About Strategic Mixtape
It’s hard to say exactly when Strategic Mixtape first took root, but two events stand out along the arc of its early beginnings.
In May of 2021, as shelter-in-place guidelines loosened and businesses opened again, Lindsay Funkhouser and Shelby Sledge made plans to see each other after months of limited contact with others. What was meant to be a couple hour catch up about a writing program they are a part of turned into eight hours of chatting, dreaming, and catching up. It became evident that they enjoyed each other's company.
“When we share that story with others, we often get a shocked response,” says Shelby. “I can honestly say there was a certain amount of ‘flow’ in that conversation, where we were two hours in one moment and in the next eight hours had ticked off.”
A few months later, when their alma maters played each other, Lindsay and Shelby went to a college football game together. While the teams played, they notably spent a great deal of time dissecting the marketing plays more than the game play. From Red Bull’s parachuter to Kendra Scott’s jewelry giveaway, they talked about what worked, what they’d do differently, and bonded over a shared interest in marketing and business well done.
That was a turning point, and the two knew they needed to figure out a way to work together.
Continued conversations about audience development, customer journey mapping, and helping others create sustainable business strategy led them to launch Strategic Mixtape, a consultancy and agency focused on helping organizations, experts, and authors cultivate authentic relationships with key audiences—both internally and externally.
Together Lindsay and Shelby bring more than four decades of experience in marketing, organizational health, and internal and external communication.
Strategic Mixtape are digital marketers and communications specialists who help clients take ownership of their corporate and personal brands by teaching them how to set their own strategy, execute it themselves, and become the best partner with outside agencies they hire. In addition to training and coaching, Strategic Mixtape offers do-it-for-you services that help clients execute on their strategic marketing and communications plans.
Lindsay Funkhouser
Lindsay coaches individuals and teams in skills and outcomes related to leadership development, interpersonal dynamics, and overall effectiveness in and outside of the workplace.
She is an MBTI Certified Practitioner and experienced in other tools such as StrengthsFinders, FIRO-B, and TKI.
She leads a development program for writers that develops them in writing craft and creativity to help them flourish in their lives and work. Lindsay has more than 20 years in leadership, marketing, and communications spaces and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Illinois and a master’s in Sports Management from The University of Texas at Austin.
Shelby Sledge
Shelby enjoys helping executives build relationships with key audiences and teaching others about the importance of online and offline strategic communications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Texas Tech University and an MBA with a graduate certificate in entrepreneurship from Oklahoma State University.
Shelby Sledge has more than 20 years of experience in brand and executive communications, including social media, branding, and media relations. She and her teams have led marketing initiatives, on and offline, for hundreds of full-service marketing campaigns for a wide variety of C-suite, brand and literary clients, including more than 30 bestsellers, Chicken Soup for the Soul, A2 Milk Company, Russell Stover, Axia Home Loans and Captain Sully Sullenberger.
She has garnered media coverage with national media outlets, including ABC's “The View,” "U.S. News & World Report," Fortune.com and Martha Stewart Radio.
Before founding Strategic Mixtape with Lindsay, Shelby spent five years as an executive with an "Austin Business Journal" Fast50 Company and nearly four years as a lead publicist with one of the nation’s oldest and most respected literary publicity firms, eventually serving as the firm's media relations manager.