career that’s as diverse as her love for languages.
From slinging campus billboards to orchestrating campaigns fit for the Oscars stage, Meg’s worked with a VIP client list that spans Cheerios, The Oscars, and a certain chicken-loving fast food giant you’ve definitely heard of. 🎬🐔 Her superpower? Turning complex client briefs into social media symphonies — whether she’s boosting engagement for General Mills or giving Ulta Beauty’s feed a touch of glam.
Beyond pixels and hashtags, Meg channels her passion into fostering cats — 36 and counting — with a record-breaking seven kittens once squeezed into her one-bedroom apartment. 🐱✨ Her problem-solving skills extend from algorithms to whiskers, proving she’s just as skilled at managing chaos offline as she is online.
A true Chicagoan with a hint of Colorado mountain spirit, Meg blends happy hippie charm with big-city savvy, making her the go-to guru for translating tech jargon into plain English. Whether she’s fine-tuning ad campaigns or hitting high notes in a Swiss jazz combo, Meg knows how to make every project — and every moment — hit just the right note.
Kristine Drier, Director of Performance Media
Paid Media Powerhouse, Data Whisperer, and Thrill Ride Enthusiast 🎢
Born in Wisconsin and now soaking up that Denver mountain air, Kristine is The Shelf’s Director of Performance Media and our resident paid media guru. A proud University of Minnesota grad (Go Gophers!), she majored in Communications – PR & Advertising before kicking off her career as the very first employee of a cloud computing startup. That gig let her dabble in just about everything, but marketing (and especially paid media) stole her heart.
From there, Kristine jumped into the agency world with Omnicom and WPP, and for the past three years, she’s been living her best life at the intersection of influencer marketing and paid strategy. She’s masterminded campaigns for brands like Mars Petcare, Moderna, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Ulta Beauty, Avon, and Sam’s Club — always bringing her signature blend of consumer insight, advanced platform wizardry, and “let’s prove it with data” energy. 📊
When she’s not driving performance lift for our clients, you can find Kristine hiking, biking, snowboarding, practicing yoga, or plotting ways to make her dogs the happiest pups in Denver. She also has a very respectable free throw (and occasional 3-pointer), a competitive streak when it comes to games like pickleball, skee-ball, and Connect 4, and a seasonal tradition of whipping up fresh vegan soups in the winter.
Kristine was part of the first group of media buyers to earn TikTok’s buying certification, which means she’s as comfortable with cutting-edge measurement strategies (offline sales lift, foot traffic, TV tune-in) as she is with a whitewater rafting paddle in hand. 🚣♀️ Clients love her because she turns performance marketing into an art form — and makes it look effortless.
Tiffany Borland, Strategy Consultant
Let’s make memories and craft moments (of the viral sort)🌟
Meet Tiffany, on our Creative Team, currently calling the vibrant city of San Antonio, TX, home sweet home! 🌟 Originally hailing from the bustling streets of Los Angeles, CA, Tiffany’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary.
A graduate of Cypress College with a major in Business Marketing, Tiffany’s educational background has laid the foundation for her remarkable career in influencer marketing.
With over 13 years of experience in the industry, Tiffany’s tenure as the Director of Strategy and Analytics at HireInfluence speaks volumes about her expertise. From overseeing influencer campaigns to strategizing with clients for optimal results, she’s a seasoned pro in the world of brand partnerships.
What sets Tiffany apart? Her boundless creativity and penchant for out-of-the-box thinking! Tiffany thrives on brainstorming ideas that have the potential for virality, ensuring each campaign leaves a lasting impact.
But it’s not all about work for Tiffany. When she’s not busy crafting viral campaigns, you’ll find her indulging in her love for dressing up and traveling, often combining the two for unforgettable experiences.
And let’s not forget Tiffany’s culinary prowess! A master in the kitchen, she enjoys tackling new recipes and whipping up her favorite dish, a delicious dutch baby, every Sunday for her family.
Despite her busy schedule, Tiffany’s heart belongs to her family, and nothing beats cozying up with loved ones to watch Home Alone, a timeless classic that holds a special place in her heart.
Joining our team is just another exciting chapter in Tiffany’s journey of innovation and growth, and we’re thrilled to have her wealth of experience and infectious enthusiasm driving our brand partnerships forward! 🚀
Emma Kennedy, Associate Account Director
Superpower: Keeping clients happy and doing it all with a smile on her face
Emma hopped on board The Shelf team in 2021, and has been a rock-solid superstar for brand clients like Reser’s Fine Foods, Nite Ize, and Oriental Trading Company ever since… managing campaigns like no one’s business. 😎
And speaking of business – that’s Emma’s background. She graduated from St. Francis Xavier University with a Bachelor of Business Administration, and a Major in Marketing. That eventually led her to another influencer marketing agency, where she dabbled in a bit of everything – from Customer Experience to Brand Management.
Originally from Summerside PEI, she now calls Halifax, NS her home – which is fine, because as long as she’s around the ocean 🌊 (and great food), she’s happy. We don’t blame her one bit.
Emma also loves to travel, read, cook, and bake, and is a pretzel PRO. Recently, she even upgraded to making homemade garlic pretzel knots. *chef’s kiss* The only downside of our team all being remote is that we, sadly, can’t get Emma to cater our team meetings. We’ll just have to make do with the mouthwatering snaps she can’t resist taking of her food.
Mariah Zegers, Senior Account Supervisor
Super Skill: Adobe Creative Suite
Greetings from “the frozen tundra” that is Green Bay! Mariah joined our team in 2021 after working with Minnow and BVK as a Graphic Designer and Art Director (respectively), where she oversaw creative efforts for the likes of Michelle Infusino, Crunchmaster, General Mills, and Polaris (among many others!).
As part of our Midwest entourage, Mariah is one of the Account Managers who oversees client campaigns (Zenni Optical, for instance) from the Milwaukee branch (and by “branch”, I just mean Mariah’s workspace – because she’s our sole team member in Milwaukee).
Mariah attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout for Graphic Design & Interactive Media, and is a total ninja when it comes to Adobe Creative Suite. 🥷🏼
When she’s not crafting creative (or creatively crafting), Mariah is all about that Soul Cycle life. Throw in some yoga, a little good food, plus some wanderlusting ✨, and you’ve basically filled her days.
Alex Jules, Associate Account Director
Superpower: Insider insight… as an actual influencer
A recent addition to the Account Management team, Alex (short for Alexandra) or Laskey, as some people call her, is a powerhouse in our client-facing world. She’s working with Lenox and Yelp for Restaurants, among a few others. And absolutely killing it.
Hailing from the Port City of Saint John, New Brunswick, Alex is a true Maritimer who’s now living just a province over in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And by true Maritimer, we mean that she’s a sucker for ocean sunsets and sailing (probably at the same time). ⛵
She’s also a big fan of lilacs, blogging, travelling (remember when that was a thing?), trying new foods, and hitting up local vineyards in the summertime. Oh – and she’ll never pass up the chance to pet a dog. Some might say she’s obsessed (well actually… she said it herself). 🐶
Did we mention she makes a mean latte? This Self-Proclaimed Barista can truly do it all – and a lot of it is thanks to her dual Finance/Marketing degree from Saint Mary’s University. She comes from a background of working in the influencer marketing industry too, both at a previous agency as well as being an influencer herself. #alwaysinfluencing
Nor’Quera Townsend-Hopkins, Account Manager
Future Nickname: Nor’Quera the Nose
In her own words: I am an Air Force wife, which is why I currently live in Vegas. I’m a toddler mom and soon-to-be a dog mom. I used to be a cheerleader and won first place overall at a national competition in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I also produce podcasts and am responsible for the last interview Megan Thee Stallion gave before she “made it.” I’ve also been a production assistant on a movie.
My initial goal in life was to be a pediatrician for special needs children, but chemistry and blood are not my things, so I changed majors. Undergrad: Associate of Applied Science + Bachelor of General Studies concentrations are Woman’s Studies and Government. Graduate: Will be Master of Business Administration, IT Management. (But the only mascot I claim is my High School alma mater: Eagle)
I am creative at heart. I’ve been creating since childhood, so it’s only natural that I would choose a creative career field as an adult. I can get through an entire book series in a week if I am interested. Also, I am pretty good at interior decorating.
If it involves food, I am there. I’m a fantastic cook and have never met a person who did not like my food. I recently started an ever-expanding perfume collection and would like to be referred to as “Nor’Quera the Nose”.
I have a “can-do” attitude. I am always willing to help, willing to try, and I’m not afraid to ask questions.
Sarah Baum – Associate Account Director
Master Organizer, Adventure Seeker, and Your Go-To Problem Solver!🌟
Say hello to Sarah Baum, our Account Supervisor, straight from the hustle and bustle of New York, NY! 🏙️ A proud graduate of Indiana University (Go Hoosiers!), Sarah brings her passion for journalism and business to every project she tackles.
When she’s not busy conquering the concrete jungle, you can find Sarah obsessing over her furry best friend, Reese 🐾, hitting the gym for a killer workout 💪, or whipping up culinary masterpieces in the kitchen 🍳. And let’s not forget her love for travel and country music – she’s always on the lookout for her next adventure or the perfect song to sing along to.
But Sarah’s organizational skills are what truly set her apart. From meticulously crafted Excel docs to color-coded to-do lists, she’s the queen of keeping things in order. And let’s not forget her talent for discovering hidden gems on TikTok – whether it’s a new recipe or the next big music sensation, Sarah’s got her finger on the pulse.
Joining our team is just another highlight in Sarah’s journey, and she’s thrilled to be part of our dynamic and growing family! 🌟
Akira Kotsugai, Full Stack Developer
Special Skill: Akira is a football ⚽ star who played soccer 6 days a week as a kid in Brazil.
Originally born in Japan, Akira is one of our developers that currently lives in Brazil. He can be found working out, enjoying the sauna, traveling, or going out to eat with his wife. 🥗
At one point, Akira, also referred to as Japa, spent a year in Dublin as a bartender 🍻 learning English at a language school. He’s always been adventurous and never shies away from a challenge. 💪🏼 He doesn’t like the idea of giving up and finds that roadblocks don’t discourage him, but motivate him to figure it out or reach the goal.
He also loves the magic of a well-designed plan. In his free time, he likes to review and adjust his plans accordingly. He also adores animals and currently lives with two cats that were rescued from the streets.
Kristel Starke, Sr Creative Specialist
Special skills: International Super Communicator Extraordinaire
Notable Clients Kris has worked with – New Balance, Budweiser, Marriott Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Barardi, Coppertone, LG and Alka Seltzer. (DANG!!!)
And in the red corner! Fighting out of the gorgeous Costa Rica by way of The Rain City, Vancouver, BC Canada: KRIS, THE COMMUNICATION KUNOICHI!
During her stay in Costa Rica, home to the slogan “pura vida” or “pure life”, Kris studied 🎓 Public Relations at Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. This is when she first cemented the inkling that communication was her superpower. 🦸♀️
Since then, Kris has worked as a Social Media Manager 📱 Project Manager & Marketing Strategist for the goddesses over at DIVINIUS, a super cool ethical & sustainable fashion brand.
Kris also wows the team with her beautiful singing voice! 🎶 This comes as no surprise with her years of experience performing at concerts and being on stage. And it’s not just her voice that makes Kris so remarkable (although…), it’s also her skincare routine. If anyone needs skincare recommendations. When it comes to skincare and skin health, Kris is your go-to person. She has all the latest details on the best products on the market, and she knows exactly what you need to do to glow all the way up.
When she’s not songbirding or skin-caring or communicating, Kris is a CREATIVE GENIUS🎨 when it comes to this social media thing. Plus, she is known for delivering her world-class support to both clients and the other AMs on the team.
Chanel-Sofia Dordoy – Brand Partnerships Associate, Business Development
Tagline: Forging Connections Partner by Partner by Partner by Partner by…🔗🔗🤝
Meet Chanel-Sofia Dordoy, our Brand Partnerships Dynamo, currently basking in the sunshine of Florida! ☀️ Hailing from the vibrant blend of England and Denmark, Chanel-Sofia is a linguistic virtuoso fluent in both English and Danish, effortlessly bridging cultural divides.
A graduate of the prestigious Copenhagen Business School, Chanel-Sofia brings a wealth of business acumen and global perspective to our team. With a background as the Sr. Director of Business Development at NeoReach, she’s no stranger to forging successful partnerships and driving business growth.
What sets Chanel-Sofia apart? Her meticulous attention to detail and unwavering commitment to task completion. From managing busy email inboxes to coordinating seamless operations across functions, she’s a true master of her craft.
But it’s not all business for Chanel-Sofia. When she’s not busy sealing deals, you’ll find her lost in the pages of a good book or indulging her inner Monica with a spot of cleaning and organizing. And let’s not forget her love for trivia – she’s a walking encyclopedia of random general knowledge facts!
Here’s to another great chapter in Chanel-Sofia’s journey of discovery and growth here at The Shelf. We’re THRILLED to have her on board! 🚀
Caitlin Martone Cox, Client Partner
Super Power: She might just adore your pet more than you do. She’s been featured on The Dodo more than once for her large heart and open-door-policy for animals in need.
Another Austin, Texas resident 🤠 Caitlin was originally born in Ispqich “Beantown,” MA (which is, ironically, known for their fried clams. Go figure!) An animal lover to her core, when she’s not saving them, she’s taking professional photos of local sweet-faced fur babies or hand-drawing designs for her clothing line, Second Nature Trees, centered on endangered species (I’m not crying, you’re crying). 😥
A creative thinker with a passion for new challenges and strategizing 🧩 Caitlin served as the Sr. Development Director for the American Heart Association ❤ before joining The Shelf’s Sales Team. She earned her Sports & Hospitality Management degree NYU, graduating a proud Violet-not-bobcat (she’s just as confused about their mascot choices).
Growing up on Beantown’s clam-filled beaches 🏖 ignited her love affair with all things water: the ocean, rivers, rain, and even seltzer Her non-aquatic hobbies range from drawing to basketball to light-construction DIY projects to eating chips & queso (potentially) seaside.
Outside of saving the world one paw at a time, Caitlin can be found enjoying the outdoors with her husband, toddler, and pup as part-time Austin adventurers.
Lex Kucey, Associate Director of Strategy
Secret Weapon: We suspect she has an actual, working idea machine
As a member of our creative strategy team, we rely on Lex to always be ready to dream up something amazing. And she never disappoints. Coming from a small rural town in Nova Scotia, Lex got a Bachelor of Journalism at Carleton University, with a Minor in History.
Lex (short for Alexis) paints and writes, is minorly obsessed with flowers 🌻, and majorly obsessed with dogs.
But she’s also a bonafide athlete. Lex was a top-ranking competitive golfer, an avid hockey player (she started in the 5th grade using hand-me-down gear from her older brothers, and got good enough to go toe-to-toe with Sidney Crosby’s sister), she enjoys hiking, and she loves strength training in the gym.
Never one to shy away from a challenge (as if all the other stuff wasn’t challenging enough), Lex also once taught English in Southern Thailand 🌴, to a class of 29 kids who were 4 years old.
These days, when Lex isn’t coming up with creative concepts for potential campaigns that prospective clients absolutely love, she tries to get in a little quality time to enjoy the things she loves in her home base of Halifax, Nova Scotia. That means a lot of time spent at nearby beaches, having kitchen parties with friends, and partaking in the occasional box of garlic fingers (it’s an NS thing).
Tessa Druley, Account Manager
Fun Fact: Tessa once backpacked across Europe and has been looking for ways to recreate the experience ever since.
A Twin Cities native, Tessa earned a degree in Clothing Design from the University of Minnesota. The Gopher graduate then went from serving tables to opening her own clothing brand, where her skills in multitasking, problem-solving, and creative thinking took her to every end of the business.
Tessa is a very detail-oriented person 🔎 making her a great self-teacher. When she finds a new interest to obsess over, she is equal parts student and educator. Admirable. Her rabbit-holing skills enable Tessa to learn topics so thoroughly, so completely, that she can distill #allthethings into simple concepts that anyone can understand. 🤓 Einstein would be proud. Bonus: her autodidactic ways have led her friends to believe she could survive the apocalypse. 🧟🏻♂️
When she’s home, Tessa loves to host game nights, enjoy a lil mixology 🍹 (which surely makes her a game night favorite), partake in some fashion illustration and interior design. She’s also a low-key ninja when it comes to DIY projects around the house and spending time with her German Shepherd, Vida (which may or may not be short for Living La Vida Loca). 🎉
Jessica Lee, Operations Manager
Organizer of Chaos, Plant Whisperer, and Cat’s Favorite Human 🪴🐱
If there’s a checklist, a system, or a creative workaround hiding in the chaos, Jessica will find it — and probably make it prettier while she’s at it. Around The Shelf, she’s the quiet engine keeping things running, connecting the dots between teams, and making sure big ideas actually make it out into the world.
Her path here wasn’t straight. Jessica started in market research, decoding brand lift studies with data analysts, then pivoted into branding and design for scrappy startups. When the influencer marketing wave hit, she was already there, running creative and operations teams through the fast-moving early days of TikTok.
Outside work, Jessica is all about health, creativity, and a little bit of cozy: cooking fresh meals, painting, cross-stitching, thrifting, traveling, and keeping her 12+ plants alive (with more on the way). She’s a masala chai drinker, a Studio Ghibli devotee, and a soup dumpling enthusiast who celebrates the small joy of a new leaf sprouting.
And then there’s Lily — her 15-year-old cat and meeting crasher-in-chief — whose timing for meows is as precise as Jessica’s timing for project deadlines.
Megan Fayarchuk, Associate Account Director
Notable Clients: Tiffany & Co., Hugo Boss, Marc Jacobs, and Calvin Klein
Megan, or Megs, is a professional hype-women that never misses the silver lining. She now lives in Burlington, Ontario with 5 pet chickens that honor her with fresh eggs each morning. She also has an Australian shepherd named Indy that feels more like a child than a pet.
Megs studied marketing at Carleton University (Go Ravens!), and has gone on to develop 360-degree marketing campaigns for luxury brands. 💍 She loves working out and is a hard-core foodie who loves to entertain friends with homemade cocktails and new recipes. 🍷🧉🍸🍹
Megs is organized, positive 🌞 and multi-faceted. She can do everything from manage premier clients to play the piano. We’re glad we have this hype-woman on our team! Woohoo!
Sydney Campbell, Account Manager
Fun Fact: She can “almost” basically do the splits.
Sydney (Syd) studied psychology at Queen’s University and now lives in Vancouver, BC. She’s worked in marketing communications and has collaborated with clients like Barstool Sports. Known for her listening 👂🏻 and people skills, Syd is a pro-level communicator with a creative edge. Now she’s one of our talented account managers. 🥳
In her spare time, Syd likes to practice her 🎨 watercolor painting, read, bike, and cook. She’s a podcast connoisseur and listens on 2x speed so she can maximize her listening. She is also the proud owner of a comprehensive skincare collection.
She also cherishes fireside nights by the lake with karaoke and friends.
Hello!! I’m Lauren. Here is the TLDR version of our story: Atul and I are the founders of The Shelf. We started this company fourteen years ago. It’s evolved a LOT. And through many ups and downs, we’ve gotten to a place where we couldn’t be more proud. We’re a team of 70+, working with hundreds of the world’s largest brands! We’re growing our team too – so if you’re interested, please check out the careers page!
(Now… if you’re the type of person who enjoys some super low-level, tangent-ridden timelines, read on below. We’ve got your back, Jack.)
2011
Atul and I met at a salsa class, dated for like a month, then moved in together (Move #01). My southern parents weren’t pleased.
Also in 2011
We quit our jobs in tech because we had a vision (albeit a slightly superficial one). We wanted to build a sale-alert app so that no one would ever have to pay full-price for anything ever again. (In the back-end, we also analyzed consumer shopping habits… just to give the idea some legs.) We called it “The Shopping Elf”. Which we then condensed to “The Shelf”... Shopping Elf --> Shelf.
2011 relocation
We also moved to the middle of nowhere in New Jersey (Move #02).
2012
We worked on our idea for a while until we had a prototype. Then, after reading too much Hacker News, decided that the obvious next step was to apply to Y Combinator (the do-all-to-end-all in accelerator programs). We actually got to the interview stage! But ultimately didn't get accepted. A guy on the evaluation team named Sam was shooting us the stink-eye the whole time. Thanks Sam. We were accepted into a much better program though... AngelPad. Thomas and Carine were amazing, and they were actually the ones who pointed us in the direction of influencers.
Also in 2012
We moved to San Francisco packing whatever we could fit into our Honda Civic (Move #03). Everything else went into a cheap storage unit. (Note to anyone renting a storage unit... cheap isn't always the way to go. Ours was both robbed and flooded.) We rebuilt our platform to be an influencer discovery engine that analyzed influencers based on shopping habits (thus allowing us to maintain our core tech, as well as provide us with a pretty unique differentiator). We decided to keep our company name as The Shelf, even though it didn’t really mean much at this point. We had already paid some guy $600 for the domain. Plus, we had run out of most of our savings by this point - so it seemed like the prudent thing to do.
2013
We tried for months to raise money to fund our little startup. This was traumatic, to say the least, and it made us truly understand what rejection felt like. (One investor told us, and I quote, “your startup makes me feel sad”.)
A few months later
Eventually, we managed to raise a small round of funding that came with a few strings… we were required to move to Vegas… so that’s what we did (Move #04). Why the hell not at this point, right? We moved into an apartment in sort of a dodgy area of town… One time, from our balcony, we got to watch an actual SWAT team bust happen with 5 tanks rolling in, and men with guns hanging off the sides. It’s true. I have pictures.
A thank you to our investors
All kidding aside about the fundraising... because it truly was terrible, and for a while, we didn't think we'd be able to do it. We are, and will always be, forever grateful to those who believed in us. And we hereby promise, you will all be glad you rolled the dice with us. Brett Bouttier was the first one in, along with Lisa Hackner. (Thank you Brett and Lisa, you got everything started for us!) As I already mentioned, Thomas and Carine from AngelPad. Then came Kyle Fugere, Dave Balter, and Raphi Savitz with Dunnhumby Ventures; Will Young and Tony Hsieh from the Vegas Tech Fund; Judith McHale and Brian O'Halloran from Cane Investments; Chua Boon Ping from SPH Media Fund; John Tan and Firas Alsuwaigh from BWB Ventures; plus our wonderful angel investors: Sam Choi, Cleaven Yu, Ashwin Navin, and Selina Tobaccowala. Additionally, our advisor Mickey Goodman was a guiding light for us during this time.
A few months after that
We were finally able to hire our first employees - yay! Welcome Artur and Pavel (both of whom have stuck with us through all of this and have single-handedly built our platform... something that would typically require teams of 20+ in a normal company). Honorable mention to Bobby, another developer who we’ll always have a soft spot for. And then we also began working with Sabrina, who was hired as a contractor to write a weekly blog post for us. Over the years, she's climbed from position to position, all the way to the top, and is now leading the largest team in our company. She's been with us for 13 years... she's worked with every single client we've ever had... she knows more about the biz than just about anyone... and she's a force to be reckoned with.
At the end of 2013
We landed our first four clients at a tradeshow! They paid us $25 dollars a month. We felt like we were finally making it.
Some personal stuff in 2013
Atul and I got engaged. And we adopted the smartest, most chilled-out little pug, Toggle. He had severe separation anxiety so he was attached to our hips for the next 8 years.
2014
Vegas was fun, but we decided to move again, this time to NYC (Move #05). Armed with only the advice from my highfalutin friend, we signed a lease for the tiniest most over-priced apartment one could find in Gramercy. It was 250 square feet. We proceeded to give away most of our furniture… because, well… 250 square feet is like the size of a bathroom.
Also in 2014
We hired our first sales people. We got a tiny office. (Shoutout to Desirae who was with us during some dark days.) Sabrina joined us full-time to help us with marketing. We figured out how to use the subway. Toggle tried to attack a very old golden retriever. It was the first and last time we ever saw him lose his shit…
2015
We decided Gramercy was too uppity. Plus, we were running out of money again… So we moved to a small apartment in the Lower East Side that had a hole in the floor (Move #06). It also had a pretty severe mouse problem (possibly because of said hole). We went through 151 mouse traps that year. The mice in our apartment were intelligent too… it’s like they passed their learnings on to the next generation. And they learned to evade the traps. They also got super ballsy and would shimmy their way up the back of the couch while we were working and dive bomb onto the couch next to us. Yes, really.
Also in 2015
We hired Sorilbran part-time to help us with content, because she sent us a super funny cover letter that of course resonated with me… lover of long-winded quirkiness. We also postponed our wedding for the first time.
Also in 2015
We began offering services, where we would run the campaigns for our clients instead of providing platform access. This year we also had a big presentation with Ralph Lauren that we worked on for months. We included some slides on what we felt they were doing wrong. This wound up pissing off their entire marketing team and we were never invited back.
2016
Finally we started making some money. We closed our first big client: Famous Footwear. We will always love them for that! And with that big win under our belts, we were able to use the resulting confidence and momentum to close more deals! Sabrina moved over to Account Management, but still helped me do marketing stuff. Pavel and Aartur were busy adding features and pushing updates.
Also in 2016
The combination of the mice problem + the hole in our floor was starting to get to us. So we moved again (Move #07). This time to Park Slope.
2017
eos became a client of ours. Our point of contact over there was a little more on top of us than our typical client. Over the course of the following year, she had a barrage of requests that over time became sort of draining, BUT… she single-handedly pushed us into creating a super extensive client dashboard that handles everything from approvals, to scheduling, to content downloads, to report generation, and more. We’re forever grateful to Alexandra and her get-shit-done-or-else attitude. (We even tried to hire her but she said no.) Other notable clients that year were : Natori, Evenflo, Cybex, Diamond Producers Agency, Bustle, Graze, and Pepsi.
Also in 2017
We expanded our Account Management team. Sabrina became the manager! We offered Sorilbran a job - and she expressed interest - but we were kinda swamped and - hate to say it - forgot for another six months or so.
Also in 2017
We decided to move again (Move #08)… why? This time we just felt like Park Slope was a little too boring. Also, the commute took us forever because of our elder-state pug who ambled the 7 blocks to the train station at snail-speed. So we moved to Dumbo, 2 blocks from our office. We also postponed our wedding for the second time.
2018
Much like our apartment hopping, we office hopped as well. We switched offices for like the 5th and 6th time this year. Our team also grew quite a bit! Sales were really picking up. Welcome Konstantin, the fantastic and over-the-top illustrator who created all the magical graphics for our rainbow-colored site! We also hired Sorilbran on full-time to head up the marketing department. Also, some fun new clients included: Lenox, Simon, American Standard, GAF, Regis, and Moosejaw.
The wedding that finally happened
Atul and I finally got married! This time we didn’t allow ourselves enough time to cancel. We planned the entire thing in 2 months. I DIYed it up and made 12 enormous paper flowers to be the backdrop for our ceremony (they were huge… like 7 feet tall). When I made them, I didn’t account for a windy day. So as we were setting them up an hour before the ceremony, they kept blowing over. I pole-vaulted one of them into the woods and then cried for a few minutes. Honestly, in hindsight, the wedding could have benefited from a little more prep time. But it was still beautiful.
2019
By this point, Sorilbran had assembled a full-blown content-marketing machine with us showing up in search results. She also had tons of spreadsheets and a small crew of contractors. (And the super impressive thing to note here is… we hired her, then got super busy and really didn’t touch base with her for like a year. She just chipped away and got shit done.) Also, we added a ton of wonderful clients: Pilot Pens, Susan G. Komen, Funko, RefrigiWear, Head & Shoulders, Nite Ize, Rover, Quinny, Maxi-Cosi, Herbal Essences, Square... Courtney kickstarted whitelisting as a service. And then also... more team growth! (Welcome Ryan, Ali, Elizabeth, and Kirsten.)
Also in 2019
We moved into a super large office in Dumbo with the idea of turning it into an experiential space, where we could host events for our clients and their influencers. I worked on designing and building this space into a magical realm of rainbow colors and whimsy for over a year. We launched it by renting it out to party-goers, and got fantastic reviews… While working on this project I also became Olympic-level good at papier-mâché.
Also in 2019
We found a feral cat on our fire escape and adopted him. We named him Django. We also got pregnant with our first little baby! I loved the name Django so much that I considered changing our cat’s name to something else so that we could use Django for the baby, but Atul thought he’d get made fun of.
2020
2020 is sort of synonymous with COVID-19. I think most companies got hit hard by this, so we’re not complaining. We feel lucky that we were able to come out on the other side of it, and we’re thankful that our team was so understanding and stuck with us during this time despite pay cuts and a significant amount of upheaval and stress. We love you guys! (I didn't think anyone would actually read this far down, but a recent candidate asked about the pay cuts. So as an update, everyone is back to their original salary or more. And, we back-paid the entire amount amount lost from the pay cut to each person on the team after we were back in the clear. Regardless though, everyone took the cut without thinking it would be paid back and that meant a lot to us!!)
Also in 2020
We had to close down our physical office (the one that was supposed to be our experiential events space). This hit me especially hard. Actually… if you scroll back up, the photo above is pretty bittersweet for us. On that particular day, Atul and I had gone to the office to start packing it up into boxes. The client frames in that photo were glued to the wall so… before I ripped them down to pack them up. Atul and I stood there together along with our best boy and forever mascot to pose for this little photo. I was also 4 months pregnant at the time, so this depressing little tear-down-our-office photoshoot also served as my pregnancy photoshoot. (2 birds.) On another sad sidenote, we lost our little Toggle a few months later. He was our everything and it's been a struggle to figure out life without our little potato loaf.
Also in 2020
It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. We welcomed Ashley, Anton, Alex, Nicole, and Jess to the team! Some fun new clients were Brilli, Healthade, Central Garden & Pet, Greenvelope, Carbon Health, The Honest Company, Country Crock, KISS, Zenni, and Feit Electric. We also moved to Connecticut (Move #09) to get away from NYC during the pandemic. We had our baby!!! He has a huge head, just like his dad.
2021
We created a branch in Canada, yay! Welcome to all of our Canadians who joined this year (Lex, Alex, Emma, Amber, and Ynah)! In addition to that crew, we also welcomed Destiny, Lizzie, Mariah, Jonah, Becca, and another Ryan from the US! Everyone has really been kicking butt and taking names!
Also in 2021
We redesigned our website (along with this fancy new Team page that in all honesty, you probably aren’t still reading). My mom told me my writing is cheesy and that people don’t want to read this much. (Noted Mom, but disregarded.) We’ve also been working super hard on SEO and are now showing up on the first page! We’ve restructured our AM team. And Elizabeth was promoted to a manager. We’ve also been informed by Pavel that our site is completely running on React instead of Angular. He told us Angular is officially not cool anymore.
One more Move in 2021
We moved to Atlanta for Move #10 (a much better number to stop at). And... Daphne Jaya Singh (aka, Miss Dee, Queen Dee, Sweet Dee, and Butter Pecan Biscuit) was added to the group!
2022
Since the site went up I haven't been super on top of updating this page, so here's a list of notable clients from 2021 and 2022: Toys 'R' Us, Anthropologie, a bunch of Nestle Brands, Savers, Nordstrom, Samsung, Sam's Club, Josh Cellars, Yellowtail, and a bunch of others! It was a really fantastic year!
Also in 2022
We bought a building in Atlanta that will become our rainbow colored experiential palace for client events!! We grew our mighty little team to over 50 fantastic people! I cut my bangs way too short.
I'd also like to mention
I've called out a few team members above throughout the course of our story, like Sabrina, Sorilbran, Pavel, and Artur... because they've done a lot over the years. But also, because they have been with us for such a long time (5 years +), and weathered so many storms with us (many of which were left out for the sake of brevity... hahaha, that couldn't be the right word, you must be thinking... it is. I promise. This is my condensed version of our story)! But I want to say, we couldn't be happier with the team that we've grown. Most teams have only a few people who are considered to be mission critical. But our entire team... every last person... is exceptional, and we feel lucky to have assembled such an amazing group of people.
And some concluding thoughts
All of the above is probably TMI, so I’ll finish with this. Starting a company isn’t the most fun, but we didn’t really find that out til we were in the thick of it. Each hurdle that got thrown at us, we’d think… oh, if we can just get past this, we’ll be fine. But the hurdles kept coming. Until eventually we got used to them. And now when there’s a period of quiet, we start to get antsy… It’s probably helped that we’re in a relationship. This company was our first baby of sorts, and we’re incredibly passionate about growing it and making an impact! We truly believe in our mission. We're constantly working to improve and evolve. We always try to take feedback. We incorporate what we can. We grow. And we improve. We might not be perfect, but you can make damn sure that we're trying to be. And if you work with us, whether as an employee or a client, we will give you absolutely everything we've got!
We’re growing! And we’re always looking for friendly, smart go-getters to join us in our quest. Below are some positions that we’re hiring for right now. You can also visit our careers section…
