Interview with Corinne Miller

Imagine majoring in Classics at Stanford University, being President of the Equestrian Team at Stanford, and then unexpectedly finding your calling in marketing as one of the first employees at a women’s razor startup. While this trajectory may seem unconventional, it makes perfect sense for Corinne Miller, someone who always follows her authentic passions in whatever she commits herself to.

Corinne, born and raised in Los Angeles, grew up in the idyllic neighborhood of Brentwood with her mom, dad, and three older siblings. She spent her childhood riding horses. Her dad is a musician, and her mom runs all the business operations for her dad’s music after taking a break from work to raise her kids. Corinne now lives in the West Village with her fiancé and their dog.

Career Journey

Embarking on a career journey can be daunting, especially when you don’t have a clear roadmap. For Corinne, a self described “fuzzy” at Stanford (a term Stanford students use to refer to those in the humanities and social science), choosing a career path wasn’t straightforward. In school, it’s often the case that certain career paths require earlier decision-making, such as law, medicine, or engineering. However, for those pursuing a more liberal arts education, the path may not be as clear cut. While Corinne had initially thought of becoming a veterinarian, she soon realized that she gravitated more towards arts and literature than math and science. So, when she arrived at Stanford, she decided to pursue a degree in Classics.

Despite having no clear plan, Corinne loved exploring her interests to the fullest at college. While she enjoyed tutoring and working with kids, she knew that being a professor was not her ultimate goal.

After completing her master’s at Stanford, Corinne moved to New York, where she was looking for a job that would give her a break from the grueling academic life that had taken a toll on her. She stumbled upon a job opportunity at a small startup called Billie through her freshman year roommate from Stanford. At the time she had had no intention of working in marketing, growth, or the startup world. Still, she decided to give it a shot and ended up falling in love with her career path.

Billie and Female Empowerment

Corinne attributes much of her success to the startup environment at Billie—one in which creativity flourished and taking risks and learning was encouraged. The company’s small size allowed her to form deep relationships with her founders and colleagues. This, in turn, gave her the opportunity to prove herself and show her reliability, intelligence, and capability. Although she didn’t initially see herself taking a role that felt less prestigious than she had hoped for, Corinne was determined to work hard and position herself for her future opportunities.

Billie actively committed to body positivity and neutrality, which made it stand out not only within the competitive market but also for the consumer. As the first women’s razor company to show body hair, the company was at the forefront of a movement that celebrated women’s natural beauty. From the products they created to the marketing campaigns they ran, everything was about making women feel confident and empowered in their own skin.

In addition to its external messaging, Corinne also highlighted the company’s internal culture. Working in an environment with mostly women, she was able to learn from talented, driven individuals who were not afraid to speak their minds. This experience taught her the importance of thinking outside the box, being bold with her ideas, and not being afraid to speak up. It also gave her a sense of comfort and support, knowing that her ideas would not be shot down and that everyone was focused on lifting each other up.

Challenges of Inclusivity in Marketing

When asked about her current role in influencer marketing at ShopMy, Corinne spoke about the challenges of balancing customer acquisition and brand values in influencer marketing. She explained that at Billie, they were committed to being body positive and inclusive. They wanted their marketing campaigns to reflect women of all ages, shapes, and sizes. However, when it came to influencer marketing, Billie found that the same people they wanted to feature in their ads were not necessarily the ones driving sales. On the one hand, they were in a growth mindset and wanted to hit their acquisition goals. On the other hand, they wanted to ensure that they were partnering with people who reflected their values. To reconcile these two goals, they decided to make them separate. They worked with their top sales drivers for customer acquisition, while also partnering with creators who identified with the brand’s values for a separate marketing effort.

This approach allowed Billie to put their money where their mouth was and maintain their commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Billie intentionally partnered with a range of creators who reflected the brand’s values, while still hitting their acquisition goals. However, they also faced challenges when working with creators who had controversial pasts or views. Corinne explained that their customers were their number one critics, and they had to be careful about who they worked with. They had to be methodical about their vetting process and ensure they were working with people who reflected the brand’s values.

Female Empowerment in Influencer Marketing

Corinne loves working in the influencer marketing industry because it is a female-dominated space. Women make up the vast majority of influencers in the world, and they hold the most power in this industry. Regardless of the vertical, whether it’s fashion, home, lifestyle, or any other, most creators are women. In fact, they have to go out of their way to ensure that they are also working with male creators to be inclusive in every sense of the word.

For Corinne, being involved in an environment where women are advocating for themselves has given her a new perspective. Corinne shared, “As a creator, you are running your entire business by yourself, negotiating for yourself, reading through contracts, setting rates, and being a business partner to a brand, all on your own. Although some bigger creators have managers to handle these tasks for them, many of them are their own advocates. It’s amazing to see women empower themselves and understand that this work is not just easy, silly work, but it’s actually beneficial to the brand they are helping.”

Representation in Leadership

At Billie, Corinne worked with a primarily female team, before she moved to ShopMy, where there is more of a mix of men and women. Corinne acknowledged that at ShopMy their engineering roles are made up primarily of men whereas women tend to work in marketing, partnerships, or business development roles.

Having worked in a female-dominant environment before, Corinne admits that she had to relearn how to communicate in a mixed-gender environment where older, more experienced men can take up a lot of space. She is grateful for this challenge though as she believes it is crucial to keep pushing yourself and not get too comfortable working with only women all the time. At ShopMy, Corinne said she feels like everyone’s ideas matter, and everyone is smart, driven, and creative, regardless of gender. The startup encourages everyone to be their best selves and support each other, fostering a great working environment.

I resonated with the importance of working with all types of people that Corinne pointed out, no matter how comfortable it may feel to thrive in an all female environment. Attending an all-girls school can provide a supportive environment for girls to develop their voices and thrive without the presence of boys. However, just as Corinne had to adjust to working with older, more experienced men in a mixed-gender workplace, it's important (and hard) to learn how to maintain your strong voice and opinion with people of all genders. For me, attending an all-girls school has allowed me to find my voice and develop confidence without being overshadowed by boys. But in the real world and as I enter the workforce, I know I'll need to work hard to continue to assert myself and not shy away from speaking up in the presence of older, more confident men.

Sharing is Caring: Advice for Other Women/Commitment to Lifting Other Women Up

Corinne’s experiences have made her a strong advocate for other women in the workplace. She recognizes that it can be challenging for women to advocate for themselves, and she takes it upon herself to be a support system for other women. Corinne has a network of female friends who are both earlier on and further along in their careers than she is, and she enjoys sharing her knowledge and experiences with them. Rather than gatekeeping information and opportunities, Corinne wants to build a pipeline of knowledge and experience-sharing among women in the workforce. She is also continuously seeking out mentors to help her continue developing in her career. She believes that mentorship is critical for personal and professional growth and is eager to learn from those who have more experience than she does.

The three key gems of wisdom she wants to share with younger women are:

1. Advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to have conversions where you advocate for yourself no matter how uncomfortable they may feel.

2. Trust your gut instinct.

   1. Corinne is not a big planner, but she knows when an opportunity feels right and when it’s time to make a change. She's turned down higher-paying job opportunities in the past because she felt that they weren’t the right fit for her. By trusting herself, Corinne has been able to find success at companies that she’s truly been proud to be a part of.

3. Find mentors who you can see yourself in to guide you.

Corinne’s mother is her biggest role model. Although she put aside her career for a while, she instilled in Corinne a strong work ethic and the belief that no task is too small. This mentality has served her well throughout her life, as she approaches every job with the same level of dedication and enthusiasm.

In addition to her mother, Corinne has had several great bosses who have served as mentors and taught her invaluable skills. Her first boss, Amy, was particularly influential, teaching Corinne how to present herself in a room and have conversations with her brand partners. At her current job, she has an amazing female founder and two great male co-founders to look up to as well.