Emily McDowell

About Emily McDowell

As an advisor, thought partner, and business coach, I support product-based brands and the humans who run them. I worked with a lot of consultants when I was building my former stationery company, Em & Friends (originally Emily McDowell Studio), but I couldn’t find one who could support me on everything: creative, product development, ops, sales, manufacturing, marketing, voice and vision, margins, hiring— while also helping me to take care of myself as a founder and leader. So after exiting my business, I became that person for others. As founder and CEO of Em & Friends, I led the brand through explosive growth, including the creation of Empathy Cards, a more honest and supportive alternative to traditional sympathy cards, which became an international news story and catalyzed a sea change to the greeting card industry. As a writer and illustrator, my work went viral countless times, and I have a decade-plus-long track record of creating bestselling products that made people wonder if I’d been reading their diaries. In 2018, Em & Friends was acquired by Knock Knock, and I became a partner in the joint company, focusing on strategy, creative direction, and product development. In 2022, both brands were acquired by Union Square & Co / Barnes & Noble, and I exited the company. I\'m also the co-author (with Dr. Kelsey Crowe) and illustrator of the book There Is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When Life Gets Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love (HarperCollins), endorsed by Adam Grant, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sheryl Sandberg, Glennon Doyle, and thousands of readers on Amazon and Goodreads. I offer unsolicited advice and missives from the great adventure of midlife in my newsletter, Subject to Change, a Substack Featured Publication of 2023. You can find me online at emilyonlife.com, and IRL in Portland, Oregon, trying to keep my plants, cats, and step-teenagers alive.

Experience

1. Advisory Board

   Partners In Kind

   Oct 2023 — Present

   PIK is a media and communications company bringing purpose to production by developing and investing in film, television, and entertainment projects aimed at inspiring tangible acts of kindness and compassion, building community and generating momentum around social change.

Education

• University of Santa Monica

  Spiritual Psychology

• Martha Beck Wayfinder Coach Training

  Graduate

• Macalester College

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), English

Skills

• Strategy
• Social Media Marketing
• Online Advertising
• Outdoor Advertising
• Art Direction
• Advertising
• Creative Strategy
• Interactive Advertising
• Corporate Branding
• Copywriting
• Illustration
• Interactive Marketing
• Creative Direction
• Brand Development
• Integrated Marketing
• Digital Marketing