Christa is Founder and President of Launch Marketing, which acts as a virtual marketing organization primarily for technology companies and has more than 100 clients to date including Activant Solutions, CopperEgg, FreightWatch International, Invenio Marketing Solutions, LifeSize Communications, Mirage Networks, MyEJ.com, Planview, PSI Urethanes, Teres Solutions, SAP Labs and vcfo.

Prior to founding the firm in 2001, Christa worked at TL Ventures where she was responsible for developing TL’s marketing plan and budget for national and multi-regional activities and drove all marketing campaigns, including the STARTHere Interactive Workshop Series, media relations, advertising, online marketing, speaking engagements, sponsorship activities and targeted marketing to portfolio companies. Prior to TL Ventures, Christa led a team of five people who jointly drove over 50% of the lead generation for Trilogy Software, an enterprise software company focused on the Global 2000.

An active member of the Austin community, Christa most recently served on the board for the statewide organization and the Austin chapter of the Technology Entrepreneurs’ eXchange. Christa has also contributed time to organizations including Austin 360 Summit, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, Austin Symphony BATS, Breakthrough and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Christa has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and a minor in Psychology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Shawna leads the development of integrated marketing plans and campaigns for clients through hands on execution of demand generation campaigns that span dimensional mailers, online marketing, channel marketing, events and more.

Prior to joining Launch Marketing, Shawna was the Marketing Communications Manager at Austin Logistics where she headed up their corporate communications, driving key corporate branding and demand generation activities. Previously, Shawna worked with the Coca-Cola USA Sports Marketing group where she was part of the team responsible for the activation of Coca-Cola’s presence at high profile events.

Shawna has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin.

Nicole works closely with clients to develop and execute strategic marketing plans and campaigns focused on generating leads and driving revenue including online marketing, events, tradeshows, product launches, corporate branding and more.

Prior to joining Launch Marketing, Nicole worked in both agency and client-side roles for companies primarily in the technology space. Most recently as Director of Brand Development at a global branding agency Nicole led the development of new brand identities for a variety of B2B and Consumer clients. Her previous experience includes her role as Marketing Communications Manager at Emergent Technologies Inc and as Media Planner at GSD&M where she worked on the AT&T B2B account.

Nicole has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Marketo Certified Expert.

Nancy Rush is an Account Supervisor at Launch Marketing, where she manages a diverse mix of technology clients. In her role, Nancy is responsible for developing messaging, positioning and marketing strategies for clients, as well as creating and executing upon a variety of marketing initiatives including brand strategy, integrated marketing plans and campaigns, demand generation, and more.

Nancy brings more than 18 years of B2B technology marketing and management experience to the team. Prior to joining Launch Marketing, Nancy was the Senior Manager, Brand and Business Solutions at Catapult Systems where she was responsible for driving corporate and line of business (LOB) brand development and PR strategies, developing targeted positioning and messaging and sales/marketing collateral, demand generation campaigns and social media initiatives, and website and search engine optimization.

During her career Nancy has worked for a variety of technology companies including Trilogy, Motive Communications, Expresiv Technologies, and Triad Resources. She has also served on the agency side, doing business development and producing a variety of marketing initiatives for clients. Nancy has additionally owned her own marketing consulting company, working with small businesses to develop and implement strategic marketing and brand initiatives.

Nancy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and Communications from the University of California, Davis and a B2B Advanced Marketing Certification from Marketing Sherpa.

Kathryn works closely with the account team to support the needs of various clients. She assists with a multitude of Launch’s services including lead generation campaigns, digital advertising, event management, creative design and leads pay-per-click campaign execution and reporting. In addition to client support, Kathryn helps support Launch’s internal marketing efforts including social media management and blogging.

Prior to joining the Launch team, Kathryn held internships at multiple agencies and on the client side. She also served as a social media strategist on the team responsible for maintaining the social media and web presence of the Department of Advertising at the University of Texas at Austin.

Kathryn has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications-Advertising with a minor in Communication Design from Texas State University as well as a Master of Arts Degree in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a certified Google AdWords professional.