In this first episode of the We're on Mute podcast, Camille Padilla and Mary Mellor, founders of VODIUM talk about their career journeys before becoming entrepreneurs and share the no BS story behind building VODIUM—including breakups, a global pandemic, and several cross-country moves.
CAMILLE: Hey, everyone! Welcome to the podcast. my name is Camille Padilla, one of the co-founders of VODIUM and alongside me is my co-host and glamorous co-founder: Mary Mellor.
Mary, how are you?
MARY: I'm good. How are you, Camille?
CAMILLE: I'm good. It's even better with some wine.
MARY: We are drinking wine on our first podcast.
We're in our beautiful living room in our new house in Nashville, VODIUM HQ.
Let's get into it. How do you feel about starting a podcast with moi?
CAMILLE: Well there's no one else I'd want to do a podcast with, but I think doing a podcast for us as two tech female founders is going to be super, super important, but I know we're going to try to be super intentional about being very raw.
MARY: Yes.
CAMILLE: I know that's going to be hard for me, but I'm excited to dive in.
MARY: Totally. Hard for me too, but I think it's exciting. It's the next fun project that we've got to work on and we'll see how it goes.
CAMILLE: Yes, yes, yes.
But obviously, we mentioned in the beginning that we are co-founders, we'll give a quick overview of what our company does, but then the rest is less business.
So we run the company called VODIUM. We are a transparent technology. We are the world's first virtual teleprompter. We sit on top of any open window, video conferencing applications, such as Zoom, and we sit right underneath your computer's camera. So you're going to be looking right at your audience and they're going to have no idea, and you're going to have the most effective and in-control communication ever.
And the only person that I could do this with is you. So I would really love for you to give the viewers and listeners a background of how this started and more importantly when it started, and where we were.
MARY: Okay. Love it. Great overview, it's like you've been selling VODIUM for two years.
CAMILLE: Two fricken years.
MARY: Two years. So we just celebrated our two-year birthday, April 17th.
It's kind of funny, Cami and I were out to dinner and we're like, oh shit, it's our second year birthday.
CAMILLE: We were at a happy hour and then used their happy hour to celebrate.
MARY: But two years, it's flown by.
So we started the company on April 17th, 2020, so if everybody thinks back to where you were one month into the pandemic.
Camille and I previously, um, we're in Los Angeles where we were living. Camille and her boyfriend, and I all shared an apartment, which was...
CAMILLE: Ex-boyfriend, to be clear.
MARY: Which we can get into, it was a wild, but really fun chapter. Cami was working, and Camille goes by Cam, Cami.
CAMILLE: Yeah. In a minute, you're going to be calling me Cam, I'll be throwing out real quick.
MARY: But we were there in LA, Cam was working in the 2020 election cycle, right. Working on all the top races. She's super humble about her career when she talks about it, which drives me a little crazy because every single person listening has seen a political ad on TV that Cami has written, produced, starred in or been on set and helped get off the ground.
So she had this crazy, amazing career working remote from our apartment in LA, as was I.
I had just started my first company. So before VODIUM, I started Mary Mellor consulting, which happened in a crazy way after getting rejected from every job I had interviewed for when we moved to LA in 2019, but was running major product and campaign launches all across the country and also working 60 hour weeks. But then, COVID hit.
And um, I quickly got a call from my parents in Memphis, Tennessee, who both have small businesses, and my dad has our family barbecue business and was president of the Memphis restaurant association and he called and said, I just laid off 25 people.
I mean, this was week one into the pandemic. All the restaurants are closing. I don't know what to do. And it was really like a jarring moment for me, where I thought, "okay, I don't know how long this is going to last. I have flexibility, but I think where I need to be is home."
And so I packed up my car and on my 29th birthday, drive home to Memphis to live with my dad and my step-mom.
And you know, it was wild. It was a really tough time. I was worried my clients were going to fire me. Everyone was cutting budgets. Every night at dinner, I was with my parents trying to figure out PPP loans, literally like, how we were going to move from catering to a delivery model, and it was stressful.
And then I got a call from Camille, and I'll let Cami pick it up, but the call was basically, I've got an idea. Are you in?
CAMILLE: Yeah and to be clear, for Mary's birthday in Los Angeles on March 18th, when we all knew we were going in lockdown, it was Mary and my ex-boyfriend, at the time, we were all living in an apartment in Los Angeles and we decided to watch Contagion on the first night of lockdown.
MARY: Like talk about fcking trauma.
CAMILLE: Yes.
But when Mary left, obviously I think you were like, "hell no are we going to be spending, like three of us...
MARY: It was a tight apartment, yeah.
CAMILLE: But I think it was the best reason. It was so good that you left because I wasn't really happy in my relationship, but we had taken a huge gamble to move to LA altogether, but originally it was going to be you and I. So there was so much guilt, so much weird adjustment.
And so when Mary left I had one-on-one time, right? And you're in an apartment and I'm such an anxious person, I had no idea that when I was on a video shoot, I was conducting it for a main senate race, and I was producing the whole shoot. So you're trying to find any type of technology that can help you match the types of productions you had before the pandemic happened when you were on a video shoot, let alone a multimillion commercial shoot. You have so much equipment. You have so much staff, you have so many people involved that are making it super beautiful, and then you still have that same budget that during the 2020 election season, no one was going to let go of, and they had to use so much of it.
They didn't know what to do. So all of that money really did pivot quickly to social media or any social thing. So we still had to conduct a video shoot. There was nothing on the app stores or any production lists that provided a teleprompter that sat on top of video conferences and was transparent.
Now I'm biased and I love VODIUM and I love that that's the idea that came about at that time. And I love that my anxiety was like, I have to do this. I need another side project and I love that it led it to me, but I think the biggest thing was the fact that it really wasn't created yet and the fact that you even looked it up, right? You were never going to get into a company or build something like this.
Of course, you trusted me, but you're so smart and with your background, you're such a good product marketer, you had to see if there were tech like that.
MARY: And when you called, right, like, it was just such an interesting time.
I think I was on a walk when you called and like, that was my only outlet.
CAMILLE: You and I also were not in a great place.
MARY: Yeah. I think LA like rocked our friendship in a lot of ways, but we weren't in a great place. I was super surprised and in my mind, I'm thinking two things like one: something has to be out there. And the funny thing is, I can't tell you how many people have told us before: are you really the first people to think about this? Like, someone should have built this before.
So I was like, let me look into it Cami, maybe I can find you something and so I did like my market analysis, like looked at all the competitors, built a spreadsheet as I do, and it was true. There's absolutely nothing there.
And I think the exciting thing, the funny thing is you didn't call me and say, "Let's open a company and build this." Right?
You called me and said, "I have a problem." And alluded to the fact that we might build this and I think you did that quite masterfully, knowing how to convince me to do things.
CAMILLE: Well, yeah. So if you meet me off camera, off audio, I'm a super quirky person, but I went to school for broadcast journalism. So when I'm in front of a mic or when I'm trying to express anything I'm actually really good at masking my feelings. And it's really hard for me to even maintain a relationship or friendship for so long, and I could cry.
It was a point in my career, in my life, where I had nowhere else to turn and I've always wanted to open up a company and I've always wanted to gamble on myself and we're doing it.
I don't think we recognize that a lot, but we're taking a chance on ourselves, and it's just fcking ironic that it happened in a pandemic when I was trapped in a relationship I didn't want to be in, you had left, but the one way I knew that I could un-emotionally in a way, just make you understand that I still needed you as a partner was: "Bitch, you want to open up a company?"
MARY: I mean, now I'm crying and I don't cry that easily.
Okay, but the cool thing is, is even in LA, and LA wasn't a horrible experience, it just, you know, sometimes dynamic shifts in long-term relationships, we spent several nights, this is legal in California, I have to say that, very high, talking about, dreaming about a different type of company.
CAMILLE: Yo, yo, that's just Taylor.
MARY: Introducing, Taylor! Taylor's our director of marketing, and producer. She does everything.
CAMILLE: Yet again, we're hustling nonstop.
I mean, we're trying to do this podcast to make listeners just comfortable.
MARY: Yeah. I think the cool thing is we had mapped out an idea for another company and not even thinking it was a reality or like whatever happened, right? And you know, we'd always dreamt, let's open this restaurant. We'd create recipes based on both of our family heritage of cooking, but it was a shock when you called. And I was in such a place where I was home living with my parents, super lonely. And our friendship was, you know, not just in the best place, it just wasn't as connected. And so for me getting that call from you, it was like, okay, like we are still connected.
CAMILLE: Yeah. Yeah. We weren't communicating well and we weren't communicating well because, oh, being in a relationship is really hard for me because I don't know who to choose. And when I choose, I choose like a whole willingly. So it was, I was on super shaky ground. And then I was like, if there's one person, I need to be a rock for me because I was all alone.
And I was like, I have to do something with Mary. And it was me throwing out a lifeline. and then, You know, one thing that's super funny is like to think about how this has affected our friendship. It's made us stronger, but for me as a person and being able to trust someone else is really important. And I trust you.
And now we're two years into building a company and, you know, we're trying to just be super, super vulnerable right now because it's crazy to think. That there are not a lot of female founders there, not a lot of female business owners. And I think we're just like the best ever. And the majority of the thing that is the biggest pain point is just not believing in ourselves.
MARY: But the funny thing is, I think we always believe in each other, right. Always.
CAMILLE: Okay. Before starting VODIUM, Mary mentioned that she. You know, kicking ass. She had Mary Mellor consulting before that she was in product marketing at one of the top tech firms or startups in Washington, DC called ever five.
And before that Gartner was just an amazing name to be associated with. Um, so we've had to deal with a lot of pivot changes, managing a lot of projects, but with opening up a company, you and I are forced into doing a lot of different roles, right. And we're go-getters and we get shit done. But we have talked about that.
The biggest shift so far is that we no longer report to anyone but ourselves. And I felt like I was in an unhealthy workplace before VODIUM and I reported to two men and it just goes to show that I thought I was. Better at my job and more successful. When I was at that firm, I made more money. Sure.
But I was super unhappy and they never really gave me the responsibility that I demanded. Rightfully so. But now, yeah. And now that you and I, our own bosses, and now we have the whole playing field to do whatever we want and make the decisions we want. There is still some weirdness. Uh, shame or like, I'm not doing enough always, but we're doing so much.
I don't know how you feel about that.
MARY: Yeah. I mean, I think we both came from high-powered careers where we weren't the bosses, but we were the star performers. Right. And had more responsibility than probably anyone else in our position or age, like consistently from age 23 on and it's easy to do that for someone else, even in the toxicity of politics or tech, because that's there and there's a ton of bullshit and we've both gone through it, but you're always getting a promotion.
You're always getting those gold stars. You're getting people saying your work's amazing. And then you do this and no, one's there to tell you that you have no gauge on how well you're performing, except for, you know, the people you're hiring, the revenue you're coming in. Like those metrics are really different than, "Camille, you fcking crushed it. Great job." And like "here's a bonus."
And so, yeah, it like feeds into imposter syndrome. It feeds into, am I doing enough? Am I doing the right things? And we were talking the other day about like, what is one of the hardest parts of this? And it really is like, we're each making decisions, huge decisions with a lot of impact and money and effect on thousands of customers, right, every day that we've never done it.
CAMILLE: Yeah.
MARY: And we're having to trust our guts, call the people we know to call and just go with it. And it's scary as fck.
CAMILLE: Yeah. And you all, oh my gosh. Like living with Mary and being friends with her for so long, you wanted to go to business school so bad. There was a huge point of your life in your life where you're like, no, this is what I'm going to do and have to do if I ever want to be a successful businesswoman.
MARY: And I was thinking about that. We read tarot cards last night, um, which was awesome. And I, I love, and I know Taylor, our producer loves too, but I was thinking about it because I studied for the GMAT for a year and a half and never would sit for it, and Cami made this point about something else that's night.
If, if you're maybe not taking actions towards something, maybe it's not actually what you want, or maybe it's not meant for you and so I feel that acutely, like if I go to business school, I would be at some big firm and not here. So also I just don't think in my heart of hearts, I really wanted to go.
CAMILLE: Well, like you, I am super biased. I think education is great, but I didn't really thrive in school, but I was very successful, you know, being a leader in sports, speaking, articulating emotional stuff. And I was like, whatever, I know how to at least out-talk people. And I just always told you, and I feel so, so firm about this is that this is our business.
Even more. So we're actually having to make these real-time decisions. And what we have learned and have learned in our past careers is that you actually get into a space with other people and you start to realize that, Hey, what that person just said and all these other people like nodded their heads and like, oh, sounds great.
And you're like, really? Just goes to show that everyone else is trying to literally, I know everyone says this: fake it till you make it right. We all have our own points of view. And I think it was very hard for me to feel like I never got my point of view heard.
MARY: Well, one thing I'm really proud of us for doing is for being able to, and I think this truly not to brag or be prideful, but like we have stuck to our guns and like put the horse blinders on, and tuned out all of the bullshit and advice that we didn't think fit with us. Right.
And I think a lot of that has to do with there aren't very many females advising female tech founders. And if you're out there, call us, like, we want to talk to you. We're building our advisory board, come find us. But like, we just got so much, bro bullshit that was trying to get in our head.
Like, "you shouldn't charge for VODIUM." And we're like, well, we just raised a very conservative pre-seed round, and put our savings into this and people are paying for it.
CAMILLE: And none of them have built a product like ours. But what we soon realized is that the more and more people we had conversations with who were actually in the text fear, actually, we're all saying the same thing.
So it goes to show that, you know, if they haven't built it, they really have no room to. Have a say on it. So that was frustrating because it goes, it was just showing that so many people are out there getting advice from these people and are taking it because of their status or because they're coming from the industry.
But it, at the end of the day, it's, it should always be your decision.
MARY: Totally.
CAMILLE: Like right? Everyone said you need to do the Slack network effect. And I was like, okay. So Slack's been around a lot longer since the pandemic.
MARY: You're also a messaging and like cross-functional app, right. VODIUM is an individual app that doesn't talk to anybody else.
CAMILLE: But anyway, this, this just also shows that me personally, as I recently moved to Nashville with you to also be your roommate while we build this I'm adjusting and that's really hard too. So of course, they're going to be days where I'm like, who am I? Like in an identity crisis. But another thing is, I'm 30 years old.
I'm moving to Nashville. It's really hard to be 30, be a tech entrepreneur, be in a new city and not feel so much pressure even personally. And so you marry are so happily in love, which I'm so, so happy for you and you have a great partner, but what do you think about the phrase? I'm trying to figure out if I'm able to keep on crushing at VODIUM, can I ever really handle a relationship?
So the phrase of like, you can have it all, but just not at once, because we got told that, right?
MARY: Yeah, totally. Could I have a baby right now? Hell no, not at all. And that's another conversation, right? Where I'm like, hello. There's so much pressure when you turn 30, I'm 31, to like start having kids, especially in the south.
And we've talked about this, like, I didn't anticipate coming here and having a huge peer group that are married with children or, you know, people are working towards that goal. But yeah, I mean, I think that my relationship right is, has just added to my life and added another layer of support and, um, like excitement and love into what I'm doing.
But I mean, we should bring Gary on the podcast. Um, work is 24-7 for me. I don't turn my brain off. We work at crazy hours. Um, we literally live in our office. So I think like a hundred percent you can find love while doing this. I'm very, very hopeful for you and...
CAMILLE: Well, I'm just like, damn. So a lot of these guys out of met really do not know how to handle...
MARY: A strong woman.
CAMILLE: A strong woman, but I even say a strong woman that also comes from an immigrant background is I cater to everyone.
If you come to my house, I am going to help you. And that's also my love language. So yes, in the past, have I been caught up in relationships where I'm like I'm giving so much more than the other person? Yes. But it's because I want to be in tune with what that person needs. I've never been in a relationship with
a person that is trying to instinctively do that too.
MARY: For you, right.
CAMILLE: For me.
MARY: And you deserve that.
CAMILLE: Hell yeah. I just hate that I get caught up in the trope of that. You know, I'm just being a woman in the sense of I'm giving too much.
MARY: But I think like, just knowing you so well and seeing you go through relationships and just how you act with any friend with me as your friend and roommate, right?
Like one of your greatest gifts is truly your generosity. Like you are generous with everything and all faults, like Camille would give you the shirt off her back. But I think that now seeing you date in this phase, like, you know what your worth and like you compare those two together, like, you know what your worth and you know that whatever partner comes into your life, can be there to enhance it and then support you. And like, that's going to be such a gift whenever he comes. And any single men call me, we will vet you first. Yeah.
CAMILLE: Honestly, uh, that would be amazing, but I've learned a lot from you because you, Mary and I, coincidentally kind of are flowing into that's like I'm a year behind you in so many ways, right?
When Mary moved home a year before me, because of the pandemic I moved home a year later, then she moved to Nashville a year before me and I now am here. So it's really nice to have you in front of me because you are also sure. Just a few months older than me, but there are so many ways that I look up to you as an older sister.
MARY: Well, the funny thing is, is at the beginning of our relationship six years ago, Cami was very much the older sister in my life because
CAMILLE: I was in a lot of monogamous relationships and you were dating.
MARY: And I was dating. We just flipped.
But also like I had come out of a really bad relationship, a huge breakup, where I was living with the person, moved out and I love the story.
And I tell this story and it does make me cry, but we have a mutual best friend, Julia. Who's amazing. And, um, at the time Cami and I weren't really friends. And I know we wanted to talk about this today, but we had like seen each other maybe like at a party or something. I don't think Cami really liked me.
CAMILLE: I just am a quirky person. And I felt like you were super wound up.
MARY: I was. Wound up and buttoned up and like that those are my like two extremes.
But you know, at the time, like in that relationship, it was such where for years, like, I didn't feel like myself. Um, and now I feel very much myself, which is awesome.
But, um, this breakup happened. The first person I called was Julia. And I said, "Julia, I don't know what I'm going to do. Like I have to move out of my apartment." I think it was 11 o'clock at night. And all she said, the first words out of her mouth were call Cami. "Don't worry how early it is. Just call her." So I called you at 6:30 AM the next morning.
CAMILLE: I was like, why in the world is she calling me? But, so I had to pick up.
MARY: Imagine that friend that like, you've seen it a few parties, like you're not really friends. Right. And that's where we were. And I called her in tears and I just said
CAMILLE: The tears, all that, oh, this is speaking my love language.
MARY: I know. And the thing was, I was vulnerable with you.
CAMILLE: Vulnerability is where it's at.
MARY: Right. And I, and that I've struggled with being vulnerable and I'd keep things to my chest. But I was in that moment because I needed help. I called you and it's like you spring into action. You said, come stay with me tonight. We had dinner that night, the next weekend we were looking at apartments and coincidentally, I moved into a studio apartment two blocks away from Cami's studio apartment.
CAMILLE: Yes. So we would do morning walks every, I mean, we've been through life together, literally. Like, and we were babies. Yeah. You know, of course, one day you always potentially want someone to just spend your time with, but they can't be everything for you. And it's just, there are so many different people in my life that I need in order to feel fully fulfilled.
And you are obviously a huge slice of the pie. Um, but one thing that you say that you haven't been very vulnerable, I will say you've been very vulnerable during the pandemic.
This is someone who, I mean, she's the most person you meet here and you immediately know that this is such a genuine person and you're gonna be in such great hands.
And you're a real person. You genuinely want to know how people are and engage with them, but you've definitely opened up more. And that was hugely apparent during the pandemic because when you moved home, You in some cases felt very trapped and you were super vulnerable and you like literally traveled across country.
I did. So like how many times did you move really? During the pandemic? And I want people to know that we also built this company remotely from different states, different times.
MARY: Yeah, it was crazy. I went and packed up my stuff from the apartment in LA, I think in July. Then spent a month in Park City and then went on this crazy road trip across the country.
And I mean, I was calling Cami the day that the largest newspaper in the United States, I don't think we can name them, uh, bought VODIUM. Um, I was in a cabin in Idaho and we were celebrating remotely. I mean, it was crazy, but the funny thing is is we, how we got to Nashville is I settled back down in Memphis in October, really. Booked an Airbnb for that January, February in Los Angeles and was coming to planning to get back with Cami and that Thanksgiving, or like sometime in November, you called and we're breaking up with your ex.
CAMILLE: The fact that no one expected that of me.
MARY: Not at all. No. I thought you were getting married.
CAMILLE: No. Oh, got to communicate more. I also was not communicating a lot during the pandemic because I just shut off.
That's when I get very introverted. And then the really, the only way I really am able to express myself as if I'm happy, it's in the morning or I'm high, drunk or something. So I got to work on that, I guess.
But I lived, okay after me. Okay. After my breakup, I was like, shit, we're gonna have to go. I'm moving back home to Illinois.
But when I moved back to Illinois, my dad told me that he got a new job at a university and it was in a new town in Indiana that I've never heard of. But for the past year, before living here, I was living on a college campus. So that was super surreal, turning 30. I'm like I'm moving back in with my parents. I'm getting mistaken as a college student.
It's kind of refreshing actually, but we've been through a lot these two years, these two years.
Okay. So before we dive into rapid-fire where Taylor's going to surprise us with questions.
MARY: Okay.
CAMILLE: We've mentioned societal pressures of being here, but what kind of pressure do you feel of, you know, being successful and what does success mean to you? We haven't asked each other this question, but you know, even though we're building a tech startup and people want us to make it seem like it's glamorous and we have to constantly promote it, which I'm so, so proud of. The only way people are going to know about VODIUM is if we have funds, resources, if we continually talk about it.
So how have you been feeling if for some reason, it doesn't work out the way we want it to?
MARY: I think from the start I had high hopes and low expectations for voting them. You know, like this was super exciting, exciting to start and I don't even think we finished our like starting founder story, but like, we started a technology for virtual communication at the beginning of the pandemic. And when we started it, we thought everyone would be back into the office. After a year, we had like a year runway. So as that has changed and society has shifted and will be partially virtual and hybrid for as long as we now know it. Right. That opportunity has grown.
And I think that's exciting and scary. Um, but I think, look like, we're giving this our bests and as long as we're showing up every day and swinging for home runs and we'll strike out some, but hopefully we'll hit some over the fences, like I'm going to be proud and there's a huge chance this fails as in every startup, like this.
I don't have the statistics on the top of my head, but most startups don't make it, but we continue to hit milestones, getting a patent pending, raising two rounds, hiring amazing team members who are performing that make me excited for the future. And so I think I have a peace about it, honestly, that like succeed or fail we've given this the best and like, we're just, we fcking did it.
Like we're doing it. And like that's the success for me is like we tried and here we are two years later still building, and I think ,how amazing and amazing to do it together.
CAMILLE: Yeah. This is the most raw learning lesson, we are thoroughly going through and there's, you can't learn this anywhere else.
And you know, for me, I get really caught up in what wins look like and what that means, but I also don't know how to celebrate wins. I don't think I even, I don't do a good job at processing. Right.
Have we, have I been able to sit still and be like, damn good job, Cami and Mary for these past two years? No, it's been really hard because it's not associated with a paycheck and with right. It's beyond, it's beyond the that's like how I rationalize it.
But I think, you know, I see so many other entrepreneurs and all of them are struggling because they don't know how to celebrate wins and success to any startups mind is the unicorn, you know, Elizabeth Holmes, before we found out what the hell was happening. We just raised $35 million dollars. And I'm thinking like, why then? Okay, you have $35 million to be accountable with to then make, make that money up.
And so one thing I know that I can genuinely be so proud of ourselves because I'm such a planner and a saver. Is that each decision we've made, it's been so meticulous, and the reason why we've been able to be successful and keep a company afloat for two years is because we aren't, we aren't making rash decisions and we think really hard about where we're going to go, but we also know when to pull out, which is...
MARY: We do know when to pull out. Yeah.
But we also to add to that and I love that and Cami manages our money and is fcking amazing at it and that's not my strong suit. So thank God for her.
CAMILLE: And you literally manage all of our legal, you are the reason why
MARY: I do do the legal.
Side note, I applied for the, or took the LSAT and did not do so hot, but I felt much better when I learned that Sarah Blakely took and failed the LSAT twice, so I'm like, all right, I'm in good company here.
CAMILLE: I mean, we are winning just because we actually opened up a company. Yeah.
MARY: And we're doing it. And I think the coolest thing for me, and I'm gonna look at, Taylor is like, oh my God, like Taylor works for us now. We have a team and she's incredible.
And you know, she is now a part owner in VODIUM, like how amazing that VODIUM is bigger than us now.
It's like, it's, it's awesome. But I mean, failure or succeed, like in my mind, we have succeeded because we've tried and I think that's so cliche, but it's also really true.
CAMILLE: It is true. I love that. What a great way to then end this podcast. Well, not end it, but before we lead into the rapid-fire with Taylor.
MARY: Well, let's talk about it like what's next on the podcast? Like what should people expect?
CAMILLE: Okay. Well, one thing that I want to make clear is we want to talk to fellow hustlers, entrepreneurs who are just talking the damn truth. So similarly to when you choose to be on mute, that's usually when you want to say what's really on your mind.
MARY: Exactly. Yeah.
CAMILLE: I think we're just gonna have cool people. Who do you want to have on?
MARY: Who do I want to have on. I don't know, we have a list.
CAMILLE: Yeah, we're not going to reveal it yet.
MARY: I just wanted you to give them a taste of what it's going to be like.
CAMILLE: We're gonna be talking about Delta-8, we're going to be talking about neuro diversity, we're going to be talking to fellow entrepreneurs and hustlers who are of color, who probably aren't celebrating their wins, as well. There are some really cool female startups in Nashville that are doing amazing things like, these women in tech, who are founded a company of the first hemp tampon.
MARY: Let's go. We can't wait.
CAMILLE: We're going to, we're going to have those women on.
MARY: Yeah, sure.
But also leaders, right? Like we want to talk about talk to people, even in big companies that are doing cool things and shaking it up and you know, just cool people.
CAMILLE: Cool people. Cause we're just cool.
MARY: Cool people doing cool shit, and we want to have candid conversations.
So it won't always just be us, but we will have some of these riffs and rants along the way.
CAMILLE: Yes. Yes, yes. Yes.
All right, baby. Rapid fire, Taylor, take it away.
TAYLOR: Okay. Um, who was most likely to join a Colt?
CAMILLE: All right, Mary, who is most likely to join a cult?
Mary.
MARY: You.
CAMILLE: Mary. I totally feel like sometimes you get caught up on stuff.
MARY: Uh, I think you would totally, like California, yoga, I think you're going to a yoga center and then suddenly you've paid a thousand dollars and they're drawing your blood and you join a cult.
CAMILLE: Um, it's really hard for me to say no. Okay.
TAYLOR: Um, most likely to have their own reality show.
CAMILLE: Most likely to have their own reality show, me a hundred percent. I want it now.
TAYLOR: Most likely to marry someone they just met.
CAMILLE: Me.
MARY: Cami.
CAMILLE: So wait, so influencer, marry someone they just met.
TAYLOR: Most likely to fake their own death.
CAMILLE: Fake their own death? Mary.
MARY: Yeah, totally. I would do something crazy like that.
TAYLOR: Most likely to commit a crime?
CAMILLE: Commit a crime? Me a hundred percent.
MARY: I would never commit a crime
CAMILLE: If it's warranted.
MARY: Except the time I was banned and deported from a country.
But we'll, we'll get to that on another episode.
TAYLOR: Um, most likely to live off the grid.
CAMILLE: Most likely to live off the grid? Mary?
MARY: I don't know. I do want a ranch in Montana someday.
CAMILLE: I do want a farm. Yeah. Yeah.
TAYLOR: Most likely to spend hours in a YouTube conspiracy theory hole.
MARY: Oh, for sure me.
CAMILLE: Nice! That's awesome.
MARY: I love conspiracy theories.
TAYLOR: Most likely to be late for everything.
CAMILLE: Most likely to be late for everything.
MARY: Me. I'm late to everything.
TAYLOR: Most likely to get a horrible tattoo?
CAMILLE: Most likely to get a horrible tattoo is me. I currently have a tattoo that people mistake for a different thing.
TAYLOR: Most likely to shoplift?
CAMILLE: Most likely shoplift? Mary.
MARY: You think?
CAMILLE: By accident.
MARY: By accident. Yeah.
CAMILLE: I wouldn't.
MARY: I've never shoplifted for the record.
Thanks for listening to We're on Mute, a podcast that brings you after-hours conversations with off-the-clock entrepreneurs.
Hosts: Camille Padilla and Mary Mellor, Founders of VODIUM
Producer: Taylor Veino, Director of Marketing at VODIUM
VODIUM is the first virtual teleprompter built for hybrid work. VODIUM's transparent software sits on top of any video conferencing platform directly under your computer's camera, allowing you to take notes or refer to your text while leading meetings, presenting, recording videos, and more—all while maintaining eye contact with your audience.