Melissa Height targets world domination with extraordinary wit and charm
This article was originally published in Illuminessence e-magazine, March 26, 2013.
Putting the fun in business has always been the core focus of young entrepreneur Melissa Height. Height’s web design and marketing business, Serious Monkey, is in itself a tongue-in-cheek metaphor of this belief. As the co-founder of Serious Monkey and Chair of Hamilton HIVE, Height sets herself apart as a young professional in Hamilton, because she is both driven and enthusiastic about making connections with people.
“Because a smile motivates me more than a dollar,” says Height, expressing her passion for people.
Height was the first female profiled in the weekly Hamilton Spectator Young Professional series and in 2012, she was named as one of the 40 top business professionals under 40 in Greater Hamilton and Halton communities.
While Height believes in combining work and play it hasn’t always been the case for this 28-year-old who went to school to become an early childhood educator. Corporate life was once part and parcel of her daily work routine. Working as a Director of Marketing and Sales at a web development corporation in Toronto, Height’s clientele included multi-national corporations like Research In Motion and Tim Hortons. Her job was to provide e-commerce solutions to large companies.
The limiting and bureaucratic work culture was off-putting, she says. Height described how difficult it was to seal deals, as companies have to go through various levels of management.
“You just get so confined and pigeon-holed,” she confesses. So, in time, Height decided to start her own endeavor.
As she brainstormed the next steps of her career with her twin sister, Height says she really wanted “people to know that in business, you can still have fun. You can be taken seriously but you can still show your personality.”
The light bulb went on and so Serious Monkey was born.
Serious Monkey
Established in 2009, the same year Height quit her job, Serious Monkey was first managed by the twins in its early hay days. The excitement she and her sister felt when they first met with their first customer is still fresh in her mind.
“It was so interesting to have this complete stranger come to our house, sit down with us and ultimately treated us like we knew what we were doing.” exclaims Height. She was the first in the family to start her own company.
What started as a project morphed into an entity. Serious Monkey went on to work with major clients, more recently the McMaster MBA Games. It was the only company to have solidified a brand for all the MBA Games.
Yet, having women in technology is still not the norm, says Height, as she describes her first time at a Microsoft buying ambien online convention. It was rare to see a woman there, she says.
“It is getting better. More and more women are becoming ‘tech-savvy’ but not necessarily programmers. It’s such a unique, small group right now. It’s going to grow just a matter of time. Because the roles are reversing, it’s okay for me to like technology. It’s okay for me to appreciate coding and algorithms,” Height says.
Hamiltons YP Scene
However, it was really Height’s involvement in Young Entrepreneurs and Professionals (YEP) division of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce that broadened her business and client base.
As she went from being a Chamber member to a task force leader for YEP, Height felt a different vibe with the young professionals: they have a desire to connect and learn from one another. It became evident to her when she was first introduced to the YEP division.
“One simple question from ‘let me tell you what I do’ to ‘what do you do’ makes a world of difference,” she says, describing the young professionals’ approach to business.
Height went on to join Hamilton HIVE, the umbrella organization which brings together all of Hamilton’s young professionals groups. These groups are diverse, from the United Way’s GenNext to Hamilton Health Sciences’ FUSE and Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association of Hamilton Halton’s OGGI.
“Hamilton has the best and most organized young professional scene in Canada. We’re actually asked by the province to be a model organization on a provincial level for the Young Professionals,” she says.
Young professionals in Hamilton have done a lot to give back to the community. The Hive has spoken at a council level on behalf of the city’s young professionals. Each group within Hive is involved in community development initiatives and fundraisers, such as City Kidz and Liberty for Youth.
“At the Hive committee, we represent about 600+ professionals in the city. It’s a large group of people that otherwise wouldn’t have a voice,” Height says, who became Hive’s first female chair in 2013.
Since becoming a chair, Height has spearheaded numerous initiatives to assist young professionals. Most recently, the Hive launched a mentorship site, Hive Connect. The site enlists older professionals acting as mentors to young professionals seeking advice in their field of interest. The Hive will also be setting up networking trade shows, inviting the public to meet Hive groups and learn how to get involved.
“Everyone wants to help and get involved, which in turn creates, reflects and manifests an amazing city to live in,” Height says.
Final Thoughts
Getting involved in the young professional scene isn’t difficult. Height’s advice for young professionals? Just be there. “I always tell them one thing: show up. Just. Show. Up. The more you show up, the more you get involved.”