As part of CEO Insights series, the Chief Executives Council recently interviewed Chelsie Hall, CEO and Co-founder of ViralMoment, where she helps brands unlock social video to decode internet culture. ViralMoment is the only AI technology that can watch hundreds of thousands of social videos so that you can see past the algorithm fog to create powerful strategy, protect your reputation, and to understand your audience. Chelsie is an expert on culture and the intersection with content, with a passion for understanding the way that influence moves through society. She’s an award-winning technologist who is laser-focused on developing creative ways to solve complex problems. Prior to founding ViralMoment, she was an integral part of helping develop the U.S. Department of Defense’s Disinformation Technology Assessment Methodology, and she led a design thinking firm as well. Chelsie earned a Master’s in integrated innovation for products and services from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Bachelor’s in Biology from Pepperdine.

Following are questions from moderator Neil Brown, and answers from Chelsie Hall. If you are interested in learning more, view the full interview video archive here.

Q: Your early career was in technology and innovation – how did you transition to your CEO role?

A: I started my own company that I led and grew. I would say it came because I saw a problem that I was very acutely aware of, and I know that we needed an organization and a structure to solve that problem. So, I built it and that’s how it got to where I am.

Q: What are your responsibilities as a CEO, and how do you think they differ for technology startups?

A: In the first several years of my business, I think the role of CEO, someone said it means Chief Everything Officer. I just did all the things, whether it was running marketing campaigns or making sure finances were in order or speaking to investors, it really all fell on my shoulders for some time. I’m excited because I’ve been transitioning more recently into getting to play the role of a chief executive officer and working on the business, not in the business. So, a lot of my work today is getting more focused on where we’re heading strategically, making sure that my teams understand their goals and that their goals are all aligned to help us move forward to our next steps and to the next goals of a business. So, a lot of what I do right now, it looks at making sure strategy is cohesive and is the right strategy.

The market is changing so fast, so I really need to have a good grip on who are our competitors, what are our customers’ needs, how are they solving those problems today? The organization of my business is very important. The back office, whether it’s making sure my finances are in place or I don’t know, chasing down the State of New York for some insurance that I need or something like that, is always something on my to-do lists. And then making sure my team is effective and that they have the tools and the right marching orders that they need to be able to do their best work.

Q: Please share some of the most interesting aspects of your job

A: Every day is different and that’s something I absolutely do love about my job. Sometimes I’m working hundred-hour weeks and sometimes things are going smoothly, and I get to go for a walk and have a nice lunch. I love that the best part of my job, hands down, is working with my customers and working with my clients. We work for big and wonderful, interesting organizations like Coca-Cola, Warner Bros. Some of the biggest organizations in the world who are really in tune with customers and the market and how people feel about their brands. So, it’s really a huge joy of mine and the most interesting part of my job by far, to work very closely with my stakeholders at those brands so that our B2B software solution solves their needs and helps them have superpowers in understanding their customers. Understanding their customer experiences. Our tool gives C-suite executives, at these large companies, huge data. We have a huge data advantage to understand their customers in the market.

Q: Tell us about some of the most significant keys to your success

A: It all comes from putting our clients at the heart of what we do. I started ViralMoment because I realized a problem that people were facing. Video and social video on platforms was crazy. It was moving fast, it was powerful. I don’t know if you saw this, Budweiser lost, gosh, I think it’s $27 billions of market cap last year, and a lot of that was due to social video and people sharing things on social. So, we saw how powerful video was to making and breaking brands, products, launches. And the key to our success has been to get so focused on how do we help our customers? How do we give our clients and the brands that we work with superpowers so that they’re on top of any social conversations. By just having that as the North Star every day when I wake up, “How am I going to make my customer successful? How am I going to make sure the biggest brands in the world who are ViralMoment clients are clear on how to navigate culture?” That’s how we’re successful. We’re obsessed with making sure that brands can navigate the society.

Q: What advice would you give others that seek a CEO career?

A: I think have tough skin might be one of the biggest things. So far in my CEO journey it has just been a tremendous roller coaster. The highs are highs, and the lows are lows, from massive contracts falling out to legal challenges, to winning six figure contracts and getting to speak on stage. It’s a wonderful journey, but you really do have to be strong, because there’s a lot of stuff to overcome. And I would also say being really focused on your why, is a powerful part too.

As you go through these highs and lows, if you’re obsessed with solving a problem or doing something for a person or making a client’s life better, that’ll get you through a lot of the hecticness and the craziness. As a CEO, I don’t have one job. I feel like I have 14 jobs, and what keeps me going to do a lot of that is how obsessive I can get about my why. So being a CEO for being a CEO’s sake isn’t a good idea, but if you’re doing it because you need to solve a problem or you really care about a certain thing or a certain brand, or you have a passion, that’s what’s going to get you through.

To learn more, view the full interview here.