Chief of Staff's Role in Hally Hair's Success and Olympic Partnerships with Meredith Pong
Meredith Pong didn’t set out to be a Chief of Staff. But when a bad hair day, a college internship, and a pandemic all lined up, she ended up helping build Hally Hair from the ground up. Now she leads product development, marketing coordination, and high-profile partnerships—including Olympic-level ones—all while managing operations behind the scenes.
Key Takeaways
The Chief of Staff role at a startup means doing everything from strategy to photo shoot logistics.
Building brand partnerships means knowing your customer and meeting them where they are—like college campuses and sororities.
Purpose-driven campaigns like Streak for a Cause help connect brand values with real-world impact.
Notable Quotes
“As chief of staff, I'm often the one who's on top of project management, who's on top of timelines, and making sure the factories are working together with our fillers, making sure we have the right certifications and legal documents to bring everything to market.”
"I am definitely a generalist but I'm happy to try my best at whatever challenge is thrown at me."
“Being remote does present a challenge, I think, to being Chief of Staff, because you're not there, you're not necessarily in the room, you're not the same, you know, you're not synced in the same way.”
Real-World Applications
Turn a Pain Point into Product
Example: Meredith struggled with brow tinting. That led to Brow Pal—a new Hally product she helped build from idea to packaging.Stay Close to the Customer
Example: Hally partnered with sororities and college athletes to tap into Gen Z communities. Meredith coordinated these activations for both sales and social impact.Navigate Remote Leadership
Example: With teammates across time zones, Meredith instituted 5-hour core workdays, detailed Slack threads, and tightly run meetings to keep everyone aligned.
Meredith Pong proves that being a Chief of Staff isn’t just about operations—it’s about leading with curiosity, acting on feedback, and being ready to do whatever needs to be done. Her work at Hally Hair shows what happens when creativity meets execution.
01:02 Meredith's Internship and Meeting Her Principal
02:49 Building Hallie Hair During the Pandemic
03:51 Hallie Hair's Target Market and Marketing Strategies
09:10 Product Development and Innovations
15:09 Challenges and Successes as Chief of Staff
23:28 Hallie Hair's Olympic Aspirations
Links Mentioned:
Hally Hair Website: https://hallyhair.com/
Connect with Meredith Pong on LinkedIn: / meredithpong
Article on partnership w/ Olympian Leanne Wong: https://www.glossy.co/pop/hally-conti...
About The Author
Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense.
Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.