Patrick Rife

Navigating the Unknown. Building Businesses Along the Way. And Writing About It.

Join me as I embark on a journey to reclaim control, and build businesses that reflect who I am, and where I'm headed.

Founder

Pixilated

Pixilated is a photo booth company based in Baltimore, MD that produces an easy-to-use, shippable photo booth called PixiTAB that is powered by our B2B photo marketing software; PixiCloud. When not acting as the brain for PixiTAB we license the PixiCloud software platform to companies looking to capture 1st party user data at events and venues through photo experiences, forms, surveys, and other experiential marketing activities.

Co-Founder

Baltimore Creators

Our mission: connect Baltimore's business builders. Whether you're an entrepreneur, advisor, or curious learner, Baltimore Creators is for you.

PixiWeb

Event Photo Sharing Simplified: Create custom event websites that allow your guests to post photos directly to a shared event gallery.

Startup Soirée

Startup Soiree was a grassroots entrepreneurial community and event series dedicated to fostering meaningful connections among Baltimore’s founders, creatives, and business leaders. As Co-Founder, I helped create a space where entrepreneurs could engage in candid, no-pitch conversations, exchange insights, and build lasting relationships.

Key initiatives included:

---> Hosting monthly fireside chat events featuring prominent Baltimore entrepreneurs in unique, intimate settings.
---> Developing community-driven content, including a podcast and blog, to share startup stories and insights.
---> Strengthening Baltimore’s startup ecosystem by providing a platform for founders to connect, learn, and grow.

Startup Soiree played a pivotal role in shaping Baltimore’s startup culture, and its legacy lives on in the connections and collaborations it sparked.

Bonsai Fine Arts

Assist museums, galleries and private collectors in caring for their valuable artworks during transit and installation. Lead small focused teams on installations ranging from small sculptural pieces in private galleries to full scale multi-level commercial art installations.

Art Handler

Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, U.M.B.C.

Worked closely with Gallery Preparator to develop the physical museum space as it pertains to incoming exhibitions, hung and installed traveling exhibitions, took part in the registration, crate building and technical manuals for the traveling exhibition "For All The World to See."

Gallery Assistant/Art Handler

Contemporary Museum Baltimore

Provided primary interfacing to museum visitors and patrons. Oversaw Museum social media program. Provided technical and clerical support to higher museum staff.

Gallery Assistant

Entrepreneur Building Business and Writing About the Process.

Helping founders & leaders find clarity in chaos | Ground Control Newsletter

I've spent years building companies, communities, and connections. Now I help others navigate their own path forward.

As co-founder of Pixilated and creator of Startup Soirée, I've lived the founder journey - from scaling and strategy to the human side of leadership. But what lights me up isn't just what I built - it's who I became along the way.

What I Do Now:

I work with founders and leaders who are:

- Seeking clarity in their next chapter
- Building something meaningful
- Ready to align who they are with what they do
- Looking for perspective, not just strategy

My Approach:

Think of me as your mirror and prism - helping you see your path more clearly and illuminating possibilities you might have missed. Through deep listening and perspective shifting, we find the clarity you need to move forward with confidence.

Ground Control Newsletter:

Every Wednesday, I share raw insights about leadership, transformation, and finding your way. No guru speak. No formulas. Just real talk about what it takes to build something that matters.

Let's Connect:

- Ready for clarity? DM me
- Want weekly insights? Ground Control newsletter (link in bio)
- Looking for perspective? Let's talk

"The real ROI of human connection isn't measured in quarters. It's measured in years, in lives touched, in moments of breakthrough."

#leadership #transformation #clarity #growth #authenticity

Young & Co. Creative Agency

At Young & Co., we're in the business of banishing bland. Launched with a vision to disrupt the traditional branding playbook, we've been crafting sticky brands with a mix of strategic genius, creative firepower, and a dash of improv since 2016. We dive deep into your brand's potential to create brand stories that not only resonate with your audience but set you apart in the crowded marketplace. From scrappy startups to scale-ups, we're here to amplify your voice and turn your brand into a cultural icon. Let's create something unforgettable together.

CEO, Founder & Strategist

Neol

Neol is a platform for leaders within companies and startups, independent creative leaders, and passionate creative talent to come together in a setting where they can truly thrive; forming teams with chemistry to deliver the impact our planet and societies need.

Creative Leader

DENTR

"We're here to put a DENT in the universe...otherwise, why even be here?" - Steve Jobs
DENTR helps teams operate with a growth mindset, and work together to deliver profound impact.

We co-create with clients via an 'in-sourced' up-skilling approach to help you break free from 'business as usual', generate fresh insights, develop a compelling brand identity, activate your brand across all important business operations, and cultivate a compelling team culture.

Get in touch if you have unrealized bold ambitions that outstrip your available resources.

http://www.dentr.co

Dent Your Universe!

Co-Founder, Partner & Strategist

General Assembly

Led monthly workshops on Brand Strategy for the LA market.

Course Instructor - Brand Strategy

*GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS ONE OF FAST COMPANY'S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES IN THE WORLD AND #1 MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANY IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR*

During my time as a producer, I oversaw production and customer experience for immersive courses and part-time workshops in Digital Marketing, UX Design,  Web Development and Product Management.

I piloted an incubator program for students with startup ideas to learn how to design, test, iterate, brand and pitch their concepts which included multiple 'mini-workshops' over a 3 month period and ending with a 'pitch fest' to industry vets and Angel investors. 

My work included:  
- Thought partnership and iteration of curriculum
-Management of program budgets, profit & loss
-Sourcing guest lecturers and panelists
-Analyzing data and KPIs for quarterly reports
-Coordinating regional events
-Built and oversaw alumni programming for the LA market
-Recruitment and management of program instructors

Producer - Digital Marketing, UX Design, Product Management Courses

University of California, Los Angeles

Led content strategy and copy for experiential sites, email and social campaigns, commercials, and other brand marketing and promotional materials. 
Collaborated on the UCLA Admissions experiential site re-design. Pitched concepts to client and executed final re-design with creative team. Wrote copy for branding and marketing materials.

Clients included:  The Centennial Campaign, UCLA Admissions, Grand Challenges, Bruin Day

Principle - Marketing & Comms Dept.

Digital Media Management

Content strategy and creative direction of original design for e-commerce site Tenthandfourth.com, digital strategy for YouTube videos, social campaigns, promotional giveaways and charity campaigns for celebrity client channels.

CAMPAIGNS OF NOTE:
-Netflix contest in correlation with season finale of Glee (Client: Harry Shum Jr)
Content strategy for Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram channels, coordination with Netflix
Total reach for the campaign (likes, share, retweets, etc) 250k

-Fundraising Campaign for Drea's Dream Foundation (Client: Harry Shum Jr)
Concept and content strategy for Twitter posts, coordination with PR

Brand Management & Digital Media Strategy (Contract)

Everyday Health

Content strategy and creative direction for site re-design of ulookhaute.com, the YouTube-funded Original Channel featuring Lauren Conrad, Elle and Blair Fowler and other market influencers. Worked with a team of designers and freelance writers to create the overall look and feel of the site, pitched concepts to CEO, and oversaw daily content production to ensure brand, imagery and content were aligned.

Branded Content/Editorial Direction

Freelance

Visual and editorial storytelling for brands and media entities. 
Clients included:
LA Confidential
Modern Luxury 
Stern Magazine 
Commercial with national syndication for Larry H Parker, Esq.
Costume assistant for feature film "Con Man" 
Blink Magazine 
Glow Magazine 
Beverly Hills Lifestyle Magazine

Contributing Writer, Editor & Stylist

Led teams of interviewers performing user research surveys to test in-store experiences, editorial content, and advertisements. 

Clients included:
Nike, Target, Robbins' Brothers, Men's Health, Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Women's Day, Cosmopolitan

Freelance Market & Retail Experience Research

I'm a brand and creative strategist by trade, challenger and rain-maker by nature, working with the next generation of Trail Blazers.

I've spent the past ~18 years shaping brands of all sizes, industries and life stages in need of a fresh perspective and creative orchestration.

In 2016, while 2 months pregnant, I launched Young & Co., a new-age creative agency for building 'sticky' brands backed with strategic storytelling, leveraging our network of young & talented creatives.

My eclectic past prior to entrepreneurial life has more twists and turns than a Netflix series, from market research for the likes of Nike and Target, copywriting for the eternal optimists at UCLA, disrupting the education world at General Assembly, crafting engaging stories for brand-owned media at EQAL (now Everyday Health), to years logged in the scrappy startup world and creative trenches as a stylist and contributing editor/writer in luxury media, I have a deep seated understanding of effective brand building and storytelling.

In my spare time, I dabble in improv, mentor young budding entrepreneurs, advise non-profit orgs whose missions speak to my heart, and occasionally keynote for audiences who can benefit from my unconventional perspective.

Here's what some of my clients have said about working with me: 

"Robyn is a brand and marketing genius! Her approach has elevated Sow Eden and has given us an amazing new brand positioning that we are extremely proud of.”– Jacob Dunn, Founder, Sow Eden Organics

“Working with Young & Co. really helped us crystallize our positioning and set us on a path for strategic customer growth.” - Cate Khan, CSO & Co-Founder, Verishop

"We needed someone to extract the feelings we had around our brand - challenge them, push back, ask questions - and mold that coal into a diamond and that's what Robyn and her team do. The structure of the session helped create consensus from the team which was incredibly helpful and invaluable. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to do this type of work." Ashly Knox, CMO, Henson 

"Young & Co is an amazing team of experts who understood our needs, deeply invested themselves in the process, and truly collaborated. That is critical when you work on a rebrand." - Slavik Volinsky, Sr. Marketing Manager, Milady/Cengage Group

Schedule an intro call with my team: 
thisisyoung.co/contact


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