We’re More Than Your Marketing Firm. We Are Your Marketing Partner.
We are a team of creative professionals who have deep experience in the financial services industry.
Our team is aligned on the promise we make to our clients to provide proactive, creative and innovative solutions, bringing each firm’s unique vision to life.
Our experience in the financial services industry and our familiarity with the regulations allow us to build compliant and innovative marketing strategies that help our clients reach their marketing objectives.
We understand how competitive the industry is and what is required to stand out. And we know how to do it. That’s our edge.
What Guides Us
Our key tenets are our light posts, ensuring we remain in alignment with our values as our business, our clients and the industry evolve.
We foster an environment of continuous learning and constantly challenge what we know.
We are transparent with each other and our clients to ensure we’re consistently aligned.
We are respectful of our time and the time we seek from others.
We have a sense of purpose and strive to bring humor and joy to the people we interact with.
We believe by sharing our values, we attract the kind of people who will provide the quality of work and level of service our clients deserve. And on the flip side, attract clients who have respect for the services we provide.
Our Founder: Kristin Steele
In order to produce results and see the ROI benefits of implementing a strategic brand marketing strategy, there has to be a visionary creator at the helm. For the past twenty-two years, Kristin has been leading and implementing brand marketing and business development strategies for financial services companies. Through active listening to understand each client’s unique goals and objectives coupled with detailed analysis, she has successfully spearheaded the creation of brand strategies that increased deal flow, generated strong pipelines of new business opportunities and increased profitability for each organization she worked with.
Kristin began her career in marketing at Tudor Investment Corporation as an Investor Relations Specialist. This position was pivotal in Kristin’s career as it sparked her interest in both marketing and the financial services industry. From there, Kristin assumed increasingly senior roles at investment management firms, services providers to those firms and marketing agencies including Citco Fund Services, HSBC, Global Endowment Management, IKONIC Fund Services and MiddleM Creative.
Creativity, drive and relationships are Kristin’s greatest strengths. She thrives on all kinds of challenges, especially those where her clients see measurable growth as a result of the strategy they implement together. This passion is what prompted Kristin to launch her own strategic marketing firm - LaunchPad Creative. Here, Kristin’s goal is to design creative and measurable marketing and business development strategies to facilitate the successful launch of brands in the financial services industry.
Kristin holds a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and an MBA from Pace University.
Public Relations Associate: Scott Braswell
Scott is a Public Relations Associate who brings a storyteller’s mindset and a strategist’s discipline to every client engagement. With an award-winning journalism background and deep experience in SaaS marketing, he excels at turning complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives that resonate with the right audiences.
Before joining LaunchPad Creative, Scott built and executed successful PR campaigns across the nonprofit and fintech sectors, consistently driving increased brand visibility and media credibility. His expertise spans campaign execution, media training, and journalist relationship-building, ensuring thoughtful coverage in an ever-evolving media landscape. He has also supported product storytelling and brand growth for emerging SaaS companies, blending journalism, marketing, and PR to deliver smart strategy and seamless execution.
Scott holds a degree in Telecommunication and Film from the University of Alabama and has been an active member of the Public Relations Society of America for more than five years.
CRM Operations Manager: Emma Smith
Meet Emma, our CRM Operations Manager. With hands-on experience managing and optimizing CRM systems, Emma focuses on building clean, scalable processes that support both marketing and sales teams. She’s passionate about helping businesses make better use of their data, automation, and CRM tools to support long-term growth.
Emma enjoys problem-solving and finding thoughtful, efficient solutions for her clients. She stays up to date on CRM best practices and platform updates. She believes there’s always room to improve how systems are structured and used. By collaborating closely with clients, she helps translate business needs into practical CRM solutions that improve efficiency, visibility, and engagement. Every business operates differently, and she’s excited to learn how yours works.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from UNC Wilmington and a Digital Marketing certificate from NC State.
Marketing Account Manager: Dakota Sweat
Meet Dakota, our Marketing Account Manager. With a demonstrated background in marketing for property management, SaaS tech, and private equity, Dakota can create meaningful content for LPC's clients, leveraging her knowledge to turn sometimes complicated ideas into user-friendly concepts that generate engagement leading to new business opportunities.
Dakota loves the fast-paced and ever-evolving nature of digital marketing. Staying ahead of the latest trends and creating new and exciting strategies every day drives her passion for marketing. Her love for storytelling enables Dakota to curate unique marketing materials for clients in a way best suited to their audience's needs.
Dakota has a bachelor’s degree in Multimedia Communications from Lenoir-Rhyne University.