Championing Creativity to Solve Human Challenges with Liz Engelsen of ZavFit

Sep 12

Liz Engelsen is Chief Marketing and Engagement Officer at ZavFit, a HealthTech start-up, and the first company to identify and address money-stress as a health issue.

In this episode of Let's Talk Limbic Sparks, Liz reveals how creativity, positivity and curiosity are the best ingredients to solving human challenges. Liz shares inspiration from her leadership roles in research, innovation and brand strategy, and now at a start-up dedicated to addressing one of the biggest stressors in people's lives, by focusing on their wellbeing.

We talk about how how asking the right questions, uncovering people's underlying motivations and addressing their emotions is so important. We also discuss how creativity, diverse perspectives and open-mindedness leads to ideas that solve big challenges in new ways.

Key Takeaways and Soundbites:

“I'm a glass full type of person, and I really appreciate that in other people, who when they see a barrier, see a roadblock or some other type of problem, they don't stop and say, we can do this, because of x, y and z. I like people who say, great, this gives us a chance to come up with something new.”

“I love data, I love facts, but I love using creativity to solve problems.”

“Such a great questions - why do we keep coming back to certain brands?, what value do they add to our lives?, and why are they are go-to's?”

“I have a natural affinity to all things creative and understanding the value that value that a creative mind can bring to a problem - they just think about things differently.”

“People need help. What we found is that a budgeting tool, a savings app, or telling you to save money for the future isn't going to help alleviate that stress. You need to focus on your day to day spending behaviors and really understand the motivators, and that can help with some of the stress.”

“Why? Why ignore emotional insights when we know they are so powerful. Emotions are complex, and at times, they are really difficult to interpret. It takes time. It's not as easy as looking at the rational, looking at the functional. That's more logical, but we all know that emotions aren't logical.”

“Get a neuroscientist or a behavioral scientist on your team. If you can't do that, spend time with people, spend time with your consumer, really understand them. That's where it all goes back to, understanding the why of your consumer.”

“It's all about the team. There's always going to be someone smarter than you in the room. Be humble. Recognize that, and embrace that people have different experiences and perspectives. Just because they don't think the same way as you, don't shut their ideas down. That difference is what brings the most interesting outcomes, the most interesting results, and the most interesting ideas.”

Here are some fun facts about Liz…

Liz Engelsen is Chief Marketing and Engagement Officer at HealthTech start-up ZavFit. After working with some of the world’s most recognized brands like Starbucks, Wrigley, British Airways, Motorola, Diageo, IBM and MasterCard, Liz made a bold and perhaps radical decision to step down from a prestigious role as Executive Director of Strategy at Interbrand to start a family. This gamble paid off and now she’s back carving out a different type of career. Enticed by ZavFit’s purpose led mission to tackle money stress and help people feel happier and healthier, Liz is part of the ZavFit leadership team looking to make a difference in people’s lives.

Thinking differently has been a common thread in Liz’s career, having created countless brand, innovation and marketing strategies. She prides herself on getting people excited about new ideas and always putting the customer first. Liz’s past career spanned assignments touching four continents, running workshops and leadership sessions in 35 countries, and she lived/worked in New York City, London, Amsterdam and even a few months in Tokyo. She is now based in Edinburgh, Scotland.