Meet Lauren Petrullo

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Petrullo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from a combination of pivotal life lessons and tough experiences. Growing up, my dad never simply said “no” to my goals. Instead, he always asked, “How will you accomplish it?” This instilled a solution-oriented mindset from a young age. But when I was just 12, my dad passed away, which shook my world. By my senior year of high school, I found myself experiencing homelessness—a particularly challenging period that deeply impacted my family. My brother, who had faced personal struggles and eventually hit rock bottom, became a guiding influence. He encouraged me to choose a different path—one that didn’t involve digging further into difficult circumstances but instead starting from where I was and moving forward.

My passion for Disney also shaped my resilience. I saw creativity and imagination as powerful tools for perseverance, a philosophy reinforced by my time in the Disney College Program and eventually landing my dream job with Disney. Though I didn’t have a traditional business background, I channeled the guidance from my dad and the inspiration from Walt Disney to fuel my journey into entrepreneurship. Through determination and the resilience built from these experiences, I learned that setbacks don’t have to define you—they can be the foundation for growth and creativity.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Mongoose Media is an award-winning, ROI-focused digital marketing agency based in Orlando, Florida, with a clear mission: to help brands build lasting awareness and convert online engagement into real-world results. What makes Mongoose Media unique is our approach as a true all-in-one partner for business growth, specializing in converting social media fans into loyal customers, acquiring new ones, and fostering long-term brand loyalty.
In addition to our core expertise in strategic, data-driven campaigns, we now offer a full in-house studio to support ambitious brand owners who feel creatively stuck. With this studio and our newly expanded content creation team, we’re pushing boundaries to bring brands to their fullest creative potential. This team is next-level—highly creative and incredibly skilled. Our services cover four essential areas:
Advertising & paid media
Lifecycle marketing
AI chatbots
Content creation
As agency partners with major platforms like Facebook, Google, Snap, Pinterest, Bing, and Microsoft, and technology partners with Klaviyo, Shopify, and ManyChat, we offer clients a broad digital presence and exceptional reach. We’re always evolving, and right now, we’re especially excited about the potential of AI to enhance the customer experience and deliver meaningful results. At Mongoose Media, we’re committed to empowering brands to thrive and drive impactful growth in the digital space.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three qualities that have been the most impactful are grit, creativity, and a drive to stay ahead of the trends. Early on, I learned resilience the hard way. Losing my dad at 12, experiencing homelessness in high school, and seeing my brother struggle taught me the importance of grit. Instead of letting these hardships define me, I leaned into them, finding strength in perseverance and using each challenge as fuel to keep pushing forward.
Creativity has also been at the heart of my story. My love for Disney wasn’t just about the magic; it was about seeing creativity as a tool for problem-solving and growth. Working for Disney only deepened my appreciation for imaginative thinking and how it can create powerful connections in business. I’ve come to rely on creativity as a way to stand out and bring fresh, engaging ideas into everything I do, especially in business and marketing.
Staying ahead of the trends has also been essential. In a constantly changing digital landscape, I’ve embraced new platforms, technologies, and strategies to keep my work innovative. With Mongoose Media, I get to work with some of the biggest platforms, like Facebook, Google, and Shopify, and use cutting-edge methods to amplify my clients’ brands. It’s exciting to always be at the forefront, applying the latest trends to drive meaningful growth. I have been experimenting with solutions using AI and am using that experience to share what I’ve learned both with clients and with the industry as a whole.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

My dad was the most influential person in helping me overcome challenges and develop the skills I needed to be successful. Growing up, he never just told me “no” when I had big ideas or dreams; instead, he would ask me how I planned to accomplish them. That question became a powerful lesson in thinking through my goals and creating my own path forward. His approach taught me to believe in my own resourcefulness, and that sense of ownership has been essential in everything I do.
Beyond that, I’ve learned to embrace failure as part of the process. I’m not afraid of getting things wrong while I’m learning—if anything, I see setbacks as opportunities to build resilience and refine my skills. Each challenge becomes another step toward growth, and I carry my dad’s lesson with me, always asking myself not if I can do something, but how I’ll make it happen.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Productivity
Where do you get your work ethic from?

We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard,” but where does our work ethic

Productivity
Tactics & Strategies for Keeping Your Creativity Strong

With the rapid improvements in AI, it’s more important than ever to keep your creativity

Productivity
From Burnout to Balance: The Role of Self-Care

Burning out is one of the primary risks you face as you work towards your