Portfolio, Issue No. 01
Lily Khabie
Growth, content strategy & client experience
Superpower
My superpower is curiosity. I ask people questions because I actually want to know the answers, and somehow that turns into a conversation, a connection, a contact I still have five years later.
Prompt engineering, turning a spreadsheet into an actual story, and knowing exactly which SEO tweak or which DM is going to move the needle. I like the unglamorous parts just as much as the fun ones.
About
I'm an Economics and Sociology graduate (UC Santa Barbara) who likes building things from zero and then figuring out, with data, whether they're actually working. I've grown an audience from scratch to 100,000+ monthly views as a solo founder, run competitive and market research for a global brand, and spent years in client-facing roles that taught me how people actually make decisions. That mix, part builder, part analyst, part people reader, is what I bring to a team, whether the room is retail, marketing, or product.
Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
B.A. Economics & Sociology, 2022–2026
Dean's List, 2022–2025
University Carlos III de Madrid
Study abroad, Madrid, Spain (Aug to Dec 2024)
Tools & skills
Growth & audience strategy · Market & competitor research · Analytics & performance tracking · SEO & affiliate strategy · Content & email strategy · Client & stakeholder communication · Presentation design (Canva)
Sales Associate, Jake and Jones
Santa Barbara, CA · curated boutique carrying Pleats Please, Simone Rocha, Lemaire, Lady White Co., Auralee, Sandy Liang, B Sides
- Guided clients through curated designer assortments with personalized styling
- Assisted with visual merchandising to highlight established and emerging designers
- Supported inventory coordination, customer inquiries, and point-of-sale operations
Showroom Operations Intern, ISAIA see the work ↓
Manhattan, NY · heritage Neapolitan menswear house
- Researched and initiated outreach to prospective clients to support sales development
- Developed mood boards and contributed to marketing campaign concepts
- Wrote and designed email and social content to grow brand visibility
Founder, ChicFindsForLife see the work ↓
Remote · Pinterest-based fashion affiliate brand
- Built a content and affiliate strategy from the ground up, growing to 100,000+ monthly views in one year
- Managed pinning cadence, SEO optimization, and affiliate partnerships (Amazon Associates, Collective Voice)
Organic Social Media Intern, Power Digital
San Diego, CA · data-driven marketing agency; client work spanning LoveShackFancy, Kate Somerville, Gorjana, Casper
- Created and scheduled content across social platforms
- Analyzed campaign performance and tracked engagement using analytics tools
Sales Associate, Wendy Foster
Santa Barbara, CA · Montecito & Santa Barbara retailer carrying White + Warren, Chan Luu, AMO
- Owned store etiquette and service, individually compensated against sales goals
Sales & Brand Representative, The Collegiate Lineup
Santa Barbara, CA · Remote, part-time
- Served as campus lead, driving adoption of The Collegiate Lineup across other Greek life chapters
- Built long-term relationships with campus leaders to generate recurring revenue
- Facilitated group orders and bulk purchasing to increase profitability
Wholesale Showroom Intern, Simon Showroom
Manhattan, NY · brands including AMO, IRO, Citizens of Humanity, Seven for All Mankind
- Supported showroom operations, product displays, and go-to-market planning meetings
Organic Social Media Intern, CourtAvenue
Austin, TX · digital transformation network; client work with Holly Hunt, General Mills, Epson, Kia
- Grew the social footprint of a fast-growing start-up and presented weekly content calendars to executives
Isaia
I spent summer 2025 as a Showroom Operations Intern at ISAIA's Madison Avenue showroom, a Naples-born menswear house built on hand-tacked tailoring. Alongside client outreach and showroom operations, I worked on three pieces of content and strategy: a run of newsletters and email campaigns, a group brand and social strategy proposal with fellow interns, and an independent research project on how AI is changing the way clients search and shop.
The Sartorial Map
Email & newsletter contentA series of product-led email campaigns spotlighting ISAIA's tailoring, from brushed-wool trousers to the Napoli Olive jacket, written and designed to pair editorial copy with lookbook photography and drive traffic to the Madison Avenue showroom. Copy leaned into craft details: the aligned waistband, the invisible hand-tacking, the balanced taper.
The Sartorial Map, in motion
Brand & Social Strategy Proposal
Group final projectA final presentation built with fellow summer interns, proposing how ISAIA could build momentum, reach, and personality on social media. We audited the brand's Instagram against The Row's gallery-style feed and Aime Leon Dore's Greek-heritage storytelling, and studied Brunello Cucinelli's AI-driven website as a model for narrating brand history. From there we mapped cultural source material from Campania and Capri, including the Blue Grotto, early-1900s bohemia, and Villa Lysis, into content pillars around tailoring, family, playfulness, and craft.
The Impact of AI on Search
Independent research projectA solo research deck I presented to the team on how generative AI is reshaping the path to purchase. The core argument: the marketing funnel is collapsing. It's no longer about ranking highest, it's about being the answer an AI assistant trusts enough to surface. For a house like ISAIA, that means shifting investment from traditional SEO toward Generative Engine Optimization: building structured, credible, machine-readable content rather than relying on paid search and keyword bidding alone, and getting ahead of the rise of AI shopping agents.
Delfi Collective
A digital marketing strategy built for a concept womenswear brand as my final project for a digital marketing course. The brief: grow online presence and sales for a young label built on feminine, detail-driven design. The deck covers brand positioning and mission, a target market of fashion-forward, socially-conscious women aged 25–35, a competitive set spanning Zimmermann and Reformation to Anthropologie and Sézane, and the trends shaping the category: sustainability and transparency, social storytelling, resale and rental, and community, along with the metrics used to track growth across Instagram and TikTok.
ChicFindsForLife
A Pinterest-based fashion affiliate brand I started and have run solo since August 2025, curating trend-driven outfit finds for a growing audience, and monetizing through the Amazon Associates program and, previously, Collective Voice. I built the content and affiliate strategy from scratch: pinning cadence, SEO-optimized descriptions, and board structure, growing the brand to over 100,000 monthly views in its first year.
Off the clock
Pilates
Four years of pilates. Zero years of correct form. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I keep coming back for more. In it for the love of the game.
Cooking
My sister is the real chef of the family, but lucky for me, she shares all her recipes with me. A win-win for both of us.
Thrifting
One of the ways I express my creativity. It's always fun, and it turns shopping into a reward. Nothing beats the dopamine of finding a niche piece.
Food
I could talk for hours about my love for food. I love all of it! It's my favorite part of life.
Favorite books
Currently reading
Get in touch
Open to full-time roles in growth, marketing, digital strategy, and retail. Reach out, or grab the résumé for the full detail.