Female Disruptors: Melissa Reinking of Extend On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
There are three phrases that have become operating principles for me throughout my career. I learned first, “put yourself on the edge,” early on in my career when I felt the thrill and saw the growth by tackling new, interesting challenges. The second piece of advice would be “If you’re not failing now and again, you’re not pushing the envelope.” This statement reminds me to take every opportunity to learn what’s working and what’s not. Knowing what doesn’t work and why is just as important as knowing what is working. And then of course, last but not least, is to always be a student to your customers. You should listen, learn, and react to their needs. From start-ups to established businesses, these words of advice have served me well.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Reinking.
Melissa Reinking is the Vice President of Consumer Marketing at Extend. A longtime marketing executive, Melissa has an exceptional track record of building products and experiences that consumers love. Her passion: transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
For as long as I can remember, I have been working in eCommerce in one form or another. It was a natural fit for me because I have always had a desire to build great — not merely good — experiences for consumers. Throughout my career, I have always tried to remember to listen to what customers need and put those interests first.
After 20 years of leading both start-up and established organizations to build, innovate, and reach underserved consumers, I think my favorite part is seeing how fast the industry can change, how it lends itself to disruption and experimentation.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Everything about Extend is disruptive. We’re completely reimagining the antiquated product protection industry with a digitally native approach that makes the customer “The North Star.” Our API-first solution allows any merchant, of any size, to offer their customers protection plans or extended warranties at checkout — a capability previously only available to the world’s largest retailers. This is an incredibly valuable way for merchants not only to increase revenue, but build loyalty and long-term value, while delivering a seamless and even elegant end-to-end experience for their customers. There are no gotchas, no confusing terms and conditions to parse.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Early in my career, I was leading a small team in market evaluation and competitive customer overlaps. Asked to give a presentation on our findings on a short deadline, we worked feverishly on our analysis, but towards the end of the day noticed a big “watch out” in our work that upended our conclusions and required pulling an “all-nighter” to prepare for the presentation. Sound familiar? Yes, I’m guessing many of you can relate. Even though we were working on a tight timeline, we could have caught the issue earlier if we wouldn’t have been so far down in the details. This taught me very early on how to balance the big picture, an important lesson I teach my teams to this day.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
There are a myriad of people that have influenced me over the years and I have been lucky to have many wonderful mentors. But two stand out: my mother and grandmother. I am the daughter and granddaughter of two very hardworking individuals. My mom was a trailblazer in corporate America; she taught me anything is possible with grit and hard work, which pushed me to get where I am today.
My grandmother, who studied Chemistry at the college-level only seven years after women won the right to vote, taught me to step outside my comfort zone and follow my passion, whether or not it was socially acceptable, but because I believed in it. The values she instilled in me have guided me throughout my career.
It’s why, when I was about 20 years old, I hopped in the car and drove 1,500 miles for an internship. Three moves and three years later with the same company, I learned a whole lot about eCommerce, entrepreneurship, innovation, and consumer marketing, among many other things. It set a pattern: over the years I have kept pushing myself to the edge, where I learned the most. That’s been true outside of the office, as well, such as when my husband and I took a 4,000-mile, six-month sailing trip through Pacific Mexico and the Sea of Cortez. It taught me so much, including how to react in circumstances where you have little control.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Offering underserved markets better solutions is always a positive. Extend is undeniably creating a better customer experience, while driving revenue for merchants. It’s why the company, which hit unicorn status in just two years, continues to show rapid growth, with more than 600 merchants. Tesla’s innovations around customer experience are another great example. As is the way Airbnb changed how we think about hospitality. Disruption is negative when it fails to consider the consumer and what the market demands, when it’s simply driven by the desire for profit.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
There are three phrases that have become operating principles for me throughout my career. I learned first, “put yourself on the edge,” early on in my career when I felt the thrill and saw the growth by tackling new, interesting challenges. The second piece of advice would be “If you’re not failing now and again, you’re not pushing the envelope.” This statement reminds me to take every opportunity to learn what’s working and what’s not. Knowing what doesn’t work and why is just as important as knowing what is working. And then of course, last but not least, is to always be a student to your customers. You should listen, learn, and react to their needs. From start-ups to established businesses, these words of advice have served me well.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We have a lot in the pipeline. Given that we’re just getting started here at Extend, there are many opportunities to continue to innovate and provide additional value to our customers. All I can say now is stay tuned!
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
For women founders, securing buy-in and funding for disruptive ideas can definitely be a challenge. I have found that being able to project confidence, drive, enthusiasm and clearly articulate the vision is essential to breaking down some of the barriers that exist. The increase in female venture capitalists has been a boon for women founders, but we definitely still have a way to go.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
Just one?!
I’m always looking for inspiration and wisdom. These are a few of my recent discoveries:
- Believe It, by Jamie Kern Lima, which explores how we react in times of uncertainty. It’s about acting from a place of belief in yourself rather than fear. As Lima puts it, “Champions aren’t made when the game is easy.”
- Think Again, by Adam Grant, which encourages readers to approach challenges with a sense of curiosity and openness, which in turn allows us to find opportunities for innovation. The essential quote here is: “Knowing what you don’t know opens the mind to rethinking.”
A personal story, or bit of advice, would be, don’t get too attached to your ideas. The practice of rethinking perspectives and putting the customer at the center has always allowed me to find opportunities.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The “Pay it Forward” movement.
Through my networks over the years, I have been introduced to inspiring female founders. I tried to do the same by mentoring a female founder just starting out. I know first-hand how lonely it can be as an entrepreneur. Having a thought partner, someone to bounce ideas off of, who will be honest with you, is essential. Imagine a world where everyone operated this way and the positive influence it would have on everyone. Wouldn’t that be great?
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Do what you love.” For me that’s excelling in my job, my life, and coming through for the people around me. Doing what you love will not make life easier, especially when there are big goals and hard challenges. But it will make you more disciplined and more aware of the joy in life.
Some others that are essential to me include:
“We are all better together.”
“Surround yourself with great people.”
“Inspire, challenge and bring out the best in one another.”
Magic happens for me when I can marry innovation and disruption with doing good for this world! We all get to choose how we spend our time. Whether it’s creating delightful customer experiences or developing brands and products, I look to do everything in ways that are truly better than the status quo. It could be building a new brand/product line or building new ways to deliver unexpected delights to merchants and consumers.
And when I’m assembling a team, I think about how our skills will complement one another. I keep in mind how we will collaborate, inspire, challenge, and learn from one another. No one is successful alone! This has a magical, multiplicative effect on what we bring to the market.
How can our readers follow you online?
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Melissa Reinking of Extend On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.