Running a Seven Figure Business While Pregnant

For the last 10 years of my career, I worked in corporate America, specifically within the entertainment industry, focused on integrated marketing for consumer brands and media entities. I started straight out of college as a marketing coordinator, and within five years, I’d been promoted to a director-level position. It was a very fun and fast-paced career that had me on a plane every 3-4 days for brand campaigns at big events like Fashion Week, The Grammys, Coachella, SuperBowl, essentially every tentpole entertainment event. 

However, while successful on paper, I wasn’t very passionate about my work and I felt this inner pull telling me that this is not what I’m meant to do forever. The problem was, I had no clue what I wanted to do. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to do more meaningful work, so I started to go on my own personal journey of exploring what I want the rest of my life to look like. That ultimately led me to my own “Eat, Pray, Love” journey around Europe, investing in a life coach, and reigniting a dream I’d written in my journal while in high school to create a platform that empowers others to realize and actualize their full potential. I, of course, didn’t know that it would take the form it has today, but I knew that I would hate to wonder “what if” ten years from now if I didn’t at least give myself permission to explore what it could be.

Within this long journey from where I was to where I am, I've learned so many wonderful things that can help anyone who is stuck in a rut looking to live their dream life or a spark that they are so desperately missing. These are a few tips and tricks I learned along the way.

Set Boundaries

This is no easy task and is something that takes time to learn. First, start with clearly defining what your boundaries are with work, friends, family, and your partner. When you are clear on your boundaries with others it helps you to realize when someone is overstepping, or when you might feel uncomfortable. Put together a plan of action on how you will handle the situation so you're more prepared for when it happens.

Ask for Help

As an entrepreneur, I know firsthand how ambitious, independent, and optimistic we are. However, when situations arise where we need to ask for help, we seem to struggle. There are far more benefits when asking for help versus not asking for help. Knowing that someone else would take the time to help you out is a great feeling. In a way, it helps rejuvenate us. Asking for help also allows us to potentially grow our network and gain new perspectives, which could even lead to new opportunities! 

The same rules apply to your personal and love life. As entrepreneurs, we are often wearing many hats in our businesses. We are marketing, HR, admin, support, etc. It can be exhausting, and you may be doing an awesome job in your business, but your household duties may have suffered the consequences. It’s okay to hire help. It’s also okay to lean on friends and family for support. They know you best and can give you sound advice or a pick me up when you need it. 

Enjoy the Little Moments

If you told me five years ago that I would be living in Paris, married, with a baby on the way I would’ve laughed! What really helps me put things in perspective is remembering how much the life I’m living now felt so out of reach years ago. 

Instead of worrying about the future, I look around me and soak in everything I’ve accomplished and how far I’ve come in my journey. Enjoy moments during pregnancy with your spouse. Enjoy the moments getting ready for your little one. Don’t forget to give yourself grace, you’re raising a human!

Position Your Business to Scale

Running a seven-figure business while pregnant is A LOT. Make sure your product suite is built to scale around your lifestyle. The luxury of being a business owner is the ability to change up the structure. Thankfully for me, I’m in a place in my business where I can hire help. Having people on my team who are passionate, knowledgeable, and help bring new ideas to the table is so important. You can’t grow a business with longevity without help!

Get Organized

I can’t stress enough how important being organized is. It doesn’t only help with staying on top of tasks, but also helps ease anxiety and make me feel more confident in my plans for the day, week, and month. Having a to-do list is old-fashioned but there’s nothing better than being able to mark a task complete or being able to scratch it off your list. Being able to map out my day and visually see the tasks that need to get done really helps me put everything in perspective. It helps me understand if my timelines are realistic or not. Maybe I need to extend one project, or maybe I can shorten the timeline for another.

If this past year has taught us all anything, it’s that we can’t always perfectly plan for what’s ahead. What works year one of your business, may not work at all year two. You also might be working in a different time zone or in a different environment than you're used to. Adaptation is the key. At the start of the pandemic, my sales completely tanked and it felt like nothing was working in my business. 

I had two options: go and get a job or get serious about adjusting to circumstances that are out of my control by doing things that are in my control. I revamped my programs, messaging, and adapted my business model to what became the new normal. Doing so took my business from $100K in sales to $1M in sales in less than one year. I’ve seen my clients scale their businesses, and it’s not easy, but it’s definitely possible and it’s definitely worth it. You’ll never know what you can achieve if you don’t try!

About the Author: Natanya Bravo was a powerhouse working for Fortune 500 brands as VP of marketing for 10 years. Flying back and forth from NYC to LA, while leading a large team. This was everything Natanya worked so hard for! But, for some reason, Natanya felt unfulfilled. One night out at dinner her friend asked her, “What’s something you always wanted to do but was too afraid to say out loud?” and Natanya answered, “Move to Paris”. She came up with excuse after excuse, and then finally moved to Paris alone. Upon arriving, she wrote down her goals and what she wanted to accomplish. She now lives in her dream city, with her fiancé, is currently pregnant, and runs her very own seven-figure business abroad.

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Vanessa Quigley Co-Founder Chatbooks Interview

You asked for more content around business finances, so we’re delivering. Welcome to Money Matters where we give you an inside look at the pocketbooks of CEOs and entrepreneurs. In this series, you’ll learn what successful women in business spend on office spaces and employee salaries, how they knew it was time to hire someone to manage their finances, and their best advice for talking about money.

Photo: Courtney McOmber

Vanessa Quigley co-founder of Chatbooks

In an interview with Forbes, you revealed that an intense episode of mom guilt drove you to start Chatbooks. Can you take us back to that moment? What inspired you to launch your business and pursue this path? 

I have seven children, and for the first seven years of motherhood, I was very good at scrapbooking our family's story. But things changed as more babies came and as digital photography became the norm. Years later, I found my youngest, who was five at the time, in bed bawling his eyes out. He had been looking at a little photo album his preschool teacher made for him and was moved to tears when he told me, "Mama, I never want to grow up!" It was adorable and a gut punch all at the same time. I wanted him to be able to hold onto more of his memories and knew that I needed to create an easier way to do that for us and families everywhere!

You’re a mom of seven and the co-founder of Chatbooks along with your husband. How has being a mother changed your priorities and your focus in terms of your career? Do you think motherhood has made you a better business person? 

My career has actually made me a better mother. I'm happiest when I'm stretching myself, learning, and growing, and I've never felt more stretched before in my life than I have been while building our business. I was a stay-at-home mom for years before becoming an entrepreneur, and motherhood prepared me not only to have my product insight but also taught me the importance of team culture. We refer to our family as "Team Quigley" and I work very hard at helping my children know what it means to be a Quigley and what is expected of them and how important it is that we are all aligned on our goals to work together. And it's the same for our Chatbooks team.

Since launching Chatbooks in 2014, you’ve raised over $20 million in funding from investors. No doubt you’ve learned a lot along the way—What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?

1. How big is this opportunity? How do we know it’s a big opportunity? How can we show that we’re off to a good start capturing that big opportunity? What is our plan to continue and accelerate the momentum we have?

2. Why now? Why is right now the best time to chase this opportunity? Why was five years ago too early? What market change or technological breakthrough makes today the right time?

3. Why you? Why are we going to win versus the next team? What is the founder-market fit story? What secret have we discovered and do we believe in more than anyone else?

What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors? What do investors need to bring to the table other than just money?

It is a partnership. At least, that is how we view it. Investors need to bring expertise in some aspect of company building that complements your own team’s current abilities. Also, make sure you are on the same page as far as a timeline. Some investors are in it for the long haul, and some are looking for more of a quick return. Make sure you’re both trying to win the same game before you bring on a new partner. 

Where do you think is the most important area for a business owner to focus their financial energy and why?

It depends on your business, but for us, product and marketing have been the biggest areas of investment. When we raised our Series A it was on the strength of our performance and we just needed more fuel to put on the fire. We had a product that worked, and it was great to be able to get more financing to spend on marketing. Your business is going to grow and you will need money to hire a team to support it and to, most importantly, hire the right people—and that is expensive. 

What was your first big expense as a business owner and how should small business owners prepare for that now?

Our first large expense was on the creation of our viral “Real Mom” video. To make the video we spent more than we ever had on anything. However, we got back the investment in three days. Today, the video has more than 100 million views. 

What are your top three largest expenses every month?

1. Advertising 2. Printing/shipping 3. Personnel costs 

Do you pay yourself, and if so, how did you know what to pay yourself?

In the early days, we did not pay ourselves; it was actually a couple of years of no paychecks. And then we went to the bare minimum, enough to sustain life and pay the bills. As the business has grown and we’ve become more profitable, we have gotten a small raise here and there. The real value now is in our ownership of the company. 

Photo: Courtney McOmber

Would you recommend other small business owners pay themselves? 

If you don’t have to, then no, bootstrap as much as you can. If you can hire and build the business without paying yourself, then don’t pay yourself. The more ownership you can retain the better. For us, we went a couple of years without paying ourselves and by the time we landed on a product that was working, we had to raise money because we had a business team, seven kids, and a mortgage. 

Did you hire an accountant? Who helped you with the financial decisions and setup? Are there any tools or programs you recommend for bookkeeping?

In the beginning, we hired an accountant, and then years later, we got someone in-house at Chatbooks. My husband was an accounting major and has an MBA, so finance stuff was the easy part. Making something people want and figuring out how to sell it is the hard part. Do that and everything else will work out. We recommend starting with Quickbooks and Excel, and then when it gets complicated hire an accountant.

How did you know you were ready to hire and what advice can you share on preparing for this stage of your business? 

We were trying to build software and we didn’t know how to code so we needed help with the front-end and the back-end. Luckily, we found our first backend developer on Craigslist and he was really, really good and he is still with us today. That is why we couldn’t pay ourselves because we had to hire for the skills we lacked. Be honest with yourself about your skillset and the help you are going to need. Consider possibly taking on a partner. We took on a partner who was a tech wizard and that is what we needed more than anything. 

Do you think women should talk about money and business more?

Yes, yes, yes. Women tend to shy away from talking about money. No topic should be off the table. Whenever I interview an entrepreneur on my podcast, “The MomForce Podcast,” I ask them about funding and money matters. I think we should all be more comfortable talking about that.

Do you have a financial mentor, and do you think all business owners need one?

Yes, everyone needs one unless you have a background in that. That could be an adviser, investor, or partner. There are some things that you can do early on in your business that will have real, lasting repercussions. I also suggest hiring a lawyer to help protect your business from the get-go. 

What money mistakes have you made and learned from along the way?

We gave some equity to advisors early on. That, in some cases, was really helpful because we could give equity instead of payment, but we had varied success with that. Some people did a ton to help us and were really engaged with us and some, not so much. If I could do it again I would be more careful choosing advisors and working more closely with them. I wish we had set regular meetings with them and gotten more out of the relationships. 

What is your best piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?

Don’t run out of money. No, but seriously, figure out what is most important in growing your business, and don’t get ahead of yourself. We didn’t have a glamorous office space in the beginning, just a corner with a bunch of desks in a shared space. Today, we have a beautiful office with sweeping views of Utah Lake. When you are going to hire, get the best people. The best is not always the most expensive. If you realize it is not a good fit, don’t be afraid to cut them and start again. A lot of mistakes are made in hiring. Don’t be afraid to say this isn’t working and try again. 

Anything else to add?

“The Lean Startup” is the bible. And creating an MVP, a minimally viable product, to test your concept before going all-in is a must. Start small, do a test, see if there is interest. Like doing a pre-sale or Kickstarter, just get really creative to test the concept before you spend. When we started showing Chatbooks to people and they said, “Shut up and take my money!,” we knew we were onto something good and ready to invest.

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Jamila Powell Founder Naturally Drenched Interview

We know how daunting it can be to start a new business, especially if you’re disrupting an industry or creating an entirely new one. When there is no path to follow, the biggest question is, where do I start? There is so much to do, but before you get ahead of yourself, let’s start at the beginning. To kick-start the process, and ease some of those first-time founder nerves, we’re asking successful entrepreneurs to share their stories in our new series, From Scratch. But this isn’t your typical day in the life profile. We’re getting into the nitty-gritty details—from writing a business plan (or not) to sourcing manufacturers and how much they pay themselves—we’re not holding back.

Photo: Courtesy of Jamila Powell

tk intro

Jamila Powell founder of Naturally Drenched

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what you were doing professionally before launching Naturally Drenched?  

I am an attorney for the federal government. I am also an entrepreneur, mother, and the owner of one of the top texture salons in the country, Maggie Rose Salon. So much of the inspiration behind Naturally Drenched came from the day-to-day experiences I had with our trained stylists and customers within Maggie Rose Salon. I was able to see first-hand what our stylists would do for each unique type of hair texture. They would talk about the different needs of each kind of hair they would work with and about products they wished they had more of. This is when I first started to notice a lack of pre-conditioning treatments for textured hair and a lightbulb of inspiration went off. 

What was the “lightbulb moment” for Naturally Drenched? What inspired you to start your business and pursue this path? 

I think I had two major moments that really pushed me towards the path I’m currently on. First, I recognized how stylists at the Maggie Rose Salon were constantly in search of better products to use on natural and textured hair. And second, the COVID-19 implications on my salon really focused my headspace toward product innovation. I love working with hair but since I was no longer able to operate my salon, I turned to e-commerce as an alternative. 

Did you write a business plan? If so, was it helpful, and if not, what did you use to guide your business instead and why did you take that approach? 

While I know this is something I should have done, I didn’t write a business plan. I tend to go with the flow and if an idea sticks with me over time, then I know it’s something I have to pursue. Having a vision is key, but understanding a need to pivot from time to time is also a baseline for business expansion is important as well. 

How did you come up with the name Naturally Drenched? What are some of the things you considered during the naming process? 

It actually only took me a singular day to construct the name for the new brand. I really wanted something that sounded luxe but spoke to hydration. I wanted the name to represent how the product would react to naturally curly-girl hair: covered, dripping, a burst of hydration, environmentally-conscious, etc., and Naturally Drenched seemed to do just that. 

What were the immediate things you had to take care of to set up the business?

Building social channels and securing the domain name came first. When I decided to move forward with the project, I secured the trademark.

What research did you do for the brand beforehand? Why would you recommend it? 

I conducted first-hand primary research by reviewing what worked and what didn’t within my salon. Further, I did secondary research on oversaturated trends in the hair market and what needed further representation and lacked product attention. 

How did you find and identify the manufacturers that you work with? What was important to you during this process and what are some of the mistakes you made and learned from along the way? 

Initially, I found a few manufacturers through Instagram and then used Google to identify if they were a local company or not. I moved forward with contacting three but only heard back from one. It took time for me to understand the established buy chain because I formulated Naturally Drenched independently, without the help of a manufacturer. However, manufacturers ultimately have established relationships with suppliers and I have learned that they build off of where the formulator secured ingredients and go from there. Additionally, I have seen how ordering new items in bulk can lead to backorders. 

Photo: Naturally Drenched

How did you fund your business? What were the challenges and what would you change? Would you recommend that route to other entrepreneurs? 

I am self-funded by choice. I haven’t had a lot of success in partnerships in past ventures, and frankly, I find it easier to carry the weight on my own two shoulders. Personally, I believe if financially possible, funding a project yourself is the best way to launch a startup. Here, individually, you can potentially run out of money, so take into account what it’s going to cost to produce, manufacture, and market the product. If your product is top of the line but has no market share or recognition, it really just doesn’t matter how good it is. 

Do you pay yourself, and if so, how did you know what to pay yourself?

Currently, no, I do not pay myself, and I don’t have plans to do so in the near future. I return all profit from Naturally Drenched right back into the company.

How big is your team now, and what has the hiring process been like? 

I am my team but you can outsource your team. You need to find people you can trust to make a recommendation. My design team and PR team have been great. I have a team member that does my Instagram graphics whom I got from a referral. To be successful while going through the hiring process, focus on recommendations, remain active in listening to podcasts, Zoom calls, and panels, and always vet a potential hire and see the results they’ve been able to produce for other people.

Did you hire an accountant? Who helped you with the financial decisions and setup? 

I do have an accountant and bookkeeper. They don’t help me with financial decisions, as that is typically left to both my boyfriend and my mom. It’s important to have an accountant or bookkeeper because you need to look at your numbers weekly to know if you’re losing or gaining money. In the long run, you are saving yourself time when you have to do taxes. Always know where your money is going. 

What has been the biggest learning curve during the process of establishing your business?

Marketing. Trying to figure out what makes people buy your product is a challenge within itself, and understanding how to move past “surface-level” marketing is an additional challenge.

How did you promote your company? How did you get people to know who you are and create buzz? 

PR of course! We also use the product in the salon and I've reached out to stylists and influencers. In addition, I secured inclusion in a subscription box in Germany. All of these ideas are a good way to get the word out and the product in peoples’ hands.

You’re an entrepreneur and a mom. How has being a mother changed your priorities and your focus in terms of your career? 

Being a mother makes me work harder. You really want to give everything to your child and it just makes me do more. Also, having a daughter helps me put things into perspective because there becomes a point where I say “enough is enough” and I have to step away from my workload and spend quality time with my child.

Do you think motherhood has made you a better business person? 

Absolutely, yes! Motherhood changes your mindset, your patience, your adaptability, creativity, and basically everything else I forgot to mention. 

Do you have a business coach or mentor, and would you recommend one? 

I don’t have a business coach, but I have “business besties” whom I talk to all the time. All of these women are at different points of their entrepreneurship journey! I recommend having people you can talk to openly who can give you insight on places you're trying to go, and how to get there.

What is one thing you didn’t do during the setup process that ended up being crucial to the business and would advise others to do asap? 

Have a strong marketing plan! 

What is your number one piece of financial advice for any new business owner and why? 

Make sure you know what you want to spend and add 10 percent more to that. The worst thing you can do is put all your time and effort into research, formulation, and development, and not have any money to market it.

Photo: Courtesy of Jamila Powell

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Ariana Sokolov co-founder trill project interview

Op-ed Overview

The pandemic has been a lonely time for LGBTQ+ youth for those who do not live in supportive households, making the need for inclusive spaces outside of the home even more important. With the pandemic, connecting with people outside of the home has been particularly difficult and we’re seeing youth turn to safe digital spaces as an alternative. I’m reaching out on behalf of Apple to introduce you to Trill Project, an app created by a talented, up-and-coming teenage developer, Ariana Sokolov. The young, LGBTQ+ ally created the app to ensure her best friend, who came out as bisexual, had a safe space online to express herself. 

After hearing how hard it was for her friend to come out, Sokolov developed Trill – a combination of the words true and real – as an anonymous social network with no usernames (it uses various colors instead!) where everyone can freely and safely express themselves. Created by teenagers passionate about coding, the app provides a supportive community to make new connections and have authentic conversations. 

Timed to April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Ari can draft an op-ed that speaks to:

• How the Trill Project creates a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and why that is so important for this community specifically during April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month

• Her allyship to the LGBTQ+ community and inspiration for creating the Trill Project

• How she came to become an advanced coder at such a young age

• How her experience at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference and Apple’s Entrepreneur Camp built her coding skills

 photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1x-SR7fAL5TWniGQ5NXtI_NnMpXAPTEeo

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what you were doing professionally before launching Trill Project?

I started coding when I accidentally walked into a computer science class at a summer camp when I was eight years old. I loved getting to combine my interest in math and design to create something from scratch, and this is what drew me to app development. Growing up, I used the coding resources Apple provides online to teach Swift classes to myself. 

Eventually, I was awarded a student scholarship to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). And my love for developing apps only grew stronger. Through this, I was able to unlock a community of fellow app developers that loved to create apps that impacted the lives of others. I was privileged to have the support of Apple engineers in labs and attend talks at WWDC that were instrumental in allowing me to become the app developer I am today. 

I launched my business when I was 16 years old. Before that, I founded my own app development company and was working on projects for a variety of clients with my work being recognized by Apple, South by Southwest, and the U.S. Congress. 

What was the “lightbulb moment” for Trill Project? What inspired you to start your business and pursue this path?

After hearing about my friend’s struggle coming out as a bisexual teen, I rallied together my Girls Who Code Club, and we sent out an anonymous survey to LGBTQ+ teens across Tumblr. We asked users, “What would you say if nobody knew you were saying it?” Through grassroots marketing strategies, we received hundreds and then thousands of responses to this survey. Responses trickled in around stories of feeling unheard, isolated, and alone. 

We were stunned to see that many LGBTQ+ teens felt this way, especially in toxic digital spaces, so we decided to address the mental health issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community. After interviewing LGBTQ+ teens in our high school and learning from our friends how difficult their coming out experiences were, these early connections in customer discovery, who believed in my team and me enough to share their stories with us, became our first beta testers. Trill was designed collaboratively with 10,000 beta testers, and our users have trusted us from day one to listen without judgment and build this community for them, with them.

After working on Trill for a bit, we were accepted into Apple Entrepreneurship Camp. Here we were able to get tremendous feedback on the design and structure of our app to make it more meaningful to our users. We also learned how to integrate Machine Learning technology that would direct users to relevant crisis resources. These improvements that we made over the course of the program were very important to improving Trill.

An entrepreneurial career path is so special because it allows you to identify real problems in your life, like my friend’s struggles with her identity, and take action. I didn’t set out to be a founder necessarily, but I did seek out to solve a problem for my friend. And now I’m able to create technology that is used every day by my classmates, the online communities I belong to, and my generation as a whole.

Did you write a business plan? If so, was it helpful, and if not, what did you use to guide your business instead? Why did you take that approach?

My team and I participated in the Technovation Challenge, a global competition encouraging female-identifying high schoolers to build an app to solve a social problem. Through this, we were able to write our first business plan. 

In the words of Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” With regard to Trill, we actually have pivoted and evolved our business tons since participating in Technovation. That said, the process and exercise of taking time in the early days of our launch to consider moderation at scale, paid marketing campaigns, revenue strategies, and company culture was incredibly useful. If anything, writing a business plan gave us an opportunity to start thinking about some of the tough questions around building a business like how you make money and how you will grow community. Even if we didn't have all the answers when we first made our business plan, it gave us a solid foundation.

The primary guiding force we’ve always used when building our business (more than any business plan) is real-time user feedback. We are strong advocates for practicing collaborative and inclusive design processes that are user-centric. We’ve maintained a robust beta tester community with regular surveying, interviews, and focus groups to make sure we are building a product that users actually need, want, and are finding value in. 

How did you come up with the name Trill Project, and what are some of the things you considered during the naming process?

Trill is a combination of the words true and real. And Trill Project is an anonymous social network for mental health peer support. 

While it may seem counterintuitive, our experiences with Trill have given us the unique empathy and insight that anonymity and stepping away from whatever identities constrain you in the real world can actually allow you to more fully discover your true and real self. On Trill, we turn social media on its head. We replace followers with friends, emojis with True feelings, and selfies with Real people. 

We allow users to unlock their most authentic selves in a digital world, and it doesn’t happen overnight. The movement to make the internet a safer and more kind space for people from all walks of life is an ongoing process and project. It’s Trill Project. 

What were the immediate things you had to take care of to set up the business? 

Immediately after coming up with the idea for Trill, my first action item was to build out a team. My team and I believe in capitalizing on our strengths and hiring for our weaknesses. Personally, I am a technically minded individual and enjoy software development, graphic design, and product management. So I brought on a co-founder who was more inclined towards the world of operations and could handle marketing, external relations, and sales down the line. 

We worked right away to build team culture, setting expectations around responsibilities, commitments, and values. We did this by establishing workflow tools (GSuite, Trello, and Slack), setting up anonymous surveys for internal feedback, and identifying goals or OKRs for a given work sprint. We also collaboratively wrote community guidelines and strategized together on brand identity and company vision documents. With regard to logistics, we also had to set up our website, our social media channels, officially incorporate, and bring on an accountant and lawyer to advise us. 

What research did you do for the business beforehand? 

We were lucky to participate in an accelerator program in the early days of Trill. This gave us an excellent community right away to tap into for answers to questions around our business. We would recommend accelerators and incubators for first-time founders because it provides a valuable sense of structure, accountability, and routine. Additionally, you will be able to connect with other founders who can empathize in your journey and mentors and experts who are motivated to work with you.

How did you fund Trill Project? What were the challenges and what would you change? Would you recommend your funding route to other entrepreneurs today? 

We have been bootstrapped and only raised capital from equity-free sources such as pitch competitions and incubator programs. For us, this was the right decision and we wouldn't have changed anything around our fundraising journey. Given that we weren’t ready to work full-time on Trill and wanted to finish our college degrees, bootstrapping gave us the flexibility to run the business on our own terms and not feel pressured to grow in ways that weren’t authentic to our mission. 

I would recommend that founders take a critical look at what their ultimate goal is for their business. Do you want to grow very quickly? Is this a side hustle? Are you mission-oriented? Do you need capital to hit these goals? And then make educated decisions around fundraising from there. 

Do you pay yourself, and if so, how did you know what to pay yourself?

At this time, no one on Trill’s team takes a salary as we are all also still full-time students. 

How big is your team now, and what has the hiring process been like? Did you have any hiring experience before this venture? If not, how did you learn and what have you learned about it along the way?

Our team is now over 30 high school and college students from around the world all working as volunteers at Trill. Neither of us had any formal hiring experience since we started this venture so young, and for us the hiring process is something we put a lot of thought and care into. 

We recruit for our “trillternship” every new semester in the school year and during the summer. To do this we tap into women in tech groups we are a part of, personal connections, and outreach on campuses. We have a written component and interview process for all interested candidates. We evaluate possible hires not only based on their skill set but also their knowledge of Trill, support of our mission, and fit within our company culture and values. 

We’ve learned that it is critical to interview not just for skills but also for this mission alignment. Trill is a remote-first team, and most of us have never even met in person. Everyone is a volunteer. And so it’s important that we all like each other and the work that we’re doing. We conduct regular team satisfaction surveys and host a variety of team bonding socials such as movie nights, game nights, and showcases of our work. Our team is like a family, and we all support each other not only with our endeavors with Trill but also with our other academic and professional commitments and our own mental health and wellbeing. 

We are proud that our team is Gen-Z powered, BIPOC-owned, and majority female engineers. 

Did you hire an accountant? Who helped you with the financial decisions and setup?

We do have a bookkeeper who we are so grateful for! We would recommend finding and investing in a bookkeeper early on to keep all your expenses, taxes, etc. organized and in order. 

What has been the biggest learning curve during the process of establishing your business?

Learning how to manage running a business with also being a full-time student can be a challenge. We’ve discovered the importance of prioritization and sacrifice. As long as you and your team are on the same page around time commitments, goals, and accountability structures, then it is totally possible to be both a student and a business owner. In fact, college can actually be a great opportunity to take courses that make you a better entrepreneur, tap into professors as potential mentors, and network with classmates who may be future co-founders, hires, advisors, customers, or investors. 

How did you promote your company? How did you get people to know who you are and create buzz?

We first launched through a grassroots marketing campaign on Tumblr. From there, we have been growing our community organically mostly through socials. We have an active presence on all major platforms, and we work with influencers through our Trill Talks interview series who in turn promote our community to their audiences. We also have been able to achieve some wonderful press through various incubators and programs we’ve participated in, and we partner with other organizations as well for collaborative campaigns to mutually drive traction for each other’s products and missions. 

Do you have a business coach or mentor, and would you recommend one? 

Yes, we have a vibrant advisory board, and we definitely recommend building one out. Our business mentors give us tangible advice around our paid marketing campaigns, analytics tracking, moderation curriculum, and more. Additionally, our business mentors also offer less tangible advice sometimes, which can be just as useful. Such advice includes strategic input on time management, company vision, growth, and more. 

What is one thing you didn’t do during the setup process that ended up being crucial to the business and would advise others to do asap?

We only recently have started formally setting and sticking to company-wide OKRs. We would recommend that all business owners get into an early habit of goal setting collaboratively with team members. This allows for transparency around milestones, organization around prioritization and delegation, and accountability to hit your business goals.  

What is your number one piece of financial advice for any new business owner and why?

Protect your cap table with care. You will put so much time, energy, and love into your business, and you deserve to be an owner of the results of those efforts. Make sure you are building alongside teammates and investors who have been vetted and who share in your vision. 

Anything else to add?

Download Trill Project, and follow us on socials. Trill has a full schedule of upcoming Pride Month events, including social mixers, panels, and moderator orientations specific to LGBTQ+ issues. We're collaborating on these events with a variety of mental health and emotional wellness experts, including Blue Fever, a pocket-sized support group app centered around anonymous, judgment-free journaling for every chapter of life. Interested individuals can RSVP for our fireside chat on Mental Health for the LGBTQ+ Community here and for our “Ask Me Anything” Panel here.

MORE ON THE BLOG

Identifying Burnout Symptoms With 20 Entrepreneurs Who Have Tackled It

It’s easy to think that when you’re doing what you love, you’ll never be burned out, but the opposite is often true. Burnout is a common reality among the most creative and ambitious, and sometimes it can be hard to even notice the burnout symptoms.

If it feels like you're currently teetering on the edge of burnout, that alone is a sign to make a change. Take heart that you’re not alone and there are effective ways to tackle it. Here's 20 professional women who've also found themselves in the midst of burnout—and developed successful strategies to find their way to the other side. Their experiences will give you inspiration and helpful tips to conquer burnout when it inevitably arises.

Mita Carriman

Founder and CEO of Adventurely, a travel club and meetup app connecting digital nomads and their new local communities. 

My experience: Managing burnout has become second nature for me ever since I became an entrepreneur. Digital nomadism has been my biggest entrepreneurial hack for managing burnout while equally boosting work productivity. When you're living and working remotely temporarily in a beautiful or interesting new destination, the incentive to maximize your work time to take more advantage of free time to explore and get in a little adventure goes up exponentially.

My advice: If you're able to explore the digital nomad lifestyle, even for just a short stint, I'd highly recommend it. More countries around the world are opening their doors to this type of travel with various visas, and companies such as mine are making it super easy to jumpstart your journey in the lifestyle with advice, support, and community from day one.

Meredith Noble

Co-Founder of Learn Grant Writing, helping those looking for a flexible, meaningful career become paid grant writers with no prior experience. 

My experience: I lived through a gas leak explosion in remote Alaska, and it was the ultimate wake-up call that a few weeks “off” would not be enough to reverse the effects of burnout. My No. 1 strategy for regaining my health has been working no more than 24 hours a week. This is possible because of my newfound obsession with maximizing deep and connected work so that my time is spent on a few, right activities. 

My advice: I encourage you to read or listen to Deep Work by Cal Newport for tactical advice on how to minimize context switching and distractions. This book inspired my team to take "Deep Work Wednesdays" meaning no meetings, Slack, or email. It works wonderfully!

Annelise Hillmann

Co-Founder and CEO of FRONTMAN, the Gen Z acne care brand for men.

My experience: I struggled most with burnout during the Covid-19 lockdown when I had nothing stopping me from working every waking minute. Two big ways I prevent burnout are small daily practices and passion projects. I make sure to leave time for my self-care practices every day like yoga and relaxation, even when I'm tempted to skip them. I also find ways to make my work exciting by seeking sources of inspiration and fueling my creativity.

My advice: Start small. Make one change that brings you joy in your day. Over time you can continue adding moments of self-care to balance out work stressors.

Nancy Soni

Founder and CEO of PathMatch, an early-career navigation platform that matches Gen Z to modern careers, skills, and employers so they can build "hireability.”

My experience: I've been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue three times over the past 10 years as an entrepreneur and working mom, so I've had to learn how to manage stress and burnout effectively. My No. 1 strategy is to prioritize my health and wellness first. I wake up early to meditate and work out almost every day of the week. Meditation and movement are my surefire ways of keeping stress in check.

My advice: Schedule time off mentally and physically every week. For me, Friday and Saturday nights are when I completely check out of work and focus on my friends, family, and myself. Entrepreneurs tend to feel like they have to "be on" around the clock. Every person has their point of diminishing returns where their brain just doesn't work as effectively. Figure out when you get the best out of yourself and then make time to rest and recharge. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Ashley K. Stoyanov Ojeda

Business Fairy Godmother at Your Business Hada Madrina, business development and communications strategist for startups. 

My experience: Unfortunately I've burned myself out many times since I started my entrepreneurial journey 10 years ago. This was due to inexperience, not wanting to ask for help, and feeling the pressures of hustle culture to work all the time. Tackling burnout requires knowing how to see the signs of burnout and having the strength to pull yourself out of it. When we feel this way, we need to get out of our day-to-day routine, even if it's for short walks throughout the day, finding a new creative outlet, and adjusting our schedule to allow for rest. 

My advice: Know the signs of how burnout feels for you! 

Yewande Faloyin

Founder and CEO of OTITỌ Executive Leadership Coaching, showing ambitious entrepreneurial leaders how to confidently accelerate into more impactful leadership positions.

My experience: I burned out twice in 18 months at McKinsey, even though at the time I was ticking off my "Burnout Prevention" boxes—I was sleeping six to seven hours a night, doing my daily yoga practice, and taking "breaks" for meals. However, I was clearly burned out—physically exhausted, emotionally edgy, and with no personal life. This burnout experience at McKinsey, though extra intense, was just an extreme version of the working longer-harder-faster career treadmill I'd be on my whole life. My No. 1 strategy that finally got me out of burnout and off the treadmill once and for all was dealing with the underlying mindset that kept me going back to that pattern. I shifted my thinking to focus on impact, rather than effort and started using well-being activities as performance enhancers, instead of just for burnout recovery or prevention. The result? I work fewer hours, yet create the greatest impact, success, fulfillment, and satisfaction than I ever have in my life. 

My advice: Get external support. Burnout is one of the most intense types of stressors we experience. When we are under stress, it's hard to see beyond the stressor. Getting support from a coach or counselor can go a long way to getting you out of burnout once and for all. 

Sydney Sherman de Arenas

CEO of Montie & Joie, a brand that focuses on eradicating poverty amongst women in developing economies. 

My experience: During the pandemic, I had a business partner who was not using money ethically and we had to shut down the business. We had investors, so I was talking to attorneys regularly, was pregnant, and had to get a job to pay the bills. I was working insane hours until I learned to get to know what I needed, set alarms to take breaks so that I would get out of my workaholic mentality, and finally set boundaries with everyone I was working with. 

My advice: There are early signs of burnout for each of us. If we can catch them sooner rather than later, burnout is easier to recover from. The most important thing we can do is get to know ourselves and our limits when times are good so that we have stop guards in place when times get harder.

Stephanie Kwong

Co-Founder of Rapid Rewire Method, teaching people a set of tools to permanently clear inner barriers and create instant relief around any mental and emotional blocks.

My experience: Burnout for me has always been a point at which I feel no desire or passion to continue working. For a generator like myself, it is brutal, because I enter into states of self-flagellation. The key to staying safe from burnout has been doing the introspective work of finding out which of my patterns and belief systems were pushing me to sacrifice rest and self-care in the name of constant doing. When I rewrote those debilitating stories and beliefs and gave myself the space to slow down, take care of myself, and finish a day even if I haven’t completed all of my tasks, burnout ceased to become a threat. My narrative around self-worth is no longer tied to constant production and achievement, so I no longer feel the pressure to work until I’ve hit the burnout wall.

My advice: If you’re experiencing burnout, become familiar with your symptoms so you can recognize if it’s going to happen again. Prioritize finding out what is at the root of your burnout so you can prevent yourself from coming back to that place. We live in a system that glorifies the hustle, but keep in mind that there’s a difference between being productive and staying busy—conscious rest is productive. As you’re checking off boxes on your to-do list, make sure that one of them is self-care! 

Danielle Polini

UX Research and Strategy Consultant at Danielle Polini, working with early growth-stage startups to understand where to focus and how to win with their customers.

My experience: I've struggled with burnout on and off in my career. What I've come to find is that it is always linked to how I spend my mornings. I’m more energized, make better decisions, and exercise my boundaries with ease when I prioritize what’s most important to me in the mornings. I don’t always do the same thing in the morning but I know I’ll do whatever feels good to me first, before diving into the distractions on my phone or work emails.

My advice: Track your energy and see what that shows you about how to structure your day and what’s important to you. While tracking what energized and what drained me over a week, I was able to see where I was getting burned out and that my morning time was to be protected. 

Rebekah A Miel

Founder of Miel Design Studio, a full-service marketing and graphic design studio helping you amplify your good work through graphic design, digital marketing, communications, and more.

My experience: The most obvious sign of burnout for me is when I start to feel overwhelmed by my workload. When I feel caught up in the chaos and like I'm always putting out fires, I take a step back and block out time to reflect on why this is happening. I either work through a series of steps on my own or with a trusted coach or mentor. It is so worth it to have an outside perspective. 

My advice: It's really difficult to avoid burnout as a founder, but you can make a plan for it. Know what burnout looks like for you so that you can adjust before it goes too far and be kind to yourself while you make those adjustments. 

Meghan Hardy

Founder of Happening Ideas, helping build and grow female-focused direct-to-consumer brands through digital marketing and CX strategy.

My experience: Both personally and professionally, I was working on big, ambiguous projects where it was hard to see day-to-day progress. I'd step away from one only to dive into another, and I was mentally exhausted. Finding a couple of low-stakes hobbies where I could see clear, incremental progress and feel a sense of accomplishment was a game-changer for me.

My advice: Try to identify the factors that are contributing to your burnout. You may not always be able to immediately change things, so think creatively about other ways to address your needs and experiment to find what works for you.

Abigail A. Mlinar Burns

Head of Sales at MakeLoveNotPorn, the world's first user-generated, human-centered #socialsex video sharing platform.

My experience: I've sought out intense and fulfilling work over and again—from producing massive festivals to running political campaigns to growing early-stage tech startups. For me, fulfilling work often led to a prioritization problem—the doing eclipsed the being—which resulted in burnout. I've found that burnout is ultimately a spiritual crisis that requires one to slow down and rebalance themself. Slowing down was never sexy to me until I first experienced a self-reiki treatment. Since I've had my regular reiki practice, I've been healthier in body, mind, and heart, and more consistent with my work.

My advice: Find your personal practice that keeps you being you. It can't be prescribed—so try things until you find what helps you feel balanced and grounded.

Nivi Achanta

Founder and CEO of Soapbox Project, a community that makes it easy for busy people to get involved in social and environmental justice.

My experience: Both in my former job as a management consultant at Accenture and my current job as a startup founder, I’ve experienced periods of intense burnout. For me, that’s manifested as a complete lack of motivation combined with unmanageable depression. Setting up a self-care system that goes beyond bath bombs and candles has been game-changing. One component of my self-care system that has transformed my life is decoupling “hours worked” with “productivity.” I now split each workday into three 90-minute work blocks with 30-minute rest breaks in between. I’m more productive than ever and I have energy left over at the end of each day to do things that truly make me happy.

My advice: Build a solid values-aligned community that will be your support system through highs and lows. Spending all my time—yes, work and leisure—around people who care about the well-being of each other and the planet we live on means that even on my worst days, I can turn to friends who keep me grounded and never lose sight of what truly matters.

Aura Telman

Founder of Thirteen Thrive, a people and culture development firm designing meaningful employee experiences for the modern workplace.

My experience: Burnout for me developed so slowly that I didn't even know it was burnout until I came face-to-face with it in February 2022. My anxiety was at an all-time high, I couldn't sleep, and my motivation and creativity were gone. My No. 1 strategy for managing it was developing a healthy post-workday routine, which included strict work cut-off times, exercising, meditation, and low social media usage. In addition to my new routine, I also found it tremendously helpful to talk to a therapist, as well as my partner, about what I was experiencing. 

My advice: Do not isolate yourself and know you're not alone in this. I found during my burnout period there was so much shame around how I got to that point and why I didn't see the signals my body was sending me. However you're feeling at this point, however, burned out you are, it's valid and you can heal from it.  

Nichole Pitts

Founder and CEO of Ethintegrity LLC, a boutique consulting firm focusing on a culture-based approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethics and compliance. 

My experience: Like a lot of people, I ended up becoming used to working through burnout until I hit a wall where the brain fog forced me to take a step back. I ended up taking a month off to rest and recharge, which meant absolutely no work. I read books, sat by the pool, enjoyed family and friends, and did whatever I felt like for the day. This mental break allowed my brain to rest and I came back more creative and focused. I now block out a week each quarter and a month each summer as my "R&R time" to prevent total burnout in the future.

My advice: Listen to your body and don't try to be a hero. Sometimes we often overstretch ourselves to show our value at the expense of our well-being. Give yourself some grace, be proactive with blocking out time off on your calendar, and take the time to recharge when you need it. Work will always be there.

Rachel Kanarowski

Founder of Year of Living Better, helping healthcare, tech, and professional service organizations reduce their exposure to the risk associated with workforce burnout.

My experience: The neuroscience research is clear: our brains aren't designed to thrive during long periods of uncertainty or isolation. So for me, burnout struck in November 2020. Suddenly life felt bleak, even little tasks took effort, and my go-to self-care tools seemed hollow. I cleared my calendar, reached out to my therapist and close friends, and told myself I was in a shame-free zone for as long as I needed. My brain and body needed time to reconnect to safety and comfort. I'd like to say this meant I picked up yoga and new soup recipes but, honestly, for me that meant snacks for dinner, bingeable TV, and a lot of rest. I had to trust that eventually I would feel like myself again and several weeks later, I did.

My advice: Our brain shuts off access to creative thought when we're under high stress. So make a proactive plan for how to respond to early signals of burnout. It turns out that self-care activities are only effective when they match our nervous system state, so take 30 minutes to ask yourself, "When I feel angry or anxious, what self-care works for me? What about when I feel sad or disconnected?" and have those two lists ready when you need them.

KK Hart

CEO of Hart Marketing & Communications, an innovative, boutique company that develops, designs, and executes marketing, sales, and creative services in partnership with clients. 

My experience: In my line of work, I support, coach, and advise many highly accomplished business owners and leaders in executive roles. The unfortunate experience of burnout seems to come up more and more in recent years than ever before. I believe as a business coach it is the single greatest threat to productivity and business outcomes currently in the marketplace—regardless of niche. Yes, even in light of economic predictions of recession. My No. 1 strategy for tackling and managing burnout has to do with defining a tactical plan for balance—which is not always one size fits all.  

My advice: To tackle burnout, we essentially have to work on effectively preventing it. That means being highly intentional and strategic about time away, life planning, as well as being as efficient as possible professionally and personally. That doesn’t always mean doing the most. Some of my best practices include scheduling time for self-care just as you would any other thing you schedule professionally. That may also mean using your calendar as a way to plan time for relaxation, meditation, family events, screen breaks—literally anything that helps you to find value in the day beyond just work performance.

Gabrielle Thomas

Founder of GT Consulting, a practicing management company for healers and high achievers in the health and wellness space.

My experience: I temporarily shut down for spiritual maintenance. For me, that meant radical change; a self-created monastery where I donated 80 percent of everything I owned. I stopped consuming all media so I could get familiar with the voice inside of me and started healing and rebuilding from there. 

My advice: My prevention plan includes making decisions and leading with my wellness values, as well as paying attention to early warning signs. 

Leah Feuer

Business and Life Coach at Leah Feuer, a professional mind organizer who helps creative entrepreneurs lead intentional lives and businesses. 

My experience: After 10 years working in tech and startups, I went from being inspired by my work to being consumed by it. The best thing I ever did for burnout was taking a sabbatical to rest, play, and reflect. I traveled, cooked, and drew, but I also dug deep into cultural norms and personal history with labor, productivity, exploitation, and value. It led me to creative, somatic, and trauma-informed practices that have been transformational. 

My advice: Consider energy awareness as another type of self-awareness and develop it. Schedule a few minutes throughout the day to check in on how energized you are and do an energy audit by listing out all of the tasks, activities, people/animals, situations, and environments you encounter in a typical day, week, or month. Note what’s most and least energizing. How can you do more of what’s energizing and reduce the least energizing items? 

Rachel Supalla

CEO of Discovery Kidzone, an award-winning multi-site childcare program that makes the magic of play a priority for children ages 0-12 and their teachers.

My experience: Burnout is a very real and scary virus that can affect anyone if we allow it. I have been in childcare my entire adult life and I have experienced burnout as a teacher and as a leader. As someone who strives to be the best at everything, it can come at a high cost and ultimately affect my family, my work, and myself. My No. 1 strategy for managing burnout is playing, making myself recognize the symptoms of burnout, and turning to something playful to reset my brain. 

My advice: One of the best ways to be intentional in your day and recognize signs of burnout is by daily journaling. If you are keeping track of your mind and your emotions, you can spot triggers quicker and see that it is a pattern rather than a sentence. Documenting good, bad, and ugly will help you navigate the suck when it happens much quicker. 

About the author: Gesche Haas is the Founder/CEO of Dreamers & Doers, a private collective that amplifies the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through thought leadership opportunities, authentic connection, and access. Gesche's been featured on Bloomberg TV, CNNMoney, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Forbes, Fortune Magazine, Refinery29, Broadly/Vice, and other major media outlets, as well as at the United Nations, where she spoke during the sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women.