Founder@ Interview
With Lauren Petrullo
“The one piece of advice I’d give is this: who you choose to work with is as important as who you choose to marry. You’ll likely spend more time with your team than with anyone else, so never settle. Surround yourself with people you enjoy being around, who challenge you, and who push you to be the best version of yourself. That makes all the difference in your journey as a founder.” – Lauren Petrullo
Today we feature Lauren Petrullo, the founder at Mongoose Media. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
My name is Lauren Petrullo, and I am a multi-founder, including CEO and founder of award-winning agency Mongoose Media, and co-founder of Asian Beauty Essentials.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
When I left my previous position, I decided to create my own path, rather than spending time updating my resume and applying for jobs. I already had clients who were eager to work with me after seeing my social media update announcing that I was going independent. Plus, with the support of my husband and brothers, who believed in me so much, I figured, why not give it a try? That’s what pushed me to take the leap and start my own business.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Based in Orlando, Florida, Mongoose Media is an award-winning, ROI-centric agency with two common goals: building brand awareness and converting customers online. As an all-in-one partner in elevating businesses, Mongoose Media converts social community fans into foot traffic that consistently returns for more, develops strategic and creative smart marketing plans to bring new customers through conquest acquisition and loyalty remarketing, and designs and executes brand and social media campaigns.
With over 10 years of digital marketing experience, Mongoose has helped businesses create their brand presence and achieve their growth goals through a process designed to empower and outfit a business with the marketing tools needed to succeed.
Mongoose Media is an agency partner with Facebook, Google, Snap, Pinterest, Bing and Microsoft.
Plus technology agency partners with Klaviyo, Shopify, and ManyChat. Mongoose has been awarded Prism’s Top 100 Marketing & Advertising Leaders, dotCOMM SEO Creativity & Excellence Awards, and Marcom’s Advertising & Communication Award.
How long has your company been operating, and what have been some of the key milestones in its development so far?
I founded Mongoose Media in 2018. I love trying anything new on my own company first before trying it on another company. By using innovative and promising technology, I now am creating chatbots for clients and using innovative, but proven ways to leverage AI in the digital media space. We are projected to triple our revenue this year and I have been honored to co-host the #5 digital media podcast Perpetual Traffic.
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
Growing up, my dad taught me an invaluable lesson: instead of telling me “no,” he would always ask how I planned to accomplish my goals. Sadly, he passed away when I was 12, but that lesson has stayed with me. The years that followed were challenging, and by my senior year of high school, I experienced homelessness. During that time, my brother encouraged me to forge my own path rather than follow in his footsteps. A
s time went on, I found inspiration in my love for Disney. It taught me the importance of creativity, imagination, and perseverance in business. After completing the Disney College Program, I landed my dream job at Disney, getting the chance to work where Walt Disney himself once did. Although I didn’t have a traditional business background, I applied the lessons I learned from my family and from Walt, relying on determination and grit to find my way into entrepreneurship.
After working with the Walt Disney Company on and off for a few years, I decided it was time to build my own business. My aha moment came when two people reached out to me within a week of hearing I was no longer tied to another agency. They were excited to work directly with me, and their enthusiasm was contagious. That was when I knew I was on the right path.
We know that there are ups and downs in business. What’s been your biggest lesson so far?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is to be careful who you get advice from. There was a person whose business was at the same stage as mine, but I trusted him. The advice I took was actually to reduce my pricing, he found that the pricing worked well for his services because he was able to attract a lot more clients.
Why didn’t this work for me? Because when I reduced my pricing per month on a retainer, I started to attract a smaller client than I could afford, a client that was thinking smaller, a client that could afford smaller and the whole goal was that they can start smaller and I grow with them.
We provided incredible support, but I was cash poor because we were delivering above- and- beyond services. We were doing the amount we would do for a much larger retainer but for much less money.
So the biggest lesson is to never take advice from people who have not hit the revenue targets I am aiming for and instead talk to entrepreneurs that are or are headed where I am trying to go.
That’s insightful. How has that lesson influenced your approach to decision-making, especially when faced with uncertainty?
Now, I’ve learned that if I’m going to open my books and my team, it’s got to be with someone who I know that we are going to get along with and provide great results. As a team, we work with people with a mindset of plenty rather than one of scarcity. We are ambitious, and we want to help those who are equally ambitious. We are really good at what we do, and we want to take on a client where we become even more passionate about their success than they are.
What I wish I had known earlier is that consistency often outweighs quality. People will appreciate you more for following through than for occasional moments of brilliance. Focus on follow-up, building relationships, and remembering that your reputation is everything. You might think a great opportunity will come around again—but don’t count on it. Always seize the opportunity when it comes.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
To my younger self, I would say this: everything you’re doing today is laying the groundwork for your future. Your competitive drive in sports may not be appreciated now, but it will fuel your success later. When people ask you to dim your light, ignore them. Never let anyone’s insecurity diminish who you are or the value you bring.
To the bullied, scared, and suicidal pre-teen, I know the pain feels overwhelming. But that pain will teach you empathy, and you will get through it. One day, you’ll help change lives, work with people who value and support you, and help families live their dreams.
The bullies today are teaching you important lessons to help you become the incredible person you’re becoming. You’ll also discover how vital a support network is, something that will be key in your future success.
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
Three tools have significantly improved how my business runs: Make: I use Make to automate tasks and workflows that I’d otherwise have to manage manually. Paired with ChatGPT, it functions almost like a personal assistant. Together, they handle all my emails. Make watches my inbox and categorizes emails as high, medium, or low priority.
For high-priority emails, like those from clients, ChatGPT drafts a response and sends me a Slack notification for proofreading. For medium-priority emails, ChatGPT queues drafts for my review at the end of the day. Low-priority messages get drafted, and I check them when I have time.
This setup saves me time and mental bandwidth. High Level: This tool handles everything from email marketing and payments to landing pages and SMS automation. It’s affordable, starting at just $47 a month, making it great for small businesses.
I’ve used another tool within High Level called Dologale.com, and it’s been a MASSIVE update to streamline our billing process with automatic payments, eliminating the need to chase invoices.
ClickUp: ClickUp is essential for managing my day-to-day tasks. I’d rather lose my phone for a week than go without ClickUp for a day—it’s that important to staying organized. These tools have been game-changers, allowing my business to run more efficiently while freeing up my time for bigger-picture tasks.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
What I wish I had known earlier is that consistency often outweighs quality. People will appreciate you more for following through than for occasional moments of brilliance.
Focus on follow-up, building relationships, and remembering that your reputation is everything. You might think a great opportunity will come around again—but don’t count on it. Always seize the opportunity when it comes.
Based on what you’ve learned, what are some common pitfalls you’ve observed other companies in your space fall into?
There are so many underutilized opportunities in digital marketing for example: The Facebook/Instagram shop is a highly unutilized sales channel many times forgotten after launch or even overlooked completely.
With the proper research, deliberate selection of creatives, text, and social posting we can bring out the full potential of Facebook/Instagram Shopping. Another example is lead generation ads in Meta.
You can ultimately find your best prime customers by utilizing this feature and many companies see the Cost per metric high compared to other methods and shy away from it. By using quality leads with this strategy we can help several of our customers quickly have an ROI with the leads generated.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
My goal is to set up an online education program for incarcerated youth, offering them alternative resources and job opportunities beyond typical low-skill roles like Walmart or McDonald’s.
I want to show this overlooked generation that their record doesn’t have to define their future. I’ve met many students in juvenile detention centers with incredible potential, but they often lack the direction or opportunity to focus their skills—like marketing and sales—in a legal way.
Growing up in Chicago, I knew many individuals in similar situations. I was fortunate to have emotional and financial security, which empowered me to become who I am today. I want to help those who weren’t as privileged to gain traction toward their dreams in a legal, profitable way.
I’m passionate about this because I know that in jail or prison, people often learn skills to become better criminals instead of better contributors to society. I want to help change that, giving those who’ve been written off by society a chance to reclaim their future.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
The one piece of advice I’d give is this: who you choose to work with is as important as who you choose to marry. You’ll likely spend more time with your team than with anyone else, so never settle.
Surround yourself with people you enjoy being around, who challenge you, and who push you to be the best version of yourself. That makes all the difference in your journey as a founder.
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Mongoose Media”
To learn more about Mongoose Media Visit: https://mongoosemedia.us/
Find on social media @ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenepetrullo/
Twitter: https://x.com/MongooseMediaUS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MongooseMediaLLC/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenpetrullo/