Melea McRae is a marketing strategist with 25+ years of B2B and B2C experience leading client-facing marketing departments, where she earned the reputation as an insightful brand strategist. As SVP and CMO at the Greater KC Chamber of Commerce, she led the organization’s marketing and business development efforts. In July 2016, Melea launched Crux KC, providing an in-house marketing team, outsourced – the “un-agency” – for her small-to-mid-sized clients. As founder and CEO, she builds marketing, communication and business development strategies for her clients, while positioning them for sustainable growth.
As Crux celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, I did something that felt both indulgent and necessary: I stepped away. Not for a long weekend, or a conference, or a…
I see it everywhere. A founder starts a company because they’re great at something—building, selling, solving a problem. They care deeply. They stay close to the work. And early on,…
Article Summary: Most small‑ and mid‑sized businesses don’t fail at marketing because they aren’t trying hard enough. They fail because they’re forced to choose between two imperfect options. Option one:…
If you’re running a business, chances are your marketing feels a little disjointed. The ads are running, the website looks sharp, but there’s no real strategy tying it all together. You know you need marketing leadership, but bringing on a…
Imagine walking into a coffee shop that promises “the best artisanal brew in town.” The ambiance is perfect, the branding is sleek and the menu boasts handcrafted perfection. But when…
By Melea McRae “The business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.” That Peter Drucker was really on…
Some of the best entrepreneurial advice I received from my mentor and business partner, Grant Burcham, was this: “You need to learn how to walk the plank, not the tightrope.”…
This October marked the seventh annual Pure Pitch Rally, one of my favorite start-up events in Kansas City. It’s essentially KC’s own version of Shark Tank, bringing together 100+ land…
Running a business can feel like an Olympic feat some days, especially in the last two years. There’s no shortage of think pieces on the impact of the COVID, however,…
