Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time. 

In this episode we’re talking to Marissa Nance of Native Tongue. She spent nearly 30 years in the Omnicom family of agencies before taking the plunge into ownership just a few short years ago. But she did so to create more seats at the table. Native Tongue is believed to be the first Minority and Women Business Enterprise certified media agency in the world. 

Marissa talked about her experiences that led her to ownership, what advice she has for those with aspirations to own it, and what she thinks is holding us back. The answer to that was eye-opening. Listen for that, for sure. 

I think you’ll find that for a big-shot media agency owner in the glitz and glamor of L.A., Marissa is perhaps the most down-to-earth, straight-forward and REAL person you can talk to about this business.

Enjoy this conversation. I know I did. 

Thanks for listening to this episode of OWN IT. You can find links to the resources we discussed, Marissa’s LinkedIn profile and Native Tongue.’s website in our show notes at untilyouownit.com.

Other resources mentioned in the episode:

• The earring artist: Andrea Iyamah (https://www.andreaiyamah.com/)



If you’re enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community. 

Also, if you’re a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.