Interviews

60 seconds with: Jenny Taaffe

By Business & Finance
27 February 2015
Jenny Taaffe

Jenny Taaffe, founder and CEO of iZest Marketing takes the Business & Finance 60 second challenge.

Q. What was your first job?

As a lounge girl in Fitzpatrick’s Hotel in Killiney. Working from a young age gave me an understanding for what hard work really is.

Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?

There are three – buying my first home, my two boys and setting up iZest.

Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Always act like you’re in the job you want, not necessarily the job you have.

Q. If you could step into the shoes of one business person for the day, who would it be and why?

Probably Brian Chesky, the CEO and founder of Airbnb. I’m fascinated by disruptive businesses that challenge industry norms and aren’t scared by the obvious regulatory and legal challenges.

Q. In three words or less, how do you define success?

Pure relentless determination.

Q. What’s your motto?

The glass is always half full, no matter what.

Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff?

I’m lucky that I’m a self-motivated person. I think you have to be as an entrepreneur. For the team, it’s all about painting a clear picture of their future at iZest.

Q. How do your relax?

By stepping away from my Mac, iPad, iPhone … usually a walk in the park with the kids does the trick.

Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business?

To grow iZest into an internationally renowned marketing consultancy, with a digital edge.

Who is Jenny Taaffe?

Jenny TaaffeJenny Taaffe is the founder, CEO and inspiration behind iZest Marketing.

She began her digital career in Pigsback.com a few years after completing her Masters in Marketing in UCD. She joined Pigsback.com as an account manager and ended up as managing director, aged 28. After six years with the company, she left to set up iZest. In three short years, iZest has gone through a huge growth spell and has become known as the leader in travel and retail digital marketing both in Ireland and abroad. This was recognised recently, when Taaffe was nominated as a ‘Power 100: Top Retail Marketing Executives’ by Checkout magazine.

Taaffe is known for her no-nonsense approach and takes a holistic approach to digital, ensuring that it is seamlessly integrated into a clients overall marketing plan.

Taaffe has been keen to grow the company internationally, and in 2014 picked up new clients in Dubai, Qatar, London and Copenhagen. She has big plans to grow iZest’s international client base further throughout 2015, while keeping Dublin as the hub of the business.