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Stuart Garfield
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
2010 Women to Watch
Crimson Hexagon's Candace Fleming takes startup reins into her own hands
By Galen Moore
MHT's Julie Donnelly: Gemvara launches custom-made jewelry over the Internet
MHT's Galen Moore: Honoring innovation in New England
Following the Clean Energy Council Fellows
Candace Fleming
Chief Executive Officer, Crimson Hexagon Inc.
Education: Bachelor’s degrees, industrial engineering and English, Stanford University; MBA, Harvard Business School
Noteworthy: Founded Crimson Hexagon to develop sophisticated listening and analysis tools to help distill meaning about brands, products and services in online conversations through social media.
And more: Involved with The Second Step, a program that supports women and children in their efforts to leave abusive relationships and to go out on their own.
On startups
“I had always wanted to work for a startup... The year 2000 was when things were just bursting. I saw all these business plans, and I wasn’t really excited about them. So I took a job I liked and kept my radar on. (I said), ‘If I want to make this happen, no one else is going to do it.’ There’s the reward of seeing what you can do with a small group of people. I love that you can take someone fresh out of school, give them responsibility they would never have at a big company, and watch them knock it out of the park.”
The value of analysis tools
“I think gut feel and intuition are very valuable in business, but there are a number of times I’ve seen when you’re making significant decisions that real data to back up your decision can be invaluable. Gut feeling and intuition can be misleading. When you find new ways to run numbers or to calculate things you hadn’t known, it adds so much value to the way you’re operating.”
On majoring in English and engineering
“I loved operations, but I knew I was going to take all my electives in literature. Dickens and Austen — I love them. A lot of my English teachers would comment that my papers were written very differently than most other English majors. The literature I read these days consists of Mr. Putter and Tabby and Dr. Seuss.”
A Californian (Los Altos) in Boston
“There are so many good job opportunities and so many great people in Boston, we’ve ended up staying. It was less of a conscious decision and more just that every time I had an opportunity in my career that might have allowed us to switch, it didn’t work for him (husband Lee, a professor at Harvard Business School). Once you have kids you kind of put down roots.”
Balancing work and life
“Having a family is actually what empowers you to be successful. I couldn’t do this without them. There’s nothing more revitalizing when you come home from a hard day and before you’ve put your briefcase down you’re tackle-hugged by these two little people.”
Thoughts on Fleming, from Maria Cirino, of .406 Ventures and an investor in Crimson Hexagon
“Candace stands out for her compelling combination of intellect and enthusiasm. She’s engaging and fiercely determined, yet is self effacing and sports a calm demeanor.”
"Candace is driven by a desire to make an impact and leave her mark on the world. She has a deep and expansive vision for the impact that her company can have on companies as they seek to deepen their relationships with their customers."
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