Entrepreneur

Erica Anderson spent 15+ years as an entrepreneur inside corporations (Twitter, Google, MTV, CBS, Vox Media). They are currently going on their fourth year bootstrapping The New Savant, an indie fragrance brand. An Indiana native, Erica graduated from Indiana University. They live in New York City.

Following a cutting-edge chapter working on the future of news, Erica craved a new challenge. 2020 gave them the opportunity.

In New York City during the pandemic, The New Savant was born. Three years in, the olfactive brand has achieved over $1.6m in sales entirely through word of mouth. They are members of The Fragrance Foundation and in summer 2024, will be awarded "Innovator of the Year" by a national fragrance trade group.

Previous to this, Erica developed high-quality information ecosystems for some of the world's most influential companies: Twitter, Google, CBS News, MTV News, and Vox Media.

At Google (2016-19), Erica led global Google News Lab efforts to combat misinformation. In partnership with product, Erica helped design solutions to elevate high-quality journalism across Google's numerous products. The work took Erica around the world, to Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, France, Germany, and the UK, where they met with local journalists to understand use cases and bring them back to Google. Erica was also a co-organizer of the historic Google Walkout.

At Twitter (2011-15), where Erica was one of the first 300 employees, they pioneered the company's journalism efforts. Erica's work included the inaugural best practice program, Twitter for Newsrooms, and the development of satellite long codes to enable journalists to Tweet from war zones. Erica also co-produced the first Twitter Town Hall, where they nudged President Barack Obama to post his first Tweet with the initials "-BO". During a five-year tenure, Erica advised business development teams on acquisitions and experienced the company's IPO. Erica also started Twitter’s internal LGBTQ+ group.

Before Twitter, Erica had the opportunity to work for Katie Couric at the CBS Evening News. Their main focus was integrating social media, and specifically Twitter, into Katie's routine. 

Erica also covered the 2008 Presidential election for MTV News Choose or Lose, Street Team ‘08. A graduate of from Indiana University, Erica has a B.A. in journalism and minors in political science and religious studies. They also rode in the famed Little 500 race. 

With just $30,000 of their money, Erica and co-founder Ingrid Nilsen have built an indie fragrance brand with resonance. By creating olfactive experiences that are identity and story-driven, they've received many awards, including "Best New Interesting Scent" for Mixed Feelings by fragrance connoisseur, Sir Candle Man.