B-Side Panel Spotlight: What We Learned the Hard Way

Chelsea Brown

8 years ago

The finale to our B-Side programming this year is a panel discussion featuring five local agency owners ready to share their personal stories about starting and running a creative business—the challenges, the rewards, as well as the unforeseen disasters. The panel discussion will be held at Meredith College on Aug. 17. Learn more and register for the event here.

We’re very excited to welcome our panel members!

Beverly Murray

Beverly Murray is the Founder and CEO of R+M, a brand experience agency focused on companies that positively impact the way we live through innovation in health, well-being and social responsibility. With more than 25 years in the marketing industry, including 20 as a senior executive, she is valued for her brand strategy, sales and marketing alignment, lead generation and communications planning expertise. Additionally, R+M achieved B Corporation certification having met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Alongside leading companies such as Patagonia, Seventh Generation and Method, R+M is committed to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Beverly earned a Bachelors of Environmental Design from the College of Design at North Carolina State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude and first in her class. She is also a member of the first graduating class of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, a residential high school for gifted and curious minds.

Ray Parrish

Ray Parrish is an artist at heart. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2000 with a BFA in Studio Art and a BA in Media Communications, he entered the world with a newfound love for interactive media and design. In 2003 Ray co-founded Cuberis, a web design firm that allowed him to fuel his design passion and serve a wide range of clients in the quickly growing Durham, NC area. Over time, Ray grew a team of talented folks that were just as passionate about their crafts as he was, and today Cuberis creates digital experiences for clients globally using open-source solutions and strategy-driven design.

After partnering with clients across many industries, Cuberis found museums and cultural institutions to offer the most rewarding opportunities to play in a world where art and interactive design intersect. The entire Cuberis team now works tirelessly to create digital bridges between the public and the inspiration, knowledge, and experiences that can be gained from museums and other cultural organizations.

Mihali Stavlas

Mihali Stavlas is founder and CEO of Mellonaid, an analytical + creative driven agency in Raleigh, North Carolina. At Mellonaid, Mihali helps clients capture and recreate their brand’s story by encompassing the full spectrum of all its touch points: identity, collateral materials, advertising, marketing, user experience, web design and interactive media.In addition to overseeing Mellonaid’s daily client strategy, Mihali also serves on the national AMA Professional Chapters Council and hosts a marketing radio talk show out of California called This Week in Marketing powered by wsRadio. Mihali lives in Durham, NC with his wife Laura and their two children.

Tobias Rose

Tobias Rose is the founder and principal of Kompleks Creative—a downtown Durham marketing and design firm with a heavy focus on exploring innovative creative solutions for their clients. Tobias is also an adjunct instructor at UNC-Chapel Hill and has served on a number of non-profit boards. A staunch supporter of Durham’s economic development and diversity, Tobias is committed to participating in initiatives to help Durham continue to grow

Janet Mobley

Janet Mobley is the Founder and Managing Partner of FatCat Strategies, LLC in Raleigh, NC. She started the company in 2002 in a spare bedroom in her house with a vision to provide comprehensive marketing support services to local businesses. In the years since, the vision has not changed, but the location and staff size have. Now, the company has eight full-time employees and up to four interns (depending on the semester) and is located on Hillsborough Street near NCSU.

During a typical day, Janet splits her time between working on client projects and running the business. Her client responsibilities include account management, project management, copywriting, content marketing, strategic planning, and web maintenance. She and her business partner, Jessica Berry, share responsibility for day-to-day operational tasks like bookkeeping, business planning, HR and more. Janet has a BA in English from NC State University. She grew up in Charlotte, NC, and moved to Raleigh in 1990.

Don’t forget to register for this awesome event. Click here for more details! See you there.