Female Disruptors: Sammy Kanter and Maddie Medved of Girl and the Gov On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Maddie: Don’t sell yourself short. This goes hand in hand with Sammy’s answer — a deal or opportunity could seem great, but the other party isn’t willing to pay you enough for example, don’t roll with it. A bad deal is a bad deal. If you or your company is worth a specific value, know that and stand by that. That doesn’t mean don’t negotiate, but it does mean having a backbone.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sammy Kanter and Maddie Medved.
Sammy Kanter and Maddie Medved are Co-CEOs of Girl and the Gov® a nationally-focused digital media company that is rebranding and revolutionizing civic engagement for Millennial and Gen-Z women, two critical blocks of voters. The company achieves this by meeting the consumer where they are, on the platforms they use. Sammy and Maddie have put their brains together, their experience in politics and public relations, and their mutual passion for getting young voters civically engaged, to create a multi-faceted company that’s turning the political world on its head. The company portfolio currently includes Girl and the Gov, The Podcast, #VIRAL, a paid social media consulting newsletter, B2B consulting, digital media channels, a networking-focused brand ambassador program, bespoke events, and more.
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?
Sammy: It’s a two-pronged journey because there’s two of us behind Girl and the Gov®. On my end (Sammy’s), the path to now begins at Lafayette College (PA), where I majored in Government & Law and Anthropology & Sociology. While that may seem entirely logical for someone now working in politics, I didn’t jump right into the field — in fact, I skipped over my original law school intentions and walked myself into a career in public relations centered around the design industry. Through that experience, I learned the A, B and C’s of communication, media, PR, marketing, and so on. It positioned me for what was to come because in tandem, there were two wheels turning — one that pointed to an underlying itch that I wanted to start my own business, and the other that was pushing me back toward politics. Eventually these worlds coalesced at the end of 2018, when it became apparent that many of my peers didn’t participate in the midterm elections, and that there was a huge hole in the civic engagement market. As with many businesses, Girl and the Gov® was born out of creating a solution to a problem. The solution itself was built on meeting this demographic (Millennial and Gen-Z women) where they were — at pilates classes, drinks with friends — and attaching civic learning to these spaces in the form of bespoke events. The equation worked and has been brought to the next level and beyond by a chance social media meet cute with my now business partner, Maddie. Together, we’ve brought Girl and the Gov® from a civics-focused events company to a digital media company that includes a podcast, political social media consulting, social media platforms, a brand ambassador program, and so much more.
Maddie: On my end (Maddie’s), my educational journey was pretty similar. I similarly majored in political science, and this was really the first set of academic courses I really felt inspired and engaged by. It was a natural fit and I just knew that it was the field I wanted to go into post-grad. Following the college years, I didn’t take any u-turns and sped full steam ahead into the political space, first working as a digital organizer on CA Governor Newsom’s campaign. Afterwards, I dabbled further into the campaign space by joining Tom Steyer’s presidential campaign in a similar capacity. When that campaign came to a close, COVID was at its peak, forcing me to hit reset and figure out the next direction for my career. By some weird aligning of the stars, and a follow for follow on Instagram, I connected with Girl and the Gov®. Sammy followed me, and I went out on a limb and pitched her a podcast in her DMs. And, now we’re here, rebranding the political space one step at a time.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Sammy: Absolutely! The political industry is fundamentally archaic. It’s failed to provide an effective means for young women to enter it from a civic engagement or marketplace perspective. Existing avenues have failed to recognize the motivations, habits, and interests of this demographic, resulting in missed opportunities for both civic engagement and enterprise. Impactful in tandem, the lack of avenues combined with a lack of comprehension surrounding the inclinations of this demographic create an under-engaged electorate. This is a huge problem and one that the political industry doesn’t necessarily prioritize fixing. That’s where we come in, ruffling a few feathers and making impact bit by bit along the way. By design, we’re reimagining the methods in which the industry functions — capitalizing on the crux of the issue, marketing and approachable civic education.
Maddie: Girl and the Gov® has forged new pathways for a rebranded and refreshed industry philosophy. We’ve done this on many planes, on the consumer and the political side of the coin. For the political side, we’ve moved the needle on how the industry can use social media to connect with voters and constituents, as well as to raise their brand awareness. This has come in the form of consulting, but most distinctly through our paid social media consulting newsletter, #VIRAL. It’s dedicated to the need-to-know best practices, basics, content concepts and more that bring political messaging into the 21st century. By educating the industry on how to navigate the platforms of now and the future, we’re changing the function of it as a whole and shifting focus and to the generations on these platforms — Gen-Z’s and Millennials.
Sammy: To add, we’re also changing the way the consumer engages with politics. In contrast to typical mediums (cable news), we’re taking it to digital platforms. Instead of radio, we’re taking it to podcasting. Instead of creating another intimidating space to learn about politics, we’re creating an environment where everyone can ask questions and learn together. Instead of gatekeeping, we’re connecting our followers with networking and job opportunities through a brand ambassador program. Some of these concepts seem simple, but they’re not concepts that have been put into motion before — even in 2022.
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?
Sammy: We actually plan to release a book one day with all of the most bizarre stories and mistakes we’ve seen along the way. In the meantime, we’ll share one that involves one of the first podcast recordings we did.
Maddie: This story was too good. We live on different coasts and record the podcast the majority of the time, remotely. This particular time we were together in person recording and for some reason, instead of renting time at a recording studio, we decided to rent a temporary office space and lug mics there. In our setup, something happened where Sammy’s headphones and mic weren’t syncing, so she was hearing herself back as she spoke, and it was chaos.
Sammy: It was comical, but also so awkward because the glitch was tripping up what I was saying, and our poor interviewee must’ve been so confused by us. Nothing I was saying made sense as a result. It was one of our first recordings ever, so the lesson learned was always to test equipment before and also to rent a space actually equipped to handle the task at hand. Being scrappy is everything, but you still have to be scrappy correctly.
Maddie: Totally. It was one of those errors where since we were so green, we had to pivot in the moment really quickly and hope for the best. It worked out, but that is certainly not an episode we point people to when they ask which episode they should start with.
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?
Sammy: This is kind of like a glass half full or glass half empty question. Change can be positive, and change can also be negative. It really depends on the context. That said, I think that when the phrase ‘stood the test of time’ has been used, it’s stood the test of time, because it’s been questioned and challenged, and remained the steadfast solution to whatever problem it’s solving despite that. These systems or industries are and should always be challenged. Just because something has ‘stood the test of time’ thus far, doesn’t mean it should be left without question after a certain point. Evolving ideas and frameworks, and testing new and old methods is essential to progress. And in that vein, disrupting is positive. Now, there’s nuance to everything, right? So the question becomes ‘what is the purpose of the disruption?’ Who will it impact and how?
Maddie: Exactly — the context, the reasoning, and the drive behind the need for disruption really determines whether it’s a positive or negative. The act of questioning the status quo and/or changing it isn’t the issue in the world of disruption. The issue can be if the disruption is designed with malice. Overall however, disruption is positive and is a part of the natural and needed evolution of industries.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Sammy: Don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal. Best advice I’ve ever heard and that we’ve followed. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, this is the notion to fall back on. There are so many times where a deal or an opportunity seem advantageous on its face, and into the process of getting it off the ground you find that it’s not a fit. That happens. When it’s not working or you find something that doesn’t align with your company’s values, find a way to walk away. In any and every contract we use at this point, we include contingency clauses. Just because it sounds like a good opportunity, doesn’t mean it is in the long run.
Maddie: Don’t sell yourself short. This goes hand in hand with Sammy’s answer — a deal or opportunity could seem great, but the other party isn’t willing to pay you enough for example, don’t roll with it. A bad deal is a bad deal. If you or your company is worth a specific value, know that and stand by that. That doesn’t mean don’t negotiate, but it does mean having a backbone.
Sammy: That’s the perfect segway to another bit of advice that’s related and it’s always going with your gut. If it feels weird or wonky, pay attention to that.
Maddie: It’s classic advice, but it’s also just true.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Sammy: That could not be more true. There is so much more work to do — rebranding politics from the inside out isn’t something that happens overnight or with one tactic. This goal requires a whole toolbox of concepts. What we have coming is an expansion of our media hub. That means more content on more streams in more ways with more partners. In what ways will it be manifested? You’ll have to follow Girl and the Gov® to find out.
Maddie: We always say the Democrats don’t need miracles, they need messaging. I’ll leave that as an easter egg as to where we’re going to be taking things. If you’re looking for one more hint, I’ll give it with the term ‘marketing.’
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Sammy: Money is at the core of this. This applies if you’re a woman disruptor asking for investment from a VC or if you’re asking to be paid a particular rate by a brand partner. Regardless of the specifics, asking for money and also being paid for the value of services as a women disruptor is immensely challenging. The contrast in experience is validated by a bit of advice we had during a meeting where we were pitching an investor. That advice was to ‘lie about numbers because a man would’ve,’ and as result ‘he would have a faster more expedient road to getting investment.’ That advice is riddled with issues obviously, but it also showcases how different the approach and resulting experience is for men versus women entrepreneurs.
Maddie: Society largely doesn’t believe in women and their ability to bring value. We see this all the time. The influencer and/or content creator industry, which we’re also a part of is a great example of this. It’s a woman dominated field and it’s not taken seriously. It changed the entire way consumers research, learn about, and shop for products. The influencer industry flipped the advertising world on its head. Same goes for PR — but it’s still a profession that isn’t taken seriously. It’s also one where creators are taken advantage of constantly. The point I’m getting at is that it sometimes doesn’t matter if the proof is there — that metrics and conversions occurred — women disruptors across industries are undervalued. It’s a problem we need to solve as a society (hi, misogyny) and one disruption, one female-founded company, one investment at a time.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
Sammy: Outside of Girl and the Gov, The Podcast?! Kidding. Female Founder World has been an essential listen since discovering it earlier this year. The show is hosted by Jasmine Garnsworthy who is an entrepreneur and media voice as well, and she interviews female founders about their consumer businesses. The conversations not only have great flow to them, but the questions asked are ones that are actually helpful to other entrepreneurs. It’s not fluff, it’s real insights. The interviews have provided a great way to get a pulse on how others are leading their companies and have certainly influenced our own tactics at times.
Maddie: You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero has been a particularly interesting recent read. It’s categorized as self-help, but really it’s about perspectives and learning how to get out of your own way.
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. 🙂
Sammy: A movement of civic engagement amongst young people, and quite frankly everyone.
Maddie: Our work is geared toward making our generation and beyond more civically engaged. It’s a movement we’re a part of and it’s one we hope everyone gets involved in. We can create change by being engaged — civically engaged.
How can our readers follow you online?
Girl and the Gov, Instagram: @girlandthegov
Girl and the Gov, the Podcast, Instagram: @girlandthegovthepodcast
Girl and the Gov, TikTok: @girlandthegov
Girl and the Gov, Pinterest: @girlandthegov
Girl and the Gov, LinkedIn: @girlandthegov
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Sammy Kanter and Maddie Medved of Girl and the Gov On The Three Things You Need… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.