Episode 69:
Hilary Laney is the President of Evia, Inc (formerly Tri-Digital). She has been at Evia for over 12 years, and she has held the position of president for nearly three years. During her time as President, she has been responsible for the growth of the company from 11 employees to over 35 today, and revenue growth 71%. Hilary has achieved this by anticipating clients needs and expectations for the future and working closely with her team to develop innovative solutions. Most recently, she has overseen the launch of Evia’s first product, a self-managed virtual events platform, as well as the first-ever rebranding of the 23-year-old company.
Hilary knows that every organization has a story to tell to their employees, partners, and customers. In a virtual world, these stories can be told through videos, social posts, blogs, infographics, and on and on. The problem most companies are faced with today, is there are TOO MANY options for releasing content to their audience, so it often feels disconnected. This is where Hilary and her team at Evia have made an impact. They are experts in sharing the stories of their customers, and she embodies the company’s mission: to unify people through access to relevant content.
Hilary has applied her talents to philanthropic efforts as well. She is always keeping her eyes and ears open to the community around her so she can work with them to help achieve their goals rather than simply donating checks. A few of the organizations she is most committed to are: Friends of Youth, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, TEDxSeattle, and the Museum of History And Industry (MOHAI), where she is a candidate to join the Board of Trustees.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Hilary’s background
- Why you need to surround yourself with people who know what you don’t
- The lessons of honesty and integrity that Hilary learned from her dad while working with him
- How Evia took a massive failure at an event and turned it into a great business relationship with Microsoft
- Why you need to work on your personal development and the development of your team
- Why Hilary has a one-on-one with every employee in her company twice a year
- The challenge Hilary faces in finding employees that fit into Evia’s culture
- What Evia’s culture looks like
- How Evia retains their “A Players”
- Why you need to look for the positive in everything
Ways to contact Hilary:
- Upcoming Speech: www.mpicascadia.com/speaker/hilary-laney
- Website: evia.events
- Twitter: @hilarymwlaney
- Hilary’s one-on-one guide