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Shannon Jennings, Influencer Marketing Lead at The Very Group & Founder, CEO of TheCLCK
Shannon Jennings founded TheCLCK in 2016 at just 23-years-old, which originally began as a fashion influencer network, later developing into a leading content and affiliate influencer platform that allowed you to shop the outfits of your favourite influencers. Within its first 6-months, she onboarded over fifty of the biggest global retailers including Farfetch, Gucci, Topshop and PrettyLittleThing. She had developed a network of over 250 high-profile fashion influencers and TheCLCK’s social media platforms saw a monthly audience of over 1.4 million.
The Ireland born tech whizz, moved to London with nothing but plans to cement herself in the fashion and technology industries - the beginning of her incredible journey of tearing down the walls that had been created for her.
Jennings had always been faced with the lack of belief the educational system had in her. She experienced years of school teachers who would tell her that she ‘would not’ and ‘could not’ be anything. At the age of 18, she was told that she had the reading ability of a 10-year-old; shattering for a young mind not far from entering their twenties. At school, teachers had already convinced a young Jennings that it wasn’t for her and at one point, she recalls them almost taking her out of school because of the level they thought she was performing at. In career classes, her teachers pushed her towards art and other creative subjects and fields, whilst Jennings’ peers were told they could study business and becomes doctors.
Her teachers sought to create only one vision in her mind - one where she wasn’t allowed to dream big. “Believing in yourself is so important.” She tells WOTC. “Something I’m still practising is how to keep going despite failure.”
Despite her teacher’s rumblings, and the many barriers they had attempted to create in her mind, Jennings dedicated extra time to her learning and found herself studying at Trinity College Dublin; one of the 23 institutions who are a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), known for its avid research, where she received a First-Class honours in Business, Information Technology and Marketing.
She was adamant that despite the technology industry being heavily seen as ‘male dominated’ - even more so than now, it was an industry she was going to be in. “I just fell in love with it. It broadened my horizons. I didn’t need to write. I could think about the bigger picture of other areas of being online, taking photos and translating messages in different ways. I just started researching. I became obsessed with brands.” She recalls reading about the launch of ASOS, Lyft and Farfetch and being extremely fascinated.
When she officially began her career in 2015, she was told that was now it for her, and that the position she had acquired at the time was one that she should stay in for 10-15 years. Jennings who always wanted more, couldn’t see why, and so did the opposite. She landed roles in influencer marketing & social media at SHOPCADE; a leader in media commerce, British multinational retailer Arcadia group, and multi-brand online retailer, The Very Group.
“In 2021, #IPLEDGE to connect with and help younger girls like me in the industry. I think it’s a huge year for understanding that it’s time to help other people. Some people have it worse and some people are struggling. It’s something I’m definitely aware of; how to connect with people and offer real value and not just posting on Instagram - really helping people.”