Inspiring Conversations with Cat Rodriguez of CatJab Social

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cat Rodriguez.

Hi Cat, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Seal Beach and Long Beach as a naive church camp kid who was curious, then rebellious. At 15, I started getting into a lot of trouble by running in friend groups that liked to party, destroy, rinse and repeat. When I was 20 I met and dated the lead singer of Sublime, Bradley, which led me into the world of live music on the daily so, naturally, I dropped out of community college and continued my journey into negligence. But eventually the party had to end so I put on my “big girl pants,” went back to school and after a couple years, got accepted to Cal State Northridge. That moment became a huge turning point for me because I had to get to work to make up lost time.
I moved to West Hollywood, lived next to the Whiskey-a-Go-Go, worked at the House of Blues as a waitress, interned at Lakeshore Entertainment and studied Film & Television. While waitressing, I met an incredible producer named Diana Schmedeman, who gave me my first PA gig at MTV/ VH-1.
After being a freelance PA for a year, I was able to quit waitressing and start working in production full-time. Over the years, I worked my way up from a PA to Coordinator, Associate Producer, Field Producer, Director, Supervising Producer, and eventually Showrunner/Executive Producer. It’s been a long, crazy journey to the top but what I discovered in production is that no matter how hard things get, you have to just keep going. After 25 years, I’ve built a strong instinct for knowing when things are working and when they’re not. This goes for cast, crew, story, editing and everything in between. The good news is that when you build this instinct, you learn how to pivot and build over and over again. My credits include Real Housewives of New Jersey, LA Ink, Chrisley Knows Best, Little Women, and plenty more. I even sold my own show titled Psychic Tia to A&E/Bio in 2011.
In 2018, I was recruited to become Vice President of Unscripted Development and Programming at Lifetime. It was a dream job and I loved overseeing Married at First Sight with Kinetic Content for 5 years. However, after almost six years at A+E Networks, I got laid off in August 2024. This was devastating but not completely surprising since the TV landscape was changing rapidly and dramatically.
For a few months, I didn’t know what I was going to do. But ultimately, I couldn’t ignore the fact that people were paying way more attention to social media than traditional TV. So I completely redirected my focus toward the social media world, where people were moving faster, taking chances, and consistently working toward innovative content. There was and is no other place to be.
I started my own full-service social media agency named CatJab Social (my husband’s name is Sean Jablonski and he’s a successful Executive Producer in scripted television and the meaning behind the “Jab”). Together and with my team, we strategize, create, manage, and elevate social media for brands, businesses, celebrities and entrepreneurs. My TV experience translates perfectly to what people want more of in social media: premium, authentic content that’s entertaining, elevates their brand and connects them with their audience. This space is exploding and there is so much opportunity to create that I feel lucky to be where I am right now. More than anything, I’m deeply committed to the success of my clients and, of course, CatJab Social.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. I started CatJab very quickly in the spring of last year and have hired and lost a handful of employees after training them, paid for shoots myself, filmed content for free that never got used, filmed myself over and over again only to scrap the footage, rebranded my own content multiple times, and emptied my personal savings. BUT I know I’m on the right path and that it will pay off in the end. Truthfully, I’m having too much fun to stop. I never thought I’d be starting a company in my second half of life and career but this reinvention has given me a new lease on life that is more rewarding than my years in TV.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about CatJab Social?
What defines CatJab Social is the production standard we bring to everything we make.
After 25 years in television, I learned how to find the story inside a brand and tell it in a way that actually connects with people. How to make real people comfortable on camera. How to tell the difference between content that performs and content that just exists.
We specialize in human stories and high-end hospitality, and we work with everyone from solo entrepreneurs to luxury brands. What sets us apart is that our clients get a creative partner who has operated at the network level, not just someone who knows social media.
What I’m most proud of is the culture we’re building around the work. The whole philosophy of CatJab is hospitality. Every client should feel completely taken care of, the way you feel at an amazing hotel. That standard runs through everything we do.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Network relentlessly. Show up at events where like-minded people gather, slide into DMs, and ask every question that makes you nervous, especially those. And when someone answers, REALLY listen. Like actually listen because that’s where you can truly learn.
Curiosity is underrated. Read books. Stay interested in things outside your industry. The people who consistently stand out are the ones who keep learning, keep asking, and refuse to assume they already have it figured out.
And through all of it, just keep going. Not everything will work on your timeline. Some of it won’t work at all. But know that the ones who make it are the ones who didn’t stop.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.catjabsocial.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catjabsocial/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cat-rodriguez/

Image Credits
My personal photo, the one with the phone and one with coffee were taken by Annie Bang Photography. The one with the presentation tv is from High Point Furniture Market – photo by Kim Salmela. The other is me directing a client – photo by Erica Shusha.