Jesse Odell

Summary

I got my first job at 13. I was a waiter and short order cook at a restaurant called Gilardi's on the Petaluma River. I learned just about everything I needed for life in that job. Then I worked at Baskin Robbins where I earned an amazing letter of recommendation from my boss that my mom still has. I worked at Footlocker where I wore zebra stripes and sold shoes. I worked at worked at Roy Anderson Paint Company and learned about about hard work and how to match paint colors. I worked for Roy Anderson for 7 years throughout high school and college. I went to school and worked at the student store at UCLA where I stocked shelves and was a cashier. I graduated, dabbled with a Master's and worked for my mom's PR firm The Ford Odell Group, where I learned how to tell a story and got inspired by technology and innovation. Then I went to the big city and worked for Schwartz where I got to work with unbelievable entrepreneurs, companies and people. I learned how to fearlessly pitch and believe in the possibility of PR. I started LaunchSquad with Jason Mandell and Jason Throckmorton. We just wanted to work together, work with great entrepreneurs and make a difference. 17 years later, we're still partners and we still love what we do. Today we have offices in New York and Boston, work with around 60 companies and have more than 90 folks on our team. Everyday we get to work with incredibly smart people while helping companies change the world. It's pretty fantastic. Currently we're focused on transforming into a new kind of digital communications firm, creating new services, hiring new types of talent and engaging with new companies. It's an exhilarating time for us and I'm more excited today than ever before. Specialties: storytelling, content strategy and digital communications