By All Means

Just a little over a decade ago, Emily Pritchard’s job didn’t exist. As an undergraduate entrepreneurship student, she noticed that her friends were communicating over social media, but businesses weren’t meeting them there. In 2011, straight out of the University of St. Thomas, she and a partner launched The Social Lights, a social media agency that helps brands with strategy, content, and optimization. Today, the Social Lights works with big brands including General Mills, Pentair, Cargill, and Polaris. In just the past year, the agency has grown its revenue by 87% and its staff by 70%, now up to 43 employees. Keep in mind, Pritchard has never had a boss. She’s never worked for an advertising agency. The role of social community manager—now commonplace at many companies—did not yet have a name when the The Social Lights launched. Today, the agency offers a training program for corporate social media managers. “What we’re doing is actually having implications on traditional agencies that have been doing