with Joanna Lord, Founder of NEON PALM
This week on I Want Her Shoes Podcast, we’re talking about what it really takes to build something people care about—a company, a brand, a team, a career, and ultimately, a life.
Host Anna Anisin sits down with Joanna Lord, a global marketing executive, operator, advisor, investor, and now founder of NEON PALM.
Over nearly two decades, Joanna has helped build and scale some of the most recognizable brands across technology, health, wellness, travel, and consumer products. She’s served as CMO of Spring Health, Skyscanner, ClassPass, and Reforge, worked across nine startups, led teams of more than 280 people, and helped scale global businesses reaching more than 110 million people each month.
But after years of helping other founders build extraordinary companies, Joanna is entering a new chapter: building something of her own.
In this conversation, Anna and Joanna explore what separates great marketing from a brand that becomes part of culture, what decades of operating have taught Joanna about leadership, how AI is reshaping marketing, and why curiosity may be one of the most important qualities we can carry into the next chapter of our lives.
They also dive into Joanna’s newest venture, NEON PALM, and what it feels like to move from advising founders to becoming one herself.
Because the most interesting careers rarely follow a straight line. And as Joanna says, beautiful things are never built alone.
👠 Key Moments
- What nine startups taught Joanna about building, scaling, and starting over
- Why Joanna considers herself an operator first—and a marketer second
- The difference between great marketing and building a brand that becomes part of culture
- How to keep brands human while operating at massive scale
- Why creating cultural conversations matters more than simply creating content
- What companies are still getting wrong about growth marketing
- How AI will transform marketing—and where human creativity will become even more valuable
- Why more AI-generated content doesn’t necessarily mean more meaningful content
- The story behind Joanna’s new venture, NEON PALM
- What becoming a founder has taught her after years of advising other founders
This episode is a conversation about building, reinvention, and staying curious—even after you’ve already achieved extraordinary things.
Because success doesn’t mean arriving at one final destination. Sometimes the most exciting thing you can do is decide to build again.
🎧 Listen now for a conversation about brands, AI, leadership, style, entrepreneurship, and why the best things we create are rarely created alone.
Adding a chic twist to each episode, the ‘I Want Her Shoes Podcast’ is recorded in Anna’s stunning personal closet, strategically located near the vibrant Miami Design District. This unique setting not only provides a visually captivating backdrop but also embodies the spirit of fashion and innovation that the area is known for.
📺 Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet—it’s definitely worth the view! https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast
Follow us for more updates:
Neon Palm: https://neonpalm.co/
IWHS Pod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwanthershoespodcast/
IWHS Pod Website: https://iwanthershoes.com/
Joanna’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannalord
Joanna’s LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannalord/