Sheila Marmon is the founder and CEO of Mirror Digital Inc., an interactive media and advertising company that connects Fortune 500 brands to the multicultural market in the United States. The Harvard Business School-educated digital strategist and entrepreneur has executed 100 plus interactive campaigns in this growing market.
Name your favorite role models for success in two industries.
I am obsessed with Elon Musk — he has the Midas touch. He has been involved in the founding of four companies that are each worth more than $1 billion, including Telsa, SpaceX, PayPal and Solar Cities. He inspires me because he thinks big, makes things happen and continues to push himself to be of service to the world every day. He also has a very sexy South African accent.
How did you determine your career path?
I have always believed that entrepreneurship is the path to create real wealth for myself, my family and my community. New businesses create jobs and provide a way to recycle black dollars to strengthen the economies within African American communities. Yes, I want us all to get paid!
With that goal in mind, I really focused on building a professional tool kit that includes experience in digital media, finance, strategy, management and technology that would prepare me to build a large-scale enterprise. I launched Mirror Digital, a digital media and advertising company, and by growing this business I plan to help do my part to help myself and others.
Describe the skill sets that are essential to future business leader and innovators.
Technology and innovation drive our global economy. Future business leaders must understand how to constantly learn and embrace innovation to remain at the top of their game and become global business leaders.
Technology helps us solve the really big challenges we face in both the business and civic arenas. I think we’ll look back on this era and determine that not understanding technology is similar to what is was like to be illiterate at the turn of the century. We have to impress on our young people that they have to get on the train or get left behind.
Describe your personal culture.
Life is an amazing gift and my personal mantra for living is “work hard, play hard.” Consequently, I focus on getting the most out of every day no matter what I’m doing. This means that I not only push myself to achieve my maximum potential professionally but that I also invest in my health, my family, my friends and my community. So while personal success is critically important for my self-fulfillment, service is a large component of my self-definition that drives my value system and world view.
