Welcome to the latest “WIN Spotlight,” our ongoing series that celebrates inspirational women in our community. Each interview features a member of WIN who is championing innovation at her organization or across the industry. We dig into the diverse perspectives, influences, mission, drivers, and dreams of these leaders, and of course, ask them for practical advice and pro tips from their years of experience.

This month we are excited to feature Emma Cooper-Mullin, Director of Brand Marketing at Brightseed and WIN SF ambassador!

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Emma Cooper-Mullin. I lead brand and marketing at Brightseed, which discovers plant-based ingredients that are natural and scientifically-proven to improve health and wellness. We partner with companies to commercialize our discoveries in everyday foods and beverages, restoring consumer trust and shifting the health paradigm to food as medicine.

What’s the best part of your job?

The best part of my job is getting to help build a brand from the ground up. Brightseed was founded in 2017 by Jim Flatt, Sofia Elizondo and Lee Chae, three people I have a lot of respect for and a lot of fun working with everyday. Prior to joining Brightseed I was a consultant. I had a lot of interesting clients, including some startups, but it's a different and way more personal experience working inside a new company.

And I love working with scientists! They teach me so much.

What are the life moments that most influenced you to seek a career in innovation?

I’ve always enjoyed making new things and creating, and I’ve always hated working in silos. I do my best work when I’m able to bounce ideas off of people who push my thinking, and make connections between seemingly disparate ideas. In college I liked social sciences classes and creating installation sculptures. My favorite projects in consulting were in CPG and technology. Now I work at the intersection of food, technology, and health.

If you had to choose one, who is the woman that most inspires you? Why?

I can’t choose just one because I have three sisters, Clara, Elizabeth & Becca. I have no idea where I would be without them. Being part of a family of smart and hilarious women has been the most inspiring part of my life.

How do you keep up to date with the world?

Next Draft, Pocket, NPR, weekend hard copies of the New York Times, podcasts, Instagram. If I’m feeling drained and uncreative, I take breaks on keeping up to date with the world. Don’t worry, I vote.

What is your favorite quotation?

“There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.”
― Matsuo Basho

What is the best advice someone has given you about your career? How did it help you?

The best advice I’ve been given about my career is to play to my strengths. For much of our lives, particularly in school, we focus on getting better at the things we aren’t good at. But we add the most value when we’re able to use our intuitive gifts everyday at work. Lately I’ve been trying to focus more on what I’m good at, either naturally or through practice.

Who has been your biggest champion in your career?

My dad died when I was 26, but I still think about him when I’m making career decisions. He used to send me these quirky philosophical emails about all sorts of topics and make hypothetical references to jobs I could be doing 20 years in the future. They made me feel better when I was hung up on short term career worries. He also taught me to appreciate and even enjoy the everyday, more mundane aspects of working life. The people you work with, the places you travel to, or even the most ridiculous meetings can be interesting, if you are curious about them.

What was your biggest failure? And what did you learn?

I don’t know that I’ve had one epic failure per se, but I have stayed in jobs that I knew weren’t “right” for too long. Change is scary. I learned that life is short. Now when I try something I try to check in with myself more often. Is this working? I try to admit it to myself when something isn’t right a bit sooner and to make space for what could be instead.

What product, service, or industry do you think is most ripe for innovation? Why?

The industries that are ripe for innovation are seemingly simple: The food we eat. The healthcare we receive. The clothes we wear. We’ve managed to make so many industries incredibly complex.

What challenges do we face in San Francisco / Bay Area specifically?

Living in the Bay Area feels like if you put every good thing and every bad thing about the global economy under a microscope. It means we have the freedom to innovate and this part of the world remains a breeding ground for new ideas. But the social and economic challenges are very real and often heartbreaking.

What excites you most about the world right now?

That everyone is kind of collectively “over it” and ready for things to get better. If nothing else, it's motivational.

What do you think will have the biggest impact on the industry in 2020?

Partnerships. There are large companies with established operational structures that are begging for innovation, and lots of smaller startups that can offer new and different technologies. Effective partnering will make a huge difference vs. trying to innovate yourself from scratch every time.

What excites you most about the world of innovation right now?

The blurring of lines. Categories aren’t as siloed as they used to be. At Brightseed for example, I need to consider health and wellness, flavor, environmental sustainability, responsible use of technology, and many other things. It's not just about bringing a new product or brand to market. It is about having a net positive impact on humans and on the planet.

What does the future hold for innovation in San Francisco / Bay Area ?

Tech used to be its own designation, but it now permeates every industry, from retail to finance to healthcare. And “innovation” in tech-oriented companies is not necessarily owned by one person or one function. It requires sophisticated internal collaboration as well as outside voices to push thinking. Every few years I feel like we read about the death of the consultancy or the death of the agency, but I actually think external advisors and experts will become more important over time. Even if they don’t look or act like the traditional services firms.

Thank you Emma for sharing your story with the WIN community!

Photos by Kara Able

Edited by Gabrielle Andrade

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WIN Spotlight: Emma Cooper-Mullin