Camo isn’t a way to hide

Rebel Spirit

Feb 24

"Oh, yeah, you blend."

Don't blend with the bland. My secret to standing out? When I stepped down as Prez of the Third Party Marketers Association, my team threw a surprise happy hour. They all wore something in my honor. Camo.

As an introvert, the fact that I love camo is not lost on me. If I was in a forest with a bunch of hunters, camo wouldn’t only be a way to hide, it would be dangerous. But I work in the investment world where everyone loves shades of blue. Camo isn’t a way to hide, it’s a way to stand out. Some still say it’s dangerous. I say it’s authentic.

Stacy Havener President of the Third Party Marketers Association

Check it

I wear hoops and ripped jeans.
I listen to rap.
I drink tequila on the rocks
but coffee with a lot of sugary creamer.
I am just as likely to curse
as I am to quote poetry.
I am smart
and I’m pretty.
I stand for the underdogs
because I am one.

All of that was easy to type. None of it was easy to own. Yet you, my friends, celebrate the things in me that I was most afraid to share. The real things, the quirky things, the eccentricities. The things that make me different in an industry that loves sameness.

That's the secret. Embrace your quirks. Give it a go.

Stacy Havener

Blue-collar girl from the Berkshires who combined a lot of grit with a little glitter to become a successful female entrepreneur in the investment world. Founder of Havener Capital, raising capital ($8B and counting), stomping glass ceilings, and shaking things up.