Monopoly, Marketing, and My Journey to York IE

I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs where Monopoly was always being played. Not because it was the most fun game in the house (it wasn’t), or quickest (definitely not), but because my parents used it to teach us about cash flow and the cold nature of real estate domination among siblings.

My parents ran a small limousine company, and from a young age, I was in the thick of it. I swept out the garage, handed out cookies and business cards at wedding shows, and answered the phone with my best business voice: “Good afternoon, Linahan Limousine, thank you for calling, please hold!” Then I’d sprint to hand the phone to my mom so she could close the deal. That early experience gave me a deep appreciation for small business owners who wear all the hats and was my first real glimpse into the world of marketing and entrepreneurship.

Since then, I’ve brought that same hustle and love of problem-solving to the wild world of startups. I’ve worn a lot of hats on lean marketing teams, and I’ve loved every brainstorming session, whiteboard war, and “aha!” moment along the way. From genetics to telehealth, and equity management to non-profit, I’ve had the chance to help some incredible companies grow, and I’m just getting started.

Now, I’m thrilled to be joining York IE, where I’ve found a group of people also obsessed with startup growth. This is a team of sharp and curious marketers, storytellers, strategists, and technologists; I’m so excited to dive in. Here, I get to keep doing what I love: working with cutting-edge startups to find their growth levers and help them scale with confidence.

Digital marketing is kind of the Wild West right now. But at York IE, we’re not afraid of AI taking jobs, we’re too busy using it. We’re leaning into the tools that make marketers more efficient, spending less time on admin work and more time thinking strategically. We’re testing, learning, and building better ways to empower startups and we’re bringing them along for the ride. Now we’re on the cutting edge of our industry, and it makes every day exciting!

I haven’t quite achieved Monopoly-level real estate dominance over my siblings (yet), but the lessons stuck. And now, I get to use them every day.If you’re a startup looking for expert marketing support with a side of scrappiness, reach out to York IE and let’s build something great together.