BOOKS by Jennie Smythe Becoming Girlilla is an unfiltered, inspiring memoir, sharing Jennie Smythe’s rise from unlikely beginnings to digital marketing powerhouse, showing readers how resilience, authenticity, and passion can make a real impact both online and off. With more than two decades of experience leading a firm that represents world-famous entertainers, Jennie has been recognized by Billboard, Fast Company, The Tennessean, and People for her inspiring personal story and innovative approach to digital strategy. Smythe is a multi-year recipient of Nashville Business Journal’s Women in Music City Awards and a MusicRow magazine Rising Women on the Row honoree. Jennie serves as President Elect of the Country Music Association and is on the boards of the CMA Foundation and Music Health Alliance and was recently named a 2025 Advocacy Ambassador by the Susan G. Komen Center for Public Policy. She lives in Nashville and is married to fellow entrepreneur, Shannon Houchins In Becoming Girlilla, Jennie shares her unique journey through career highs and lows, personal challenges, and her recent breast cancer battle, inspiring readers to create meaningful connections online and offline. A digital marketing trailblazer, Jennie’s memoir—Becoming Girlilla— is the unfiltered, inspiring story of her rise from unlikely beginnings to digital marketing powerhouse. Jennie’s career path led her to pursuing her passions at Elektra, Spivak Sobol Entertainment, and Disney’s Hollywood Records. She was soon at the forefront of the merging of music and technology as an executive with Yahoo!, Warner Bros Records, and Clear Channel. It was a deathbed conversation with her estranged father that led her to re-examine her priorities and goals, and ultimately launch Girlilla Marketing in 2008. Becoming Girlilla highlights how resilience, authenticity, and passion can make a meaningful impact both online and in real life as Jennie candidly shares her path to success, full of sometimes surprising and oftentimes laugh-out-loud moments. Along the way, she navigated an industry that often underestimated her, fought through personal and professional hurdles, and rose to the top of her field. Her inspiring journey, full of raw grit and humor, unfolds through her battles with career uncertainty, the loss of her estranged father, and her courageous fight against breast cancer. Smythe shares the challenges of entrepreneurship, including the early days of Girlilla Marketing, and the path from acquisition to regaining control of her company. She shares practical advice for creating a digital presence with purpose and authenticity, and provides insight on new ways to use social media for good. JENNIE SMYTHE is a trailblazer in the digital marketing field and founder and CEO of Girlilla Marketing, an award winning firm renowned for its work with world-famous entertainers, including Willie Nelson, Dead & Company, Darius Rucker, Blondie, Brooke Shields, Iliza Shlesinger, Terry Crews, Kristin Chenoweth, Vince Gill, and more. Her book, Becoming Girlilla: My Journey to Unleashing Good—in Real Life, Online, and in Others is published by Forefront Books’ Resolve Editions (Simon & Schuster). Becoming Girlilla: My Journey to Unleashing Good—in Real Life, Online, and in Others Devita Art Studio / Shutterstock.com enterprising Women 69
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