“Before I go into any week, I really study with my executive assistant: what does my calendar look like? Do I need to be in those meetings? How do I build in time for myself and for my family and for my friends and just make sure that I'm balanced and I'm not 95% turned on work mode?” – Jessica Schaefer
Jessica Schaefer (@JFran_PR) is CEO and Founder of Bevel, a strategic communications firm with a portfolio in fintech and venture capital. After serving as Assistant Vice President and Head of Marketing Communications at Moody’s Analytics, Jessica went on to lead media relations for Point72, a family office managing the assets of Steven A. Cohen. She currently manages Bevel while serving as Chief Communications Officer for Acorns.
To hear Jessica's full interview on crafting a business narrative, click here.
Topics discussed with Jessica Schaefer
- Jessica's work at Bevel
- Talent and culture
- On charisma and setting boundaries
- Optimizing time
- Exercise and sleep
- On failure, success, and gratitude
Jessica Schaefer Resources
Books Recommended in This Episode
Transcript
Daniel Scrivner:
Jessica, thank you so much for coming on 20 Minute Playbook, I'm really excited about this.
Jessica Schaefer:
Thanks for having me.
Daniel Scrivner:
So, to start, because we just did a full length interview on Infinite Games, just for anyone listening that maybe hasn't listened to that yet, isn't aware of who you are. Can you just give everybody a quick overview of what you do and what you're building, what you're working on today?
Jessica Schaefer:
Sure. So, I founded Bevel. We're a strategic communications firm for venture capital funds and high growth brands. And I started my career actually at an agency, even though I never wanted to go into PR. Did my MBA in finance, and everyone was like, "You can't go into investment banking, you have so much personality." And so I thought, "Hmm, okay." Well, PR is fun. I will say that. And I ended up working at Moody's and then after Moody's I went to Point72, which is Steve Cohen's 20 billion fund. And the rest is sort of history.
Daniel Scrivner:
And now you've got incredible clients like public.com, Lili, I'm sure I'm blanking on other names. Anyone else you would highlight?
Jessica Schaefer:
Acorns, we work with Alan Patricof. He started venture capital. So, he's somebody I love to work with because he is 86 and he's seen it all. And so anytime I have any sort of a crisis, COVID for example, when it first happened, every single client was like, "Ah, PR is an expense." And they thought, "Well, we're not going to need PR during COVID." And he's like, "Honey, watch your balance sheet like a hawk."
Daniel Scrivner:
That's good advice.
Jessica Schaefer:
Yeah. And then he told me, never waste a crisis. And so I really took that back and thought about what that meant for Bevel. And it meant two things, one investing in real estate. And so we got office space at 80% off in Soho, which was pretty amazing. And the second was talent. There were a lot of really talented people who were just sitting at their computers sort of bored. And we came in and hired a lot of them. So...
Daniel Scrivner:
Wow! It's incredible. It's an incredible story. And what a good piece of advice. I feel like that's the perfect piece of advice an 86 year old that had seen so much would give somebody.
Jessica Schaefer:
Yeah, for sure.
Daniel Scrivner:
Don't worry about the crisis go to race. Okay. Let's get started. What have you been fascinated about recently? And this can be as dumb and small, as big and interesting, as weird as you like. What can't you stop thinking about?
Jessica Schaefer:
Well, I tend to have an obsessive personality on everything. That's just the nature, I guess, of being a founder. But one thing I've been hyper focused on at least internally is talent and culture and surprisingly, I'm going to knock on the table, even though it's the great resignation, we haven't lost anyone. And it wasn't always like that. There was a point in time when we were growing faster than we ever anticipated. I put a lot of work on the team. I was also traveling a lot. I wasn't fully present, I would say in anything I was doing. And it had its impact. And we lost quite a few people. And within the past year and a half, we haven't lost anyone and we've been in full growth mode. And I find it sort of interesting, but I'm also very happy that some of the intentional work we did to make sure the team is really happy, that we're investing a lot in culture.
Jessica Schaefer:
And I don't mean money, but the time. So we started mental health days and we've always had unlimited PTO. But it was more than that. Even for the holidays, we did this thing called 10 days of gratitude where every single day we gave the employees some sort of a gift, or we announced a new initiative to benefit them. So we started a professional development program and we're investing in each and every one of our employees. And I think that's important. Not a lot of companies are doing that. And so somebody calls from Amazon and says, "Hey we're going to offer you $150,000 more." If you're not happy, then of course you're going to leave.
Daniel Scrivner:
Well, and that's the work too, where that's the true hard work. Is setting aside 10 days and be like, "No, we're going to work really hard to come up with 10 things that are amazing at least in every single day. And as you said, it's not even just the financial piece, it's just that you're putting in the effort, which I think honestly checks a big box for a lot of people.
Jessica Schaefer:
And then on the layman side, I'll just say space. So I become obsessed with space. We've always been focused on FinTech and tech. That's been our core. And so this year we're intentionally signing companies that are either in space or going to space. So I've had a lot of conversations with JPL, NASA and the Explorer Space Fund. So more to come there.
Daniel Scrivner:
I would not have... That wouldn't have been one of my guesses where you'd be spending your time, but I think that's amazing. When you think about your superpowers, what are they and how do you harness them daily?
Jessica Schaefer:
I don't know if you have this friend in your life who can sort of just convince you to do anything. And usually as a friend, I can convince strangers to do anything. So I'm a very quick best friend. And I've found that I'm able to earn people's trust really quickly. It's also one of the values of Bevel, is loyalty, accountability. And so I would say the most impressive, innovative people who are much more successful than me for whatever reason, tend to trust me. Down to an employee that we just hired yesterday. And so I have this... I don't know if it's a convincing power or something, but I've always had it since I was little. I was that little girl on the playground who could convince everyone to follow me around.
Daniel Scrivner:
All the other kids?
Jessica Schaefer:
Yeah.
Daniel Scrivner:
To do whatever you wanted to do, whatever game.
Jessica Schaefer:
Right.
Daniel Scrivner:
Where you were in charge?
Jessica Schaefer:
Exactly.
Daniel Scrivner:
On the flip side, what do you struggle with and how have you improved or resigned yourself to deal with that over time?
Jessica Schaefer:
So I really struggle with, I guess, saying no, but also I have this sort of guilt when people reach out to me and I can't respond right away. So, whether it text or Slack, or call, and as the company became more successful and my career became more successful, I just had so many people externally trying to take up my time and I found that it wasn't healthy for me, but it also wasn't healthy for any of my personal relationships. And I've had to become very intentional about setting boundaries. I started working with an executive coach almost a year and a half ago now because I was completely miserable to be honest. It was just like constant pinging from somewhere. And I've gotten much better at ignoring people.
Daniel Scrivner:
Yeah. That's a good skill. For the executive coach, I have to ask about that because I've worked with a few coaches and each one's been very different. Are there intentional things you've worked on together and what's maybe one or two big ahas that you've gotten out of the last 18 months?
Jessica Schaefer:
Sure. So, really optimizing my time. I was finding that everyone else owned my time, except for me. And that's not a great place to be in. I would tend to be extremely frustrated and angry and just a lot of feelings that you shouldn't have. And he sort of reminded me, there's a reason it's your calendar and it's your day. Right? People usually say to you enjoy your day and you would enjoy it if you could decide what you did during the day. But my calendar is filling up with all these meetings. And so now every single... Before I go into any week, I really study with my executive assistant, what does my calendar look like? Do I need to be in those meeting? How do I build in time for myself and for my family and for my friends and just make sure that I'm balanced and I'm not 95% turned on work mode?
Daniel Scrivner:
Yeah. I love... It's so simple, but someone just saying stuff like it should be your calendar. Sometimes really profound like, "Wow! You're right"
Jessica Schaefer:
Right. I mean, it's your calendar. Reoccurring meetings half of the time, you don't need to have a reoccurring meeting.
Daniel Scrivner:
Yeah. That's a whole separate topic, is reoccurring meetings.
Jessica Schaefer:
That's a whole separate topic.
Daniel Scrivner:
And the fact that typically they're never set to end ever. They just would go on-
Jessica Schaefer:
For ever.
Daniel Scrivner:
... for 100 years unless somebody took them off the calendar. Talking about habits and routines, you talked about this a second ago just in a little way, where obviously at the beginning of each week or before the start of a new week, you're looking over your calendar. Are there other habits and routines that you try to fit in, whether that's daily or weekly that have had a positive impact on your life, your performance?
Jessica Schaefer:
So, three times a week, I try to... This is also simple, but simple works. Hike in a park or go for a walk before I start my day, whether I'm in New York or if I'm in California, makes it a little bit easier. And the parks are a little bit nicer, but I try to be very intentional about how much time I spend outside. I love to hike, I love to ski. And then I always work out at 7:00 AM. I do Tracy Anderson. I sort of, I don't know if you've heard of her, but she's this dancing fitness. It's super fun. It makes me less angry. I think if I have to deal with anything that's stressful, or I think just by nature of building your company, there's a lot of different stressors and there's a lot of people who need your attention. And I want to be able to show up for anyone who reaches out to me, just with a peace and calm mindset.
Daniel Scrivner:
I think that's something you realize over time too, is the more successful you become, the more, I don't know. Any random, crazy thing can show up in a given day. You could be dealing with a catastrophe a day, something weird unexpected next week. And yeah, to your point, you always want to approach that the right way.
Jessica Schaefer:
And especially in PR, many of the things are outside of your control. And so just because someone's valuation decreased or the stock price decreased, or the product didn't launch in time, that kind of stress should never upset my day or my team's day for that matter.
Daniel Scrivner:
There's a lot of prices decreasing going on at the moment.
Jessica Schaefer:
Yes.
Daniel Scrivner:
We're in that period. You talked about hiking and being outside peace, which I definitely relate to because that's big for me. I don't... Just like something just about sunlight and fresh air outside. That's amazing. Are there other things around diet or sleep that you've experimented with or try time? Or is it just kind of the simple three hikes a week?
Jessica Schaefer:
I always go to sleep around 11 and I wake up at six every single day. I find that when my schedule is sort of disrupted at least in sleep, it really impacts me. I used to be somebody before the pandemic, I was always on a plane, I was always in a different time zone and I became just unhealthy and exhausted and puffy. I looked very puffy. If you knew me two years ago, you would know what-
Daniel Scrivner:
Lots of inflammation.
Jessica Schaefer:
... I'm talking about. Yeah,
Daniel Scrivner:
That's a thing when you're stressed and not eating well and not sleeping well and traveling and-
Jessica Schaefer:
Yeah, your body inflames. I was like the little dough boy.
Daniel Scrivner:
We haven't talked about this. So I don't know how much you read what you like to read, but are there any books, this can also just be authors or thinkers that have had a big impact on the way you think?
Jessica Schaefer:
So, we have a book club, Bevel Books and Bourbon, and we invite all of the authors to come in and actually take you through the premise for their book and the reasons for writing. I have to do a shameless plug for Alan Patricof, because he is coming out with a book, No Red Lights. And for those who know him or who don't know him, he is a legendary venture capitalist who is coined as having started the VC industry. And he invested in AOL, Huffington Post, Wondery, which was just bought by Amazon and it'll go through his entire life. So, I think it'll be a good read.
Daniel Scrivner:
That's super cool. I think actually, that just showed up on Amazon. Is it out yet or is it pre-order?
Jessica Schaefer:
Pre-order, but limited. So, you should order now.
Daniel Scrivner:
There we go. There we go. Okay. We'll link to that in the show notes. And I'm definitely curious to check it out. One question that we always ask people, and this is a little bit of a weird one is, if they can share a favorite failure. And part of the reason we want to ask that question is just to have more people talking about stuff that didn't work out. Try to normalize that. But then the other piece of that is, when I've reflected on my own life, a lot of the best things that have happened have come after a failure or out of a failure. So, when you think about that, is there a favorite failure that comes to mind?
Jessica Schaefer:
Yeah. This is a personal one, but there was a time and I've already alluded to this when I really wasn't prioritizing myself. As a female in FinTech, I was getting invited to every single event and dinner and ski and this and that and whatever. And I would always go. I was trying to build my company. I put everything into it. And I went on this venture capital and founder ski trip in Chamonix, in France. I was exhausted and I've been skiing since I was three. I love to ski. I ended up getting in a very serious accident with a drunk snowboarder who hit me, but normally I would've been able to stop and I didn't, I couldn't stop. And I broke six of my ribs, my lung collapsed, and I broke and fractured my shoulder.
Jessica Schaefer:
So, I broke every single bone in my body to get it over with. But the point was, it was a real moment of pause, both physically and literally where after that, I was just like, "I can't keep going at this pace." And so, so that moment combined with COVID, which forced everyone to sort of sit home and really reflect on their lives, was important for me.
Daniel Scrivner:
It's a crazy story. How long did it take you-
Jessica Schaefer:
It's a crazy story.
Daniel Scrivner:
... to recover from that?
Jessica Schaefer:
Well, it took about six months. I came back in a wheelchair and I'm fine now, but I think there were certain clients I worked with who also in that time period sort of showed who they really were because they still wanted whatever it was to go out, which is a little bit crazy. And I became much more intentional and selective with who I surrounded myself with, even if it meant letting go of a significant amount of revenue.
Daniel Scrivner:
Yeah. It's an important lesson. On the flip side of that, when you think about success and this can be personally, this can be at Bevel, we've talked a lot about bevel and I think what you're building there is really incredible. But when you think about success, what does success mean to you now? And how has that definition changed over time?
Jessica Schaefer:
So when I started Bevel, it was interesting. I didn't do this on purpose, but I ended up hiring a lot of women and a lot of women who had never been put in a position of power and able to make decisions and negotiate for equity and all those sorts of things. So, I love working with minorities and women and anyone who's really just talented and developing them and giving them the confidence they need to go into any room. And that's one of my favorite things about growing the firm.
Daniel Scrivner:
That's so cool. And we need a lot more of that in the world. That's good. It's good you're doing your part. Last question. On the gratitude side, what are you most grateful for in this phase of your life?
Jessica Schaefer:
I am super grateful for all of my friends and family who actually stuck around. There was a time when I didn't return their phone call, I would go to things and I wasn't fully there and they supported me and they knew I was a very ambitious person. And so, I'm thankful they're just still around to be honest.
Daniel Scrivner:
Yeah. Yeah. I know. It's one of the great things about family and friends.
Jessica Schaefer:
Yeah, exactly.
Daniel Scrivner:
So they do, they do tend to stick around. So I know people can go and find Bevel, bevelpr.com. Is that right?
Jessica Schaefer:
Yep.
Daniel Scrivner:
Not.co? Okay.
Jessica Schaefer:
That's right.
Daniel Scrivner:
And then what is your Instagram handle because I know that you do a lot with Instagram stories?
Jessica Schaefer:
So like a typical publicist, it's JFran_PR. But if you want to watch my adventures and some of the things we do for our clients, you can either follow me or you can follow Bevel PR, but it's a good follow. I just started taking standup comedy classes. So, some of that content is on there as well.
Daniel Scrivner:
That's your main outlet fruit sharing that with the world?
Jessica Schaefer:
It is. Yeah.
Daniel Scrivner:
It's Instagram stories? Well, thank you so much for the time Jessica. It's been awesome to have you on 20 Minute Playbook.
Jessica Schaefer:
Thank you.
On Outlier Academy, Daniel Scrivner explores the tactics, routines, and habits of world-class performers working at the edge—in business, investing, entertainment, and more. In each episode, he decodes what they've mastered and what they've learned along the way. Start learning from the world’s best today.
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