July 9, 2020
BBW MEMBER INTERVIEW: Jaclyn Ranere, Founder at Dovetail
What is your name and occupation?
Jaclyn Ranere, Founder at Dovetail
How long have you been a Boston Business Women’s Member?
Less than a year.
What is your Instagram handle?
@meetatdovetail
What is your linked in URL?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacran/
Were you born and raised in Boston? If not, what brought you here?
Yes, but I left about 16 years ago and just moved back in December to be closer to family.
Tell us more about your job or company and what led you to your career?
I just started my own business, Dovetail, as a way to connect people who are spending more time alone and want to meet new people through activities. As my old boss would say, my career has been a bit of a spider web. After getting my film and TV degree from BU, I worked in film production in LA, then started my own video production company catering to bands back in Boston, started managing a band, moved to NYC to do marketing in the music industry, eventually migrated to oversee marketing for a film, TV and commercials post-production and distribution company, then switched industries again and was head of global brand marketing for a digital advertising company. I'm excited to go back to my entrepreneur roots!
What would your clients say about you and your company?
Our first event was just a month ago, and while I wasn't anticipating starting this in the midst of a pandemic, it's been really fun to see how people are surprised at how fun, engaging and ``friendship-inducing`` an activity can be on Zoom.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Every journey starts with a single step.
What is your favorite book?
My current, most-referenced book is Meehan's Bartender's Manual. It's a history of cocktails and recipes all in one.
What is your secret weapon? An app, a tool, a organization method, anything?! (Can be a personal or professional life tool)
Evernote. I've been using it for about a decade now and I can think of the tiniest phrase from some meeting I had 6 years ago and Evernote will retrieve my meeting notes. I'm really structured when I interview job candidates, both for the questions I'll ask and the notes I take during the interview, and Evernote is invaluable here. I have an ongoing list of interview questions I draw from in one, continuously updated note. This note includes skill-based questions I've asked for years and then whenever I see a good interview question that helps to understand a person in a short amount of time, I just add it to the list. And then for each role, I'll create a specific, tailored list of interview questions, drawing from my master list and adding as I need to. It becomes really easy to customize questions based on seniority and responsibilities, which is important for anyone who is growing their team quickly. I also have a tendency to appreciate the last person I interviewed more than previous candidates, which my notes prevent me from doing in practice. This structured list of questions that I ask each candidate helps me to be fair in my comparisons.
What is your most recent WIN? How are you slaying in your career or business?
I started working with Meredith Jacobson! A fellow Boston Business Women member. Meredith is managing Dovetail's social media and influencer marketing strategy, which she is super skilled at and is definitely a weak spot for me.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Ask for help. The smartest, most effective people ask for help. It's a sign of strength and confidence, not weakness.
How do you enjoy your free time?
Playing with my 15 month old nephews.
What is something that not many people know about you?
The two post-its on my monitor say ``DREAM BIG FIGHT HARD`` (Elizabeth Warren) and ``The braver I am, the luckier I get.`` (Glennon Doyle, Untamed).
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