MARKETING EXEC GROOVES WITH SIPPY CUPS

Cindy Mesaros New parent finds entertainment hanging out with toddler set
By Monica Alleven
July 1, 2006
Wireless Week

Cindy Mesaros doesn't spend her time hanging out at Smithereens concerts so much any more. She is more likely to be with her 2-year-old daughter Ronnie dancing to The Sippy Cups, a San Francisco band that plays the kind of rock music parents can enjoy - at a volume suitable for children.

Although the venues - and volume - have changed, one thing that has stayed constant is the music. As vice president of marketing at ringtone supplier Moderati, Mesaros is surrounded by music, tones and other assorted sounds. She also helps create them. Her "incoming booty call" ringtone, for which she supplied the voice, has sold nearly 100,000 tones. Even the family pet Stanley, an Australian cattle dog, has a ringtone; or rather, has supplied a ringtone. Mesaros brought him into the studio one day and Stanley spoke on command, providing the voice for the tone, thanks to some strategically placed Snausages.

One thing that helped prepare Mesaros for her job at Moderati was a hobby she pursued years ago: improv acting - getting in front of an audience, with no script, and performing on cue. "It was something that scared me," she recalls, adding that today she would recommend it to anyone. After all, if you can do improv, you can probably think on your feet in any high-pressure business situation.

A native of Santa Cruz, Calif., Mesaros, 38, earned her bachelor's degree in business administration at the University of California at Berkeley and went on to get her master's degree at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern. She worked at an Internet recruiting firm for a while before realizing it wasn't her dream job. Her goal was to work in the digital music industry, and before long, she landed at Listen.com, which later was bought by RealNetworks. At Moderati, she created the identity for the popular and sometimes unconventional Modtones services, as well as the name and Moderati corporate identity.

Her tenure at Moderati has taken her to Japan, where parent company Faith is based, as well as to hotels in San Diego, where she blogs about the not-so-glamorous life on the road of business on her "losingmycool" blog, a chronicle of ways new parents realize they're no longer "cool."

Some might say Mesaros hasn't lost her cool at all. A few years back, she helped her company get a ringtone made by Vince Neal, formerly of Motley Crue, because his manager used to be the manager of the Smithereens. And, oh yeah, she's married to Mike Mesaros, founding bass player for the Smithereens, the 1980s band known for hits like A Girl Like You and Blood & Roses.

Being parents of an active toddler has its drawbacks. The couple doesn't get to travel as much these days, but one of their favorite places is Paris. Mesaros says she hopes to take her daughter there when she gets older. In the meantime, it's outings with The Sippy Cups.