Q&A with Our Chief Content Strategist

Molly Castelazo is the team’s fearless leader, coach, guide, and editor-in-chief. For clients, Molly works her “magic” as both a brilliant brainstormer and effective executor. For the technology and marketing community, Molly serves in various leadership roles, including as Past President of the Business Marketing Association and committee co-chair for the Arizona Technology Council. Whenever she can, Molly loves to take the stage and speak about strategic content creation, including as an adjunct professor at ASU.

When you were 8, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a medical researcher and writer. My first paper was detailing the remedy I had developed for the common cold. It was water and pepper mixed together in one of those black film canisters with the grey lids (my thinking was that the pepper would make the patient sneeze the cold out of her system). My second paper was on skin, based on secondary research from Grey’s Anatomy (the book – this was long before the TV show). I presented both in front of a living room audience in the first of what would be a long string of oratory presentations for a very supportive and gracious family.

Now what do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a successful entrepreneur and business owner, and a leader in the community. I want to be known for making our world a better place to live.

What is your proudest accomplishment to date?

It’s kind of hard to say, because I feel like I’m always striving. I don’t ever really consider myself to have “achieved” – there’s always a higher pinnacle to reach. But objectively, growing a thriving business through the worst economic slump since the Great Depression is an accomplishment of which I’m very proud.

What gets you out of bed and in to work in the morning?

I love taking on new challenges, overcoming obstacles, and delivering results – for Castelazo Content and for our clients. I have two favorite kinds of days: those where I have no meetings scheduled and can hunker down and just write; and those where I’m out and about talking to people about content development and how, done right, content can help their business grow.

In 3 words…

How Molly describes herself: Smart, tenacious, ambitious
How Robin describes Molly: Brilliant, thoughtful, passionate
How Staci describes Molly: Patient, focused, scrappy
How Michaella describes Molly: Patient, intelligent, leader

How long have you worked for Castelazo Content?

I started this part of my career as a freelance writer in February 2005. I incorporate Castelazo Content in December 2008. It’s hard to believe that (as of today) I’ve been writing content for clients for more than twelve years and running a business for over nine. How time flies!

What do you like best about working for Castelazo Content?

My boss is the best! Kidding aside, I love being able to make my own luck. I love working with an amazing, supportive, talented team. And I love our clients. I am fully cognizant of the fact that without our clients, we wouldn’t be here; they make us. I love them for it, and we reciprocate by delivering high-quality, effective content that helps them grow their businesses.

What is the value you create for Castelazo Content, and for our clients?

The value I create for Castelazo Content is as the chief rainmaker, and I love business development. For our clients, the value I bring is an understanding of how to communicate in a way that resonates with the target audience. A lot of our clients are academics, engineers, financial professionals, and other folks who do complex, technical work and don’t know how to communicate their insights in a way that will make sense to those who will ultimately consume those insights (often, their own clients and prospects). I help them do that.

How does your past experience help you in the work you do for Castelazo Content?

After I graduated from ASU with degrees in Political Science and Economics, I went to work in the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. My job there was to support two PhD economists. They were happy to let me do the writing, a task I took on just as happily. It was there that I honed the skill of bridging the gap between people who think and work at a very complex, technical level (the economists) and the people who would actually use those insights (like policymakers and voters). That ability to have a foot in both worlds is one of Castelazo Content’s chief competitive advantages today.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself running a larger version of what Castelazo Content is today. With the support of and leadership from my teammates, I will be less involved in the day-to-day operations aspect of the business and more involved in the community.

Where do you see Castelazo Content in 5 years?

We’ll have more employees and of course a larger client base – including the clients who have been with us for years already. What won’t change is that we’ll still be delivering high-quality, effective content that helps our clients grow their businesses.