Interview of Rachael Horn

Episode Summary:

Episode Summary:

In this episode of the InPowered Women Podcast, host Sharon Lee sits down with Rachael Horn, Growth Partner at Vye Agency. Rachael shares how an unexpected career path — from nonprofit work to teaching English in Italy — ultimately led her into the world of marketing and growth strategy.

Now based in Nashville, Rachael works with organizations to develop strategic marketing plans that align with long-term business goals. Sharon and Rachael dive into the role of AI in marketing, the importance of strong CRM data, and why companies should continue investing in marketing even during uncertain economic times.

They also discuss the human side of leadership — from building authentic connections with clients to balancing career growth with personal wellness. Rachael even shares how becoming a yoga instructor has influenced the way she approaches leadership, networking, and professional development.

This episode is energetic, insightful, and full of practical takeaways for anyone navigating growth in today’s fast-changing business landscape.

Insights from this episode:

• • Strategic marketing begins with clearly defined growth goals
• • Strong CRM data is essential for meaningful AI insights
• • AI tools should support strategy — not replace human connection
• • Companies that maintain marketing during downturns often gain competitive advantage
• • Consistent messaging across sales and marketing builds trust with audiences
• • Networking and relationship-building remain powerful growth strategies
• • Personal wellness and balance can strengthen leadership and professional impact
  

Quotes from the show:

• “AI won’t take your job — but the person using AI might.” — Rachael Horn, InPowered Women Podcast
• “You can’t just market for the sake of marketing. It has to tie back to real business growth.” — Rachael Horn, InPowered Women Podcast
• “If your competitors stop marketing and you don’t, you’re automatically ahead of the game.” — Rachael Horn, InPowered Women Podcast
• “Marketing isn’t about doing everything — it’s about doing the right things consistently.”— Sharon Lee, InPowered Women Podcast

Episode Transcript:

Speaker 1 – Sharon Lee

Welcome to the InPowered Women Podcast, where we tell the stories of unstoppable female leaders who excel, uplift, and secure a clearer path for female leaders in the future. I’m your host, Sharon Lee.

Hello and welcome to another episode of the InPowered Women Podcast. Before we get to today’s guest, I’d like to thank today’s sponsor, Perfect Search. This woman-owned staffing and recruiting firm has been helping Atlanta companies find exceptional talent for over 30 years. From finance and HR to administrative and customer service roles, Perfect Search focuses on finding the right people for the right opportunities every single time. You can learn more at PerfectSearchInc.com.

And with that, I’m excited to introduce today’s guest, Rachael Horn. Rachael is a Growth Partner at Vye Agency. Rachael, how are you?

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Speaker 2 – Rachael Horn

Hello! I’m doing well. How about you?

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Sharon Lee

I’m doing great. I say this every time I start a podcast, but I’m especially excited about this guest today because I’ve known her for quite a while… actually since she was in diapers. Rachael is also my niece, so this is a really fun conversation for me.

Let’s start with what you’re doing today. Tell everyone about Vye Agency and your role there.

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Rachael Horn

Absolutely. Vye Agency is a full-service marketing agency. We partner with companies in the service industry and start by identifying their one- to three-year growth goals. From there, we build a strategic marketing plan designed to support those goals, and we can also help implement that plan.

We’re also HubSpot partners, which means we use the HubSpot CRM platform to track performance, connect marketing and sales data, and optimize strategies based on real results.

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Sharon Lee

I love that. But marketing wasn’t always the path for you. Let’s back up a bit and talk about how you got here.

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Rachael Horn

Definitely not a straight line. My degree is actually in political science with a focus on nonprofit management and public administration. My first job out of college was with the United Way of Greater Chattanooga.

Like many nonprofit roles, I wore a lot of hats — sales, event planning, programming, marketing, website management, and more.

After about a year and a half, I got a little restless and decided to move to Italy to teach English.

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Sharon Lee

Which also resulted in one of my favorite stories… when you texted me and said, “Hey, do you want to come to Rome for a week?”

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Rachael Horn

Yes! That was such a fun time.

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Sharon Lee

Eventually you came back to the U.S. during COVID and started figuring out your next step.

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Rachael Horn

Exactly. When I returned, I realized I wanted to gain some experience in the for-profit world before going back into nonprofit work.

After reflecting on my previous role, I realized that I really loved marketing and sales. So I spent several months applying and interviewing before landing my first marketing role in healthcare in Nashville. That’s really where my marketing career began.

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Sharon Lee

And that role gave you a strong foundation in structured marketing.

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Rachael Horn

Yes. Everything had a system. Everything had a process. That structure helped me tremendously when I later moved into smaller agencies where you’re wearing many hats and moving quickly.

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Sharon Lee

Let’s talk about AI for a moment. Everyone is talking about it right now. How are you seeing AI used in marketing?

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Rachael Horn

AI can feel overwhelming because there are so many tools available. Our approach has been to evaluate the tools we already use — like HubSpot — and determine which AI features actually support our goals.

For example, we use AI customer agents that can help answer questions on websites and qualify leads before a human ever gets involved.

We also use AI sales enablement tools that help identify potential prospects and create outreach sequences. But even with those tools, the human touch is still essential.

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Sharon Lee

Absolutely. At the end of the day, we’re marketing to humans.

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Rachael Horn

Exactly. AI won’t replace people — but people who use AI effectively will definitely have an advantage.

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Sharon Lee

Another topic we talked about is marketing during uncertain economic times. Often the first thing companies cut is marketing.

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Rachael Horn

Yes, and that’s actually when maintaining your marketing investment can create a huge advantage.

If your competitors cut their marketing and you don’t, you immediately stand out because you remain visible while they disappear.

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Sharon Lee

Exactly. When customers are ready to buy, they remember the brands they’ve been seeing consistently.

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Sharon Lee

Now let’s talk about something else you’ve added to your life recently… becoming a yoga instructor!

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Rachael Horn

Yes! I started practicing yoga about a year and a half ago. A few months into it, one of my instructors encouraged me to become a teacher.

Now I teach a 6 AM class every Monday, and I’ve started incorporating wellness networking events that combine yoga, breathing exercises, and professional networking.

I also lead short breathing and chair-yoga sessions for my company.

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Sharon Lee

I love that. It shows how important it is to bring balance into your life.

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Sharon Lee

If someone wants to learn more about what you do or connect with you, where can they find you?

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Rachael Horn

The best place is LinkedIn. My name is spelled R-A-C-H-A-E-L Horn. You can also visit our website at Vye.agency.

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Sharon Lee

Rachael, this has been such a fun conversation. Thank you so much for joining me today.

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Rachael Horn

Thank you for having me. This was great!

Thank you for listening to InPowered Women. If you like what you heard, please give us a five-star review and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to your podcast and share with those you think can benefit from this information. Please email all questions, suggestions, and compliments to sharon@pinnaclestrategicadvisors.net. The InPowered Women podcast is produced by the podcast production company and executive produced by Sharon Lee.

This episode was produced and managed by Sharon Lee.