Before Albert Kiffer could begin creating ads, he had to find someone to write them, so he placed a help-wanted ad in a New York newspaper. The woman he hired—from among 12 people who showed up at his shoe store with résumés in hand—was Elsa Sommaire, fresh out of college with an English degree and a desire to make a mark on the business world.

Her knack for clever headlines, and her ability to pack a big message into the small ad sizes of their early efforts, distinguished her work, beginning with the first piece she wrote. Not only did she become Kiffer’s first business partner, but her family and his became so close that a fight nearly erupted among his siblings over who should stand as godparent to her first child.