Today we’d like to introduce you to Marilyn Cullinane.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story began in Naples, Florida in 2012 after graduating from Florida Gulf Coast University. I started to host training-level cycling events, specifically criteriums for our local cycling club while working at the local bicycle shop. There was a need for more local racing with the growing membership so I took the opportunity to grow events after graduating. Having always worked in bicycle shops throughout college for extra income, cycling events were a great leapfrog for me to work for myself and see how far I could go with networking for sponsors. Naples was an untapped market and ripe for the picking!
After a couple of years of only putting on events in Florida at the training and state level, I was offered work opportunities in other states like Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee. In 2014 I moved to Greenville, SC to train for racing my bike and promote criterium racing, regional and nationally. I landed a contract to take over the famous and well-known, Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, AL. in 2015 and have kept this contract my whole professional career. Sunny King is on the national calendar of criterium events and we produce one of the top spring premiere criteriums each year. The event benefits multiple charities and raises funds for cancer research and patient care.
My work on the Sunny King Criterium elevated my career to new opportunities. Opportunities to work on grand tours, large scale charity events and to be a part of operations and planning teams that manage the most sought-after events in our country.
When the pandemic hit it greatly affected my industry. After years of fostering relationships within the cycling and sports industry, I saw everyone scatter and take jobs that provided them with more security. Cycling was considered a high-risk, high-transmission-rate sport related to covid and events were cancelled, most never returning to the marketplace for viable work.
During this downturn time for 2020-2021, I shifted my focus to the family business of importing hard finishes with my husband during covid. The building industry has been booming in Greenville and we were positioned well for growth in sales of the tile products so we dug in. I worked on improving marketing and financial planning for company’s soundness. To date, I stay engaged in the company in these areas. The company, Circles & Squares Design has three employees, a manufacturing and shipping warehouse, e-commerce website and thrives in the residential/commercial building industry.
With the pandemic behind us and the tile company thriving, I have been working and traveling back to cycling events and clients. My work now in cycling events is primarily in the operations and management side. We have a great team handling most marketing and PR projects for the events we are contracted to manage. I have been dabbling in the live stream workspace as well with guidance from mentors and supportive event directors who have good budgets to bring me in to add elements to the production.
I have over a decade of experience in working in the cycling and sports management industry and am excited to see the next evolution of cycling now that we have things like virtual bike racing and new series for the athletes to follow. This is a growing sport that I have known and loved.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My career as an event director has been relatively smooth. Work and family life I reflect on very differently. Having grown up in a household where work is paramount to basically everything else, becoming a mother and trying to manage the work and family balance has been the biggest struggle. One that is constantly in motion and never rests. In my industry, if you are not traveling to the event, you are not making money. You also have to be willing to come in a small one year for the goal of getting a bigger check in year two, three and so on. As the events grow, you grow with them and for a mother that much time traveling all across the country simply does not work. When I travel every month, I might miss a school function or special day in my son’s life. The guilt here is heavy for me but I still have to prioritize work bc it also brings me peace of mind for income and to be able to provide some support to the family lifestyle.
I have been very fortunate to have a wonderful father as I have grown in my career as well. He taught me the ways of writing a good contract and that the contract holder is always King or Queen in my case. My father had a tremendous work ethic that he instilled in my sister and me too. He passed away July 2022 and this has been very difficult but I am pressing on and working harder than ever.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in the pre-production management of large scale cycling and cause-related events. I manage the various operational areas for the event on site during the event and provide feedback to the event owners for revisions and updates. My strong suit is creating more simple lines for effective communication before and during the event day. I am affectionately called, The Band-aid.
I am most proud of the work on the Sunny King Criterium. I have been with the city for eight years, working on the growth and community relationships the event fosters. With more than $150,000 raised for cancer research from the event proceeds and sponsorship revenue, we are making a difference within the city of Anniston and its residents who need medical treatment.
What sets Start Smart Events apart from larger sport management companies is my ability to scale down and deep dive into details that need to be managed by one person, who knows the event micro details better than anyone. I have raced, promoted and marketed in the cycling industry for over a decade and bring a healthy amount of bandwidth to solving problems within the events.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I like that Greenville is growing and new recreational places are popping up in city planning. It has always stuck out to me that residents of the greater Greenville city need more public access to outdoor spaces and just walking. Overall the city needs more sidewalks.
