Public's VP of Marketing on Being Professionally "Athletic"

In 7 Hours With, we explore the routines of leading professionals in their space to learn the when, why, where and how they work. In each diary, we will look at what they’re doing at seven different check-ins throughout their day. Katie Perry is the VP of Marketing at Public, a social investing app that allows people to invest in public stocks and ETFs in dollar amounts. 

5:45 AM

I set my alarm for 5:45 AM on weekdays. I am definitely a morning person, although it took me until a couple of years to figure out..

Since my energy is highest in the morning, I try to get a workout in before heading to work. I’ll usually have some coffee and then hit the gym or run outside if it’s nice enough out. Some days are certainly harder than others!

I live in uptown Manhattan and work in the Financial District, so I take a train about 40 minutes each morning. I purposely take the Local train most days so I can snag a seat and read. I like reading about people and topics that are completely different than my day-to-day job.

I am also a big coffee-drinker. I use the Starbucks app, which is ridiculously convenient, but I would be horrified to see what I spend there on an annual basis. My go-to order is a Grande Cafe Misto with a shot of espresso.

9:30 AM

The company I work for, Public.com, is a social investing app. As a rule, we all aim to be in the office before the markets open at 9:30 AM. The first thing I do when I get in is reorient myself with the big priorities for the day. At Public we have a principle of “organized speeding,” which basically means that we move super fast but we do so with the operational rigor needed to deliver the best product and experience to our members. My team organizes projects by priority order so it’s easy to see what needs to be done this moment, this week, this month, or at a later date. I am the VP of Marketing, which means I am in charge of building awareness and hype for Public at the top of the funnel so that we can grow our community and build a brand that stands out not only in peer group, but among a broader group of companies overall. Public is a new kind of investing app that makes the stock market social. Our free investing app, which is available for iOS and Android, allows people to invest in public stocks and ETFs in dollar amounts (vs. having to pay full share prices). This is called fractional investing and we were among the first companies to do it. We also built a social layer around the stock market, creating an environment where people can share why they invest in companies and exchange ideas to strengthen financial literacy together. You can see where I invest at Public.com/katiep. We recently raised a Series B round co-led by some of the original investors in Venmo (Accel and Greycroft), as well as some exciting cultural leaders like Will Smith, NFL star J.J. Watt, Girlboss CEO Sophia Amoruso, and YouTube creator Casey Neistat.

11 AM

In the morning, I really work hard to keep myself on track and spend my time wisely. I worked as an independent consultant for more than two years and one of the best learnings from that experience was how to optimize my time. When you are your own boss, being able to squeeze the most out of a day is an enormous competitive advantage and allows you to scale your business to more clients. Some of the hacks I picked up:

• Calendar blocking. A smart person once told me, “own your time before someone else does.” On Sunday nights, I look at the week ahead and block windows of time for things that I know I’ll need to focus on. I mentally keep these blocks flexible so that when things inevitably come up, I can accomodate my team as needed.

• Browser timer. For tasks that might be tedious and are prone to procrastination, I use a browser timer to hold myself accountable for getting them done within a certain time window. There are a ton out there. Here’s an example.

• Know when you’re at your best. I know I do my best work in the morning. I plan to do things like writing and things that require creativing thinking earlier in the day, and save other tasks for the end of the day.

12:30 PM

Lunch is usually around 12:30 PM. Any later and I will start fading. Some days the inevitable desk-lunch happens, but other days I will take a stroll and get some air.

Every Tuesday at Public we have team lunch all together, which is a nice window to hang out and bond over things that have nothing to do with work.

3 PM

In the afternoon, my day-to-day really changes. The big goals we are tackling as a team are well-communicated, yet the projects and tasks that ladder up to those objectives are always changing. As a marketing person at an early-stage company, I might prep for a press interview, write a Medium post, and pack up swag boxes to mail to members in a single day. I enjoy the variety because it keeps things fresh.

At Public our team is great in that it truly is all hands on deck and everyone’s an “athlete” in a professional sense. We all know our responsibilities, but we can be nimble and help each other out to get things done quickly. This is one of the reasons why I love working at startups.

7 PM

I try to wrap by 7 PM. That’s usually when my brain starts to slow down after a long day. Startup life doesn’t necessarily jive with a 9 to 5 schedule, though, and there is always more to do. If you’re working at a startup, it’s important to really buy into the mission of what you’re building, because that makes work both rewarding and fun.

That said, unwinding after a long day is the very best way to reset for the next one. After work, I will try to meet up with friends or watch TV and relax. People are usually surprised to hear that my favorite thing to watch are historical documentaries, with Ken Burns being my favorite filmmaker in that category.

10 PM

I reserve the evenings as a time to unplug. Since I wake up so early, I am usually ready to hit the hay by 10 PM and get ready to do it all over again.