TalkTech Is Live On Squarespace

Client & Customer Websites

Jun 14

Written By GO LIVE HQ

We are so excited to show off this launch for TalkTech! This wasn’t Kristen’s first website design with us, so when she reached out to us she knew exactly what she wanted. Our team loved taking Kristen’s vision and making it a reality. Her new website is a Restyle of our Rise & Shine Template and its clean, modern, and welcoming.

“Learning how to set boundaries — both in work & life — is something that's a work in progress but its something that's important to allow me to thrive in both roles as a mother, wife and business owner so that I'm present and engaged.”

-Kristen Grossi

GOLIVE: WHERE DID YOUR PASSION FOR THE INDUSTRY OR CRAFT START?

Kristen: Fresh out of college, I jumped into entertainment marketing for a hospitality group in Chicago where I worked closely with my company's PR agency. That was my first experience with PR and I saw a lot of crossover into the marketing initiatives that I was in charge of implementing. The benefits of quality media coverage and how it helped my marketing efforts had me intrigued by the power of PR. This led to a career transition and my first job as a publicist was at a boutique lifestyle PR agency where I quickly learned the ins and outs of the craft. I was lucky to have the experience working at a small agency in a hands-on environment where I was able to get my feet wet fast and also learn from my colleagues who had a wealth of experience. Three years later, I moved to Los Angeles and started talkTECH and the rest is history.

GOLIVE: DID YOUR EDUCATION HELP PREPARE YOU FOR THE INDUSTRY OR FOR STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? OR ARE YOU SELF-TAUGHT?

Kristen: I literally took one PR class in college. My teacher had zero knowledge on PR and owned a pizza restaurant (see what private school can offer lol). Part of the curriculum was writing a press release about the restaurant's specials of the week - it was quite funny! So most of what I know is self-taught but I've also learned a lot from my mentors and by listening to my clients.

GOLIVE: WHAT’S THE HARDEST LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED IN YOUR BUSINESS?

Kristen: The hardest lesson I've learned recently is how to set boundaries. I'm a new mom so not working 24/7 was unfamiliar to me. Prior to mommyhood, I used to be glued to my email on the weekends. As a publicist you have to be on call at all times and there's always a sense of urgency - it's part of the job, but I've had to train myself to stop and put down the phone/computer if something isn't truly urgent and can wait until Monday. Learning how to set boundaries -- both in work & life -- is something that's a work in progress but its something that's important to allow me to thrive in both roles as a mother, wife and business owner so that I'm present and engaged.

GOLIVE: WHAT DO YOU WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU WHEN YOU STARTED OUT?

Kristen: I wish someone would have told me how much the media landscape would change and that it will evolve at a rapid pace. You have to constantly adapt which is key to having a successful agency and PR campaigns.

GOLIVE: WHAT WAS THE MOMENT YOU HAD WHEN YOU SAID, “I SHOULD DO THIS” OR WHAT MADE YOU TAKE THE JUMP INTO WORKING FOR YOURSELF?

Kristen: When I moved to Los Angeles, I was set on working for a big, well known lifestyle or celeb PR agency. I quickly realized that I wasn't in Chicago anymore, only had a few industry contacts and it was a whole different ball game out here. I worked on a couple cool projects but they were short and I really needed something more secure (and who doesn't want to be their own boss?) so I teamed up with my mentor and talkTECH was born. During this time, there were many startups cropping up in Silicon Beach, so we wanted to jump on the exciting opportunity - we had nothing to lose and at the end of the day, PR is PR, even if its a new industry. We educated ourselves by staying up to date on all the tech news available to us, read Eric Reis' book- The Lean Startup, and fully immersed ourselves in the startup world.

GOLIVE: WHAT THINGS HAVE YOU GAINED/DO YOU HOPE TO GAIN IN YOUR LIFE FROM FOLLOWING THIS DREAM?

Kristen: To know that I played a role in this wildly innovative era and to see the impact my clients have made in the world. This is what makes my job enjoyable and I'm forever grateful for that.

GOLIVE: WHY DID YOU ULTIMATELY DECIDE TO WORK WITH US FOR YOUR RESTYLE OR CUSTOM DESIGN?

Kristen: My most recent website design and branding was actually the second iteration so it had gone through some significant changes since the company started. I actually liked my old site very much but decided I needed a fresh new look and feel since the company is almost 9 years old now and has undergone many changes (ie. internally, the types of services we offer, the variety of companies we work with, etc). The old website didn't reflect this.

I chose GoLive for this project because I worked with them on my other agency's website - Joint PR (www.joint-pr.com) with my PR partner, Alysha Light. We were so happy with their work and the streamlined process, so GoLive was naturally a good fit For this go around :)