July 6, 2026
For Emily Sollows and Meghan Doucette, business has always been deeply personal.
As the founders of Lemonade Communications, the two neighbours-turned-business-partners build their digital marketing agency on a foundation of community, inclusion and social impact. For them, separating their personal values from their professional lives was never an option.
“People like to say that you can or should separate the business and the personal, but when you have your own business, it’s hard to do,” Sollows says. “And we don’t want to do that!”
A ‘double-edged sword’
That desire to do things differently stems from a shared lived experience. Both Sollows and Doucette are neurodivergent—a trait they credit with giving them the unique perspective necessary to challenge traditional marketing norms. Sollows notes that marketing is sometimes criticized as a manipulative industry, which is why Lemonade Communications was intentionally designed to be an agency that respects the audience on the other side of the screen.
But charting their own path as neurodivergent entrepreneurs has also come with a unique set of challenges.
“Having the flexibility and freedom to structure our workdays has been life-altering,” Sollows says, “but having to keep track of all the different moving parts of a business while keeping track of several different clients has been a challenge.”
Despite those hurdles, they view their neurodivergence as their greatest asset. The agency’s pillars—out-of-the-box thinking, deep strategic insight and sensitivity—are direct products of how their brains work.
That inherent creativity and playfulness are baked right into the agency’s branding, which draws inspiration from the childhood memory of a neighborhood lemonade stand. Today, that nostalgic, community-centered energy translates into helping nonprofits and values-led businesses tell their stories. Operating as a lean, two-person team themselves, Sollows and Doucette step in and seamlessly fill the operational gaps for overwhelmed organizations wearing multiple hats.
The Nova Scotia advantage
While the agency works with clients nationwide, their roots remain firmly planted in East Coast soil. Both founders are from Nova Scotia, and they credit the local business ecosystem with shaping their collaborative mindset.
“We have found such a wonderful community in other Nova Scotian business owners, especially those in the digital marketing realm,” Sollows says. “We don’t consider each other competition at all—we are often collaborating, passing projects back and forth based on strengths and cheering each other on.”
That distinct cultural warmth hasn’t gone unnoticed, says Sollows. Out-of-province clients frequently remark on the unique Nova Scotia culture and mindset, which Sollows says adds a natural layer of hospitality and creativity to their projects.
As the agency grows, its reach is expanding alongside its vision. Lemonade Communications recently widened its niche beyond nonprofits to welcome a broader range of businesses that align with their core philosophy.
“There are some really rad businesses in this province with beautiful people behind them,” Sollows says. “We’ve recently widened our niche from nonprofits and social impact organizations to include values-led businesses, which has been so meaningful and fun!”
By building a business straight from the heart, Sollows and Doucette are proving that even the smallest teams can leave a lasting impact on their community.
Learn more about Lemonade Communications here: https://www.lemonadeco.ca/