Jess is a unique gem and you’ll get to know her name and brand more and more. With a background in fashion publicity and marketing education, Jess was frustrated sourcing cool brand partnerships in events, products and social media. So, she launched Collabosaurus in 2015 when she was only 24 years old!
The platform has now attracted over 6500+ brands including Porsche, ASOS, Olay, Topshop and one of the largest global retailers in the U.S. This platform allows brands to halve their production costs through collaborations and obviously gives some great PR hooks and marketing opportunities.
Getting to hear her story is inspiring and makes you want to take your risk in life to succeed in your goal. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hang with her and feel empowered by her achievements. I know that I would.
What does a typical day look like for you at Collabosaurus?
I work from home two days a week (it’s fabulous for focussing on creative projects) and I head into our office with the team from Tuesday to Thursday. In the mornings, I always walk to the local coffee shop to sit and write my to-do list for the day with a coffee, but other than that there are few similarities from day to day! I could be working on product design and user experience, working with clients on collaboration ideas, helping with sales, executing our own partnerships and collaborations, or planning out our marketing.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other aspiring businesswomen?
Don’t give up too early! Building an empire always takes longer than you expect, so it’s important to give it a good go and push ahead through difficult situations. I would also recommend getting outside your comfort zone regularly. Try new things, meet new people & explore, what’s the worst that could happen?
Who has been the biggest influences in your life, in terms of your career to get you where you are today?
My parents and grandparents have been so wonderful along the way, having all owned or run businesses themselves. They’ve never pushed me, but have always been there for me and supported my decisions. I adore them!
My partner, Matt, has been a pretty big influence over the last 3 years of Collabosaurus too. He’s been there through so many ups and downs, hard choices and long-distance periods while I was working from the U.S.
What’s next? (without saying the typical ‘where will you be in 5 years time)
COVID-19 has sparked a project I wasn’t expecting to tackle in 2020 and that’s a mobile app for Collabosaurus. It’s still really early days, but the idea is super exciting. I’ve been tinkering away at it for the last few months.
Further down the line, Collabosaurus has such potential to facilitate more in terms of global collaborations. We already have a fantastic user base in the UK & US, but growing further in these countries, as well as throughout Europe & Asia, is a big goal for us. We see international collaborations being instrumental for marketers & business owners over the next few years & beyond.
Jess Ruhfus who are you & what we should know?
* Fave music? I’m in love with our office playlist! Very chill. ‘Kent Street’ on Spotify!
* Go to food? Mexican
* Thirsty for? Coffee or a Margie
* Movies or books? Both!
* What are you loving? Working on a creative project, ‘Normal People’ on Stan & preparing to move our office to a new (STUNNING) space!
Collabosaurus
Suite 14, 299 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
E: info@collabosaurus.com
