I’m one of the smartest hire decisions you’ll make this year.
There are few people you will encounter on your great ascent that have as much value to offer Square as I do.
That’s a very bold statement.
Let me explain.
Expand and read these key facts about me and my experience that illustrate my point.
I spent almost three years building a Financial Regulation Technology company first as VP of Marketing and later as Chief Marketing Officer. I built my own team, trained them in Fintech Industry specifics, and then launched a brand called SurchX that provided turnkey, legal Credit Card Surcharging for merchants. I led my team in building our own internal lead generation system with automated, dynamic marketing collateral our sales team could personalize and track analytics with their leads. I built the entire brand identity, messaging, investor presentations, advertising model, wrote the marketing plan, and much more. As an executive on the team, I was regularly responsible for presenting to potential customers along side the sales team, pitching to investors, and giving a weekly marketing effort report to the entire staff. Here is an example video from that effort: https://youtu.be/EeVlIjHSxQ4 SurchX is now named Interpayments.
Over the course of my career, I have helped successfully launch and/or grow more than 2,000 businesses. More than one of those start-ups grew to become a billion-dollar brand from scratch. I’ve helped many well-known brands advance forward by taking on and penetrating entirely new markets with success. I am an expert in shaping public perception and driving both consumers and commercial decision-makers to take action. I am a strong B2B and B2C marketing strategist and have delved deep into the realm of what drives target audiences to make decisions.
I ran my own brand agency for 16 years and am recognized for building brands such as LifeLock (NASDAQ: NLOK) from the ground up. I single-handedly rebranded the world’s largest health supplement company, Isagenix International, and in the process, built a turnkey, very complex automated marketing collateral generator and template website launching system for their 500,00+ sales associates to control associate compliance with the FDA. I did so in just three months over the holiday season. Running my own brand agency (wound it up in 2018), I won a deal to become an authorized marketing services vendor to Ebay, Corporation and as a result provided marketing campaign development and execution across the StubHub network for the likes of Marriott Hotels.
I led a team to build a proprietary SAAS lead generator and member relationship management system for health clubs, developed the product brand, and grassroots marketed it to the health club industry. As a result, we onboarded more than 2,000 health clubs including the privately held chains Golds Gym, Powerhouse Gyms, and World Gym. Once onboarded, I led my team in creating automated e-marketing campaigns for each club location uploaded into, and managed by, the software we built to help sell new memberships and upsell services such as personal training. Finally, I led my team in partnering with Balance Bar, EAS, Adidas, and movie releases such as Pirates of the Caribbean to promote products and services across our network of more than 2 million fitness members. These deals resulted in significant new revenue for the company (Fitness Venture Group, Inc. – the product was called FitnessInsite).
I have led many creative and marketing teams in roles from Creative Director and Director of Product Development to VP of Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer. I have led both in-house and remote teams as large as 25. I have managed product development and marketing budgets as large as $3M. Among the teams I have led and the executive teams I have served I can say without question, that the members found me to be highly effective, clearly communicative, collaborative, and inspiring. I strongly believe in growing leaders on my teams. The founder of a billion-dollar public company once advised me: “Scott, your job as a leader is to put yourself out of work.” I execute as a team leader with this vision. To grow a leader to take your own leadership position is true leadership success. View some of my recommendations on LinkedIN which include several team members I’ve led. I take great pride in being a teacher and mentor. As a leader I help my team members grow in all facets of life.
My roadshow presentations have helped start-ups raise more than $80M in first and second round investor capital. My designs and brand strategy have helped inventors win valuable patents, secure huge licensing and distribution deals, proceed with initial public offerings, and comfort investors. My most recent graphical presentation for capital raise was for a $6M investment angel round for SurchX, Inc.–now named Interpayments, Inc. I also recently completed a presentation for the Eco Adventure Festival presented to the State of New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division.
I co-founded an inspirational website that received acclaim from the Webby Awards. My business partner and I grew the site traffic through SEO, organic, and digital marketing to more than 10,000 unique views a day from around the world. We successfully landed the site on page 1 of Google Search for keywords with more than 2 billion search results. The site was designed to spiritually connect more people to nature. With that traffic in my pocket, I wrote a book on the subject and marketed it across this massive audience and sold more than 1,000 copies of the book in the first 30 days it was published.
I am an award-winning designer having been recognized nationally for product design, advertising, and web development. I have been recognized by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (Webby Awards) for design. I am deeply experienced with print, digital, moving graphics, and video production. If I am assigned to do this kind of work, it will certainly be of no issue. If I am asked to build and lead a team in this realm, again, there will be no issue.
I am a well-known outdoor adventure influencer and content creator with my brand 4XPEDITION Adventurer. I have created partnerships with major outdoor product and services companies with strong partner relationships including such companies as iKamper, Sierra Designs, Teton Sports, Johnson Outdoor (Eureka and Jetboil), Luno Life, and many others. I built and grew a YouTube channel that reaches up to 100k monthly viewers in over 50 countries with primary viewers in USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, and Japan. I have obtained earned media exposure and interviews in international print and digital magazines. I have been invited to speak at Overland Expo before large audiences. I launched a custom-built membership portal for 4XPEDITION and currently have 68 paying founding members from 20 US states, Canada, UK, and Australia.
I am the author of a published book on the importance of humanity to reconnect with nature for our sustainability. The book takes readers through a process of healing personal wounds, letting go of the past, embracing the present, and finding our interconnectedness with each other and the planet. It is a spiritual book gently based on the concept shared by Thoreau, Emerson, and Muir who all referred to the harmony of nature as “Divine Music”. The book is titled Rediscovering Your Divine Music and can be purchased on Amazon.
During the pandemic, the population shifted to outdoor activities rather than flights and travel. Many who are now spending time in nature–and have found enjoyment doing so–are generally not informed about proper camping etiquette. Over the last few years, our wild lands have seen tremendous impact to the point that some National Forest districts are closing areas to the public. Camp Steward was established to educate campers and inspire them to take a pledge to “Keep A Clean Camp”. Since launch, we have received around 1,500 pledges. The program is free. My goal is to build a database of “Camp Stewards” and eventually organize regional group initiatives such as clean-up events and public education. Check out Camp Steward and take the pledge to keep a clean camp.
I am a very approachable, kind, conscientious, and diplomatic individual. My Myers Briggs personality profile is ENFJ. I am the protagonist diplomat with a well-balanced personality. I am known to be an effective communicator with the ability to translate the wants and needs of both an executive team and creative team and as a result find a reasonable and acceptable path forward. Then, I inspire my team to outperform expectations. I am a transparent individual and often openly share my own shortcomings and the hard lessons I’ve learned to illustrate a perspective when attempting to help others.
I’m a powerhouse when I’m passionate about what I am doing.
When I’m driven by passion, I am unstoppable. So, in my pursuit to find the best place to invest my time, I researched companies that offered a product or service that I not only use but love to use.
I decided to center on digital tools for how we live life, organizations that put people first, and companies that share my philosophy about society, the environment, and our collective future. And, since I have already worked in Fintech, I centered on Square.
I researched Founders to understand WHY they launched the business they did and to understand as best I could the path they’ve taken since that first day. I researched their corporate culture, business philosophy, and read the leadership team profiles. I did my due diligence.
Among the companies that sifted to the surface, Square stood out. I truly believe in the company philosophy. I feel I can relate to–and connect with–the people that are driving the business forward. I believe I can make a real difference to Square. I believe I have the ability to increase momentum and help the company reach new plateaus. And, I know I will do so with a big heart, good will, strong passion for my work, and a sharp focus to successfully execute. Why? Because what you do and why you do it aligns with my personal passions and motivation.
My Ask of the Executive Team
I would like to be considered for a leadership role in Marketing, Brand Management, Creative Direction, Partnership Development, New Market Penetration, Team Leadership and guidance, and other like opportunities as you may deem appropriate. I’d like the ability to utilize ALL of my skills to achieve what I am assigned. I would like the opportunity to demonstrate what I am capable of and be a part of the Square team that’s moving mountains.
I believe my accomplishments represent almost limitless and proven capabilities, unstoppable and relentless drive, passion for business, marketing, branding, design, and my desire to inspire people and drive teams.
I believe that Square has an opportunity to explore and strategically penetrate new market segments and improve both the B2B and B2C value propositions. I believe I can help the company fine-tune market position and impression, cross pollinate with other well-known brands and audiences, establish lucrative partnerships to promote across and harness the power of both the buyer and seller sides of the system. I have strong capabilities in the realm of brand positioning and brand strategy and road mapping for the on-boarding of new, lucrative customers and revenue generation opportunities not yet tapped. I am an expert at content generation, messaging and communications, design and design management, and team leadership. But, my skills and experience don’t stop there. I am an excellent cross-department and customer communication bridge. I have the ability to work in many different facets of business and across a range of departments.
I’ve used Square both in my own business in the past and as a customer. I have worked in the Financial Technology industry and particularly in credit card processing. I also have business friends and former clients that use the system and I have talked with them about their experiences to understand what they like and dislike. What more could Square ask for than to bring a new member to the team that offers such a broad set of strengths, has a strong understanding of the product, and has the potential to bring new and potentially lucrative ideas to the table?
Proven capabilities that will add significant value to the marketing, branding, and corporate effort across multiple departments
Deep understanding of the start-up and fast-paced growth environments having held key executive and team leadership roles and managing budgets
Strong leadership acumen and a reputation for building and inspiring champion teams that are driven with purpose and are proven to execute
Extensive insight into marketing, branding, and the shaping of both business and consumer perception of digital products and services with proven ability to build key partnerships
A world-class expert in design and brand development having built multi-billion-dollar brands from the ground up
Get to know me
Below you will find a promotional video for my former agency I wound up in 2018. You will also find several inspirational commentary videos that I have recently shared. Watch them to understand how I conduct my life.
You might be asking: What is 4XPEDITION?
This is a site and brand I developed on my own as a hobby project centered on outdoor adventure, inspiration, and my life’s work. I have used all of my skills and experience to create the brand as an example of my capabilities. The project demonstrates my expertise in branding, marketing, design, partnership development, business management, earned media exposure, writing, video capture and production, and more. My YouTube channel sees on average between 50K and 100K views monthly from viewers in over 50 countries. I have no plans to expand the project beyond what it is. If you have questions about my capabilities, please let me know so I may share examples to help you make your decision. I ran my own brand agency for 16 years. The website is still live so I may show you examples of my other work. View the site at https://prcevr.co.
Please get in touch. I would like to schedule a Zoom call to further discuss how I can help elevate your company.
Mobile Phone Number:
602.321.8277
E-Mail Address:
sleuthold@4xpedition.com