Meet Nichole Elizabeth Demeré

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nichole Elizabeth Demeré.

Nichole, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started building my own websites when I was twelve – my uncle taught me how to look at source code, and from there, I used his library of computer books to teach myself HTML, visual basic, C++, Pearl, etc. Which was unusual for my tiny home town (Shady Grove, Population 100), and my childhood home (Perry, population 15K).

So unusual that I found myself in the international news – press would show up outside my door, and this was the 90s before it was ‘easy’ to get ‘internet famous.’ My name was showing up in newspapers in Germany and Portugal; I was getting quoted in books while I was in high school, I taught ‘gifted’ classes to middle school students on how to use the internet and build their own websites. In college, I studied Industrial-Organizational Psychology while working at Moffitt Cancer Center to study patient-doctor interactions, working in a robotics lab and a human-factors psychology lab, and working in the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. And I presented oncology research to an international conference when I was 19, as an undergraduate.

After college, I moved to Miami and got into SEO – Miami is also where I first started getting into photography, and where I first became successfully self-employed. Now I help early-stage B2B SaaS go to market – launches, studying the market, pivoting when necessary, messaging, value props, which channels work, building community, etc.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I was deeply traumatized as a child by multiple dysfunctional family members, which makes it hard to just exist. I have PTSD, anxiety, panic disorder, OCD and ADHD, and I used to binge drink to cope with that – not the best coping skill; you hurt a lot of people that way. I have the OCD under control now. These experiences have shaped me into a very empathetic person. If someone is going through hard things, I’ve probably been there in some way. I get it on a very personal level.

I’m also unconventional and passionate about what I feel to be right – I’m genderqueer and polyamorous/ethically non-monogamous, I don’t subscribe to the gender binary or most social norms in general. There are a lot of people in the world, and in tech, who feel uncomfortable just because of my identity.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m proud that I am OUT. On my business About page, I write about me and my gender-queer polyamorous family, with photos! I am just myself, and I get a lot of messages from people who still have to hide who they are, who tell me they find comfort seeing that I’m not hiding who I am, and still running a successful business. So many people are afraid to say anything that could alienate *anyone* on their business website, but I believe in radical transparency. This is who I am.

I am also really proud of my ability to build communities and genuine relationships – it comes naturally to me. To go to market, you have to build relationships with people to get them to Alpha and Beta test your products; you have to grow a community to support your new business and find partnerships. It’s a major part of creating a successful launch. Sure, there are other ways to go to market – throw a lot of money into paid advertising, for example. But I don’t go that route. If you’re bootstrapping and don’t have funding, you have to build relationships. It’s a lean approach, and I believe it’s a more sustainable approach.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My openness to talk to anyone who wants to talk and mentor anyone who wants to be mentored. I don’t sit around trying to appeal to ‘thought leaders’ in the tech world to try and curry favor. That’s how you build an echo-chamber of the same ideas over and over. And I’m not trying to gain something from every single one of my interactions. I’m trying to offer value to people who have less access, whenever and however I can.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nicholeelizabethdemere.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholeelizabethdemere/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NikkiElizDemere/

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