Hey, y’all, I’m Caren Kelleher.
Photo by Caryn Noel
I'm an entrepreneur and music industry executive based in Austin, TX, where I started Gold Rush Vinyl and now co-own Waterloo Records.
First and foremost, I'm a music fan. It's the reason I keep seeing where the industry is going before others get there.
Because when you’re immersed in the things you love and share a community with other fans, you spot opportunities most business executives miss while sitting at their desks. That's how I saw vinyl would have a resurgence while I was building streaming services at Google… why I opened a vinyl pressing plant that Fast Company named one of the most innovative companies in music… and why I now run my businesses on AI-powered operations that have given me back time to do what I do best: scheme and dream.
Physical media, digital platforms and AI aren't separate stories; in combination they are how music (and most businesses, for that matter) survive the changing times.
My experiences are proof that you can embrace the future without forgetting what makes the past so special… and it’s my goal to help other people see that, too, so we can spend less time stuck in the busyness of things and get back to doing what humans do best: creating.
Watch my interview with the TODAY Show
The TODAY Show joined me and my wonderful team at Gold Rush Vinyl’s pressing plant to hear how an early love of music and my work as a band manager ultimately led me to leave a career at Google to invest in the future of vinyl.
Caren’s Professional Bio
Caren Kelleher is the Founder & CEO of Gold Rush Vinyl, named one of the "Most Innovative Companies of 2020" by Fast Company magazine for its efforts in "revolutionizing record pressing” out of her factory in Austin, Texas. She is also a new co-owner of the iconic Waterloo Records, now in its 44rd year in business.
Since opening its doors in Spring 2018, Gold Rush Vinyl has pressed records for thousands of musicians and record labels to help them answer the renewed $1B demand for vinyl records. Under Caren's leadership, Gold Rush Vinyl has also expanded into making 24-karat gold and platinum records for the RIAA and top-selling artists, as well as upcycled merchandise made from damaged records — an effort that won her a Clio Music Award for Design & Sustainability.
Before starting Gold Rush Vinyl, Caren was Head of Music App Partnerships at Google Play, managing key relationships with app developers like Spotify, Pandora and Shazam. She was originally recruited to Google in 2011 to launch Google Music and its products for independent musicians. Prior to Google, Caren led business development at Songkick and ran a boutique band management firm with her sister, aptly called Sister Management. She started her career as the marketing lead of Paste magazine.
Caren holds a BBA from Emory University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where a case study on Gold Rush Vinyl is now taught as part of the required curriculum. She is proud to have served as an elected officer of the Recording Academy's Texas chapter and to sit on the boards of the Lemon-Aid Project (empowering kids to be impactful entrepreneurs and philanthropists) and Project Traction (closing the gender gap in music production and engineering).
Caren’s entrepreneurial journey has been covered by the likes of The TODAY Show, The New York Times, Billboard, Variety and more. For her impact in her city, Caren was awarded “Best CEO of 2023” by the Austin Business Journal and named to the Forbes Next 1000 list of entrepreneurs shaping the future of American small business.
Photo by Caryn Noel
Brand Collaborations
Check out some of the creative marketing campaigns I’ve been a part of.
GRAMMY’s “Behind the Board” campaign
Still Austin Whiskey's "Still Life" campaign
Austin FC inaugural season promotion
Texas Mutual Insurance commercial
Zapier national ad campaign
Podcast Interviews & Radio
Let’s Work Together
Speaking
From conference keynotes to corporate trainings to intimate workshops, I share what it really takes to modernize a legacy industry, to put AI to work without losing the human touch, and to bet on yourself when the data tells you otherwise.
My entrepreneurial journey is a Harvard Business School case study taught in the required MBA curriculum for a reason: I want other business leaders to learn from my experiences and to challenge the way you think about the opportunities in front of you.
Consulting
I help entrepreneurs, creators and business operators free up their time from the things that bog them down. That means deploying practical AI and automation — all grounded in what I've actually built, not just theory. I run a vinyl factory and a 44-year-old record store on modern rails, and neither has lost its soul in the process.
If you're a small business owner who wants your time back, or a large company that needs someone nimble who's shipped at Google-scale, let's talk.
Boards
I’ve had the pleasure of serving on served on wonderful (if not challenging) boards for over a decade, including multiple elected terms with the Recording Academy.
I am most interested in helping bold companies that are at a crossroads with their product roadmaps, or that are facing challenges in modernizing their legacy operations.
If you're looking for a director with Fortune 500 and start-up experience — including strategic partnerships and M&A — let's connect.
Get in Touch!
If you’re looking to collaborate (or even just want to send new music recommendations!) fill out this form.
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