How I became a brand strategist: Baldwin Cunningham of Brit + Co

Welcome to our series “How I Became a …,” where we’re digging into the stories of accomplished and influential people and finding out how they got to where they are in their careers. We’re finding out what their biggest challenges, their biggest passions and their biggest pieces of wisdom are — for you.

Note: This interview has been lightly edited.

Strategizing isn’t new to Baldwin Cunningham. Stints in Austin and San Francisco got him well-versed in the art of sponsorships and partnerships, from startups to speeches. Now, alongside his place on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Cunningham — who is also a photographer and runs a popular Instagram account for his dog, Parker — currently hangs his hat as the vice president of strategy for Brit + Co.

Baldwin Cunningham. (Photo: Brit + Co)

USA TODAY College caught up with Cunningham to talk all things espresso, Y Combinator, which provides seed funding for startups, and entrepreneurship.

What’s your coffee order? I drink a double espresso. It gets it done, every time.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done? In 2010 at SXSW I convinced the sound guy that I was Big Boy’s hype man and got on stage in front of 10-15,000 people to ask people, “How do you like Texas?!” It was pretty cool.

Who’s been your biggest mentor? Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s just moving at a 100 mph and he’s pushing against norms and constantly proving people wrong. He’s a good person I can bounce ideas off of, and watching him in action is motivating.

How would you describe your job? I am the vice president of strategy. I spend a lot of time analyzing what’s happening within the company and market at large, and figuring out new ways to give us a better position in the ecosystem, both revenue and audience growth wise.

What does a typical day look like for you? It’s a healthy mix of meetings and conversations both externally and internally. I spend a lot of time with our executive group trying to figure out challenges, get seller feedback with what’s happening, and speaking with our potential and current partners to figure out their problems at large and what we could do to quell them.

What does your career path look like? I went to Springfield College in Western Mass., and majored in finance because you tend to adapt to your environment. Being from Connecticut, that’s what I saw as success. I did an internship and realized that I didn’t like finance and would never do it professionally. In 2010, I spent some time with friends in Martha’s Vineyard and started doing marketing for What’s Up Martha. I liked that company a lot, and one of the agencies they partnered with asked me to move to Austin, Texas, to help them with partnership and sponsorship. I moved down in 2010 and really liked marketing. I met entrepreneurs and creatives that were very different from what I grew up around. I started a company originally called Sponsorfied — the idea was, how do we connect brands with startups or partnerships? I was on agency side doing sponsorships and partnerships, especially around SXSW. I had three other co-founders, and we got in the car and drove to San Francisco be serious about it, and got into Y Combinator two weeks in. I worked there for five years and just recently joined Brit + Co six months ago.

What is your favorite part of your job? I like that I spend time thinking about things or relationships that don’t exist and trying to find the balance of putting those two things together; whether through business or general strategy.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve ever learned? Confidence. Until you do something, you don’t know how you well you are at it. Once you do it and put yourself in a place where you compare, you can do it. When I moved to Austin I saw these entrepreneurs doing more than I was at the time, and I thought that I can do that too. Life is about going into the unknown, and understanding that the more you know about it the more you can do.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? During Y Combinator, Kevin System (the founder of Instagram) said, don’t be afraid to ask someone what you want and be persistent about doing that.

What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps? Be comfortable with yourself and the unknown, and act like you deserve a place in the room.