How Desiree Verdejo's Skin Struggles Led Her to Create One of 2021’s Buzziest Brands
Meet the founder of Hyper Skin.
Photo: Courtesy of Desiree Verdejo
Welcome to our monthly editorial series A Day in the Life where we ask women we admire to share the daily minutiae of their professional lives, from the morning rituals that set them up for success to their evening wind-down routines. This month, we talked with Desiree Verdejo, CEO and founder of Hyper Skin, about how she launched a skincare brand that’s rooted in multiculturalism, why she always tackles her hardest tasks first thing in the morning, and her favorite pandemic purchase (which still uses every day).
Tell us a bit about Hyper Skin and what inspired you to launch your business. What whitespace did you see in the market, and what need did you want to fill?
Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve struggled with acne that was always followed by large dark spots. After years of trying to find the perfect solution to combat hyperpigmentation, I finally came to the realization that there really just wasn’t anything out there addressing this particular problem.
On top of that, there has always been a major lack of diversity in the skincare and beauty space. As a woman of color, it didn’t take long for me to notice how little representation we have within the skincare market, from advertising to the formulation of products themselves. So many dermatologists and chemists receive little to no training on how to treat melanin-rich skin.
I founded Hyper Skin because I wanted to solve both of these issues that I ran into by creating an easy, fun, results-oriented skincare brand that is rooted in multiculturalism. My goal is to not only target dark spots and discoloration but to do so for all skin tones and really shine a spotlight on celebrating diversity.
Now, let’s talk about your workday routine! First, are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why?
I’m definitely a morning person! When my schedule allows, I typically like to start my morning early and work on anything that is time-sensitive, challenging, or just requires more brainpower. Then, I will schedule any calls and meetings for the afternoon.
In the evenings, I like to catch up on all of my emails and organize a to-do list for the next day. This way, I can go to bed knowing I have everything set for when I wake up in the morning without feeling too overwhelmed or stressed about figuring out what I need to do.
What time does your alarm go off, and what’s the first thing you do upon waking?
Actually, I don't have an alarm clock! I naturally wake up at 6:30. Since I have two little toddlers that wake up at 7:30, I like to wake up before them so that I can have a peaceful morning with some time to myself. The first thing I do when I wake up is have coffee, listen to NPR, and take a look at my phone to make sure there’s nothing urgent that I have to take care of. My absolute favorite pandemic purchase was my Nespresso, so I love making my oat milk lattes right when I wake up—it’s my morning ritual!
What does your morning, pre-work routine look like?
In the mornings, before I start working, I love to spend quality time with my toddlers. Usually, that means making them breakfast and heading to school drop-off. My younger son is only two, so we usually walk together to a nearby coffee shop and I'll get a coffee for myself and a treat for him! I really value these little moments of time together—they are both growing up so fast so I want to spend every moment I can with them.
Photo: Courtesy of Hyper Skin
Take us through your morning skincare routine. How do you prepare your skin for the day?
My skincare routine is by far my favorite part of the morning. It's another reason that I actually enjoy waking up early and having enough time to really care for my skin. I have oily skin, so I always start by cleansing. My skin is acne-prone and susceptible to dark spots, so after cleansing, I follow up with the Hyper Skin Brightening Clearing Vitamin C Serum to combat hyperpigmentation. I love face mists. Right now I’m using one by Tower 28 that I really like. The last two steps in my routine are using a lightweight moisturizer and always using sunscreen. A couple of my all-time favorites are the Unseen Sunscreen from Supergoop and the Everyday Humans sunscreen.
Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk?
I always complete the hardest task of the day when I get to my desk first thing in the morning, so I completely agree with this quote. I think what sets me up for the most success in the morning is making my to-do list for the next day in the evening. If there is a task that is really important or challenging, I'll send an email to myself so that I see it fresh in my inbox in the morning and it's a great reminder to jump right in. I think the key to avoiding feeling overwhelmed and stressed out is always thinking one step ahead and preparing for the future.
What are you working on this week?
We have a few new exciting launches that are coming up so my weeks have been filled with reviewing and signing off on proofs, working with the team on developing social concepts for the launches, managing operations, and just overseeing everything regarding launch preparation. We're really leaning into using our social media platforms to share the Hyper Skin story so it's been a lot of brainstorming and creating as a team.
What’s been the most rewarding part of running your business? The most challenging?
Creating something that our community tells us really works for them has definitely been the most rewarding part. That doesn't ever get old. As someone who has always had problem skin and has constantly been on the lookout for solutions, reading reviews and getting emails from customers will always be something that I look forward to. It's so motivating, and it really pushes me to always create at the highest level.
On the other hand, the most challenging aspect of running a business is that you always have to keep going. There’s no time to stop to say, “This sucks,” or, “Wow, we’ve accomplished so much!” It’s always like, “Okay, now what do we have to do next?” As a founder leading a small team, there’s no time to sit in the emotions, in the challenges, or in the wins. You just need to keep pushing forward and doing your best.
Do you ever reach inbox zero? What tips can you share for handling the constant influx of inquiries and communication entrepreneurs are so familiar with?
I never have and I don’t think I ever will—it’s not even a goal of mine anymore because it’s so unattainable! As for tips on handling the constant inquiries and communication with others, I think it's important to prioritize your day on what's most important to you and what you need to get done next. If you are always responding to what other people are asking of you, you'll never be able to meet your own goals.
What is your go-to work lunch?
My go-to work lunch is always changing. One benefit of the pandemic was that I had more time at home to cook really wonderful, nourishing, and balanced meals. However, now that I have gone back to working in a co-working space, I am trying to find the balance between continuing to cook for myself and eating meals on the go. Simplicity is key. My favorite go-to meal is chicken with cauliflower rice and lots of fresh veggies.
Photo: Courtesy of Desiree Verdejo
What advice do you have for balancing the minutiae of day-to-day tasks with big-picture planning?
My biggest tip or piece of advice is to do different types of tasks on different days. For example, I like to plan certain days for all of my calls and set aside other days of the week for other things that I need to accomplish. Every week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are my call/catch-up days. Monday and Friday are big-picture, ideating, and thinking days. Without a schedule like this, you can spend all day responding to people, but it doesn't give you time to think about marketing, strategy, or business plans on a larger, more creative scale.
What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals?
My number one reminder to myself that helps me stay healthy, happy, and productive is just to not overdo it. Don’t drive yourself crazy by focusing on all of the tasks or things that you didn’t do or aren’t able to do at that moment in time. As a founder of a new, emerging brand, I'm in a very busy stage of my life. I’ve taught myself to lean into that, but at the same time, I’m always making sure that I’m not overdoing it. I just remind myself that I’m in a busy season now, but it won't be busy forever.
Any favorite apps you use regularly?
I love Slack for communicating with my team on a daily basis. Instagram is another favorite of mine because of how much it allows me to connect to the rest of the world and all of the new concepts and ideas that are out there. Another app I love is the HomeExchange app; it fuels my wanderlust!
What are you reading, watching, or listening to right now to help you wind down at the end of the day?
When I’m in a really busy stage of life (like right now!), I'm not great at watching TV because it draws me in deeply for too long. Instead, right now I’m planning our first post-pandemic family vacation to Costa Rica, so my favorite way to unwind at the end of a long day is by scrolling through Instagram and different chat groups to help me plan for that and get excited about our trip. It really helps me unwind!
When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” number of sleep hours?
I usually like to go to bed around 11:00 pm. I always try to aim for 6-7 hours. If I’m able to get in seven hours of sleep I am a wonderful person, but that doesn't always happen!
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
Because I launched my business right before the pandemic, I ended up hiring every member of our team remotely, and they’re all planning to stay remote for a while. That being said, the most rewarding part of my day is whenever I get to interact with my team via Zoom. I love to chat with them and share ideas and hear their updates. Most people are complaining about Zooms these days, but they’re my favorite!
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How the Co-Founder of I Am a Voter Mandana Dayani Starts Her Mornings
Two cups of coffee are mandatory.
Photo: Courtesy of Mandana Dayani
Welcome to our monthly editorial series A Day in the Life where we ask successful women we admire to share the daily minutiae of their professional lives, from the rituals that set them up for success to their evening wind-down routines. This month, we chatted with Mandana Dayani, the creator and co-founder of I am a voter., on how she tackles her never-ending inbox, sets work-life boundaries, and unwinds at the end of the day with President Bartlett and the rest of the cast of “The West Wing.”
Tell us a bit about I am a voter. and what inspired you to launch this initiative.
I am a voter. is a nonpartisan civic engagement movement that I founded with some of the most brilliant women I have ever known. As an immigrant, I have always felt incredibly privileged to be an American, and I was really heartbroken seeing our country so divided the last few years.
After making the decision to just dive in and learn what I could do to help, I quickly saw that there was an opportunity for a modern voting brand that really spoke to our generation. One that was positive, empowering, captured how cool it is to be an active participant, and more focused on what unites us. And I knew that if I could get these incredibly talented and inspiring women together in a room we could build a meaningful message and leverage our relationships and skills to create true impact.
After doing lots of research, I learned that identity was an important predictor of voter turnout, which is where the name came from. From there, we all leaned on our skills and networks to create as much impact as possible.
You’re also the co-host of the podcast "The Dissenters" alongside Debra Messing. What compelled you to start this podcast and what do you hope people take away from it?
Debra Messing and I have been activists for most of our lives and we wanted to learn about the people that inspired our own journeys. When we got the idea to start “The Dissenters” all we wanted to do was inspire people to get off of the sidelines. We thought that if we could share the amazing stories and journeys of these people, we could empower others to find their purpose and passion.
Over the course of our activism, we have both met countless people who were afraid to pursue their passion because they didn’t know where to begin or doubted their ability to create meaningful impact. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Almost all of the Dissenters we interviewed had no intention of becoming a hero or building a foundation. They started because they experienced injustice and they took action. And through it, they committed to learn and grow. And that’s what it’s really about—taking a step forward, helping the helpfuls, challenging the status quo.
Let’s talk about your workday routine! First, are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why?
I am my most productive and clear first thing in the morning (after I have my second cup of coffee).
What time does your alarm go off, and what’s the first thing you do upon waking? What does your morning, pre-work routine look like?
My husband and I usually wake up around 5:45 a.m. when our daughters, Anderson and Miller, run into our room. I immediately take a shower and then make my first cup of coffee. Then, it’s all about packing lunches for school, making breakfast, and getting them to their pods. Next, I go upstairs. Put in my AirPods and watch the news (catch up on Jessica Yellin’s stories on Instagram). I start every morning I can with my Ryse + Shyne Facial Serum and Pept Eyes Biocellulose Eye Mask from Sundree.
Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk?
I cross-reference my many lists to catch up as much as I can and then I tackle my never-ending inbox.
What are you working on this week?
Planning this year's Register a Friend Day on July 25, 2021, with the amazing I am a voter. team, and working on season two of “The Dissenters.” I am also advising on a few projects that I can’t wait to share soon.
“Managing our expectations of ourselves is such a critical component of self-care.”
—Mandana Dayani, Creator and Co-Founder of I am a voter.
What’s been the most rewarding part of running your business? The most challenging?
The opportunity to learn from the incredible women I work with while making a true, meaningful impact in our communities. It’s really awesome when you find your people!
The most challenging part is just managing it all and continuing to figure out how we can drive participation in civic engagement. The next few years will definitely be more focused on local politics.
Do you ever reach inbox zero? How do you handle the constant influx of inquiries and communication founders are so familiar with?
No, I have yet to reach zero. But, I do my best and I know that it is all I can do. Managing our expectations of ourselves is such a critical component of self-care.
What is your go-to work lunch?
Sushi and sparkling water (currently, Topo Chico).
What advice do you have for balancing the minutiae of day-to-day tasks with big-picture planning?
I use lists for everything I do. Evernote is my go-to list-making tool. And, when it comes to managing tasks, I plan ahead as much as I can and then delegate as much as I can. I am so privileged to have such an incredible network of support.
What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals?
Setting boundaries. I always allocate time to have breakfast and dinner with my kids and make sure I am there to put them to bed. And I learned that I sometimes need to literally time for self-care, whether that is going on a walk or exercising. I also block off lots of time during the week to brainstorm and create.
Any favorite apps you use regularly?
Evernote, Instacart, and Chairish.
What are you watching right now to help you wind down at the end of the day?
“The West Wing,” “The Real Housewives of (everywhere),” “Baker and the Beauty,” and “The Morning Show.”
When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” number of sleep hours?
Lights out by 11 p.m. Optimal sleep would be 7 hours.
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
Bedtime with our kids. We end each night taking turns sharing 1) Our act of kindness for the day, 2) What we are most grateful for, and 3) Who we want to send extra good dreams to. It is such a beautiful ritual.
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How This Wellness Brand Founder Finds Work-Life Balance Despite a Constant Influx of Emails
Hydration and daily walks are key.
Photo: Courtesy of Trinity Mouzon Wofford
Welcome to our monthly editorial series A Day in the Life where we ask successful women we admire to share the daily minutiae of their professional lives, from the rituals that set them up for success to their evening wind-down routines. This month, we sat down with Trinity Mouzon Wofford, co-founder and CEO of the wellness brand Golde. Read below to learn how she manages her overflowing inbox, stays focused, and finds the time to take daily walks around her neighborhood.
Tell us a bit about Golde and what inspired you to launch your business. What whitespace did you see in the market? What need did you want to fill?
Golde was inspired by my own experiences as a consumer in wellness. I was feeling caught between the crunchy granola stuff I’d grown up with and this next wave of offerings that felt really prestige. I was centered on this idea of making superfoods easier and more accessible for the next generation.
Are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why?
I’m a total morning person. I definitely prioritize anything important before noon because that’s when I’m at my sharpest. That being said, I also always make time for something non-work-related in the mornings, too, like going for a walk around the neighborhood or reading for 30 minutes. I think it’s important to bring your “best self” to work and play.
What time do you get up? What’s the first thing you do upon waking?
I usually get up with the sun. Now that we’re edging up on springtime that’s usually around 5-6 am. First things first, I drink a tall glass of water to rehydrate!
Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk and start your workday?
Check my inbox, which sometimes feels like eating a live frog! Usually, I just start by triaging to see if there’s anything urgent and get a good sense of anything else I need to work my way through for the rest of the day.
What are you working on this week?
We have a new product launching at the end of this month (!!), so a big chunk of my focus has been making sure that everything is good to go there. I’m putting together fact sheets for the team, building the marketing strategy for the launch, and taste testing a couple of fun recipes.
What’s been the most rewarding part of running Golde? The most challenging?
The most rewarding part of running a business is the relationships—with my team, our community, and my partner and co-founder. It’s been so cool to see this business really blossom into an ecosystem. The most challenging part is continually reevaluating how to get everything done without blowing through a sense of work-life balance. I’m constantly reminding myself that it’s okay to not be able to get to absolutely everything.
Photo: Courtesy of Trinity Mouzon Wofford
Do you ever reach inbox zero? How do you handle the constant influx of inquiries and communication CEOs are so familiar with?
I aspire to, but no. My inbox is flooded daily with everything under the sun. I accept that I am human, not perfect.
What is your go-to work lunch?
My partner, Issey, puts something together for us every day. We usually batch cook a bunch of veggies and then throw that together at lunchtime.
What advice do you have for balancing the minutiae of day-to-day tasks with big-picture planning?
I allocate Mondays to be meeting-free so that I have time to do focused, quiet work. I try for Wednesdays to also be meeting-free, but that’s a harder one to pull off!
What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals?
I just took my work email off my iPhone, which has been fun. I think it’s important to have clearly delineated working hours and to do something else outside of that time frame. From 8:30 to 6:30 I’m all in, but outside of that, I make time for the rest of my life.
Any favorite apps you use regularly?
I live by Superhuman for keeping my inbox in good shape. Asana is our team’s productivity tool.
What are you reading, watching, or listening to right now to help you wind down at the end of the day?
Right now I’m educating myself a ton on gardening. While we’re upstate we’re going to be planting a bunch, so I’ve been reading books and even watching a couple of shows to learn all of the tricks of the trade.
When do you go to bed? What’s your optimal number of sleep hours?
I’m usually in bed by 9:30 pm and asleep by 10:30 pm, so I think that ends up being around 8 hours!
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
I really love the time I have to myself in the early morning before anyone else is awake. It doesn’t last long, but in quarantine, that’s about all the serenity you can ask for!
Photo: Courtesy of Golde
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Tech Entrepreneur and Author Ali Kriegsman Shares Her WFH Secrets
Her go-to lunch is *chef’s kisses.*
Photo: Eva Zar Courtesy of Ali Kriegsman
Welcome to our monthly editorial series A Day in the Life where we ask successful women we admire to share the daily minutiae of their professional lives, from the rituals that set them up for success to their evening wind-down routines. This month we sat down with Ali Kriegsman, co-founder and chief operating officer of the venture-backed retail technology startup Bulletin and author of the forthcoming book “How to Build a Goddamn Empire,” which hits shelves on April 6th. Below, Kriegsman shares her unconventional definition of success, her go-to apps for staying organized, and her favorite WFH lunch.
Tell us a bit about your business. What whitespace did you see in the market that led you to found Bulletin? What need did you want to fill?
Bulletin is a premium wholesale marketplace where retailers go to discover and shop the best brands on the planet. Behind your favorite spas, wellness centers, cafes, boutiques, and gift shops is a whole hidden $300-billion wholesale economy you, the shopper, can’t see! Those stores—whether they’re physical retailers or online retailers—rely on various tools and services to discover brands and products their customers will love! Bulletin helps some of your favorite stores find the inventory they then sell to their end customers. We’re a business-to-business platform, meaning we don’t service individual consumers, but instead, we serve and support over 7,000 buyers and store owners who run these shops, and we have around 1,300 brands on our platform selling to these retail businesses. Our community is growing really quickly—and organically—so we’ll likely triple or quadruple those numbers by year’s end.
We launched Bulletin’s wholesale marketplace because we actually used to be retailers ourselves! We were trying to solve our own pain point, while creating a more affordable way for the brands we loved to grow and scale, too. As a retailer running three stores in New York, we used so many different tools and platforms to find great brands and inventory—Instagram, Etsy, Joor—the list goes on. We felt like there wasn’t one cohesive place for us to discover, connect with, and source inventory from quality brands. So we built the solution we wanted to see in the world. Bulletin began as an e-commerce newsletter and pop-up concept in late 2014, early 2015—we did that for about two years before we ever opened our stores. And through that experience and those connections, we learned how insanely expensive it is for brands to get into retail.
Brands typically have to pay upwards of $30,00 (!!!) to showcase at a physical trade show to try and meet buyers. The operative word being “try;” there is literally no guarantee that if these brands pay that price tag, they’ll connect with or do business with retailers who attend. We also learned that vetting and paying for showrooms and wholesale reps was just as cumbersome and expensive for these brands. So with Bulletin’s wholesale marketplace solution, we kind of found a double whammy.
We’d be able to help retailers like us find and source incredible inventory, and help level the playing field for independent brands all at the same time. We take a 15% cut on sales processed through our platform, so we literally only make money if we bring brands business. It is a wildly different format than the tradeshow, showroom, or wholesale rep route, and especially with COVID threatening those traditional retail channels, Bulletin has become a really attractive solution for brands and retailers alike.
Not only are you the co-founder and COO of Bulletin, but you’re also an author. Your first book, "How to Build a Goddamn Empire," hits shelves on April 6th. What compelled you to write this book and what do you hope people will take away from it?
When I was approached to write a book proposal, I actually knew exactly what I wanted the book to be about and the story I wanted to tell. As a first-time and inexperienced founder, I felt like I couldn’t relate to the glossy, glamorous entrepreneurs crowding my Instagram feed. I was 24 and I was seeing a lot of founders, especially female founders, posting incessantly about their wins whether it was press hits, awesome brand partnerships, rounds of funding. And honestly, I was doing the exact same thing!
I think women entrepreneurs feel this pressure to be perfect. We’re fighting to hire great employees, maybe get some funding, secure those press hits and grow our businesses. Making everything seem rosy and easy can build that trust with your audience, and your customers, and I think women fear that being candid and vulnerable about the harder and more taxing psychological parts of entrepreneurship might put that growth or your reputation at risk. At least, that’s how I felt. And a few investors even told me that. Once I started getting more candid about my fear of failure, anxiety, depressive episodes, and struggles with our pivot from running stores to running a full-blown tech company, a female investor actually asked me to be a bit less “candid” lest I make the wrong impression or lead people to think I don’t know what I’m doing. She actually went so far as to tell me to “be more like X founder, be more like Y founder” and I found it really disheartening.
But I didn’t listen. I decided to do the opposite.
I knew first-hand that building something from nothing is a confusing and emotional challenge you sign up for every single day. It's unglamorous, taxing, and endlessly stressful. It's a constant, dirty fight with your imposter syndrome and the intense fear that if things don’t work out, you've failed miserably. And publicly. I wanted to tell that story, so that if other business owners were suffering or worrying they’d fail, or that they were too incompetent to make their dreams happen, they could read my book and feel seen and supported. I wanted to create a counter-narrative to Instagram entrepreneurship and this glamorized hustle we’ve all come to know all too well.
So, while in the thick of scaling my business and a stressful pivot, I decided to write about my experience in real-time. I started writing the book in 2017 and finished it at the end of 2020. I was running retail stores in 2017 and 2018, a tech company by late 2019, and obviously had to stay alive and scale despite the pandemic in 2020. For that reason, the book really reads like both a relatable "how-to" guide and a candid personal diary (deep breaths), because it was written directly from the trenches and from the heart.
The book also features stories from over 30 other female founders who have built companies of radically different stages and sizes, too. By using the questions I'm most frequently asked as my guideposts, I offer candid insights into the nuts and bolts of building a brand from scratch—discussing early failures, picking the right co-founder, securing press, finding funding —to give entrepreneurs the tools that will help take their ideas to the next level. I feature interviews with incredible founders like Meena Harris of Phenomenal Woman, Trinity Mouzon Wofford of Golde, and Polly Rodriguez of Unbound. I’m so inspired by all of the women who are featured.
Most importantly, though, I am really trying to help founders, and especially women, redefine the word "success" with every single chapter. There is intrinsic and long-term value to building something of your own, whether you sell your company, crash and burn, or forever teeter on the precipice. My book argues that "success" has many faces, and sometimes learning, growing, and building something on your own terms makes you successful enough. You don’t need to get caught up in your impostor syndrome, compare yourself to other founders, or worry you’re not going to “make it.” I want more women business owners to love and appreciate the journey, rather than being so hard on themselves and thinking they don’t have what it takes to climb to the top.
“Building something from nothing is a confusing and emotional challenge you sign up for every single day. It's unglamorous, taxing, and endlessly stressful.”
—Ali Kriegsman, Co-Founder and COO of Bulletin and Author of “How to Build a Goddamn Empire”
Are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why?
I’m a total night owl. Sometimes I get wild bursts of energy at 11 PM and have to force myself to relax and get ready for bed. I wake up every morning at around 7:45 AM or 8 AM and relish cuddling with my dog and being lazy in the sheets for a while. The mornings are so precious to me. I use them to get my head straight rather than get work done. Candidly, though, sometimes if I’ve been working like crazy at night I sleep in until 9:30 AM and just own it. I used to have a nagging voice guilting me for sleeping in on a workday, but I’ve moved past that now.
I do my most important work after 7:30 PM or so when my entire team logs off. I find Slack to be extremely helpful but also very distracting, and I’ve always been someone with a limited attention span, so Slack culture really messes with me.
I love using Sundays to write. It was really tricky to juggle building a tech platform and pivoting Bulletin while writing this book. I found that Sunday mornings were the best times to write or get more “heady” and strategic work done. I’m using Sunday morning to answer questions for this interview as we speak!
What time do you get up? What’s the first thing you do upon waking?
I usually get up at around 8:00 AM. I’ll either roll around and cuddle with my dog, Winnie, if my boyfriend has taken her out already. If not, I’ll lazily throw on my shoes and a light jacket and take her for a nice walk. When I get back, I’ll feed the pup and get some coffee brewing.
I try to squeeze in a workout before my team logs on at 10 AM. I’ll do Chloe Ting or 305 Fitness, or just blast BLACKPINK and dance and lunge around my apartment. Now that it’s getting nice out, I’ll swap that for a beautiful run in Fort Greene park!
What does your morning, pre-work routine look like?
I’ll brew some coffee or make some iced coffee with Grady's (the best) and oat milk, decide what type of workout I want to do, and make a to-do list for the day. I always make a to-do list before my team logs on in the morning so I have my priorities straight and know what I need to cover or check-in with each of my direct reports. I use a platform called Notion to manage all my personal lists, thoughts, and priorities.
I always put on a podcast while I shower after my workout, usually “The Daily” by The New York Times or NPR’s “Up First,” so I can catch up on the news. My shower time in the morning is super relaxing and I love taking my time.
I’ve just started meditating, too, which has been a nice addition to my morning routine. I’m not doing anything crazy quite yet, but I’ve found a few great meditation videos on YouTube that I’ll queue up. It definitely helps calm and center my mind before the hectic workday, where I’m usually in back-to-back meetings and fighting for a quick break!
Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk?
I clean out my inbox. I am obsessed with maintaining my inbox and keeping everything tagged and organized. I need a visual anchor for what’s going on, what’s urgent, and who needs what. If I don’t clean out my inbox (I mean, honestly that literally never happens because I’ve been doing it for years now) but if I didn’t, I’d be a HOT MESS. My brain has to get it done before I can move on and focus on anything else!
What are you working on this week?
I’m launching my book in less than a week and also hiring about ten people to the Bulletin team. So my main focus this week is building out our hiring pipeline for all of our open roles, moving interviewees and candidates we love through the funnel and continuing to finesse our new org structure and role guidelines. As for the book, I’m prepping influencer book mailers, writing dozens and dozens of thank-you cards for those mailers, coordinating press with my publicist, creating assets for all the panels we’re hosting for the digital book tour, and just trying to keep the launch train on track. I actually love hiring and recruiting and I’m loving all of the work associated with the book launch, so even though it’s a lot, I’m in a great place and groovin’ along.
What’s been the most rewarding part of running your business? The most challenging?
The most rewarding part of running my business is managing our incredible team, and building a technology product together. We work with so many employees, particularly women, that have been with us for nearly three years and who have just grown and blossomed into such remarkable assets for the company. And they’ve become amazing role models and influences to the more junior employees on the team. I actually went into Bulletin thinking I’d despise management. I’m somewhat of a lone wolf and have always been that way. I was the girl who took over group projects and has always loved juggling various roles and responsibilities solo. But helping these women evolve, learn new skills, and come into their own as leaders and managers has been such a blessing.
The most challenging part of running my business is honestly just keeping my head up. This stuff is really hard. Building a tech company and running a tech platform that thousands of people are using every day is a new journey, for sure. I am on the front-lines with our customers because I run our Growth Team, and my team is in charge of growing our revenue month over month and hitting our targets. I get impatient when we can’t develop or fix the product fast enough. I get anxious when we get negative customer feedback. The pressure to keep growing and to deliver excellence to our customers is something I take really seriously. Sometimes I wear the pressure well and sometimes I just don’t. I’m working on it, but yes, I think the most challenging part of building a technology company and growing this platform is staying positive, light, and optimistic when things go wrong.
Do you ever reach inbox zero? How do you handle the constant influx of inquiries and communication entrepreneurs are so familiar with?
I never reach inbox zero. I try to set boundaries with myself and with my team. My team now knows what to email me about versus what to Slack me about. We try to use other tools like Monday and Coschedule for project management so we aren’t bombarded with Slacks or emails left and right.
I have gotten really good about blocking off time on my calendar when I need a strategy session or a break from the Slack craziness. In those blocks, my team knows I’m head down working on a project or chatting and planning with Alana, my co-founder, so they don’t ping me or communicate with me during those times.
I’ve gotten comfortable with the fact that I’ll never be at inbox zero, especially during COVID. People, myself included, are juggling a lot and just trying to stay above water. Maybe pre-COVID I wouldn’t let certain emails sit in my inbox for days on end, but now, I’m all about prioritizing who I get back to first and why, but I’m also good at prioritizing myself and choosing to shut my laptop off at 8 PM instead of feeling the pressure to get back to everybody so urgently.
“There is intrinsic and long-term value to building something of your own, whether you sell your company, crash and burn, or forever teeter on the precipice.”
—Ali Kriegsman, Co-Founder and COO of Bulletin and Author of “How to Build a Goddamn Empire”
Photo: Eva Zar Courtesy of Ali Kriegsman
What is your go-to work lunch?
I typically microwave some frozen brown rice, make a Beyond Meat breakfast sausage patty (it's SO good), and throw it on top of the rice with half an avocado and a runny egg!
I also make salmon a LOT because it’s so insanely easy. It’s a great thing to have in the fridge if you have a busy schedule but want to eat healthy and avoid spending too much cash on delivery. I buy a ton of frozen salmon fillets and keep them in the freezer, so I can easily defrost them and bake them for 30 min on 300 degrees for dinner. Sometimes, for lunch, I’ll do that leftover salmon mixed with some lemon and mayo, and slap it on some multigrain toast. Tuna salad, watch your back - there’s a new fishy salad in town.
Okay, last one. I also always have Tyson crispy chicken in the freezer. I am a total sucker for chicken tenders, crispy chicken fingers, and pretty much crunchy crispy oily chicken in any form. I’ll pop a Tyson tender in the oven for 20 minutes, and then put it in a whole wheat wrap with avocado, my favorite Kensington garlic sauce, some arugula, and some melted cheese. It’s absolutely delicious, pretty healthy, and satisfies all my cravings.
What advice do you have for balancing the minutiae of day-to-day tasks with big-picture planning?
I am honestly somewhat bad at this and am trying to get better. Because we’re growing so quickly and hiring and building, I get pulled a zillion different ways and have so many tasks that pile up throughout the day. It is a big goal of mine to continue to delegate more, build in time for myself to think and strategize, and get myself out of the minutiae as much as I can.
What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals?
I have been making to-do lists and priority lists for as long as I can remember. I keep different to-do lists in Notion for my book, my personal life, Bulletin, and even keep a real-time log of my thoughts as they come up, whether it about my career, my team, work, or whatever. I find that my mind tends to race a lot so I’m able to stay productive by translating all my thoughts to paper and getting them out of the ether of my mind.
I’m also good about making time for myself, even if I can only squeeze in two or three hours to myself a day. I make time to work out, I make time to go outside and on walks in the park with my boyfriend and my dog. I make time to cook, which I find super relaxing. I make time to listen to music I love and watch compelling documentaries or movies or TV shows. I don’t believe in the endless hamster wheel and have had a full breakdown before when I work too hard and don’t make that time for myself. Rest is important. Scheduling time to relax and process your life is important. And doing it consistently is key! Don’t just make time for yourself when you feel you’re about to erupt. Do it on the daily so you prevent those breakdowns from boiling over.
Any favorite apps you use regularly?
I use a new platform called Norby to organize all of my link-in-bio information and also manage and promote all the digital events I have coming up for my book. It is so insanely easy to use and it is such a flexible and intuitive platform that I’m able to run so much of my life on it. It’s great.
I obviously use Instagram a lot because I’m running a business and launching a book, but I’m trying to be a bit more mindful of how often I end up aimlessly scrolling and comparing myself to other people. Trying to pivot to use IG for business-only, and really reclaim my free time and headspace! For business, though, I use Canva and Planoly to design and plan my content. I am obsessed with both and find them both really easy to use.
I use Hotel Tonight if I need to get away. I use it once every two months or so and book myself an affordable hotel room in NYC or Brooklyn. I love my boyfriend and my pup and our life in Fort Greene is delightful, but with COVID, I find myself getting this urge to break away and get a change of scenery. Hotel Tonight makes it super easy and I’m usually able to find a hotel for around $100 bucks for the night. I’ll order Seamless to my room and totally indulge and bring a bottle of wine and just chill. It is a miracle app and it has been such a source of self-care for me.
What are you reading, watching, or listening to right now to help you wind down at the end of the day?
I am obsessed with: “The Great British Bake Off,” “Law and Order SVU,” “Ted Lasso” (SO GOOD), “Criminal Minds,” and cheesy true crime Lifetime movies. Honestly, throw me a true-crime documentary, an upbeat buddy comedy, a melodramatic movie about a cult, or a dark psychological thriller and I’m good to go. I’m also a total sucker for WW2 in Color documentaries or mini-series. I watch a LOT of history shows. Sometimes I like watching TV shows and movies that are super mindless and really let my brain release. Other times I like learning and digesting information. It varies.
As for what I’m listening to, I just finished a crazy podcast called “Mommy Doomsday” from Dateline. It’s true crime. Absolutely wild. I also listen to a lot of political podcasts like “Pod Save America,” “Pod Save the World,” and just started “Us&Them” and “Sway!”
As for what I’m reading, I have a rotating list! I just finished Leigh Stein’s “Self Care” and am in the middle of Jenny Odell’s “How to Do Nothing” which I’ll dip into during the week, usually with a bath and a glass of wine. I am reading “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson on Sundays when I want more time to read. I’m about to dig into “More than Enough” by Elaine Welteroth and if I’m feeling spooky I’ll pick up “The Perfect Nanny” by Leïla Slimani. It is so, so scary but so captivating.
When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” number of sleep hours?
I need at least 7 1/2 hours. My body doesn't function the same with less than 7 1/2 hours. I get cranky, I’m more sluggish and lazy and my whole energy is off. My boyfriend can sleep like 5 hours and be fine which *blows my mind.*
Lately, because I have a book launch coming up and Bulletin’s been crazy, I’ve been working from 9 AM to 10 PM or so. I need about two hours of me-time every day at least, so I usually end up going to sleep at 12:45 AM or 1 AM. I wish I could go to bed earlier, and under normal circumstances, I would, but as a night owl, I get my best book and Bulletin work done from 7 PM to 10 PM, so I need that 10-to-midnight window to do my thing and chill before passing out.
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
Ending a long, bustling day with my boyfriend and my dog, turning my phone on silent, and cozying up to a book or dinner and a documentary. I cherish my free time so insanely much because as I’ve advanced in my career, that “me” time window gets smaller and smaller. I’ve learned and accepted that sometimes, you go through massive “sprints” in your life where you’re lacking the right balance of work, play, and chill. Right now, I’m in one of those sprints. I feel so extremely fortunate to be launching a book and running a company, and I know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel once this book is out the door and Bulletin has settled into this new growth phase. But for now, I have mini “lights” at the end of every day’s tunnel because I have a partner and a pup who embrace me at night, hold me, shower me in love, and make the day’s stresses disappear.
“How to Build a Goddamn Empire” by Ali Kriegsman
$25
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How This Fashion Stylist Turned Interior Designer Carves Out Time for Creativity
Lots of water and deadlines are a must.
Photo: Courtesy of Estee Stanley
Welcome to our monthly editorial series A Day in the Life where we ask successful women we admire to share the daily minutiae of their professional lives, from the rituals that set them up for success to their evening wind-down routines. This month we sat down with Estee Stanley, the fashion stylist turned interior designer who is streamlining the way interior designers and architects work with clients through her agency The Eye. Read on to learn how this enterprising entrepreneur stays focused, manages her inbox, and finds the time to binge-watch “Losing Alice” at the end of the day.
Tell us a bit about The Eye. What whitespace did you see in the market? What need did you want to fill?
Before transitioning into interior design, I spent many years working as a celebrity fashion stylist. During my time as a stylist, I was represented by The Wall Group. Although hesitant at first, the benefits of having an agent became so apparent (more money, less hassle) that giving up a cut of my hard-earned money became beyond worth it.
Then, after transitioning into interiors, I couldn’t find the same opportunity for representation, and I never understood why. Having someone to advocate on your behalf, negotiate your contract and fees, and act as a liaison between client and designer throughout the project creates the space for creatives to do what they do best, create! I want to implement this already proven successful representation model into the design industry, helping bring more transparency to all!
Are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why?
I would definitely say I am a night owl. My creativity often sparks after a few drinks, however, my mid-morning fully caffeinated self is definitely my most prolific self.
What time do you get up? What’s the first thing you do upon waking?
I typically get up around 7:30 or 8:00 am, which always feels too early. After immediately brushing my teeth, I try to get some light stretching in, and then it’s off to get my kids organized for their day.
What does your morning, pre-work routine look like?
My mornings often look different (I have my kids to thank for the spontaneity) but I do my best to fit in yoga or tennis whenever I can!
Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk?
First thing is to check and make sure I have my iced tea and water easily accessible. Once the caffeine component has been secured, I typically start my day by checking the news.
What are you working on this week?
Currently, we are in the development stage of creating The Eye’s very own Youtube channel. Our channel will include a variety of unique design shows featuring many of the talented designers on our roster. I love TV so brainstorming and pitching shows has been very fun for me!
What’s been the most rewarding part of running your business? The most challenging?
There are a ton of rewarding aspects of this job, but my favorite is being the person to our designers that I always wish I had in my corner. With The Eye being the first-of-its-kind agency within the design industry, one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced has been educating people on the reason for our services. Considering designers have been working and clients have been hiring long before The Eye ever existed, people wonder why now? It’s our job to show both designer and client the benefits of using The Eye’s services over the ladder.
“Try to section off times in your day to work on certain tasks. That way, you don’t spend too much time doing one thing. It also helps you carve out more time for creative conversation and long-term thinking.”
—Estee Stanley, Founder of The Eye Agency
Photo: Alexander Design Courtesy of The Eye Agency
Do you ever reach inbox zero? How do you handle the constant influx of inquiries and communication entrepreneurs are so familiar with?
This one is tough for me, as I have to admit I am not a big email person. I am pretty old school when it comes to communication and way prefer someone to pick up the phone and call me directly. Knowing that is way less common in the world we live in now, hitting inbox zero rarely ever happens for me, unless it’s on my phone (since I refuse to install the email app there, lol). That being said, I still love the constant influx of inquiries because they often lead me to connections and opportunities I would have never known otherwise.
What is your go-to work lunch?
Typically, I’ll eat a Nicoise salad or an Italian chopped salad with no meat. However, recently I have been incorporating a lot of banana bread into my diet as well, as I started a side company called Gone Bananas Bread as a way to raise money and give back to charitable causes across our community. Check us out at gonebananasbread.com.
What advice do you have for balancing the minutiae of day-to-day tasks with big-picture planning?
My advice would be to not get too bogged down in your email inbox. Try to section off times in your day to work on certain tasks. That way, you don’t spend too much time doing one thing. It also helps you carve out more time for creative conversation and long-term thinking.
What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals?
Lots of water and deadlines! Working on a deadline always helps me stay focused and more productive.
Any favorite apps you use regularly?
Woodoku, The Hoffman Process App, Instagram (obviously), and Bitmoji.
What are you reading, watching, or listening to right now to help you wind down at the end of the day?
Reading: “Siblings Without Rivalry” (LOL)
Watching: Where do I begin… I am a complete TV junky. Right now I am watching “Losing Alice” and “Possessions,” and I just finished “Money Heist” and “The Split.”
When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” number of sleep hours?
14 hours is my optimal amount, only when dreams come true. However, I settle for 8 and usually am asleep by midnight.
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
2 part answer!
1) Seeing my kids getting along and realizing how much they teach me on a daily basis.
2) Having fun at work and finding the humor in the small day-to-day things. If you can’t find a smile or laugh while on the job, I would suggest reassessing what you're doing.
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"Your Voice Is Power": Dynamite's Director of Product and Brand on How to Boss Up Your Career
You’ll want to write this down.
Ever wondered what people do at work? If you’re a voyeur like us, then you’ll love our series A Day in the Life where we get a real behind-the-scenes glimpse into the professional lives of CEOs, directors, business owners, and entrepreneurs we admire. From their morning routine to the rituals that set them up for success and questions such as “do you ever reach inbox zero?” because we all want to know how to streamline our lives.
“Your voice is power— speak up and don’t be afraid to show some passion.”
—Jessica Lutfy, Director Product and Brand, Dynamite
You don’t get to a director level in your career without some serious hustle and hard work but it all stems from the passion first. Jessica Lufty is definitely a result of all three. As the director of product and brand at Dynamite, she certainly has her work cut out for her but her love for the job and being able to work with “so many badass women” keeps her motivated and inspired.
To find out just exactly what a day-in-the-life of a director looks like, we tapped Lutfy to give us a glimpse from her morning routine to her greatest lessons, and productivity hacks. Grab your notepad, you’ll want to write these down.
What does an average day in your life look like?
“I wake up at 6 AM if I’m heading to spin, or 7 AM if I’m not. I prepare a cup of drip coffee and do my minimal makeup routine (most days just concealer and a tinted lip—mascara is for special days). I then check the weather app to curate my outfit for the day. Meetings start at 9:30 AM, which usually consists of assortment reviews, marketing/visual/photography/styling reviews, and strategy alignment meetings with my amazing team.
“If I didn’t make it to spin class in the morning I usually head over to the gym at the end of the day to reset the endorphins. Spinning is a major stress and energy release for me. When I get home I usually have a 15 minute (at least) conversation with my husband about what dinner should be. I like to keep it simple, while he thinks it’s an episode of Chopped. After dinner, we find some time to decompress before bed (which means Netflix of course). Lights out at 11 PM.”
Are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work?
“I’m a bit of both, to be honest. I can work out early and get things ticked off my ‘admin’ to-do list earlier in the day, but the real magic happens in the second half of the day when the creative juices are in full force. By the end of the day, I have been stimulated by so much creativity, passion and strategic conversations that it keeps me going until my head hits the pillow.”
Being a product and brand director means you wear so many hats across different facets of the business. How do you manage your time effectively?
“It’s all about communication and alignment. I regroup with my team twice a week to make sure we are all collectively working towards the same ‘north star.’ This allows us to focus on our priorities and execute on our mandates in the most effective and creative way possible. Each department within the banner has a piece of the puzzle to set in order for the brand to come to life the way we want it to. By consistently getting together and reviewing our goals, we keep each other accountable.”
Do you ever reach inbox zero? How do you handle the constant influx of inquiries and communication entrepreneurs are so familiar with?
“Never! I need to have clear goals established at the beginning of a season along with a bulletproof process to serve as a roadmap. The truth is that you can’t do it all, so it’s about doing what will help you achieve your goals and delegate (or drop what doesn’t). When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I make myself a physical priority list and pin it in my office. Somehow the act of writing makes it more attainable.”
“When you set a goal that is fundamentally important to you, you will inherently make strategic decisions that will allow you to reach that goal.”
—Jessica Lutfy, Director Product and Brand, Dynamite
When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” # of sleep hours?
“8 hours—anything fewer shows!”
What’s your go-to outfit to feel confident at work and how does fashion play into your outfit choices?
“My go-to confidence outfit would be an all-black look made complete with a menswear-inspired blazer.”
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
“Working among so many badass women then coming home to my sweet husband.”
What advice do you have for aspiring female founders?
“Your voice is power. Speak up and don’t be afraid to show some passion. Using your voice is a learned behavior that you can practice. You won’t always be right but the more you put yourself out there and make yourself uncomfortable, the more you will learn in turn.”
“The truth is that you can’t do it all, so it’s about doing what will help you achieve your goals and delegate (or drop what doesn’t).”
What are some of the biggest lessons you have learned along the way?
“People work for people. You can have the best product and the nicest workspace, but at the end of the day, you want to spend your time with real people who are passionate about what they do.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
“Set goals for yourself, either in your personal life or in your career. I set a financial goal for myself three years ago, and just by writing it down and planting the seed in my subconscious I was able to achieve it. When you set a goal that is fundamentally important to you, you will inherently make strategic decisions that will allow you to reach that goal.”
What are some exciting projects you’re working on this month? What are you most excited about in 2020?
“In 2020 we will be elevating our product line as well as our brand image in order to better serve our customers through iconic fashion, thought-provoking imagery, and more personal connections. I am so excited for what’s to come as we take our brand to the next level.”
To learn more about Groupe Dynamite, visit dynamiteclothing.com.
Day in the Life: How a Modern-Day Philanthropist Runs Her Purpose-Driven Company
The founder of ALMA gives us a glimpse into her day-to-day life at a philanthropic startup.
Ever wondered what people do at work? If you’re a voyeur like us, then you’ll love our series A Day in the Life where we get a real behind-the-scenes glimpse into the professional lives of CEOs, business owners, and entrepreneurs we admire. From their morning routine to the rituals that set them up for success and questions such as “do you ever reach inbox zero?” because we all want to know how to streamline our lives.
“As most entrepreneurs will probably tell you, there’s no ‘average day’ in startup life. In the last year since starting ALMA, I’m no longer surprised by the daily surprises.”
—Michelle Rittenhouse
We’ve all heard the quote, “be the change you wish to see in the world” but if you want to see what this can actually look like when put into practice, check out ALMA. The co-founders Michelle Rittenhouse and Dan Hill are pretty perfect examples. The pair met while working at Airbnb and after realizing that they shared mutual passions for change-making and empowering others, they decided to create ALMA.
It’s not every day that you hear stories of people wanting to see a change in the world and actually taking initiative to make it happen. Rittenhouse and Hill have a very specific vision for their mission-based organization. In Latin, ALMA means “nourishing,” and that is exactly what this company intends to do: nourish and empower a new generation of philanthropists.
The organization is a platform that brings together nonprofits and donors, with an emphasis on transparency and collaboration. We sat down with Rittenhouse to walk us through a day in the life of the successful philanthropist, and to give us insight into what it takes to run a purpose-driven organization.
What does an average day in your life look like?
“As most entrepreneurs will probably tell you, there’s no ‘average day’ in startup life. In the last year since starting ALMA, I’m no longer surprised by the daily surprises. In a typical day, I might meet with a couple of nonprofit partners, launch an Instagram campaign to support the pro-choice movement, then test our new donation flow designs. I’m constantly switching gears.
“That said, I love routines to help me stay organized, so I build routines into my week whenever possible. Monday morning starts with a weekly planning meeting, and Friday ends by recapping the week with a PPF (Progress, Plans, and Fires). The day-to-day work changes constantly, but anchoring my week with those routines helps me to stay focused on the top priorities.”
What time do you get up? What’s the first thing you do upon waking?
“On a good day, I’ll get up at 6 AM and run, but realistically, most days it’s closer to 7 AM. I’m guilty—the first thing I do is check my phone. Since our product is very closely tied to trending topics, I always check a few news sources to see what issues people are starting to stand behind, and think about how ALMA might help be part of the conversation. I also read emails but don’t respond to any until I’m in the office in front of my computer. Glancing through emails, my schedule, and catching up on the news helps me prepare for the day ahead.”
Are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why?
“I’ve always been a night owl. If I have hard problems to solve, particularly if it requires going deep into the data, I find that I’m able to focus better late at night. Workdays can be too filled with distractions and competing priorities, but at night I can clear everything off my plate and go deep on a single idea. “
What does your morning, pre-work routine look like? What rituals set you up for success?
“First, breakfast! I need a good healthy breakfast before heading to the office. Lately, I’ve been prepping and freezing ingredients for smoothies to easily make throughout the week. I currently have an hour-long commute on a metro (with no wifi!), so I’ve been listening to podcasts or reading on the way to work which is a great way to ease into the day.”
Being a founder means you are wearing so many hats and across so many facets of the business. How do you manage your time effectively?
“I’m a ruthless list person, and I need to actually write things down. Nothing is quite as satisfying as crossing something off my list and I don’t get the same thrill from checking it off online. I’ve also learned when to ask for help or outsource certain areas of the company. I’m never going to be an expert in every aspect that’s required to build a business, so we lean on the experts when it makes sense.”
I’ve learned when to ask for help or outsource certain areas of the company. I’m never going to be an expert in every aspect that’s required to build a business, so we lean on the experts when it makes sense.”
—Michelle Rittenhouse
Do you ever reach inbox zero? How do you handle the constant influx of inquiries and communication entrepreneurs are so familiar with?
“Yep, though not too often. Since most of my team communication happens in real-time over Slack, email is less time-sensitive than it used to be. I tend to batch my email and crank through it in bursts, rather than constantly monitoring it all day. I don’t like to let emails dangle, so I’ve gotten better at quick replies, even if it’s letting the recipient know I’ll get back to them later. “
What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals?
“Talking to our customers is one of the most energizing and productive things I can do. It helps me see ALMA through their eyes, and they often have great ideas. I can’t tell you the number of strangers I’ve approached in coffee shops to ask them about their perspectives on donating to charity. It’s awkward at first, but oh-so-productive.
“Outside of work habits, it’s the self-care routines I’ve built that keep me balanced. I’ve always been a runner, and it’s critical for me to find the time and space for long runs on the weekends. It clears my head and sharpens my focus.”
When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” # of sleep hours?
I” aim for 11 PM. I recently set up Downtime on my iPhone it’s been a game-changer (Settings > Screentime > Downtime). At 11:15 pm, all my apps automatically lock. That’s my signal to put the phone down and grab a book.
“My other tip is keeping a journal. I’ve been writing in a five-year-journal for the last few years, which helps me unwind and clear my mind before bed.”
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
“Hearing from happy customers is always the best part of my day. My company, ALMA, is a donation platform empowering a new generation of philanthropists, mostly younger, everyday donors giving $20 a month or so to the causes they care about. We hear constantly from donors that they’re much more satisfied with this type of intentional giving compared to just donating reactively to friend’s fundraisers or whenever there’s a natural disaster. We’re sending $1,000s of dollars to our nonprofit partners each month, including many small, local nonprofits, so this support is very impactful for them already.”
When did you know you wanted to start your own company? What was your journey like?
“I’ve had the itch for a long time, and last year the timing was right for me both personally and professionally. I was an early employee at LivingSocial, then worked at Airbnb for years, so I’ve been lucky to twice experience once-in-a-career type startup growth. When I was thinking about my next steps after leaving Airbnb, I knew I didn’t want to go work for a large company, nor was I eager to join someone else’s start-up. I had plenty of ideas and was eager to build something from scratch.”
What are some exciting projects you’re working on this month? What are you most excited for in 2019?
“It’s been great to see how active and passionate our generation is to drive change. In the first six months after launching ALMA, we raised over $500K for charity, with the average donation around $50. We’re connecting everyday people with really important causes. We’ve recently launched a number of big product updates, including the ability to donate to any verified nonprofit in the U.S. I can’t wait to see how much impact our community is able to drive over the next six months.”
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A Day in the Life: The C&C Photographer, Becki Smith on Routines, Founder Depression, and the Inbox Zero Myth
“Always be open to the pivot.”
Ever wondered what people do at work? If you’re a voyeur like us, then you’ll love our series A Day in the Life where we get a real behind-the-scenes glimpse into the professional lives of CEOs, business owners, and entrepreneurs we admire. From their morning routine to the rituals that set them up for success and questions such as “do you ever reach inbox zero?” because we all want to know how to streamline our lives.
“Always be open to the pivot. If I had been hellbent determined to stay on the same path forever, I would absolutely not be where I am now.”
Photo: Courtesy of Smith House Photo
There’s something incredibly special about Becki Smith. Her eye has captured hundreds of images at our Create & Cultivate events and despite the organized chaos behind-the-scenes, she is always the grounded, enigmatic, effervescent girl who smiles the widest through it all—and that energy goes straight into every single capture. You can almost feel it when you look at them. It’s Smith’s gift.
But the founder of Smith House Photo wasn’t always a professional photographer by trade. One day, Smith quit her corporate job to see if “I could make this photography thing work” but she didn’t know that one day she would eventually be shooting for C&C, shooting weddings, and for major brands like Chandon. Smith just took the leap and hoped that her feet would find solid ground eventually. It’s safe to say, she has landed safely and is now leading a very successful business—with more exciting projects launching soon—shhh!
So, we took five with Smith recently to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the day in the life of a photographer. She was incredibly candid sharing her experience with founder depression, her typical routine, and why she believes inbox zero is a myth. Read on!
Photo: Courtesy of Smith House Photo
What does an average day in your life look like?
I have never been particularly great at routines and I get bored fairly easily, which is why being a photographer and business owner is the best fit for me as a career. Every day is different. Whether it is a shoot day, an event day, an office day, or an off day, I get to work in so many different roles, stretch my creative muscles, learn something new constantly, and explore places and people I never could have imagined. But no matter what, every single day includes coffee (usually an Americano or a coconut milk latte), my skincare routine (because in addition to wanting to have great skin as I get older, it is incredibly relaxing), and puppy snuggles.
What time do you get up? What’s the first thing you do upon waking?
I have an alarm that goes off every day at 7:30 am. It is a “hey its morning!” kind of alarm. Sometimes I wake up and make breakfast, sometimes I lay in bed and read for a little while, sometimes I go for an early walk with the pups. It really just depends on the day and the calendar or to-do list for the day. The one thing I don’t do (as hard as it is) is check my email—Jaclyn Johnson also follows this rule. I have to give myself time to get moving and caffeinated in the morning before I dive into the inbox. It is life changing and mood changing. I highly recommend it.
Are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why?
For as long as I can remember I have been a night owl. But as I get closer to wanting to start a family I have tried to make adjustments so I don’t work deep into the evening (and evening is generous because if I’m being honest, it was deep into the dark morning hours). I read the book The Power of When earlier this year and it helped me to figure out my most productive hours are actually around 2 pm to 5 pm, so I make the most of these hours by getting organized in the morning so I am ready to run during those peak times.
“I went down a deep path of depression when this loneliness first set in because I was certain I had a job that would bring me joy. Everyone was always telling me I should feel ‘so lucky’ to pursue my passion and work from home but it didn’t seem so lucky, and it didn’t always bring me joy.”
Photo: Courtesy of Smith House Photo
Being a founder means you are wearing so many hats and across so many facets of the business. How do you manage your time effectively?
Time management? What’s that? I kid, I kid but this is definitely not my strongest suit. The best thing I have done for my own time management is to hire and outsource. I did an audit of all of my tasks, which ones I excelled at and which ones only I could do. Then looked at the other side of what were my pain points and what caused the most stop in my workflows. What could other people do as well, if not better than, me? And then I surrounded myself with people to fill in those tasks—and they are rockstars.
Do you ever reach inbox zero? How do you handle the constant influx of inquiries and communication entrepreneurs are so familiar with?
Oh, inbox zero. I used to think of that as a huge goal, but I realized it is truly a false hope. If I am actively working with clients, or getting inquiries for new work, I don’t actually want my inbox to be at zero. So instead, I make it a goal to keep my inbox cleaned up and organized so that I don’t miss anything and aim to respond to all emails within 48 hours. I still fail at this sometimes—usually on the days where there are 100+ new emails or I have been shooting/out of the office for multiple days in a row.
My saving grace is to always be honest. Own up and apologize when you miss an email or take too long to respond. We’re all human, we all do it, and the person on the other end of the email is much more likely to respond favorably and with kindness if you own your mistake instead of trying to cover it up.
What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals?
Staying healthy is not talked about nearly enough in our entrepreneurship and “hustle” world, but it is so important. I struggle with anxiety, and it flares up the most when I’m not taking care of myself. So, no matter what is going on or how busy I am, I give myself time to rest and time to walk with my dogs. Both of these things stave off anxiety for me, which enables me to stay on track with my goals. I am better off being behind and needing to outsource something extra for the month than being exhausted, lethargic, and anxious.
Keeping this time for myself is also helpful in saying no to projects or clients who aren’t the right fit, and setting future goals. I am constantly learning how much space and time I need, how many projects I can handle simultaneously, etc. So rather than just aiming for more, I am able to set new goals that steer me in the direction I want to go and ensure I have ample time and energy to follow them through.
Photo: Smith House Photo
When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” # of sleep hours?
Oh, sleep, how I love thee. The only thing in the world I love more is my dogs. I was very guilty of having no work life balance for the first few years of my business. As I get closer to starting a family I have given myself boundaries, which includes cutting off the computer in the evenings so that I can actually go to bed at a decent hour. (I’ll say, cutting off the computer about 95% of the time, because deadlines, am I right?)
On a regular basis I need a solid eight hours. During event or large shoot weeks, I actually struggle to sleep more than five or six from pure excitement. But when I come home from such weeks, I typically have a 12 to 14 hour sleep night to make up for all of it at once—14 hours sounds crazy, and it totally is, but when your body needs it, it needs it!
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
Recently someone described me as “the girl next door who works her ass off so that she can stay home and snuggle her dogs” and it is so true. The most rewarding part of any day is when I can come home knowing that I have worked incredibly hard to serve and love my clients and my team well, crash on the couch, and snuggle my pups.
When did you know you wanted to start your own company/brand? What was your journey like? What challenges did you face along the way?
I recently shared about my “Tequila and Two Weeks Notice” story on Instagram. But even after I decided that I wanted to quit my corporate job to see if I could make this photography thing work, I didn’t know that I wanted to start my own company. And I probably didn’t even know what a brand was for a little while. I was just picking up my camera and trying to convince whoever I could to get in front of it. This turned into inquiries and booking paid jobs.
My journey was all over the place; I have photographed families, babies, dogs, weddings, furniture… anything you can imagine. It took me about two years into my journey to really dive into branding, and I don’t think that was a bad thing. I knew more about myself, what I loved, what work I wanted to pursue long term, and who I was as a photographer and business owner by this point which made the branding process so much easier to go through.
What advice do you have for aspiring female founders/entrepreneurs?
Always be open to the pivot. If I had been hellbent determined to stay on the same path forever, I would absolutely not be where I am now. I was given the opportunity to work with a handful of small, local brands when everything else I was shooting was specifically couples and weddings. If I had said “this isn’t my lane, I can’t do it” I would have never gained more commercial and event work, which I have learned is truly what sets my heart on fire.





How do you combat the loneliness often felt by women at the top or branching out on their own?
It may be a cliche sentence, but the struggle is real. Starting off as a solopreneur was hard especially after working with coworkers and in fast-moving environments. I went down a deep path of depression when this loneliness first set in because I was certain I had a job that would bring me joy. Everyone was telling me I should feel so lucky to pursue my passion and work from home but it didn’t seem so lucky, and it didn’t always bring me joy.
After some soul searching, lots of therapy, and realizing that I wasn’t the only person that felt this way, I was able put a network into place of other photographers, business owners, etc. that could be my “remote” co-workers; they were just a phone call away, or a coffee shop date down the road, when I needed someone to lean on.
Now I have a small team, but they are all remote and freelancers. So there is still the work from home loneliness sometimes, but I have coping mechanisms and a great support system, so it doesn’t have nearly the affect that it used to.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
The best piece of advice I have ever been given was “Don’t be a Luke & Cat cover band”. Luke and Cat are fellow photographers and mentors of mine. They are incredible educators and are willing to tell all of their secrets and share all of their knowledge to bring up future photographers and build up the industry as a whole. But they give it all away with the advice that everyone should take the information and create their own brand, their own goals, their own journey because cover bands are never as successful as the real thing.
What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve been given?
There is far too much bad advice out there to narrow it down to a single worst piece. I am a person who believes you can learn something from anyone you meet. But you have to take information, opinions, and advice from people with a grain of salt. Whether it is a stranger in the grocery store who thinks they can tell you how to get new clients without knowing anything about you or your business, or a trusted colleague or mentor, you should always be weighing the advice. Say thank you, take it home, and then decide if it is worth listening to or dismissing.
What are some exciting projects you’re working on this month? What are you most excited for in 2019?
2019 has been a big year for Smith House Photo and we are just getting started. We have been working on a handful of long term projects (stay tuned!) that are launching in the next few months and the excitement is building up so strong that we are bound to pop like a bottle of Chandon once we get to shout it all from the mountains.
Up Next: A Day in the Life—Glitter Guide's Taylor Sterling Shares Her #1 Ritual for Success.
Day in the Life: Shilpa Shah & Karla Gallardo of Cuyana
“Customers craved more, they were tired of expensive low-quality products—we created a brand to fill that need.”
Welcome back to our monthly series, Day in the Life! Through this Q&A series, we’re giving you an inside look at the day-to-day lives of some of the most inspiring women in business. This month, we talked with Shilpa Shah and Karla Gallardo of Cuyana, the lifestyle brand for the modern woman interested in simple functionality.
Below, hear what these co-founders have to say about filling whitespace, what advice they have for for work-life balance, and the habits they’ve developed to be the best versions of themselves.
Tell us a bit about Cuyana. What whitespace did you see in the market? What need did you want to fill?
Karla: Fewer, better things is the philosophy behind all we do. We started Cuyana to inspire consumers to shop intentionally for high-quality pieces crafted with integrity. We saw the need for luxury-made items at an affordable price point - the consumer mindset was shifting, and we had the opportunity to be the better choice within fashion.
Shilpa: She was seeking higher quality products with purpose; logos and overt branding were no longer relevant. Customers craved more, they were tired of expensive low-quality products - we created a brand to fill that need.
Are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why?
Karla: I’m a night owl but have recently been successful in transitioning to being a morning person. Getting an earlier start to the day enables me to spend more time with my son, Mateo.
Shilpa: I’m a night owl by nature. I’ve tried to become more of a morning person, but I’m still a work in progress!
What does your morning, pre-work routine look like?
Karla: I’m up early to ensure I have breakfast together with my family - with such a busy work schedule, breakfast is more dependable than dinner. The shared time together sets the foundation for my whole day.
Shilpa: I spend my mornings coming up with creative ways to cajole my kids out of bed - they’ve clearly inherited my night owl mentality! The rest of the morning is a wild dash to get everyone to where they are supposed to be and making it happen on time.
What’s your commute like? Do you listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks? Any current faves?
Karla: I spend my commute looking at everything I’m devoting time to, ensuring that each task or meeting has purpose.
Shilpa: I take my time on the train to peruse the New York Times app or listen to podcasts and audiobooks - listening to "Becoming" narrated by Michelle Obama has been a wonderful experience.
Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office/to your desk?
Karla: Grab a cup of coffee - my brain doesn't process information until the first sip of my morning latte. I then head right to an early meeting with my bag and latte in tow - I rarely make it to my desk.
Shilpa: Definitely not eating frogs! I am typically in meetings first thing in the morning. I’m lucky if I even make it to my desk, but always have coffee in-hand.
What are you working on this week?
Karla: Everything from annual internal reviews to our exciting plans to expand retail!
Shilpa: I’ve been focused on exciting collaborations and our seasonal marketing strategies.
What advice do you have for balancing the minutiae of day-to-day tasks with big-picture planning?
Shilpa: Break down the big-picture plans into smaller, discernible milestones. Then you can plan all tasks the same way!
Karla: We plan our annual strategy every January, and it serves as the overarching framework for everything we do. New items pop up every day though, and it is important to constantly review my week to ensure that every meeting and task continues to ladder up to the big picture. I re-prioritize my week on Sundays to make sure I achieve key results by Friday. Also, I am very close to the data. It reveals whether the path we decided to take in January makes sense, and it will sometimes challenge me to make changes in the overarching strategy. I spend 2 hours looking at reports and thinking about the big picture strategy every week. It is my “zen” moment, and it brings back the focus.
What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals?
Karla: I make time each day to do something for the people I care about most. I then get some me time by working out a few days a week at home on our Peloton.
Shilpa: It’s not the quantity of time, but rather the quality way in which you spend it. I make sure that I connect with my husband and kids in ways that also meets their needs. It’s amazing how outsourcing the household tasks opens up more meaningful time together.
What are you reading/watching right now?
Shilpa: Anxiously waiting the last season of GOT!
Karla: Honestly, television is my way to zone out - I love watching laughable and outrageous shows at the end of my night.
When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” # of sleep hours?
Shilpa: Between 12-1 am. I would love to have 7 hours of sleep, but I usually end up near 6.
Karla: I get up early now, so I’m in bed by 11!
What’s the most rewarding part of your day?
Karla: The time with my son and husband. Whether our family breakfast in the morning or watching Mateo’s favorite movie, Moana, the moments I spend with my family are the best.
Shilpa: I cherish the time spent with my family. Sometimes, getting in those last few hours of quiet work time at the end of the day can feel rewarding too!
What’s something not a lot of people know about you?
Karla: I already revealed my guilty television pleasures!
Shilpa: I actually wasn’t very organized until I met Karla. It’s been amazing to see how our “fewer, better” philosophy has changed the way I live.
MORE ON THE BLOG
A Day in the Life: How This President and Blogger Handles Two Jobs
On the move and loving it.
photo credit: Memorandum
Mary Orton, co-founder and President of Trove, and editor at the wildly popular blog, Memorandum, knows all about hustle. No two days are alike for the bustling beauty, who, in August of this year will celebrate the first year anniversary of Trove, the addictive mobile style app that she co-founded with her husband. Bringing together all of your favorite fashion bloggers into one beautiful, shoppable place, Trove allows you to find outfit inspiration, save favorites to a digital closet, and shop everything from the palm of your hand. With a schedule like Mary's it's no wonder she wanted to find a way to bring this content to consumers who, like her, want access to great style inspiration quickly and easily on the go.
So what is her day-to-day like? How about hour-to-hour?
From 6am inbox purges to morning coffee to design and investor meetings, the CEO does more than look the part-- she’s actively involved in every aspect of her business. And yes, she eats at her desk just like the rest of us.
Read through to find out what it’s really like to run a startup and a successful blog at the same time. Be impressed and then, get inspired.
6:00 AM: I violently slap my iPhone alarm into snooze mode and proceed to do this roughly 2-7 additional times over the course of the next 25 minutes. After reluctantly exiting my cozy sheets (muttering obscenities), I army crawl to the kitchen where I throw my Bialetti on the stove. Even the promise of coffee does Pavlovian wonders for my not-a-morning-person-ever self. While the coffee starts, I throw on gym clothes, grab my iPad and head back to the kitchen in the hopes that my coffee is ready and my email inbox is manageable. With coffee in hand and a hard boiled egg (or scrambled eggs if I'm feeling really bold and didn't hit snooze too many times) I start reading the news and triaging my email inbox.
7:00 AM: Depending on the weather and my workout plan for the day, I usually hit the gym or the pavement for a morning sweat sesh. My go-to workouts are barre classes, circuit training or long runs along the water watching the city wake up.
8:15 AM: Back home, I jump in the shower and start the process of making myself look like a presentable human being. As the co-founder of Trove and a style blogger, my go-to weekday looks are typically professional and classic with a trendy, urban edge.
9:00 AM: I make an iced tea in my favorite travel tumbler and with a protein bar hanging halfway out of my mouth, I hit the office! No two days are ever the same, but if I can, I typically try to concentrate meetings in the mornings and computer work and conference calls for the afternoon, so my mornings are usually hectic. On Mondays we always have Trove team meetings where we set objectives for the week and update everyone on different areas of the business. The rest of my mornings are typically spent running all over the city to design meetings, investor meetings, brand meetings and meetings with lots of other folks across the industry. If navigating NYC traffic and subway systems were an Olympic sport, I'm fairly confident I would make the podium.
12:00 PM: If I don't have a lunch meeting, I'll usually grab a salad and eat it at my desk while catching up on emails. I'm addicted to this quinoa and arugula salad at LPQ. It's insane and super healthy, which is good to offset my very unhealthy affinity for cheeseburgers and fries. And burritos. And also Indian food. Oh and CUPCAKES. You don't even know.
2:00 PM: On Tuesdays, I meet with my team that helps manage the business and operations of my blog, Memorandum. We touch base on upcoming posts that I'm planning and solidify plans for photo shoots, video content, and brand collaborations. I've recently started a YouTube channel and have been getting more and more into video--it's wild but so much fun! Since starting my blog three and a half years ago, I've gotten really into photography, but videography is still new to me. It's so much fun to bring my style content to life in this way.
3:30 PM: If I don't have any afternoon meetings, I usually have at least one or two conference calls. At Trove, we work with business partners and bloggers from all over the world, so often spend a couple hours in the afternoon on the phone or Facetime with them. For our business, there's no place like New York--of course, the fashion and technology community here is just incredible--but having so many touchpoints around the globe makes my job really fun and interesting.
7:00 PM: At this point in the day I'm either heading home or heading to drinks and dinner. We live in Tribeca, and are frequenters of Locanda Verde, Tiny's, Weather Up and Distilled. At Distilled, they always serve this crazy good seasoned popcorn at your table, and it's my mission in life to figure out how they make it.
9:00 PM: Once home, I settle into my home office to work on upcoming blog posts. My husband is not only the co-founder of Trove and the CEO of the business, but he also takes all of the photos for Memorandum, which we usually snap either on the way to the office, or in-between meetings during the day. I always keep my DSLR in my bag and we've gotten pretty good at it, so we can capture an outfit in 5-10 minutes when running from one thing to the next. People often comment on the movement captured in our photographs which makes me laugh, because it was borne out of necessity and the reality of my hectic work day, rather than a super conscious artistic choice.
10:00 PM: Once I'm done writing my upcoming posts, I then have to spend an hour or so going through the photos that we took that day and getting them ready. I'm an obsessive reader, but seldom have time to sit and read anymore so I've gotten completely addicted to audiobooks which I always listen to while going through photos in the evenings.
11:30 PM: Once the photos are done and the blog post for the next day is scheduled, I hit the sack! Although if I'm being honest, I'm extremely lucky if this happens as early as 11:30 PM. It's often much deeper into the early morning hours. But, hey, gotta support that coffee industry right? Just trying to do my part over here.
If you're heading to #CreateCultivateNYC be sure to check out Mary on panel, where she'll be sharing her know-how on Content Meets Commerce.