Meet Lily KT Smith and Kara Cecala, co-Founders of 101Media

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lily KT Smith and Kara Cecala and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kara and Lily, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When we started our brand, we didn’t approach it as wanting to start our own business. We were friends discovering Dallas and sharing our adventures to Instagram with the hope to be a resource for encouraging others to find their sense of place in the city and feel proud to call it home. We were new to Dallas and our newcomer-perspective resonated with followers. Our account gained traction quickly and local businesses started reaching out to work with us. Recognizing the value that others saw in our brand motivated us to incorporate, shifting our mindset from a hobby to a business as well as from friends to business partners too.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
101Media is your friendly modern media group, seamlessly integrating hyper-local B2C communities with a locally-focused, digitally-driven B2B marketing agency. We are passionate about fostering a genuine sense of belonging and propelling the prosperity of a city, uplifting its vibrant businesses and people.

On the B2C front, we’re all about cultivating community through dynamic digital content and live events. It all started in 2015 with Dallasites101, championing community in Dallas, TX, and then expanded to Austin, TX with Austinites101. Today, the brand engages over 600K community-minded individuals across Texas. Individuals with a mindset that goes beyond mere residency and extends to a genuine desire to participate in events and activities, value local connections, and feel a real sense of belonging.

The B2B side of our business grew from robust relationships and local street cred earned through the B2C communities. Our knack is offering a locally-focused, digitally-driven approach to marketing. We get what makes your specific market tick and tailor our strategies to match. We’re all about creating online and offline engagement and dedicating 101% to your brand.

At our core, we mix community-building, expert marketing, and local magic to create something special. You could call us the OG “localfluencer,” influencing on a hyper-local level towards citywide prosperity.

Behind the scenes, it’s a crew of 25+ full-timers holding it down, with our HQ in the historic State Thomas neighborhood of Dallas, TX. Kara Cecala and Lily KT Smith are the co-founders and fearless leaders who’ve never lost that original excitement for building and belief in the brand.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We’re going to tackle an itinerary for Dallas, but you should check out our community @Austinites101 for planning your visit to Austin, TX!

When it comes to Dallas, we love Visit Dallas’s saying that you can “find your all.” There is truly something for everyone! For our sport fans, take a tour at Jerry’s world, float the lazy river at RoughRiders or cheer on the Mavs or Stars at AAC. If you’re a foodie, come hungry! It’s hard to pick but some of our favorite eats are the Purepecha Room tasting experience at Revolver Taco Lounge, happy hour at Uchiba, dinner at Fachini, lunch at Origin Kitchen and barbecue at Heim. If you’re in the mood for a night out then check out Coupes, LadyLove Lounge, Double D’s, Round-up, Catbird, Cowboy Red River or the Rustic. Don’t forget to plan visits to incredible museums in the area including the Perot, Sixth Floor Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher, African American Museum and Bush Presidential Library. If you have a free moment, it’s easy to fill it with hanging out at a pool, on a patio or shopping!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We dedicate our shout out to Rae and Marta at R Circle, our business advisors since 2021! We engaged them at a time when we were navigating immense change: persevering through the pandemic, evolving from a team of 2 to 20+, expanding to new markets, purchasing and moving into our HQ, and gaining clarity on our vision and direction for the future. A key learning that Rae and Marta brought to us is EoS, the entrepreneurial operating system. If you’re navigating a lot of change and immense growth at your company and struggling with how to best rally around it, we recommend that you read Traction by Gino Wickman and consider if EoS might be a fit for you too!

Website: www.101media.com

Instagram: Dallasites101, 101Media_ and Austinites101