By Axel Lagergren
A two-time Florida State Graduate, Cassie Nicolace is an entrepreneur amidst starting her own marketing agency, Bee & Blume. Recently I sat down with Cassie, former assistant advisor, to talk about her experiences with Arrowhead from 2018 to 2021.
Cassie Nicolace recalls her role as a student, why she was brought in as an assistant advisor in the following years, and what Arrowhead did to empower her as a small-business owner. She warns against following the status quo, advocating for students to forge their own path from college. Cassie’s path led to Bee & Blume, a marketing agency helping out local business owners in the community through its relationship-first approach.
A: In 2018 you were conducting primary research for Wienerschnitzel, it was your first year in Arrowhead. Can you talk about the transition from research to creative, and how this process went during your first year working with a team this size?
C: It was my first year working in an environment with other smart people with their own specialties, it was really energizing to work with a team like that. As far as the transition from research to creative, it felt really satisfying to be basing creative ideas on information that my team and I found. It wasn’t based only on secondary articles online. It was my first time conducting primary research and applying those insights to something real and tangible. When we got into that creative semester it was extra fun to go back into the little details of discussions and interviews I had. Like, “Oh my god Sam, what did you find out on survey team?”, and just having that backing us up made myself and the overall air of the team feel very empowered.
A: I think that is one of the special things about Arrowhead, doing everything from the ground up. Following Arrowhead’s performance in the NSAC Wienerschnitzel competition, you joined the team as assistant advisor. Can you talk a little about your responsibilities in this position?
C: The reason why I was brought on as assistant advisor in the first place; which was the first time that position was created, there hadn’t been an assistant advisor in the past. It was because the existing arrowhead advisor, Barry Soloman, who had founded the team and had been leading the team for decades, was going into his retirement. There needed to be someone to help with the continuity of the team, meaning logistical things like “What are the team breakdowns”, “What are their responsibilities” and “What goes on at competition”, but there also needed to be someone to carry forward the more intangible traditions and spirit of Arrowhead. I think that those kinds of responsibilities were the most valuable in my role in helping with that transition. Making sure that the new advisor Dr. Jaejin Lee, and then the following year another new advisor Dr. Kelly Kelly, were supported in understanding what Arrowhead means to the students when they’re on the team. The kind of prestige that it holds within the School of Communication and within FSU, and also what it’s supposed to feel like. It’s not supposed to just be a classroom environment where you’re all work and then students go their own way after class. I wanted to carry forward the connections that have been made within the team for the years past and make sure current team members were feeling connected – having social gatherings, having fun little traditions like a secret Santa exchange.
Things also changed during Covid-19 where all those traditions weren’t able to be brought forth just from not being together. The two years I was assistant advisor, for one and a half of those years it was virtual. Working to support the advisor and support the team, help guide with what had been done in the past, and give ideas of how it should be run in the future with the new opportunities we had with two new perspectives of the new advisors.
A: How did the aspect of competition change once you stepped up into the assistant director position? Were you less concerned about it?
C: Definitely. My year as a student was the most nerve-wracking. Having to be the one to rehearse those Q&A answers and be the one to scramble to put it all together at the end and have that wait like, “Are we going to win or not?”.
I still felt that nervousness and excitement as the assistant advisor. Even though I was in an advisor role, I felt very connected to the work that the students were doing. It was our work, it was our team. I got to enjoy seeing it be made from the ground up and I took pride in what the team created. Maybe a little less nerve-wracking, but I was still very invested in how we would perform at the competition.
A: You’re also an entrepreneur, founder of your own marketing agency Bee & Blume. The typical path for graduates has them going for entry-level jobs or interning at large agencies. What inspired you to start your own marketing agency right out of college?
C: There were a couple of things. Firstly, I was working in some client-facing roles, helping a couple of local clients with marketing. And I was feeling the impact that I could have on people’s business, especially as I was building relationships with those business owners. I felt very fulfilled knowing that what I was doing was helping them. That was a different feeling from what I had felt at internships at large agencies, where I did feel more like a cog in the machine. Granted, those were internships and it could be different in the future. But I didn’t feel that sense of fulfillment or impact I was making in those larger roles.
I saw a need within other business owners, and it was during Covid times when there wasn’t a barrier of having an office in person or being stationed in one place; I could work at home flexibly. That was one reason that really contributed to me wanting to take the leap with starting my own business, which was to help other clients. But also, Arrowhead empowered me to know what I’m capable of. I’m capable, alongside a team, of producing really awesome high-caliber quality work that’s comparable to that of professional work. Arrowhead helped me feel like I could do it. It gave me that confidence and showed me how much I love working within a team. That contributed to a goal within my business of forming my own team.
“Arrowhead empowered me to know what I’m capable of.”
A: There are a lot of headaches associated with starting up your own company, especially when it’s business to business. I’m curious, how did your time on Arrowhead prepare you for these challenges?
C: One thing specifically that I pulled from my experience with the competition part of Arrowhead, is that in every competition – if you don’t place first nationally – there’s a point where you lose. But even after facing losses in Arrowhead, especially in my first year where I did the campaign with my team and felt so confident and proud of what we made, the conversations and thoughts after losing are “Okay, it’s just not for them. It’s not for those judges. They didn’t see what we saw in it, but that doesn’t degrade the quality of our work and what we’re capable of one bit”. Being able to pull the value of what we did from ourselves, rather than externally from whatever the judges thought, is something that I one-hundred percent use. As I talk with new potential clients it may not always be a fit for a certain business or potential client, and if it’s a no and that relationship doesn’t move forward and I don’t end up working with that client it doesn’t degrade me or my capabilities at all, it just wasn’t a fit for them. That’s something I use to help me feel okay through the challenges of receiving no.
A: That was all the questions I had today, but is there anything more you want to say about Bee & Blume, or your experiences outside of college and what you’re doing now? Is there anything you want to add to the Arrowhead community?
C: I would like to encourage Arrowhead members, and students in general, to think about other paths for their careers. I felt this so strongly when I was in school – that professors and the industry and fellow students were pushing each other down one path, working at a large agency. Having to face some undesirable work conditions for the first few years, working hours that you don’t want to work, being a pawn at the hand of someone else. I would have liked for someone to have told me there were other options, that I don’t have to be unhappy with my work. Even if it’s at a cool agency and I like my coworkers and it gives me great opportunities, I can have those things, but also have a life where I come first. Whether that’s considering running your own business, being okay working with a small business, not having the glamorous agency title but having the work-life balance you might want, or going client-side in the beginning where it’s a little bit more flexible and understanding of an environment. Having different paths presented to students I think would make a big difference and save people a lot of mental health issues going into their first roles, that’s one thing I really want to share. It felt like all of my friends felt that way too, and then you come out [of college] and you figure out, like “I don’t want to do this, so what the heck do I do?”. You’re scrambling from square one without any support from your professors cause you’re already out.
I am proud of what I have done, I’m proud of Bee & Blume, I’m excited for what’s to come in the future and to grow. I have my first two team members and want to be more involved in the Tallahassee community and grow relationships, client or otherwise.
Bee & Blume operates in the Big Bend area, located in Tallahassee Florida. Visit their Instagram and LinkedIn page to learn more and keep up to date with Cassie’s bright future.
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In 2019 the Arrowhead Advertising team won second place in District 4. In 2020 the team won first place in District 4. In 2021 they won first place in District 4 along with awards for Best Storytelling and Best Diversity and Inclusion and placed 9th at the semi-final round of the national competition.
Axel Lagergren is an advertising major at FSU’s College of Communication. He interviewed Cassie about her experiences at the conclusion of the 2020-’21 competition and her plans for the future.