Lyte presents “Womxn at Lyte,” a series of conversations highlighting the voices of our womxn.
Q: AS A CHILD, WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WANTED TO BE? HOW DO YOU THINK YOU CAME TO THAT DECISION?
Angeline C Priefer: I have a few answers. Here's the embarrassing one: I remember in my kindergarten yearbook, you know when the teacher asks you this question and then it’s printed underneath your photo, to live on forever? My friends answered: school teacher, secretary... I said, princess. I was recalling this when I read the question though, and I remembered the sentiment behind the answer: it wasn’t a damsel in distress who needs rescuing, I had a vision of a princess who is responsible for her kingdom. She has to make things work, she has to oversee her world, make sure the people are cared for, plus, the aforementioned responsibilities are accomplished while wearing a pretty dress. I was 5, the pretty dress factor was definitely a part of the daydream/ambition. I also always wanted to be a dancer, which is what I ended up majoring in, in college. My desire to dance was about wanting to move and it was heavily inspired, influenced by music. Music made me want to move, it was an expression, I had to dance. Music was and is life for me. All of that said, I remember in eighth grade someone pulled out our kindergarten yearbook and I remember being horrified. I was like, “Oh my God. Ha!”
Q: WHAT WOULD YOUR YOUNGER SELF BE MOST SURPRISED ABOUT HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE TODAY?
Angeline C Priefer: I'm a homeowner and an executive in a badass company in the music industry. Neither of these things was in my realm of possibility as a kid. I’ve always been very ambitious and driven but these were hopes, fantasies. I didn’t have a path outlined to get here so I didn’t know it was possible. I didn't come from a background with access to funds, I didn't have parents who owned property. I got a paid job in a restaurant starting at age 12 in order to “build” financial security and ensure I wasn’t a burden. So yea, the idea of being a homeowner was not something I thought about. I'm still shocked. On the work front, I was always creatively driven paired with a vision of wanting to be a businesswomxn. I didn't know how I would get here though. My industry background grew from doing contract work for festivals to running departments to building departments from the ground up and eventually acting as an executive producer. Working for a ticketing company wasn’t my goal until I was introduced to Lyte. I loved that it was (is) solutions-driven and helped to solve a ticketing pandemic that I’d had to face in my line of work frequently. Getting to be a part of this solution, ensuring verified tickets get into the hands of true fans without price gouging them, all while having a steady income working for a company that I really believe in feels amazing. I am stoked about it all.
Q: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE HARDEST PART OF WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING?
Angeline C Priefer: I'm gonna go all feminist on you. That's probably the point right?! Well, working in a predominantly male industry that exists in a heavily male empowered society. Both being and seeing fellow strong independent womxn who prioritize work over and over again, without asking for what they need or feeling they have the right (or practice) to express themselves freely. Self-censorship from conditioning learned behavioral patterns. The stats speak for themselves in that womxn are too often paid less, and promoted less, often because they don’t ask for it. We read about this often where men feel empowered to say, “I want a pay raise,” and then they get it. Womxn often keep working to demonstrate their worth and hope the want comes from the demonstration, while secretly harboring resentment. Yes, I’m speaking from experience but also for my sisters in the workplace who have shared these sentiments. As a kid, I remember entering the science fair and running for Class President and being told, “Maybe you can get a bronze medal, maybe you should try for Vice President.” There was this heavy conditioning from a very early age, “Try for good enough.” Head cheerleader, cool, check. Females often are rewarded for how we look, and how we are versus what we do, and what we accomplish. I feel that's shifting, but it’s still a battle armed against us that we face on a day-to-day basis. Breaking this conditioning is hard but I'm damn excited to keep trying.
Q: WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AT LYTE?
Angeline C Priefer: The opportunity to be a part of a rapidly scaling startup where ideas are valued, heard, and welcomed. More specifically, the opportunity I’ve had to utilize my knowledge from prior experiences and also learn; more about revenue growth, product growth, about interdepartmental communications working together to produce functional and net new output to create change in our industry.
Q: WHAT LESSON TOOK YOU THE LONGEST TO UNLEARN?
Angeline C Priefer: Standing up for myself in the face of controversy. It’s still definitely a work in progress, probably for life, but awareness is the first step toward change so I'm continuing to practice. Recognizing it's okay, not to be liked and it's okay, not to be agreeable. I was taught the opposite, I was taught: make sure, that whatever you do, that you're perceived well, always look your best and never let anything drop. So, I'm learning, and I'm changing, and it's a challenge after 30+ years of conditioning. The shift started, for me, with frequent self reminders, even if I struggled to hear them: that my opinion matters, my want to matter, I matter, and I am worthy. I deserve to have an equal voice and an equal presence, I have the right to get loud. And not just the right, I have the responsibility to be loud. Because I can. Because change and growth start from expression and I will not be scared. I also recognized that controversy could be accompanied by warmth and kindness, by empathy; that I can be loving and caring and still have a loud voice that is authentic and might cause an uproar, might cause conflict. Definitely still working on this one, learning is a work in progress.
Q: WHAT HAVE YOU ACCOMPLISHED RECENTLY THAT WOULD HAVE SHOCKED YOU A YEAR AGO?
Angeline C Priefer: I mean the homeowner thing is still a damn big one. I bought a house and moved to Nashville by myself. It happened very quickly but I trusted my gut and went for it and here I am, in a house that's my dream house, for now at least. It’s not something I ever thought I could do at all, let alone by myself. But I did it and then I bought the car I most wanted. I was like, “Fuck it, I'm just gonna do it and I'm going to make it work,” and now I'm doing it and it's working. The reminder is to keep dreaming bigger. You know that saying: “If you can dream it, you can do it, your vision is what you will become?” Once I set my mind to it, I just did it. Now I'm here. So I know it's a similar answer to earlier but I would have been shocked, I would have laughed six months ago, so yeah it’s a big one for me.
Q: WHAT ARE YOU MORE AFRAID OF, FAILURE OR SUCCESS?
Angeline C Priefer: Well, both inspire and propel me. Not to say that it's easy to face failure, but we all encounter it and it's really a building block to success. It's where we learn and grow. Can you imagine if you never knew failure?! Failure provides a gateway to success without a ceiling. To answer the question: I'm not afraid of one more than the other. I'm terrified and excited by both. And you know what, fear is really beautiful. Fear is passion. Fear tells you what you care about. When you're afraid, it’s because there’s something worth losing.
Q: WHAT'S NON-NEGOTIABLE IN YOUR LIFE?
Angeline C Priefer: Continuous innovation and growth. The continuous reminder that life is a journey and an experience and that it should be fun and joyful. And that yes, there will be sadness and grief, but the greatest challenge offers the greatest ground for growth. Having financial stability is great but I need to feel driven, be problem-solving, and be passionate about how I spend my time. So a nonnegotiable for me is constant movement and innovation, continuous building and expansion. I won't stop.
Q: WHAT CAN WOMXN CREATE TOGETHER?
Angeline C Priefer: I love this question. I mean anything…sky's the limit right and I think in society, you see that. Womxn are often going against other womxn in this nature of thinking, I need to be better, I need to be competitive. I think a lot of it stems from social media and early learnings of needing to be the best, the nicest, the prettiest, the most successful, or whatever that might be. But you find that, as in this conversation, when we support each other and we work together toward a shared goal and vision we're stronger together. This is kind of a duh statement, but still, in the day-to-day, it's a shift in mindset, instead of “Oh, she has what I don't have” you shift the energy of that thought to “wow, good on you sister,” If we can be proud of each other, act as a team, a unified force, genuinely and authentically proud and inspired we can grow and create change for the better and for each other much more rapidly. When you feel jealousy, rather than think of it as a negative, use it as inspiration - be proud of that fellow womxn and excited for the feeling of jealousy to propel you to that next step, you’ve just uncovered a want! That recognition can help you step up and learn from that person– helping us to become more of a unified force.
Q: WHAT'S THE MOST EXCITING IMPROVEMENT FOR WOMXN IN THE INDUSTRY?
Angeline C Priefer: womxn are still highly underrepresented. But there are definitely more strong, powerful female voices emerging as artists as promoters as executives, and CEOs. I mean, due to the access of information available at our fingertips, the ability to ingest an array of perspectives is wider-reaching and more available. There is a louder female voice and yes, it needs to keep growing but it's there, louder now than it’s been. There’s access to more and more stories from womxn, about womxn, transgender, ethnic groups, and all minorities, and there's a growing presence that’s loud and more and more in your face. To circle back on the last question, this movement helps create a unified force and that elicits change. Instead of jealousy, find inspiration, instead of a complaint, and recognize the want behind the complaint. As it relates to the industry, there are females who are in the spotlight, who are laying the groundwork by using the audience they’ve built to broaden the reach, to be heard, to represent. For that, I’m grateful and wonderfully jealous and fucking inspired, power ignites power.
Q: WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU GIVE THIS CHAPTER IN YOUR LIFE?
Angeline C Priefer: Owning my own worth, breaking the mold. Being loud.
Q: ANY LAST WORDS YOU WANT TO LEAVE US WITH?
Angeline C Priefer: I've listened three times now to this audiobook by Kasia Urbaniak. It's called “Unbound, A womxn's Guide to Power.” From this, I’ve been giving myself daily reminders and one of them is that a complaint is a hidden desire, so it makes it a great place to get in touch with what you want, and break the conditioning, so I have a reminder on my phone that goes off at noon each day and it says “use complaints to find desires.” I guess the question is “what’s next, how do we grow toward a more desired outcome while remaining and becoming more radically inspired?” For me, it’s recognizing what’s bothering me, what it means, and what there is to learn from it. When you encounter controversy, often in a male lead conversation or in a place where you feel not worthy, there's a natural inclination to freeze. So how do you break the freeze? It starts with small reminders that evolve into large shifts in our day-to-day and future.
Womxn at Lyte featuring Angeline Priefer, Head of Solutions at Lyte