Drowning in Emails? Here's How 5 Bosses Handle Their Inboxes

Photo: Andrew Neel for Pexels

The inbox is an equal opportunity offender. Emails have no respect for office hours or lunchtime. They wild out at all hours and it's on us to manage them. But how? We asked five women—those who run their own companies and those who freelance—all about their unique inbox management tips. 

Here’s the bad and the good of it: The inbox inbounds will never stop as long as you're making moves. To help you lower your cortisol levels and avoid overwhelm, here's a breakdown of how five bosses HANDLE their inboxes and whittle that number down to zero. (Yes, it’s possible to get to inbox zero!)

TINA WELLS, FOUNDER & CEO BUZZ MARKETING GROUP

Staying on top of and managing emails is a top priority for me. I average about 500 each day. I answer whatever I can immediately. I also have an amazing team at BuzzMG, and I'm fortunate to have an internal shorthand with them, so even just forwarding a note with a meeting request and not having to specify "please set up a coffee meeting with xx" saves so much time.

My team doesn't really use email to communicate. We use Slack and store important files in Dropbox, so it's really easy to do our work and send messages without email.

I swear by Scott Belsky's book "Making Ideas Happen" and make sure I clear out all back burner emails by the last day of the month. I file important notes from clients in specific folders. I also have years worth of sent emails. You never know when you need to find important info!

IVKA ADAM, FOUNDER & CEO ICONERY 

Some of the best advice I ever got had to do with email strategy: When you need someone to get back to you on multiple topics, make each one a separate email with clearly defined and themed email subject lines.  Why?  Because some of the topics may be shorter and easier to respond to than others and you’re not waiting on the person at the other end to gather responses to all topics at once. 

This has helped tremendously to both facilitate efficiency and keep my inbox to a minimum.

JASMINE STAR, BRAND & MARKETING GURU

My business is built on personal connections.  My entire focus is on making sure people feel seen, heard, and known.  As a result, I have set strict hours of operation and engagement.  Yes, that means, I allocate 70 minutes every morning to respond to all email. Other than that time, I don't respond to email until the next day.  Similarly, I set certain times to blog and engage on social media.  I do my best to interact with people who are interacting with me.

KARIN ELDOR, FREELANCE WRITER & CONTENT CREATOR

"Touch it once." This one changed my life. It's exactly that: when you open an email and read it, don't let it sit idly in your inbox. If it will take you less than 5 minutes to reply, then do it on the spot and file it away. Don't start reading the same email more than once, it's a huge time suck. Of course, there are emails that deserve more thought or even a more in-depth reply. In this case, reply right away to confirm receipt, and let the sender know they can expect a response "by EOD," or whatever timeline makes sense.

Then sit down and draft your reply, during your dedicated email time. The point is, because we get in the habit of checking our email on-the-go, while waiting for our favorite Netflix show to cue up, and basically all the time, we end up reading the same email more than once and not doing anything about it. By the way, "touch it once" is a great productivity tip to apply to all tasks, especially for the perfectionists out there! If it will take you 2 minutes, just get it done and move on.

No cherry-picking: When you scan your inbox, don't be selective with what you read and reply to. First, do a quick scan for urgencies. Then open and reply to your emails in sequence, rather than "cherry-picking" the ones you deal with ASAP. This one's a bit tougher to stick to, but you'll see that managing your inbox during scheduled blocks of time throughout the day and blasting through your inbox, is much more productive than dealing with rando emails, all day.

BELMA McCAFFREY, WRITER & CREATOR OF WORK BIGGER 

Unroll.me is an app that lets me quickly unsubscribe from emails that are no longer relevant, and it allows me to roll up some of my emails so I can review them all at once versus reading them throughout the day.

I also just started using Boomerang for Gmail. I can schedule reminders to read certain messages later versus leaving them as unread in my inbox. This eases my stress level because I don't have "unread" messages staring at me reminding me of tasks I need to complete.

Although difficult, I also like to schedule when I check my email throughout the day. I aim for once in the morning, once around lunchtime, and once in the evening. This is less about controlling my inbox and more about controlling how I respond to the inbox. It makes me feel more in control and organized, with 100+ emails a day and all.

This post was originally published on May 14, 2018, and has since been updated.

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Bizz What? Jen Gotch Is Dishing All Her Best Business Advice

If you're like us, Jen Gotch's Instgram stories are at the top of your must-watch list. Every. damn. day. The CCO and Founder of the fun-centric Ban.do has built a brand with cult-like following of millennials. #FORBES. While she might not like to admit it, she's pretty D.O.P.E. at this whole business thing. And when she's not making us laugh (and/or cry and/or laugh-cry) on IG stories, she shoots an advice series called Honor Roll answering fan-submitted questions about business-related things + more. 

Watch her spill on spill some solid bizz advice for anyone looking to turn that side-hustle into a full time thing. 

Q: I'M THINKING OF STARTING A BUSINESS. ANY ADVICE?

Q: WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR REACHING POTENTIAL FOLLOWERS WITHOUT A LARGE FOLLOWING?

Q: HOW DO I GET STARTED ON MY OWN BUSINESS WITH LIMITED MONEY?

BONUS. Jen also designed a super soft, short sleeve t-shirt as a little tribute to her advice series and 15% of the proceeds will be donated to writegirl, an la-based creative writing and mentoring organization that promotes creativity, critical thinking and leadership skills to empower teen girls. 

Love these? We'll be sharing more videos starring JG soon. Leave your burning business questions below! 

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How #Girlgaze Founder Amanda de Cadenet Plans to Create $$ Jobs for Young Women

Amanda de Cadenet pulls very few punches. “If I have zero interest in the question,” she tells us, “I won’t answer it.” It’s a refreshing frankness from the founder and CEO of The Conversation and now, #girlgaze, a multimedia photo project designed (and recent book!) to support girls behind the camera. The project's first exhibition, #girlgaze: a frame of mind, opened at the Annenberg Space of Photography in October 2016 and ran until February 2017. It featured work from up-and-coming female and gender non-conforming photographers. It was received with open arms. 

As the tale of implicit career bias goes, only one-third of professional news photographers are women. Which begs the question: whose eye is capturing what's important? The goal for de Cadenet is to get more perspectives seen, and begin championing that potential early. “It’s so important for girls to understand that they have the power,” the photographer slash founder says. 

“It’s so important for girls to understand that they have the power.”

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And understanding it they are. According to de Cadenet, the #girlgaze community is seeing exponential growth. “We are growing so fast that our heads are spinning. Our little team is just trying to keep up,” she shares while noting that this is good news. “Girlgaze is obviously a much-needed platform.” One that focuses on empowerment, something, she shares, “is anything that facilitates a person feeling better about themselves, or good about themselves. Building self-esteem is empowering. For me that means hiring more women across the board in various sectors, because careers build self-esteem.” 

That means getting dollars. #girlgaze isn't only about giving women the platform, it's about getting them jobs. "Our goal is to close the gender gap one job at a time," she says. "My hope is that we give as many girls as possible the opportunity to work and share their point of view with the world by creating paid opportunities and ways to connect with each other and the people who write checks."

"Empowerment is anything that facilities a person feeling better about themselves."

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Where The Conversation addressed the fears and realities of women-- bringing the conversations taking place in Amanda’s kitchen about postpartum depression, sex, and gender stereotypes to light, #girlgaze has intentionally focused on the younger generation. "My audience was getting younger and younger-- that doesn’t happen," she says. The multitasking mama (of three) had to ask herself, why it was happening. What content was missing? She saw the gap, realizing that young girls’ exposure to the media, subtle racism and sexism and misogyny, was deeply affecting their self-esteem. “Something does well when it’s needed,” de Cadenet explains. And there was a need.

“They were getting impacted,” she says. “They wanted guidance younger, so I consciously made a choice to create something for them. Creativity is the vehicle for change for a lot of young girls that I know.” A generation she thinks highly of, citing young feminists like Rowan Blanchard. ‘It is our job and my commitment, now more than ever," she says, "to not abandon these issues and to support the next generation of girls tenfold... You have to take stock on a situation before you can change it and then you can create realistic tools.” For the lifelong activist and journalist #Girlgaze is one such tool, helping uplift strong female voices and views.

She also recently published, "It's Messy," a book of essays that came at the behest of her followers and focuses on the Brit's own story. "I wrote 'It's Messy' because many women and girls asked me to,” she explains. "The chapter subjects are curated by my social media audience and I pretty much stuck to what they wanted to know about except TMI about my sex life." The TMI part is debatable.

While it may seem that oft outspoken de Cadenet shares exactly what is on her mind, when it comes to young women sharing their POV she wants them to know, "Just speaking up without that consideration is not always smart.  It doesn't need to be complicated, but stay truthful to your point of view no matter what and know your audience.”

To hear Amanda speak on panel and learn more about the #girlgaze platform join us at Create & Cultivate Seattle. Tickets on sale now.  

Photography by Amanda de Cadenet

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Why Kopari Co-founder Says Great Leadership Isn't About Gender

The daughter of an entrepreneur (and surf legend Joey Cabell), some might say Kiana Cabell, co-foudner of the cruelty-free organic coconut beauty brand Kopari Beauty, has business in her blood. But it's the company's lightweight Coconut Sheer Oil that's on her body. Working since the age of 12, she's always be a go-getter goal setter. Unafraid to fail, the Honolulu-raised business woman knew she could take the coconut cooking craze (she's also a certified organic chef) and apply it to beauty.

Dedicated to exploring the different ways coconut benefits the body, inside AND out, Cabell, along with co-founders, beauty entrepreneurs and industry veterans, Bryce Goldman and James Brennan, launched with a firm understanding of their miracle multitasking ingredient. Today, the Kopari Beauty success is so real that some Hollywood heavy hitters have gotten involved.  It's a startup tale that proves successful entrepreneurs know their business from soup to coconuts. 

We caught up with Cabell to find out how she launched, what scared her, and her standout moment as a business owner this year.

What was your first job and are there any lessons you learned early on that help you today as an entrepreneur?

My father was an entrepreneur himself - he founded the Chart House restaurant chain - so those practices were instilled in me from a young age. It was important to him that I set up values and worked throughout my childhood. From the age of 12 and on, I spent every summer working at the Chart House as a hostess. I cleaned menus, greeted guests, managed the seating arrangements and answered calls, and that definitely helped position me as a self-starter. I began networking and really honed my communication and organization skills. Above all, I found that starting in the workforce early instilled in me a unique drive and understanding that hard work truly pays off. 

People always tell you to find the white space in business. So what prompted you to start Kopari? Where did you see that white space?

I was initially inspired to go into the natural food space by attending New York’s Natural Gourmet Institute to become a certified organic chef. Consumer awareness of health and wellness, and a greater concern over what you put in your body, was quickly growing and I saw an opportunity within that movement. I never ate with any dietary restrictions, but I enjoyed learning more about nutrition and the benefits of good, clean ingredients and wholesome foods. I ultimately took what I learned at the Gourmet Institute and applied it to Kopari. Similar to the organic food movement, there was a wellness trend in the beauty space. I capitalized on the growth in awareness of the ingredients consumers were slathering on their skin, as well as a mounting love for coconut oil, to co-found a brand that really addressed an unfilled niche in the market. The movement for coconut products in food was blowing up, but in the beauty space, it was just now kicking off. I really just recognized that this was my time.

Can you tell us about the initial stages of your company. How did you get funding to get it up and running? 

Everything came together so quickly. I was lucky enough to have two amazing partners, James Brennan (also the co-founder of Suja Juice), and Bryce Goldman who is an accomplished beauty industry veteran. They both really helped on this end. Additionally, we all reached out for initial funding from close friends and family, who were happy to contribute. They really believed in us and that was when we first knew that we were onto something.
 

Why did you decide to start online only?

Digital and social was where everything was moving. We knew that we could create a lot of buzz, drive traction, and create demand via a thoughtful, well-constructed online and social presence. As opposed to reaching out to retailers as so many brands do, we had them coming to us.

As opposed to reaching out to retailers as so many brands do, we had them coming to us.

Let’s talk for a minute about finding co-founders and taking the leap. What does your team look like? How did you know you wanted to go into business with them?

Initially, it was myself, Bryce Goldman and his wife Gigi Goldman, and James Brennan, and we immediately had great synergy. We were all on the same page with what we wanted to create, but everyone brought something unique to the table. Obviously our team has grown substantially since launch, but the four of us continue to balance each other well, and our team does the same.

Starting a biz is no small undertaking. Were there any lifestyle changes you had to make in order to make the leap?

Like my father, I was very entrepreneurially-minded. I never really had a traditional 9-5 job, so starting a business where you’re working the 9-5 plus was a different experience. I have learned a lot along the way when it comes to maintaining a good work-life balance, but I definitely still struggle with knowing when to “turn off."

Were there any growing pains? Did you ever doubt your decision?

I never had a traditional job and didn't come from a background of having my own business, but I have always been a hustler and a doer, so it came pretty naturally. There were definitely times when I was in the day-to-day and would get frustrated with the little things that you’d never think about; but I had to learn along the way. Now, I feel confident in what I do and it feels amazing. Sometimes you can be the person that gets in the way of yourself, but you have to put your head down and just get it done.

"Sometimes you are the person that gets in the way of yourself, but you have to put your head down and just get it done."

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Natural skincare and skincare products are definitely having a moment. How do you continue to stay out in front of trends and make sure that your business has legs? 

Naturally, coconut oil lends itself to so many versatile uses which give our products endless multitasking possibilities. The versatility helps maintain a steady stream of innovation and the ingredient itself paves the way. Our use and knowledge of cutting-edge technology and complementary ingredients keeps us in front of the trends and our competitors.

You’ve attracted some high profile investors like Karlie Kloss and Ashton Kutcher. What was it like in those meetings? Have you seen a benefit to bringing on big names? 

I actually didn’t meet with them personally. Most of the relationships are through my co-founder James Brennan's connections from working with brands like Suja Juice. Although, I am excited to be meeting with Shay Mitchell at the end of the month! 

The benefit is providing Kopari with clout, and lending greater recognition to the brand. It’s validating to have some of the biggest, most recognizable names in the entertainment and beauty industries supporting and investing in our brand. It’s just another sign that we’re on the right track!

What platforms have been the most helpful in spreading the word about Kopari?

Definitely social media, and Instagram by a landslide. Consumers really connect with our lifestyle imagery and our packaging lends itself well to visuals. We recently did a big micro-influencer push that was extremely successful, but we also prioritize cultivating and maintaining relationships within the industry. 

How do you continue to utilize digital even as you’re set to launch into 340 Sephora stores? 

We use our digital channels to have a direct line of communication to our customers. We use our ecommerce store not only to sell our full line of products that aren’t sold in Sephora stores, but to also further educate the customer on the products - how to use them, their benefits, why they’re different, etc. Having a digital presence through our online store, as well as through various social media channels allows us to communicate directly to our customers for feedback on what they like or don’t like about our products, how the packaging could be improved, as well as what they want to see next.

What accomplishment are you most proud of in the past year? Or, what has been a standout moment for you as a business owner?

The growth of Kopari and where we are now, hands down. Knowing that the products and all of our success is real, and recognizing people’s awareness of the brand, combined with the overall growth of Kopari has been my biggest source of pride this past year. Additionally, I am extremely proud of where I am personally, today, compared to where I was when we started Kopari. I think that rings true for the team too!

Is there anything about your leadership style that differs from your male colleagues?

We’re all so different and I don’t think it’s a gender thing. I like to jump into things, make mistakes and figure things out through trial-and-error. As a leader, I know what I like and what I want, but I’m also very easy-going and laid-back.

Is there anything you were super intimidated by that you jumped in to learn? And what kind of difference has that made?

I was really intimidated by everything; the whole business. Starting a company is like drinking through a firehose all the time. From building a team and brand, to managing the marketing, social and public relations piece, it’s all super new to me and I just jumped right in to learn everything. I’m continue to learn something new every day.

"Starting a company is like drinking through a firehose all the time."

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When you are having a crazy day, what is your go-to for winding down?

I love to do power yoga. It’s enough of a workout that I can’t really think about anything else while I’m doing it, and yet it’s still relaxing and calming.

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ITK: Tips for Co-Founder Success

Many of us have a vision of launching a business with co-founder who is the perfect compliment to our right brain or left-brain selves. Strong creatives tend to seek business strength and vice versa, but actually finding the perfect fit can be more difficult than we like. This is largely because we 1. Travel in circles that tend to be more like us 2. Don’t understand our own personalities, weaknesses and core competencies 3. Are eager to find someone that when we do we say “YES” too quickly. There is a formula to finding the right partner and setting yourself up for success. Lets dive in. 

YOUR INNER GAME

Your capacity to understand your traits as a leader is essential. Are you passive aggressive? Can you hire people well, but struggle with firing? Do you think you are always right? Maybe you have self-worth issues. Or, like me, maybe you are a work-a-holic and treat your business like it’s your first-born. No matter what your unique personality type, it's critical to understand how you work and to be honest about it. Launching a business is not the time to work through your personal baggage, but you are the center of your business so these things do come up.  You need to square away personal obstructions and work through anything that might keep you from performing at your optimum. I suggest making a list of how you like to work, what types of personalities you have worked well with in the past, and what might someone else need to know about you to know if you are a good fit for them. Do you like to do things last minute but never miss a deadline? Your potential co-founder will need to know not to worry about your commitment. 

"Launching a business is not the time to work through your personal baggage."

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WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE

Aside from bringing a great idea to the conversation you need to stack up your skill sets. I always ask my clients to make lists: what are they really good at, what would they like to learn, and what is something that they would have to hire out/have zero interest in learning. If you are a creative that struggles with business matters or vice versa it's important to itemize the specifics. I work with a lot of clients that are creatives and need a business backbone, and let me tell you, you can be successful doing it on your own, but its definitely easier when you are working with someone who loves MS Excel if you hate it. 

MATTERS OF MONEY 

Who pays for what? With a biz partnership it's cleaner if both parties can equally split liability and expenses. Not only does this keep things feeling balanced, but there is true shared ownership. If going 50/50 is not a possibility and you are looking for a co-founder to fund the operation, you might actually be looking for an investor. In my experience having a co-founder that's really an investor can muddy decision-making processes. A co-founder should be able to bring something beyond money to the table. They should have skills and expertise that will relate directly to the day-to-day operations. If your co-founder is unable to invest as much money as you are or nothing into the business it’s critical that you stipulate in your operating agreement how your investment gets paid back over time and if/when the company dissolves. At the end of the day this is about playing fair, doing what’s right for the business and yourself. 

"Having a co-founder that's really an investor can muddy decision-making processes."

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DOING BUSINESS WITH FRIENDS & LOVERS 

In theory it’s a wonderful idea to start a business with a friend or romantic partner. Working with someone you know you already like and have things in common can be very rewarding, but it does require knowing yourself very well to pull this off successfully. Before launching into a business idea with someone you care about make sure to ask yourself and him or her- why now? Why would you two be the best to do this together? What complimentary traits do you have? Discuss how long you want to test the process and have a trial period together before committing to a contract. And yes, you will want a contract! Business amongst friends/lovers can still get ugly and you want to have a contract out of respect for you and them. The goal is to preserve the relationship and possibly launch an amazing business!

TINDER FOR CO-FOUNDERS 

I wish there was Tinder for Co-Founders (kind of like Bumble BFF...). But as of now there are only co-founder sites that really focus on technology. Sites like CoFoundersLab, FounderDating, and Angellist are a few places to look if you are looking to start an ecommerce site, otherwise I suggest good old fashion LinkedIn and reaching out in Facebook groups, friends and family. As you would on a first date, you need to make sure to meet your potential co-founder for coffee or a drink and not just trust the phone or email. You wouldn’t marry someone without really knowing him or her right? So why would you risk your financial investment working with someone you don’t know well. (Jessica Alba jokes that partnering up with her co-founder is like an arranged marriage.) I suggest dating around. Dating around means having lots of coffees and working on small projects with someone to test out the personality styles and core competencies. Think of it as an experiment. You could sign an NDA, but really, it's not necessary unless you have a patent pending. Ideas are easy come, easy go, but execution is hard. You need a partner you can execute with that has a shared vision. Don’t expect your first couple dates will yield a co-founder! Be patient.

"Ideas are easy come, easy go, but execution is hard."

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Some people are not co-founder types and that can be as useful to know about yourself as is finding the right partner. Business owners who fly solo must take it upon themselves to find the right help to get things done. It's impossible to think you can run a business all by yourself- you simply won’t scale. You need support, someone to challenge you, and someone to fill the holes.  

Syama Meagher is a retail strategist for brands and retailers. She helps entrepreneurs launch and grow fashion business through ecommerce, wholesale and brick & mortar. Syama is a former at Barneys New York, Gucci, AHAlife and Macy’s.  To build your brand and create a profitable business check out www.ScalingRetail.com and email hello@scalingretail.com 

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You'll Never Guess What Birchbox Co-Founder Calls Her Secret Weapon

photo credit: Birchbox 

Before launching Birchbox in the fall of 2010, CEO and co-founder Katia Beauchamp had to figure out how to get the attention of some of the world's biggest beauty brands. The recent Harvard Business School grad knew that her love of beauty and style combined with her finance background were a winning biz combo, but getting the heads of brands like NARS and Kiehl’s to pay attention was a different story. But Beauchamp, along with fellow Harvard grad and co-founder Haley Barna, kept it simple. They cold emailed presidents, CEOs, and executives at major companies with a subject line about reimagining beauty retail. It was their way in. And it worked. 

Today, the $10-a-month subscription service that ships sample-sized products to consumers, has made good on that subject line promise. Birchbox has more than 1 million subscribers, sells full-size products on its website, and most recently announced profitability. 

We chatted with the CEO about those infamous cold-emails, why she hires new moms, and raising money while female. 

Let’s talk about cold-emailing. You’ve said that you and your co-founder started cold-emailing CEOs in the beauty industry to get the idea in front of them. What are a few things that every cold-email should include?

I cold-emailed several presidents, CEOs, and brand managers in the beauty industry and the majority of people responded! Here are some tips:

1. Have a compelling subject line. It needs to motivate the reader to open the message. At the very least it should say something more than "Hello" or "Looking to get in touch." I used "Reimagining beauty online."

2. Keep the email concise. The email should be short enough so that a person can read it without having to scroll down on his or her phone. The less time and energy it takes to read it, the better.

3. Don't attach a business plan to explain the idea. That's asking a lot. Try a one-pager that briefly describes the idea/value proposition. We framed our one-pager by introducing the brands as the stakeholder and how Birchbox could help that brand.

4. Ask for something that’s easy to say yes to. I asked CEOs and brand managers for five minutes of their time to give me advice. Those emails eventually turned into a meeting and the meeting turned into a pitch. Those pitch meetings ultimately led to partnerships with massive brands, early on.

You’ve said your secret weapon is hiring new moms because they are productive, efficient, and grounded. Why do you think this is important?

There’s a real appreciation at Birchbox that moms remain ambitious in their careers. This may not sound revolutionary but I believe this perspective can unlock the power of women at work and benefit all parties. The ideas of flexibility and ambition can seem at odds for some, but we have worked to give our team that space and see it pay off. As far as putting it into practice, we place an emphasis on on-boarding moms as they transition back to work, as a core part of our maternity policy. This has built stability and trust between us and our team members, and continues to provide value for organization. We have extremely talented people, who come back to work with energy, excitement, and a new perspective.

"We place an emphasis on on-boarding moms as they transition back to work, as a core part of our maternity policy."

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You interned at Estee Lauder during college, what about that experience made you want to get into the beauty industry? Did you have any mentors coming out of the experience that helped along the way to founding Birchbox?

I co-founded Birchbox in 2010, technically, as an outsider from the beauty industry. I did have one taste of the industry as an intern for the Estee Lauder executive training program while attending Vassar College. It was a very competitive program, which was something that initially attracted me to the opportunity. That summer, I fell in love with the business of beauty. At 19, I met Leonard and Evelyn Launder, and other executives with whom we now partner. I was struck by the passion of the Estee Lauder employees and for the beauty industry. I distinctly remember realizing that this industry was special and unique, and that it wasn’t the norm for people to feel so connected to what they did for work. I now recognize why this was the case; the Lauders and their executives put energy into their culture and they had a reciprocal passion for their people. Additionally, the beauty industry has unique and fascinating dynamics with a wide appeal. It doesn’t typically follow macro consumer trends in terms of the overall economy and the strength of the business (inelastic demand!). There are very healthy margins and a seemingly endless ability to reinvent and shift demand. Clearly, my internship experience had a lasting impression.

After starting my career in real estate finance, I went to business school thinking about shifting industries. Luckily, six months before graduation, Hayley and I had the idea for Birchbox. Seven years later, I still feel somewhat new to the party, but also truly embraced by this industry and grateful to so many of the insiders that have supported us from the beginning.

Work-life balance is now a buzz phrase. Why do you think everyone is so focused on finding a balance? And what has that meant to you throughout your journey?

My personal perspective is that this concept is becoming less and less relevant in its traditional meaning. Traditionally, work and life were stark extremes where the expectation was little overlap. Today, there is a lot more awareness in the value of having more blurred lines in these two areas that allow for a person to feel connected to their whole self. I am grateful to care so much about my work that it is something I want to spend time thinking through. I am stimulated by the challenges and motivated throughout my days, not just during specific hours. That said, I also believe it is critical to disconnect from work and have space to develop in other areas of interest. From experience, this allows us to bring more energy and a fresh perspective, but it doesn’t always need to happen during specific times of the day or week. I have learned the value in taking 10 minutes during the work day to meditate, or 20 minutes to walk outside and appreciate the world outside of our bubble. I also have experienced wanting to have meetings on a weekend to speak to a colleague or mentor about the company. There is no perfect work-life ratio but it is important to feel connected to who you are and what brings out your energy and motivation for life.

"There is no perfect work-life ratio but it is important to feel connected to who you are."

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Photo by Tory Williams 

Talk a bit about the transition into a brick-and-mortar space. What was the full strategy behind that move? And how did you know you were ready?

We opened our first brick-and-mortar store in Soho, New York in July 2014. It was never our original plan to go the brick-and-mortar route, but as we learned more about our customer and her shopping habits, we realized we could add value to her beauty experience in the offline world. We experimented with pop-ups and saw how excited and engaged our customers were. They were hungry to experience the Birchbox brand in a tangible way, and it helped them understand the full scope of our value proposition. When we opened our permanent location in Soho, we thought carefully about how to create a new, unique type of retail experience for women who typically haven't enjoyed shopping for beauty. For example, we merchandise everything by category (hair, makeup, skincare, etc.) instead of by brand, which is a more approachable, efficient way for our customer to discover new products. We just opened a store in Paris, so we’re thrilled to be able to connect with our French customers a deeper way too.

And your expansion into Birchbox Man in 2012? Did you find it challenging to shift from a brand focused on selling to women, to a brand focusing on men and women?

Back in 2011, our female customers told us they wanted a Birchbox experience for the men in their life, so we tested a limited-edition gift box filled with men’s grooming products and lifestyle accessories. It sold out in less than three days. We thought it would just be women purchasing for men, but it wasn’t. It turns out guys were buying it for themselves too. With that customer insight, we put the wheels in motion to launch a men’s vertical and debuted BirchboxMan four months later in April 2012. We’re grounded in discovery, so just like with our women’s product, our try-before-you-buy sampling model is all about helping men upgrade their routines. However, there are some important differences. For example, we knew that men were less likely to talk about grooming products so we added lifestyle to the subscription to help with the vitality. We continue to test and iterate on the product for men, but believe that there is a big opportunity to serve this very different and underserved consumer base.

Over Birchbox’s lifetime, you’ve raised 71.9M. Did you ever feel at a disadvantage because you were two female founders pitching a product built for women?

It's a challenge to pitch a female-oriented business to mostly male investors who don't inherently relate to the value proposition and pain points you're working to solve. When we first started Birchbox, it took many no's before we heard our first yes. In part, we learned to better represent the opportunity, and eventually found investors who did appreciate the total addressable market, as well as relate to the human value proposition that we saw. I do believe that more gender diversity for investors will help female-focused and female-run businesses access capital more effectively.

"I believe that more gender diversity for investors will help female-run businesses access capital more effectively."

Tweet this. 

Were you selective when it came to choosing investors? Or was it all about collecting capital?

We decided pretty early to raise capital once we tested the concept. We launched a beta in business school to understand whether it was a viable model, whether the unit economics were sufficient, etc. We met with dozens of investors, some independent and some institutional. Ultimately, we chose individuals (largely venture capitalists) who we connected with the opportunity and believed in it’s massive potential. We are so appreciative for their individual contribution to our business as well as recognizing that they could grow their investment with the business.

Any decision that you’ve made that you'd change if you got a do-over?

No. Of course, there have been mistakes along the way! My firm belief is that it is much more valuable to be naive than try to anticipate or know every pitfall or weakness. First, you can’t really “know” until you experience the hard. It shapes you and constantly sets a new standard for challenges you tackle. Second, putting one foot in front of the other is more digestible than expending energy on every impending challenge. Take things in stride as you do with every aspect of tackling an opportunity.  

Arianna Schioldager is Editor-in-Chief at Create & Cultivate. You can follow her @ariannawrotethis. 

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A Day in the Life: How This President and Blogger Handles Two Jobs

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.

Two CEOs Walk Into a Conference Room

The original version of this article appeared on Darling. 

Darling and Create & Cultivate have a long-standing relationship. Some might even call it a BFF-work friendship, seeing as CEO Sarah Dubbeldam of Darling and Jaclyn Johnson CEO of C&C have been friends for over five years. 

So when Darling thought it would be fun for the two of them to get together, and have a quick catch-up, we thought, of course! What's better than getting real IRL? 

Sarah, with and Darling managing editor Teresa Archer stopped by our West Hollywood office to meet up with Jaclyn and talk a little about why we love women, supporting female-owned companies, and the memories from the early days.

Teresa Archer: At the beginning of where you started, did you envision where you were going?

Jaclyn Johnson: It’s so funny because I always think the best businesses have no business plan. For me, when I started it was purely happy accident. I got laid off of my job before I started No Subject and the only way to go is up from rock bottom.

I always tell people, for me, it wasn’t like “I have a business plan, I have all this outreach.” It completely happened naturally and the way it was supposed to. Similarly, with C&C I was really young. I was 23, I didn’t know a lot about starting a business. I was the creative, I had all these ideas but I didn’t know about taxes and cash flow — all those things as a business owner you need to know about. So I hit a lot of trials and tribulations early on and really C&C manifested from that. I really wanted to start a community where freelancers could get together and ask, “What are you doing?” and “What’s working for you?”

So it really started out more DIY and retreats, but morphed based on my personal experiences and also the ones I heard from the other women. I saw women really need this advice, they really need a community where it’s giving you hard-hitting facts but also looks like something you want to be a part of; not a gross conference room or a legal zoom.

There’s this drawing of “the path to success” and it shows everybody thinks it’s A to B, but in actuality it’s all winding and crazy and it’s true! I mean we [Sarah and I] have known each other forever and I feel like it’s so funny to see your friends skyrocket like this. Six years ago we were like, “We have ideas!” Now, we have companies!

… the only way to go is up from rock bottom.

Sarah Dubbeldam: Yeah, we started with our mission statement which was just this concept of somehow the world being better. Originally I wanted to write a book, but we thought people have already written books about this kind of thing, so what’s a continual conversation? And we landed on a magazine.

From the beginning I wanted it to be a blog and a magazine. There wasn’t social media then, that came later. We always knew we wanted to do retreats and events and video was kind of a small inkling in my mind and I didn’t know how to do it. I was kind of the opposite [to Jaclyn] I was like, “I need a business plan!” I was an art major and I”m a creative, visionary person and I didn’t know how to do that so I partnered up early on with some people who were business majors at my college.

It was always so complicated and terrible. I had 95 versions of the plan on my computer and I was Googling “business plans” and I’d download these PDFs. Super extensive and some even said, “You just need a 1-sheet and charisma…”

JJ: [laughing] A 1-sheet and charisma! Amazing!

SD: Yeah, I was really confused about how to actually start. Same thing as you, though, we just started online content, which led to the print. It was about taking advantage of opportunity. You have to focus and figure out the shortest path to helping the business grow. That’s the hardest thing: not getting sideswiped by ideas that aren’t what you should be focusing on. Now we’re going into video because its just the most natural next step from the magazine. Darling has become a media company so that we can reach out past print and keep the dialogue we’ve started going in a really active way.

You have to focus and figure out the shortest path to helping the business grow.

TA: Awesome. What’s each of your most precious memories of the early days?

JJ: It’s funny; things sometimes happen at such warp speed that we’ll joke and talk about, “Remember that office we had that was so teeny and weird slash under construction the whole year we were there?” There are so many moments where you never think in a million years you’ll end up where you’ll end up.

I remember getting so excited about signing deals that were $2,000 and I was like, “We’re rich!” I always tell people when you’re first getting started to enjoy the beginning because once you are in it, you are IN it and you can’t even get your head up for five seconds to say, “We’re doing a great job, congrats!”

It’s always so funny to look back on, like original logo ideas. It’s horrifying! But it’s kind of the best, because you think “I can’t believe this is what I did.” All the archives show how far you’ve come.

SD: I think that my best memory of those days is shipping magazines out of my living room…

JJ: Oh, amazing!

SD: Yeah. We had like a million padded mailers in our living room, all the way to the ceiling, tables set up and our interns coming to ship them from our home. Our landlord even came and said, “You’re running a business out of your house, I’m gonna kick you out!”

The second memory is when Anthropologie emailed us to buy magazines and we didn’t know what to do. They ordered a magazine and one day we put a shipping label on that said, “Anthropologie Headquarters.” We realised that they had emailed us and were trying to buy magazines on our site but we had no wholesale set up. They were our first big retailer.

All the archives show how far you’ve come.

TA: Ok, last question. What do you each love about the other person’s brand and company?

JJ: Oooh I love this question! I am obsessed with Darling’s aesthetic, I feel like it’s very on point. I feel like there are very few brands you can look at and say, “That’s so Darling.” You’ve done such an amazing job, from the magazines to the dinners to the photo shoots to the website. You’ve built a brand that has such a feeling, an emotion and cinematic quality to it. I feel like that’s very hard to do, it’s so crowded in the market, it’s hard to differentiate yourself, but that’s what you guys have done.

SD: Thank you! Likewise, because I’m such a visual person I remember first going to your website and remember the colors, the bold font. It’s so clear what you do as a vision. From the beginning it was such a clear mission.

And your events are just gorgeous! I mean, even looking at your Instagram you get such a feeling of, “I wish I was there!” Your attention to detail is just perfect, from invites to the promoters you choose, you’ve made C&C be the coolest “next big thing.” It seems the coolest thing to be at for women in business and influence. You’ve really branded yourself as “We’re the best at this.”

So there you have it. We really, really like them and they like us. Stay in contact with Darling and check them out at Darling Magazine. 

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How the CEO of C&C Built a Truly Original Company

What’s does it mean to be a New Original?

It means you’re forward-thinking. A free thinker. You get outside the box and you pull people along with you. You see a hole in the market and go after it with everything you have. You trust your gut.

Which is exactly what happened when Jaclyn Johnson launched Create & Cultivate. After digging around the internet for answers about what it means to be a woman in business, she came up empty. What she ended up creating is a life and business fuller than she ever imagined.

With double-digit conferences under her belt and plenty more to come this year, American-made luxury eyewear brand STATE Optical Co. caught Jackie in between meetings to chat about what it’s like to be a boss in 2017.

Who has influenced you most?

I am consistently inspired by the women around me, I get to meet so many incredible women who are working hard to shatter the glass ceiling, push each other further and taking on challenges to pave the way.

What is your definition of excellence?

Your own version of getting it right.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

We need women in power, we need women taken seriously and we need real systemic change when it comes to women in power.

Head over to State Optical Co. to read the full profile on Jackie where she shares her key insights to success as their latest New Original ambassador. She also happens to look damn good in glasses.

Content Creators: Anne Sage & Caroline Lee, Light Lab Studios

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Content Creator List Here.   

The side hustle Queens. 

Anne is wearing Keds' Kickstart Perf Leather. Caroline is wearing Keds' Triple Metallic.

If Anne Sage had more time for one thing she’d be writing a novel. If Caroline Lee had more time for one thing she’d being DJ’ing. 

But both ladies, who collectively run Light Lab Studios in Atwater Village couldn't possibly make room for more. Or could they?

Anne’s path took her from Stanford, where she graduated with an English degree to NYC to complete a master's program in interior design. At just eight weeks in she realized it wasn’t for her, took an internship with a small branding agency in the city, nabbing a hands-on education in visual identity and consumer strategy. A decision possibly encouraged by her favorite piece of “real talk” advice. “When I went away to college,” she shares, “a friend told me ‘It’s okay not to like it." That phrase is my constant reminder that we don't have to feel happy about every step in our path.” In 2008, she started her blog. Two years later she moved to SF where she co-founded the online lifestyle publication Rue Magazine. Fast-forward two more years and she was writing Sage Living, an interiors book. Today she manages her online platforms, creates online content for lifestyle brands, and co-owns Light Lab. 

Caroline, the eldest of six has had a “an independent, self-reliant sort of mentality about life,” from the gate. At 15 she started her own piano studio. “Being my own business owner at 15,” Caroline says “definitely ignited a love for being self-employed and getting to be my own boss.” At 19, the photographer behind @woodnote, moved to Australia, something she says was a “doozy of a lesson to experience.” 

“Big moves mean starting over again,” she shares. “I've learned that it takes about three years of endless focus and intention to get a new idea to a place that it is actually profitable slash enjoyable.” She says she knows now that she can’t rush things. 

Though a self-professed serial domain purchaser, the opportunity with Light Lab was too good and when she started looking for creative spaces she saw the potential immediately. It needed a total overhaul and is totally unrecognizable from it’s original state, but Caroline says “In the last five years, I've become more willing to take risks.” She’s also“more interested in collaborating with others who have different strengths than I do— more focused on creating balance.”

That balance is Anne. The duo have partnered on the creative space that serves as a photography studio, an event space, hosting dinners catered by awesome women (and fellow Atwater business owner) like Barrett Pendergast of Valleybrink Road, and the perfect canvas for a pop-up shop. Not to mention, it's a Instagram goldmine with a crush-worthy pink velvet couch and vintage rugs Caroline imports from Morocco through @cococarpets. (What did we tell you about #sidehustles.) Oh, and it has the prettiest pink marble bathroom you’ve ever seen. 

Pink and plush decor aside, both women have seen their share of challenges. “One year after moving to LA, I was pretty sure I was going to throw in the towel. I was lonely, miserable, and nearly broke,” says Anne. During those desperate times, she moved back with her parents in Toronto for a month, unsure if she would return to the west coast. But you know what they say about our darkest hours. While at home she secured her contract for Sage Living. “The whole experience was totally in keeping with the phrase, ‘Things always look darkest before the dawn.’” Anne says.

2017 is her year to start writing fiction again. “Writing was my original love and I’ve got so many stories to tell.” If things go as planned she’ll also be adding a new storyline to her own. “2017 is also my year to start having babies!” 

How they manage to do it all and still find time for more is inspiring for any young entrepreneur who thinks there isn’t enough time. In addition to Light Lab, Woodnote Photography and her rug business, “stubborn as hell” Caroline takes DJ lessons, travels non-stop, plays violin in an LA community orchestra, and often partners with Sseko Designs and Justice Rising through photography to help help educate women in Africa. 

Caroline says that though she’s thought about throwing in the towel on days when it’s all too much, she’d never follow through with giving up or quitting; she has too much to do and more domains to purchase. Like her goal of photographing the first wedding on the moon. “No big deal,” she jokes. Her husband, Jayden Lee, gave her the best advice: “Meet people where they're at, and leave them better than you found them.” Sounds like the lucky free spirit has two sages in her life. 

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Philanthropy: Lauren Paul & Molly Thompson, Kind Campaign

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Philanthropy List Here. 

Killing it with kindness.

Both Lauren Paul and Molly Thompson, co-founders of The Kind Campaign experienced bullying in middle and high school. Experiences that shaped who they are and gave them the first-hand knowledge needed when they launched Kind Campaign. 

While attending Pepperdine University, Lauren had the opportunity to intern for Tom Shadyac on his documentary project, I Am. Wanting to do something since being "severely bullied" in middle school, Lauren shares that the experience working on a documentary gave her the idea to work on a documentary of her own. One that specifically addressed the issues of bullying. 

Lunch in the Broadway Cafe at Pepperdine was the starting point, when both Molly and Lauren enthusiastically said, “YES” to an “uncharted adventure.” 

“It was during that life-changing lunch,” shares Lauren, “that I pitched the idea about creating a documentary.” Molly was all-in. “From that moment on,” she says, “we dove head first into everything. The moment we turned on the cameras and held our first interview for the film, we both knew there was a huge potential for something greater.” 

That was in 2008. Bullying wasn’t the hot-button topic it is now. They didn’t know if people would be willing to open up about their experiences. But the moment women and girls started talking it was clear that the issue had been swept under the rug for too long. Like Lauren, Molly had her own share of bullying experiences in high school. “Bullying specifically between females,” shares Molly, “was not addressed. It was almost expected and accepted as a rite of passage.”

The college seniors were about to launch a movement. 

Those initial interviews for Finding Kind, paved the road toward Kind Campaign, which officially launched in February, 2009. Since inception, Molly and Lauren have spoken at over 400 schools in North American and the UK, activated 390 Kind Clubs across the globe, and Lauren shares that “Kind Campaign Assemblies are now hosted by faculty and volunteers almost every day of the school year.” The co-founders are getting ready to head out on their 12th Founders Assembly Tour. 

It’s been an incredible journey for both. Lauren grew up in Orange County and Molly in Dallas, but after sharing a laugh over a YouTube video their junior year of college the two became “fast friends.” 

“It feels very surreal looking back on the last several years,” shares Molly who gave birth to daughter Lyla last August and understands the power of the messaging more than ever. “When we first started Kind Campaign, we were running on passion and adrenaline, pulling all nighters and barely scraping by with enough funds to keep going and spreading the movement.” Now the goal of offering free global programming is a reality. 

Lauren knows that more than ever young women need to know “that they matter, they are heard and they are equal. That no one can tell them who they are and what they can and can't accomplish.” She also brings up the power of social media and the influence it has over girls’ self-esteem. “There needs to be more conversation about how to have a healthy relationship with your phone. To remind girls that their worth is not determined by how many likes or followers they have.” Adding, “This is something we ALL need to hear and think about.” 

More from the co-founders below. 

What do you think young women and girls need to hear now more than ever?

Molly: That they are strong, powerful, beautiful, inspiring, unique, and more than capable of accomplishing anything that they put their minds to. And then remind them of this over and over and over again in order to combat the mixed messages that women and girls are fed by the media, by what is going on in our world today, by the experience that they have at school or in the workplace, and by the things that they start to tell themselves because it has become so ingrained within them. I think more than anything they need to be encouraged and allowed to be whoever it is they truly are, rather than to be told what it is they can or can't do, or be put in a box. Now, more than ever, I think we need to remind ourselves and our peers that we are enough, more than enough; and no one can take away our intellect, our self respect, our beauty, our talents, our voice, or our worth

How can we each carry kindness into the world?

Lauren: Serving others doesn’t necessarily mean starting your own non-profit or dedicating your whole life to community service. One of my favorite quotes was said by Howard Thurman. It reads: “Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

I deeply believe in that motto. There is nothing better than a person who comes alive when they tell or show you what they do or what they’re passionate about, whether that’s being a teacher, sailing, owning a bakery, being a lawyer, singing or being a mom. You will be the best you if you find a way to do what you love and love what you do.

Molly: Every single person has the ability to change the course of someone else's life, just by being awake, being aware, and being kind. We truly do not know the battles that others face in their day-to-day lives, so if we just focus on ourselves and our ability to carry kindness into the world, and we are a light in someone else's life (however small it may be), we have the chance to make someone's day and even save their life.

What is a time in your life when you thought, 'I can't do this anymore?'

Lauren: When I went through my experience being bullied in middle school I remember waking up every morning and thinking that there was no way I was going to make it through another day of school.  I went to bed every night not wanting to wake up in the morning. I truly lost myself.  But with the support of one friend and my family, I was able to dig myself out of that depression and now I look back and that dark time and know that it all happened for a reason.  Without that experience, I would not be doing the work I am doing. I am now able to stand in front of hundreds of girls in our assemblies and remind them that their school experience is just one chapter of their story.  That no matter how dark the chapter is that you are in, there is a whole life ahead of you, waiting to be lived, filled with love and adventure.

What's a surprising story you heard during a school assembly that's stuck with you?

Lauren: Rachel is a girl we met during our last Spring tour while in Utah. At the end of all of our assemblies, we take a picture with the group of girls we are speaking to and post the picture on Kind Campaign’s social media. We were scrolling through the girls comments on her school’s photo and came across this comment from Rachel:

“I was at the Kind Campaign assembly at Draper Park. You guys really changed my point of view on everything. I can relate to everyone in the film. Every girlfriend I've had, I have lost.This morning when I woke up I was thinking about committing suicide. I came to school today on the verge of tears. Once I got in and sat down I wasn't really paying attention but once I watched the movie and I was in tears. I came up and shared my Kind Card. It was about one of my best friends. He stood by me through all my hard times. Once I got home I realized that even though some girls can be rude and don't understand what their words can do that it shouldn't be worth dying over. I called my best friend and talked to him for an hour. I was just crying my eyes out. Your assembly today? Yeah, it saved my life.”

We were really moved after reading that and immediately connected with her through Instagram and offered further support with our in-house counselor. Our on-call therapist counsels girls and parents who write to Kind Campaign and need extra conversation and support. This service is free of charge. I still keep in touch with Rachel and she is happy, healthy and doing so well!

What does female empowerment mean to you?

Molly: Everything. Female empowerment is everything. Celebrating each other, our accomplishments, our differences, our failures and our victories so that we feel emboldened and proud of who we are with the knowledge that we are good enough. It has taken on a new meaning since having Lyla. Even though it's always been important to me, now it's even more personal. Not just for myself, not even for all of the incredible young women we meet through our work, but for her - my little heartbeat. She needs to know her worth and feel supported and celebrated. Not judged and picked a part, scrutinized under a more harsh microscope than others.

"Female empowerment is everything."

Tweet this. 

Lauren: It means getting to know yourself. Loving and respecting your body, heart and mind. It means doing your best to let go of those female insecurities we all harbor. It means feeling genuinely happy for other women and celebrating their beauty, uniqueness and accomplishments without going to a jealous or competitive place. Don’t be a part of drama and gossip.

What’s on your career bucket list?

Lauren: I’ve always dreamt of writing a book. I would also love to continue speaking in other countries.  Molly and I took our Kind Campaign Founders Assemblies to the UK last year and I would love to see our programming continue to spread globally.

Molly: Honestly, in so many ways I feel like I've already exceeded what any bucket list could capture. Not to sound cheesy, but I really do feel so unbelievably lucky to be in the position I am and do what we do. We have always said, "If we can just impact one person, then it has all been worth it." And thanks to social media for making this world seem so small and allowing us to see Kind Campaign's impact, we have the opportunity to hear from that "one person" who has been impacted on a regular basis. So I guess my career bucket list would be to keep Kind Campaign's messaging current enough as time goes on to continue to have such a profound impact on people. And to meet Oprah.

STEM: Aarthi Ramamurthy, Lumoid

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full STEM List Here.

Try before you buy, 2.0

Lumoid Founder & CEO Aarthi Ramamurthy is betting that the only thing better than buying is trying. Because purchasing gadgets can pricey (read stressful), Lumoid is eliminating the guesswork with an online service that lets you rent and test professional quality camera and audio gear, fitness trackers, drones, and more. This way, you can guarantee your satisfaction with a product before committing to it. Even better? The money you spend on renting goes toward the total purchase price. What’s not to love?

Coming from Chennai, India, Ramamurthy was recruited by Microsoft a year before even graduating college. Prior to founding Lumoid three years ago, she worked as a software engineer at xBox and Netflix, becoming an expert in consumer electronics and studying the psychology behind how people buy. “Getting the product off the ground was easy,” says Ramamurthy, “But, hiring is always a challenge — as it should be — really good people are few and hard to find.”

In 2017, women sadly still hold less than 25% of all jobs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). It’s a gross gender gap that Ramamurthy takes seriously, and does her part to remedy. “I feel strongly about how few women are taking up STEM and engineering courses, and I’d like to change that and see more women enroll in them,” she explains. As one of the few female founders in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Ramamurthy embraces her role as inspiration and mentor. “I help other female founders who are earlier in the process of building their company — I try to help with fundraising, introductions, or just talking through their issues.” While she’s all for supporting other women, she looks forward to a time when female CEOs no longer need to be interviewed about their definition of female empowerment. Point taken.

As Lumoid continues to achieve new levels of success — moving into swanky, designer offices, securing new rounds of funding, and expanding into the wearable market — Ramamurthy has been making personal and professional strides, and taking inventory along the way. “I've tried to actively start celebrating small milestones and successes, since I know that I'm really bad at recognizing how far we've come as a company,” says the founder, whose capitalizing on the universally appealing ethos of try-before-you-buy. “I’ve come to appreciate the journey a lot more, stop worrying and focus on what's going right.” Rather than stressing over a career bucket list or a five year plan, she prefers to take it one day at a time.

STEM: Miki Agrawal, THINX

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full STEM List Here.

Taking on taboo with invention. 

 Miki Agrawal did what many inventors do: find the white space. Or in her case the red. No, we're not talking wine. We're talking periods. The CEO and co-founder behind the period-proof underwear, THINX, saw a need in a 15 billion dollar industry and went after it.

But converting people isn’t simple. At one point the company was $60K in the hole. “I had a struggling partnership,” she shares, “and investors who didn't ‘get’ the product…” So Miki once requested a male investor to wear a maxi pad over the course of a meeting. The point: to give him first-hand experience. 

It’s her out-of-the-box approach to all topics taboo that make Miki a force, and not just in the period space. She’s taking on incontinence with ICON, pee-proof underwear, as well as the booty with TUSHY, a bidet attachment for the toilet that she says, “elevates the American pooping experience to the 21st century.”

Get to know Miki, why a life coach changed her life, and what she’s looking forward to below. 

What is the most important step you took to get here?

Put one foot in front of the other (and also put reminders in my phone to breathe).

What are the challenges you encountered along the way?

Wrong partnerships, manufacturing struggles and generally growing a business! 

What keeps you going?

Changing culture and helping people at the same time. Truly. 

Who are the people you consider your mentors or influences and why?

My friends! They are all entrepreneurs or creatives and inspire me on the daily. 

What is the best piece of “real talk” advice you’ve received?

Hire slow; fire fast. 

What’s your favorite life advice?

Everything’s gonna be alright. 

How has your relationship to your career changed in the last five years?

I've worked hard on myself to become a better leader and human, cop to my mistakes quicker and be softer on everyone including myself. 

How has your relationship with yourself changed in the last five years?

Seeing a life coach has changed my life. It has forced me to face myself like I never have before and really find full integrity with what I am thinking, feeling and saying. 

What's on your career bucket list?

Impact a billion people and build a billion dollar company :-) 

What does female empowerment mean to you?

Women deserve a seat at the table. ALL studies point to the fact that women-led companies outperform male-led companies, boards that include more women have outperforming companies than only all-male boards, all signs are pointing to the fact that women absolutely deserve to have equal rights to men. It's time. 

Food: Hannah Hart

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Food List Here.

Clear Eyes. Full Hart. Can't Lose.

“Do you guys remember when I used to film this on my laptop,” Hannah Hart of My Drunk Kitchen fame asks her YouTube audience of over 4 million subscribers in one of her more recent YouTube videos, “Eggnog? Egg not!”

For those who don’t remember, it’s been over five years since the first episode of My Drunk Kitchen aired in March, 2011. Where a brunette, baby-faced Hannah advised strangers on the internet how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. The video was made as a joke at the request of a friend. It went viral. The hook: she downed a bottle of wine in the process, during which she realized she didn’t have any cheese. 

What Hannah did have were jokes and a whole lot of heart. A silliness and a face that twinkled with a kind of friendly familiarity that the internet needed. People have always bonded over laughter. Hannah became a reason to smile, even though her own life had given her plenty of reasons not to. She never could have imagined that YouTube would be the platform that launched her career and there were dark times in her life. “I called a suicide hotline and the response was so scripted it made me laugh and I kind of just snapped out of it… I was grateful the hotline was there for me, even though the way it saved me may have not been the most conventional.” 

In 2014, Hannah released her parody cookbook, My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut. It was a New York Times best-seller for five weeks. 

“I wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned in case they were able to help another."

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In her new memoir, Buffering, released fall 2016, Hannah candidly shares the reality of her upbringing. Heartbreaking and empowering she touches on dealing her sexuality, faith, self-esteem, as well as the struggles of having a schizophrenic mother. In many ways it is a departure from intoxicated, charismatic YouTuber, but it was a journey she needed to take.  

“I wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned in case they were able to help another,” Hannah shares. “Also, I want to start a dialogue about the gaping holes in our mental health system that leave non-violent people who are mentally ill with no options outside of homelessness.” 

In other ways, it’s a natural evolution. She's still sharing, still gathering people, this time in front of pages, instead of a screen. In the book she writes, “I fought against my truth in every move, shadowboxing myself and my subconscious, ducking and swinging.” 

Today, she’s coming out swinging. “She [Hannah's mom] sang us a song about 'never giving up' when we were little. I think that's great advice for people who stop themselves from moving forward in their lives.” And Hannah is moving. She doesn’t know where her career will go, but is trying to stay present and pay attention to the changing media landscape. 

As an advocate for LGBTQ rights and those of mentally disabled community, when asked why now was the right time to share this truth with the world, Hannah says, “I was more afraid of becoming something I'm not. I'm very glad to see that people were willing to accept me as I am.”

Looking to the future, Hannah says she wants to start a foundation to educate people about mental illness as well as teaches family members strategies for communication around mental health. “I am rooting for everyone to find contentment in life,” says Hannah. “This involves making room for others to do so as well, not just ourselves.”

"I am rooting for everyone to find contentment in life."

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What Hannah will have room for in this upcoming year is unclear. With the book and a new six-episode culinary-travelogue series on the Food Network that will incorporate digital and social content, 2017 is gonna have a whole lotta Hart. 

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.  

Brushing Up: You're Waiting Too Long to Swap Your Toothbrush

Claire Burke wants you to brush better. Which is why she and Goby, co-founder Ben Goldberg, are sinking their teeth into the business of oral hygiene. It may not sound like the sexiest venture, but it's one full of possibility. Last week Goby launched their first product, the first-ever direct-to-consumer rechargeable electric toothbrush combining unprecedented value and convenience. The toothbrush is available for $50 with a subscription and replacement heads start at just $4. The charging station has no cords and is designed to minimize post-brushing build-up. Sound like a dream clean? 

We caught up with the entrepreneur to talk why teeth and how Goby is changing the game.

Can you tell us a little about your background? How did you end up as the co-founder of Goby?

I graduated from NYU’s Stern School of Business before working at investment bank Lincoln International for six years. Simultaneously, I pursued my personal passion for film and media by co-founding a production company. In 2013, I left investment banking to pursue an MBA at Columbia Business School. While at Columbia, I immersed myself in media and technology, working for The Raine Group, Hearst, theSkimm, and Female Founders Fund, each of which expanded my interest in startups and exposed me to the value and power of brand. I met Ben through a mutual friend from business school and was immediately drawn to the Goby mission. Deemed “Cavity Claire” by my family growing up, I was inspired by my own struggles with good oral care and was determined to enhance consumers’ oral care experience by creating a value-driven oral care product with a relatable brand personality. 

With Goby you’re hitting a few of major markets and key trends— direct-to-consumer, health and beauty, and the membership business model. We’ve seen many businesses go this route. Why was now the right time for teeth?

We saw a significant opportunity to disrupt oral care because oral health is an overlooked space in health and beauty. Oral health is important! Many diseases have oral manifestations, oral issues are the leading cause of missed school and work days and 50% of people aged 30 and older have some form of gum disease. Leveraging the direct-to-consumer / membership business model was a natural starting point for us to enhance the brushing experience for consumers across the country. The average consumer changes their toothbrush every nine months as opposed to the dentist-recommended three months, so we offer a subscription to ensure that our customers can keep both their mouths and brushes clean without having to worry about running to the drug store.

"The average consumer changes their toothbrush every nine months as opposed to the dentist-recommended three months."

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What went into research and development? How long did it take from concept to product? 

We tested all the various models on the market to determine which features were necessary and which were superfluous. We assessed dozens of other products, surveyed friends, family and colleagues and ultimately designed a product that fits seamlessly into the modern consumer’s lifestyle. From concept to product, it took about two years. 

Why was the design element so important? 

Design was important because it folds into so many aspects of the value proposition -- creating something intuitive and user-friendly that breaks through the currently overcrowded and over complicated market, ultimately providing the consumer with the best possible brushing experience at a fraction of the price of the competition.

How do you get people to look at something that they’ve used their entire life and think about the possibility of doing it differently?

It wasn’t as much about rethinking, but rather maximizing the consumer’s time and taking the onus off of the consumer -- having them think less about brushing and replacing, while simultaneously improving the quality of their brush and ultimately the state of their oral health.

Was it a hard sell?

We had been working on Goby for nearly two years, bootstrapping the vast majority of the way. The funding process was definitely not easy, but fortunately, our investors appreciated the problem we were trying to solve because they experienced the same problem firsthand -- frustration with today’s current oral care products. For both Goby and our investors, we experienced a pain point, and felt there must be a better way.

You have an investor specifically geared toward early stage tech products that transform consumer experiences for the better. How did you approach those meetings?

First, we tried to clearly articulate the problem. What we found with the investors that ultimately invested was they personally experienced the problem, too, and saw value in our solution. Second, it helped that the market opportunity is significant. Everyone brushes their teeth, but most people don’t do it well. Electric toothbrushes provide value, yet less than 15% of people in the U.S. use them. Goby’s improved experience has a measurable impact on consumers’ oral health.

From your perspective, what goes into building a strong brand?

Developing a brand personality that the consumer can connect with, while simplifying and maximizing the consumer’s experience with the product.

Why do you think there hasn’t been much innovation— aside from bristles and grip— in the toothbrush space?

In the electric toothbrush space in particular, there hasn’t been much innovation because the market is dominated by two large companies and is thus zero-sum. For the incumbents, there’s no need to innovate from a business model, messaging or experience perspective, but consumers are consistently expecting more from the brands with which they affiliate. Goby aims to resonate with those who are looking for an easier, relatable and more affordable oral care experience.

What do you hope to achieve with Goby?

We want to improve oral care by providing a brush that is affordable, intuitive and relatable -- overall, we want to enhance the oral care experience. 

Cavity Claire, your nickname as a kid. If you had to blame one food, what was your go-to indulgence as a kid? And now?  

I always had and always will have a sweet-tooth. I can’t blame my cavities on one specific food item, but in general, sugar was the culprit.

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Millennial Women Are Burning Out Faster Than Ever

Millennial women are burning out. They are also leaving their jobs at a faster rate than their male counterparts. This has nothing to do with babies. So what’s happening?

Here are four common reasons and what we can do about it.

THE REASON: SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS

Even though women are starting companies and bringing home the bacon more than ever, there is still gender bias that exists in both the workplace and at home. In 2013 the US Census released data showing that 40% of household breadwinners were women. Still, the pressure to perform gender roles at home and smash through them at work is exhausting.

WHAT CAN WE DO: BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF THE FUTURE! 

This is a tough one because this is something that will (fingers-crossed) work out over time. The rate of men staying home to raise the kids is not congruous to the number of women in the workplace. And women have been starting businesses at a faster rate than men for the last twenty years. Research has shown that women will create over half of the 9.72 million new small business jobs expected to be created by 2018.

So, we keep fighting for parity, in all areas of our lives. And we look to the future generations. Specifically, Gen Z, who, research has shown will be the least judgmental of all generations. They are less likely to ascribe to gender norms or put people in boxes.

"We keep fighting for parity, in all areas of our lives. And we look to the future generations."

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Which means expectations will change-- for both genders-- and ideally, the pressure to be all things to all people will subside.  

THE REASON: UBER-CONNECTED WORKPLACES

Technology, you Medusa. Your snakes have slithered into every moment of our lives and it’s turning us to stone. Or ash, since we’re talking about #burnout.

Our parents never had to deal with this! They’ll never understand the reality of working round-the-clock and having an employer that can contact us at all hours of the day. I once had a boss who, if he wasn’t in the office, Facetimed me almost every morning to make sure I was staying on track. It became exhausting to see his face. Sometimes I was in the bathroom. Other times, I’d miss the call because I was refilling my coffee. If I missed it, I was reamed. And I burnt out 100% and left that job.

WHAT CAN WE DO: SWITCH OFF, WITHIN REASON

Easier said than done. A black screen is our worst nightmare, but we are creating an abyss more ominous than any black screen: our professional burnout before 30. 

"Technology, you Medusa. Your snakes have slithered into every moment of our lives."

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You need to set boundaries with your job. There is no reason that you need to be answering emails at midnight or checking your phone FIRST thing upon waking. The healthiest mind is a balanced one. How many times do we have to say it before it sticks?

Start somewhere small-- because small changes create bigger boundaries and better habits. Aside from the obvious dangers of texting while driving, make a pact with yourself to NEVER answer a single work email or text while you are driving because it will help set a boundary. It will not only save your life or others’, but driving is a 100% legitimate reason to not answer a frantic text/email from a boss or colleague. Tell your boss you’ll no longer be answering texts or emails from the car. As long as you make it to work on time, this is healthy place to start.

THE REASON: UNCLEAR CAREER PATHS 

We hear about women who are fired and find themselves.

We hear about women who boldly quit and find themselves.

We hear about women who make the transition from “job” to “career.”

Very rarely do we hear about women who stayed the course and found themselves within their current position. Guess what? It happens! This should excite you even though career means something very different than it did 20 years ago. The shifting technological landscape and startup world mean everything is moving at warp speed. It’s hard to know what a tenured career will look like when you can’t see two years from now. It's hard to think about the fact that maybe our generation will never really retire! 

WHAT WE CAN DO: BE THE CARTOGRAPHER OF YOUR OWN CAREER

If you feel lost within your current position, write down the goals of where you want to go. You can take the freelance backroad or you can hop on the corporate interstate but goal-mapping is important and journaling is the enemy of confusion.

This is completely on you. It’s not up to your employer or boss to create your path. If you want to move forward within the company, make it known. Talk to you supervisor about what your options are. Don’t quit because you can’t see the forest through the trees. Wipe the sweat from your brow and refocus.

THE REASON: IT’S NOT YOUR PASSION

It doesn’t help that social media features lots of influencers who have “quit” their day jobs and refused to pursue passion in the margins. Some people say that if it’s not your passion, you will burn out. But other millennial women are using this as an excuse to bounce from their obligations.

WHAT CAN WE DO: FIND THE PASSION IN YOUR CURRENT JOB

The pairing of job and/or career and passion is not a perfect one. If you are looking for complete satisfaction out of a career, boy will you will be looking for a long time! Even the people you meet who love their career, still don’t like them sometimes. It’s like marriage-- some days it’s love, some days it’s work.

Everything worth having is hard work-- that includes passion. No relationship and no job will completely satisfy you; it’s the reason why we have more than one friend. Unfortunately it’s much harder to have more than one job. So work to find the passion in the work you are doing and you might end up finding your true calling. Or falling for the job you already have. 

And then think back to point #2 and map out your career goals. 

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It's National Ice Cream Day! Meet the Woman Who's Changing the Ice Cream Biz One Flavor at a Time

Photo Credit: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

Founder of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Jeni Britton Bauer, says that if her business was a flavor it would be Dark Chocolate: "Complex and game-changing, hard to replicate."

With over two decades dedicated to the scoop game, Jeni knows a thing or two about packing a pint, but hitting the sweet spot didn't come easy. There were learning curves, major lessons and hard, trailblazing work. 

We checked in with Jeni who shared about ups, downs, her entrepreneurial vs. business spirit (yes, there is a difference), and which pint she would choose to eat fooooreevvver. 

Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got into the scoop business? 

I grew up wanting to be an entrepreneur. My grandmother is an art teacher and because of her, I learned to constantly create and make things. Yet, we have two very different views on how to best craft an item. As an artist, she never wants to make the same thing twice, but I relish in it. When I hit upon something I love, I want to replicate, build a process and perfect the item until it’s flawless. And as a child, I started more businesses than I could count. So, it was inevitable that I would find something that I loved to make and run with it. I studied Art and Art History at The Ohio State University. I was also interested in pastry-making and working for a French bakery. I very seriously considered switching over to perfuming. I have always been led by my sense of smell so I wanted to go to Grasse, France and become a nose or find a way to incorporate scent into art.

One day I had the idea to use ice cream to carry scent, and that moment changed my life. It was precisely where all of my interests intersected and I knew in an instant that American ice cream could get a lot better and more interesting. So I set sail -- and the rest is a crazy ass history of ups and downs and hustle like nobody's beeswax. 

Ups and downs. You were living out of your car during the first months of operating your first ice cream stand, Scream. You’ve come a long way. What’s some advice you have for a scrappy entrepreneurial spirits?

I'm an adventurer. I wasn't bothered a bit by living out of my car or hustling. I have so much energy and excitement for what's possible and very very few resources to make it happen -- I have found that my hands, feet, brain, and friends have been my greatest resource. 

Every entrepreneur has a very different experience, but one thing is always true: you get a wacky idea that becomes a vision and then you start working toward that vision and never quit. No matter what. Entrepreneurship can be extraordinarily isolating; the better your idea is, the more people will be repelled by it. When I started, no one wanted spicy ice cream, or flower petal or herb ice cream. It’s about getting help from anyone you can and proving yourself over time. You are the only one who will champion your idea, and in some ways, that never ends. It's always about seeking great people to help. And to do that, you have to get really fucking good at what you do. You have to earn your teammates because they make all the difference. 

"Entrepreneurship can be extraordinarily isolating; the better your idea is, the more people will be repelled."

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Interior St. Louis location. Photo Credit: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

What kind of learning curve did you experience between opening shop number 2 and shop number 10? [Ed note: there are currently 23 scoop shops.]

Suuuuuch a huge learning curve.  But again, it's about my teammates. They would never take on something they can't knock out of the park - give or take a few snafus. We always push ourselves to try something new in each store and we learn from that experience. 

We must get used to seeing great companies embarking on controlled growth. It's impossible to survive and truly build demand for the ingredients we want or build a safe and secure community of jobs without the resources to sustain it. The 21st century is very different from the 20th century, where we saw great little companies explode and just go downhill. It's not only possible to grow and get better, it should be expected. We look up to trailblazing companies like Patagonia for this reason. We will get better as we grow, not the other way around.

"We will get better as we grow, not the other way around."

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Is every pint still hand packed? How do you scale and business while remaining committed to local and quality?

We haven't hand packed every pint for a long time. And we determined that it’s no longer a safe way to pack pints, by our safety standards. It took us a long time to figure out how to get our ice cream to work on a pint packing machine because our ice cream is more viscous than others as it comes out of the ice cream machine.

We're building our company as a community of people and many are not local to our kitchen. We work with a 5th generation peach farm in Georgia, a vanilla farm in Uganda, and various makers and producers locally, nationally, regionally and internationally. We believe in each other and we believe that by coming together we make better ice cream. That’s how we’ve approached it from day one.

Quality is a choice every company makes every single day. And it begins with your values. There is no reason a company can't grow and maintain quality, but we also know that as we grow we can actually improve quality from the perspective of ingredients, molecular science, safety and direct partnerships. In many ways it’s the only argument for growth at all. Scale is important in ice cream unlike some other food products. You can't even begin to impact dairy quality unless you have scale to support it - which is why we love Ohio so much. But the same is true of direct trade vanilla or fair trade cocoa. We can all order ingredients from a catalog, but we want to be more than that. 

"Quality is a choice every company makes every single day. And it begins with your values."

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You’ve talked about the difference between entrepreneurs and business people. Have you grown to understand and be more interested in the business side of things? 

The short answer is no. I retain too much “artist” in my heart. In fact, I have less and less interest in the business stuff as I learn more about it. I like to create experiences, and to do that I need resources and a great team. That's what motivates me. The older I get the more comfortable I am in admitting that. 

Exterior Westside Provisions, Atlanta. Photo Credit: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

"I have less and less interest in the business stuff as I learn more about it. I like to create experiences."

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The long answer is yes. I am inspired by my teammates who are so flipping brilliant at everything from leadership and org stuff, HR, R+D, Art and Design, and our finance team kills me—some of the most creative people I know. They find stories where I see a paper full of digits. 

The truth is that I have so much belief and trust in these people and our talents work really really well together. I have the luxury of being able to purposefully remain blind to many business details. Not to say that I don't keep up, I absolutely do, I just keep my head very squarely on creating the best ice creams I can imagine and making great places to eat them in, but always with great reverence for the resources we've built and how to do the most with them. 

What are some lessons you’ve learned about rapid growth?

We have 23 stores. I've been at this for 21 years (I have had two ice cream businesses). Jeni's is almost 15 years old. We've stepped out our growth. As we get more great people and knowledge and dairy we apply it. Every single day is challenging in business. That's what makes it fun. 

Still, if you want to do something new it's often difficult to know how to do it. You can hire the top consultants in the world and you'll still fuck up somehow. You get really really tough blazing the path through the forest. 

----And you make it a lot easier for the copycats who benefit from your blood, sweat and tears. 

Scoop pros. Photo Credit: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

If you had to eat one of your pints from now until forever, which would you choose? 

Lemon buttermilk frozen yogurt. It's perfect. And I say that after making it for 20+ years - with tweaks along the way. Perfect texture, body, and flavor. I think this is one of a handful of our flavors that really sets us apart from all others in terms of know-how. Plus, it's so simple: fresh lemon, cultured buttermilk, bio-dynamically raised yogurt, grass-pastured milk and a nice dose of cream. You can't ever tire of it. It would sustain you for forever, too - the right combo of protein, fat, carbs.

OK. Truth: Is the dessert business sweet? What parts are more like veggies? 

The highs are really high. The lows are really low. But they balance each other to become a great adventure. 

But I have a very strict policy: if I'm going to eat ice cream daily (which I do) then I have to balance that with lots of veggies (which I do).

It works the same way. 

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