When Natalie Denyse, AMD’12, started up In Good Company Public Relations in 2015, she didn’t set out to create your typical marketing agency. As the company’s founder and director, Denyse and her team provide everything from business development council to content direction and social media strategies. The more interesting piece is that her clients exclusively consist of boutique, industry-leading wedding and hospitality brands, many of whom otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford these types of services provided at most PR firms in the country. As someone who prizes intimacy and connection with clients above all, Denyse went into the business “…without any big, grandiose ideas other than having a career that I loved and being able to serve brands who were making a positive impact through the joyful ritual of gatherings.”
So, how exactly did she end up working in such a niche field? Upon graduating from Northeastern, Denyse went straight into the world of corporate PR relations, working with a mid-sized PR firm for a number of Fortune 500 companies. “While I learned a lot about the fundamentals of PR and marketing very early on,” says Denyse, “…the application just didn’t light me up. I was craving a different perspective on how to apply the skills I was learning and bring it into an industry that I was unequivocally drawn to, and believed mattered.”
It didn’t take long for Denyse to find her spark. During her employment as a production assistant for a high-end event planning company, she was given the opportunity to work with a number of creative vendors who made their living contributing to weddings and other special events. While she immediately fell in love with their “…immense talent, energy, and soulfulness,” Denyse also lamented the fact that these vendors lacked the financial resources to hire a big PR firm to promote their work. “A wedding is a mile marker in somebody’s life, and the creative vendors who work tirelessly and with such attention to these fine details are creating something that has real significance. But often, marketing their businesses comes secondary to the immense demands of producing these remarkable and highly technical events. I wanted to support them in their success.”
Feeling creatively inspired, Denyse decided to begin her entrepreneurial journey by enrolling in Northeastern’s IDEA Student-Led Venture Accelerator Program. The IDEA Program is aimed at supporting entrepreneurs in the Northeastern community with developing their start-ups, providing both prototype funding and valuable hands-on experience. For Denyse, these skills were critical in helping her turn her ambitions into a reality. “I was my own best champion because of the skills that I learned at Northeastern and through IDEA: to be inquisitive, to be curious, and to not be afraid. Client service is the backbone of a great public relations professional, especially in the ultra-luxury field, and so much of that foundation I was able to build through IDEA.”
Eight years later, Denyse is as passionate about her work as ever. “To this day, I get asked, ‘How did you choose to support brands in this very nuanced sector?’ And my answer is that it came from something that felt really intuitive and natural to me, and I never had to force it, which is always a good sign as a business owner,” says Denyse. “It’s a really, really fun business, and I wake up every day and I am really overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to do what I do—a completely joyful pursuit.”
Photo Credit: Elizabeth LaDuca
The co-op program at Northeastern was enlightening in ways that go beyond measure”
Natalie Denyse, CSSH’12