Jenny Bristow stands by her belief that words matter. In fact, as the CEO of Anvil Analytics and Insights, she doesn’t refer to her staff as family. “Instead, we say we are a community,” she said. “It is a purposeful choice of words that help instill our balance of work and life.”
For Bristow, the words are important because it drives home the belief that family and a personal life is more important than your job. Catering to her team is what has made the digital marketing and analytics agency successful since she launched the company in 2015 after selling her first agency in Seattle and working at Amazon.
Anvil Analytics and Insights specializes in working in the healthcare industry and with private equity firms to help them become smarter about the efficacy of their digital marketing budgets.
According to her staff, Bristow has led the organization to awards since its inception, including being named the Fastest Growing Company in St. Louis in 2019 by the St. Louis Biz Journal. “She believes that once you reach a certain level of success, the next level can only be accomplished if you are consistently bringing people along with you for the ride,” said her colleagues.
Bristow relies heavily on mentorship and teaching when creating relationships with both her staff and her clients. “As I progress in my career, I find there are always ways I can reach back and help entrepreneurs coming up behind me, either through advice, insights or introductions,” she said. “The same is true within my industry.”
She has a clear vision as the sole owner of Anvil. “In five years, Anvil’s goal is to work with the top healthcare companies across the country – from hospital systems to insurance providers,” she said. “We want to work to help consumers have a better and easier relationship with healthcare and our data-driven approach can improve the patient care experience.
Bristow is also committed to rebuilding after growth stalled for many companies in 2020. That’s why she continues to focus on nurturing and rebuilding her staff to serve the increased client load that has regrown to 2019 revenue levels. “Leadership during a pandemic has been a strong learning curve and leading with empathy and making space for personal lives and emergencies is the most fulfilling way I have found to lead,” she said.
For her ability to lead by example and success in the marketing industry, Bristow has been named a Titan.
