Hi again, I’m Arielle! 👋
I’m a creative-turned-marketer who thrives in high-stakes moments. I connect brand, product, and growth into one system that works under pressure.
For 10+ years, I’ve built momentum at companies of all sizes, from early stage startups to matrixed, larger businesses. I’ve been through pivots, 10x growth, stagnation, and a few different industries (like SaaS, fintech, HR tech, and AI).
I started in creative (ads/social), then expanded into GTM strategy, scaled content programs into $50M+ revenue engines, led rebrands & messaging, created AI-powered workflows, and rebuilt teams so they can shine.
Currently, I’m the Head/VP of Marketing & Customer Experience (CX) at Balsamiq.
Responsibilities: Leadership team member & run Marketing/Brand, Customer Success, & GTM teams
Recent wins: Nearly doubling qualified signups, stabilizing profitability, introducing growth & analytics frameworks, rebrand + repositioning, building a lifecycle program
I also run AKJ Studio, my coaching & consulting firm. I help companies with marketing strategy, process, and team development projects, and coach ambitious people looking to grow in their careers.
In my past work lives, I:
Scaled content, social media, and community from scratch to millions in attributed revenue at M1 Finance (fintech), all under heavy compliance.
Enabled enterprise-facing marketing at Jellyvision (HR tech), through integrated demand generation, ABM, content, and event marketing.
Supported brand, creative, and event campaigns at Codal (UI/UX agency).
Drove global influencer campaigns before they were even a thing for a scrappy B2B brand.
Won creative awards for multimedia campaigns spanning B2C, B2B, CPG, and PLG/SaaS.
Need a short bio? Copy/paste this:
Arielle Johncox is a marketing and GTM leader who connects brand, product, and growth into one system that works under pressure. She’s the VP of Marketing & CX at Balsamiq, leading marketing and success teams through a product pivot, rebrand, and growth push. She’s also the founder of AKJ Studio, where she helps companies and marketing leaders tackle high-stakes transitions with clarity, speed, and impact.
What I bring to the table
Personally? I bring sourdough. Professionally? I bring:
Strategy that ships — I bridge creativity and nuance with operating discipline .
Strong pace — Whether I match yours or beat it, without losing quality.
Customer insights that matter — Not just decks for the (online) shelf.
Systems that scale — From ops frameworks to behavior-driven lifecycle programs.
Coaching that levels up teams — Turning smart people into confident leaders.
Beyond the table standing desk
I’m a native Russian speaker (Ukrainian heritage). I also speak some Spanish, and am learning Italian.
I run for fun (slowly) and recently finished a 10K.
I love baking gluten-free recipes that pass the “are you sure?” test.
I read a lot. Biographies, sci fi, thrillers, and historical fiction make up most of my stack.
I love painting and drawing.
Some of the tools in my rotation lately: