Spotlight interview with...
Caitlin Rozario
Founder of Interlude
Spotlight interview with...
Caitlin Rozario
Founder of Interlude
Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself, your career history, and your background?
I’ve got a bit of an unusual background – what some might call a “squiggly career”. I started my career at Brainlabs back in 2018, a marketing agency where I worked in paid social and then content marketing. I was made redundant after being furloughed, and during that time, my partner and I started building an app called interlude aimed at helping people find more sustainable productivity through micro-breaks.
After building interlude for nearly three years, it became clear to me that while I loved the concept of the app, I wasn’t working in a sustainably productive way myself, which felt counterintuitive. We pivoted interlude last year to focus on sustainable productivity workshops, both in-person and remote, for B2B and D2C clients, as well as culture-first high performance consulting. This pivot felt much more aligned.
At the same time, I’ve also been working at a tech startup called Metrikus, a prop-tech company. I initially led the content function, but my role expanded to Head of Brand and Culture, where I focus on both our internal and external brand and how they intersect.
What experience have you had with thought leadership?
My first real exposure to it was at Brainlabs, where I was one of the ghostwriters for the CEO and other senior leaders. I remember working with a senior developer on a piece about scripts, and I was struggling to understand what he was explaining. He told me, “You don’t need to get it; the point is to show people that we get it.” That was an eye-opener.
Thought leadership can fit into different parts of the marketing funnel: top, middle or bottom. Typically, it’s at the top, focusing on brand awareness, but it can also be educational or even serve the more subtle function of signalling expertise. We’re in an attention-deficit era, and – like it or not – sometimes just having content that demonstrates expertise, even if it’s not widely read, can create that subconscious recognition of authority. It’s an interesting dynamic to navigate.
Has thought leadership positively impacted your career and business. If so, how?
Absolutely. I’ve put a lot of effort into LinkedIn, and it’s helped me in two key ways. First, I talk a lot about sustainable productivity, which is a concept people often misunderstand. Thought leadership has allowed me to shift perspectives and show people a different way of thinking about productivity. Second, I’ve made a point of embedding my personality into my work. Since I deliver in-person workshops, I want people to know what they’re getting before they hire me – almost like a “preview” of my style and approach.
For my day job, we’ve also leveraged thought leadership as a key strategy. One example is the newsletter our Senior Content Manager Emily Vernon launched working with our COO, Michael Grant, called Straight Talking PropTech. By his own admission, Michael is very outspoken, and so we leaned into that. It now has over 1600 readers, which, given our niche, is significant. But it doesn’t stop at those readers – a recent post about AI got over 122k impressions and reached 83k+ accounts.
This thought leadership approach also helps separate individual voices from the company’s more formal messaging, giving us additional depth and reach.
Thought leadership seems like a broad term. How do you define it?
It’s definitely broad, and different people define it in different ways: some see it narrowly, others more expansively. But fundamentally, it’s about sharing your ideas in a way that positions you as an expert in a particular space. It could be through articles, blogs, newsletters or speaking engagements.
Right now, I think the trend is toward hyper-niche thought leadership. It can feel counterintuitive – people want big audiences – but often, specificity leads to stronger engagement. It’s also important to reframe our perspective on metrics. If a post only gets 50 likes, imagine 50 people standing in front of you engaging with your ideas. We have a weird detachment from numbers in the digital space that sometimes skews our perception, but 50 people taking the time to connect with your work is significant!
LinkedIn is so saturated with thought leadership now. Do you have any advice for brands or startups trying to stand out
It comes back to niche and novelty. One of my friends, Neda Sahebelm, runs the scale advisory Keshty and writes a fantastic operational newsletter called the minority misfit. It’s incredibly detailed, and while it’s not for everyone, for those who need it, it’s invaluable.
Another example is Lucy Werner, author of Brand Yourself and Hype Yourself (also the name of her newsletter). Her content is about PR and showing off your work, so alongside that content she’s growing her newsletter by sharing her own journey, showing her number of paid and free subscribers, as well as her growth tactics and experiments which I find fascinating.
A final example I want to give is Alex Merry. His newsletter Founder to Thought Leader has an incredibly clear proposition: One public speaking tip every Monday for Founders who need to communicate big ideas. Alex taught me about the importance of knowing your audience. I love long-form writing, but my audience values concise, actionable insights. Thought leadership isn’t about what I want to write, it’s about what they need to hear.
All three of these people create really interesting, really actionable content for a very specific audience, that also shows off their expertise and personality.
That ties into authenticity. How do you define authenticity in thought leadership, and why is it important?
For me, authenticity is about consistency. The way I show up online should align with how I show up in person. If my writing is formal and polished, but my workshops are casual and conversational, that creates a disconnect. People won’t trust what they’re getting.
Also, authenticity isn’t just about external perception, it affects how we feel. Being inauthentic over time is exhausting. Thought leadership isn’t a one-off thing, it’s an ongoing process. So, if the persona you create doesn’t match who you are, sustaining it will feel awful.
Finally, there’s a cognitive bias where we assume that because we know something, everyone else does too. But that’s rarely true. Some of the most impactful posts I’ve shared have been on things I thought were ‘basic’. It’s a great way to build foundational content and introduce people to new (to them) ideas.
AI-generated content is becoming more prominent. How can experts differentiate themselves?
I use AI as an assistant, not a ‘doer’. For example, I once fed it my workshop materials and asked it to break them down into post ideas. That was helpful. But I don’t let it write for me because I worry that over-relying on AI weakens our creative muscles.
A key aspect is intentionality. Ultimately, to stand out, you have to inject human elements: storytelling, unique insights and perspectives that AI just can’t replicate.
Given that, do you think in-person events and panels are becoming even more important?
100%. We saw this with Kindles; people said books were dead, but now “BookTok” is thriving and bookshops have seen record breaking years. AI and digital content will keep growing, but I really believe that human connection is irreplaceable. Those who lean into that will have an edge, but it will take effort because mass-produced AI content will flood the space. We have to accept and understand that AI is with us, and figure out how we can grow into the world that’s in front of us without sacrificing our creativity and the human touch.
Great insights. Any final thoughts?
Thought leadership should be part of a broader strategy, not just something you do because everyone else is. Ask: Do I have the time? The skills? Should I outsource writing to someone else? There’s no shame in playing to your strengths. It can be incredibly powerful, but only if it fits your goals and audience.
About Caitlin Rozario
Caitlin Rozario is the founder of Interlude and Head of Brand and Culture at Metrikus, dedicated to creating healthier, more sustainable ways of working.
A regular speaker at WORKTECH and Earthfest, her insights appear in Startups Magazine and Workplace Wellbeing Professional.
A Cambridge and UCL graduate with an MBA from Quantic, she’s passionate about improving workplace culture, inspired by her own experience overcoming a life-changing health challenge.
News & Views
Get to Know: Alice Down, Content Executive
By Tom Webb, CEO In our Get to Know blog series, I’m posing a few questions to the Element team. Next up, we have Alice Down, Content Executive. What drew you to content and communications? What drew you to content and communications? After College,
Writer’s Toolbox appoints Element Communications to champion the future of how writing is taught in schools
Woking, UK – 9th July 2026: Writer’s Toolbox, the fast-growing EdTech company pioneering evidence-based writing improvement programmes that help schools transform literacy outcomes, has appointed Element Communications as its PR partner to support its next phase of growth and influence. At a time when schools continue to face
bit.bio appoints Element Communications to power global growth story following $50m raise
London, UK – 27 May 2026: Cambridge biotech company bit.bio has appointed Element Communications to lead an ambitious international PR campaign at a crucial stage of its growth journey. Earlier this year, the company raised a $50m Series
Get to Know: Alice Down, Content Executive
By Tom Webb, CEO In our Get to Know blog series, I’m posing a few questions to the Element team. Next up, we have Alice Down, Content Executive. What drew you to content and communications? What drew you to content and communications? After College, I started a Child Nursing degree. However, I
Writer’s Toolbox appoints Element Communications to champion the future of how writing is taught in schools
Woking, UK – 9th July 2026: Writer’s Toolbox, the fast-growing EdTech company pioneering evidence-based writing improvement programmes that help schools transform literacy outcomes, has appointed Element Communications as its PR partner to support its next phase of growth and influence. At a time when schools continue to face a writing crisis despite significant progress in reading attainment,