I Became a CMO in My 20s. Here's What Nobody Tells You.

I was on a greenway walk with my dog when it hit me: I'm a CMO and Co-Founder. Like, an actual, on-paper, in-the-title Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder of EleVault. And I'm in my twenties.

I think I expected the moment to feel bigger. More cinematic. Some kind of montage where I'm strutting into a glass-walled corner office while a power anthem plays. Instead, I was in leggings, picking up after my dog, mentally drafting a client email. Welcome to the glamorous life of a young CMO.

If you're reading this, you're probably either climbing toward a leadership role of your own, sitting in one and wondering if everyone else has it figured out, or just curious how someone in their twenties ended up with a title that usually belongs to someone with more gray hair than I have. Whichever camp you're in, pull up a chair.

This is the stuff nobody tells you.

1. Nobody Cares About Your Title as Much as You Do

When I got the title, I thought it would change how people saw me.

Spoiler: it didn't.

People still asked if they could speak to "who's in charge." Vendors still emailed me like I was an intern. People at networking events still did the thing where they look over your shoulder for someone more important to talk to.

Here's what I learned fast: titles open doors, but they don't earn respect. Your work does. Your follow-through does. The way you handle the moment when something goes sideways and everyone's looking at you to fix it - that's what builds your reputation, not the line in your email signature.

So if you're climbing toward a big title, by all means, go get it. But don't expect it to be a magic key. The work doesn't stop when you get there. It actually gets harder, because now you're the one who has to figure it out.

2. Imposter Syndrome Doesn't Go Away. You Just Get Better at Working With It.

I used to think imposter syndrome was a phase. Something you graduated out of once you hit a certain level of experience or accomplishment. That was very cute of me.

The truth is, imposter syndrome shows up to every meeting. It sits in the corner. It whispers things like "they're going to figure out you don't actually know what you're doing." And the only thing that's changed for me over time is that I've stopped trying to evict it and started letting it ride along.

Here's what helps: doing the thing anyway. Imposter syndrome is loudest when you're stagnant. The second you take action - pitch the idea, lead the meeting, write the strategy - it shrinks. Not gone. Just quieter.

That's the win.

3. You'll Lead People Older Than You. It's Going to Feel Weird.

The first time I gave feedback to someone old enough to be my parent, I wanted to crawl out of my skin. There's no business school class that prepares you for the specific awkwardness of telling someone with twenty more years of life experience that their copy isn't hitting.

What I've learned: age and experience aren't the same thing. Someone can have decades in a field and still benefit from a fresh perspective. And someone in their twenties can have specific expertise that the rest of the room doesn't. Lead from what you know, stay genuinely curious about what you don't, and treat everyone like the smart, capable adult they are. The age thing fades fast when the work is good.

4. You'll Have to Get Comfortable Being the Youngest in the Room

For most of my career so far, I've been the youngest in the room. Sometimes by a year. Sometimes by two decades. And for a long time, I tried to compensate for it. I'd dress more conservatively. Talk more formally. Pretend I knew things I didn't.

It didn't work. People can smell the performance. What actually works is leaning into what makes you different. I bring a digital-native brain to rooms full of people who didn't grow up online. I see trends earlier. I think about audiences in ways my older counterparts sometimes don't. That's a feature, not a bug.

The sooner you stop trying to seem older and start owning what you uniquely bring, the sooner the room starts listening.

5. The Work-Life Balance Conversation Is Different at the Top

I used to roll my eyes when senior leaders talked about boundaries and balance. Of course they have balance, I thought. They have the title. They have the team. They have the option to say no.

Then I got the title, and realized: they're working harder than they're letting on. The difference is that they're better at protecting the energy that lets them do the work. Boundaries aren't a perk you earn at the top. They're the thing that lets you stay there without falling apart.

I'm still figuring this part out, honestly. I still answer Slack messages on greenway walks. I still spend Sunday nights mentally rehearsing Monday meetings. But I'm getting better at noticing when I'm running on fumes, and at giving myself permission to actually rest. (Usually with a glass of wine, a true crime podcast, and a kitten foster on my lap. Don't judge.)

6. You're Going to Make Decisions With Incomplete Information. Always.

Here's the thing nobody told me about leadership: you almost never have all the information you need to make a decision confidently. There's always a gap. Always a "what if." Always a piece of data that would've been nice to have.

The job isn't to make perfect decisions. The job is to make the best decision you can with what you have, communicate it clearly, and then adjust when new information comes in. That's it. That's the whole game.

The leaders I admire most aren't the ones who are always right. They're the ones who are decisive, transparent about their reasoning, and willing to course-correct without ego when something isn't working.

That's who I'm trying to be.

So, Should You Want This?

Honestly? Only you can answer that.

Becoming a CMO and Co-Founder in your twenties has been the most challenging, exhausting, exciting thing I've ever done. There are days I love it. There are days I genuinely consider running away to open a small bookstore that only sells true crime and romantic fantasy. (Niche, but I'd shop there.)

What I can tell you is this: if you're ambitious, willing to be uncomfortable, and okay with the fact that you're going to figure most of it out as you go, you can absolutely do it. The path isn't linear. The title isn't magic. And the imposter syndrome is along for the ride forever. But the work is worth it.

And hey, that's why we're here.
Off the record, of course.

Until next time, Nina

📚 Currently reading: Fourth Wing (yes, I'm late to it)
🎧 Currently listening to: Fourth Wing (yes, I'm hybrid reading)
🍷 Currently sipping: A bold red, because it's already been a long week