Right Side Up Talent Spotlight: Katie Freiberg

Get to know Katie Freiberg, Investor Operating Partner at Right Side Up. She leads the investor business, advising private equity and venture capital firms and their portfolio companies.

Along with early-stage startups and large-scale enterprises, Right Side Up works closely with private equity and venture capital firms to support their organizations and the portfolio companies they own or invest in.

Katie Freiberg leads this effort for Right Side Up, tapping into her expertise across several fields to advise companies on solving challenges, identifying opportunities, and accelerating growth. In her role, Katie develops customized programs specific to the needs of a private equity or venture capital firm’s portfolio company.

With diverse experience and a hands-on approach, it’s easy to recognize how Right Side Up succeeds at supporting investors as they invest in best-in-class growth marketing experts and strategies to scale businesses.

Q&A with Katie Freiberg

Katie, who started at Right Side Up in March 2024, joins us for this Talent Spotlight, a series profiling Right Side Up employees and growth marketing consultants within our talent network. It’s an opportunity to chat with experts and share who they are, their marketing insights gathered over the years, and how they balance work and life.

Here’s our conversation with Katie—in which she discusses her role at Right Side Up, what she loves about growth marketing, and how she spends her time outside of work.

Where is home these days? What is your work environment like?

Home is currently in San Jose, but you’ll often find me on the road traveling with my dog, Cooper. When I’m at home, I like to alternate between rooms in my house. I like to think it gives me a new perspective, but in reality I just like to keep Cooper guessing where I’ll pop up next.

What’s your title, how would you describe your current role at Right Side Up, and how long have you been with us?

My title is 'Investor Operating Partner,' and I joined the team two months ago. I collaborate with investment firms, providing support for both firms and their portfolio companies.

This support can range from conducting due diligence audits and developing educational content to hosting office hours and developing customized programs to support their portfolio companies. We offer some really unique programs like Growth Track and Series Accelerator, which are designed to help early-stage portfolio companies with their marketing needs.

Tell me about your professional background and area(s) of expertise. Any achievements you’re proud of or notable brands you’ve worked with?

I’ve had the privilege of working with exceptional companies and leaders across various consumer-focused industries, including ecommerce, marketplaces, mobile gaming, and retail. I honed my skills while being brand side, but gained valuable experience during my tenure at TSG Consumer, where I was an operating partner, advising the portfolio companies on performance and growth marketing.

While my bread and butter is all things related to online channels like Google and Meta, I’ve also bought and managed offline channels. I’m happiest, though, when I’m writing SQL to dig through data to find meaningful insights that help the companies I work with accelerate their growth.

What excites you about growth marketing? Has your work changed since you first started? What do you see for the future of growth marketing?

Over my career, the industry has changed drastically, particularly in the last three or four years, largely due to the increasing speed at which platforms are developing and evolving. For example, it has been great to see how channel optimization algorithms have become increasingly sophisticated over time.

The downside of the evolution of these platforms is that many traditional growth hacking tactics have disappeared. As Meta and Google move toward more automation and less detailed reporting (some due to privacy changes), marketers have fewer levers than ever to pull.

The future winners in advertising will be those who are sophisticated in strategy and measurement and willing to test new mediums to stay ahead. Adapting to the constantly evolving landscape is crucial to avoid being outpaced by competitors.

What has the structure and flexibility of Right Side Up’s model allowed you to do outside of work?

I love being fully remote because at the end of the day, I still have energy to go work in the garage on some of my house projects or take Cooper for a long walk in a park as it’s still daylight out (even in the winter) when I finish working.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a lawyer and I was even on the debate team in high school and college. Not-so-unfortunately, I didn’t do well on the LSAT, so I scratched that idea not too long after I graduated college.

What TV show, podcast, book, video game, recipe, or other interest are you loving right now?

It’s more of a ‘continued’ love instead of a ‘right now’ love, but This American Life has been and always will be one of my favorite podcasts. Ira Glass is amazing—I got to meet him one time!—and the stories are so wonderful. I just love listening to it. Michael Barbaro and The Daily are amazing too, it was hard to choose just 1!

Do you have a favorite quote?

“This too shall pass.” I have it tattooed on my inner forearm as a reminder.

What’s your favorite place you’ve traveled to? Why?

I continue to go back to Vienna, Austria, because I spent three semesters studying abroad there in college and then moved there after I graduated. I spent a total of a little over five years there during that period of my life. It was such a formative experience that I’ve continued going back because I love it so much.

Outside of that, Croatia is probably my favorite place to visit. Even after six weeks there, I couldn’t get enough of it.

What’s a fun fact about yourself that people wouldn’t expect?

I play ice hockey! I often tell people that I play hockey and they always assume field hockey, but when I clarify and say ice hockey, they are always so surprised. I also ride a motorcycle and interestingly enough, there seems to be a higher overlap than you’d expect between women who play ice hockey and those who also ride a motorcycle.

Join Us at Right Side Up

Katie has made an immediate impact at Right Side Up, expanding the investor business and accelerating the growth of portfolio companies. Private equity and venture capital portfolio companies span countless industries, and she tailors her strategy and execution for each. She’s also a tremendous colleague, always willing to pitch in and provide valuable guidance to other team members throughout Right Side Up.

‍Check out our opportunities page for internal roles at Right Side Up and our freelance application to join a network of top-tier growth marketing consultants.