"There Are No Lucky Accidents" — Natasha Lyonne on Authenticity, Advocacy, and Imposter Syndrome
“An admission of inner brokenness is OK. That’s the stuff that makes us who we are.”
We were beyond excited to host Natasha Lyonne as our keynote speaker in Austin this year! As the co-creator, director, executive producer, and star of the Netflix hit series Russian Doll, Natasha knows what it means to hustle. With more than 30 years and 70+ movies under her belt, she’s not just an industry powerhouse, but a role model for any woman who’s chasing her dreams. Below, we’re sharing some of our favorite mic-drop moments from Natasha’s keynote panel.
On hiring an all-female writers’ room for Russian Doll:
“The people that were best for the job happened to be women. It was really about surrounding myself with allies.”
“My hope is that we hit a tipping point where we’re restored to a point where men and women can work together as equals, where we all learn to work together beyond gender.”
“I felt additionally empowered to be the most 360 version of myself when working with a group of women.”
On imposter syndrome:
“An admission of inner brokenness is OK. That’s the stuff that makes us who we are. And Michelle Obama’s recent book helped me recognize that—because I was like, ‘Surely this woman has cracked this.’ But her experience of ‘Am I enough?’ is healing to read.”
“My goal in making a show like Russian Doll would be that it allows me to continue to speak very transparently around my own experience and acceptance. That’s our grit. That’s what makes us who we are.”
“At every level, everyone is constantly experiencing imposter syndrome and asking ‘Am I enough?’ and ‘Am I taking up too much space?’ It’s just necessary to push past it.”
On being your true self:
“I was afraid of not letting it all hang out in all its messiness. I think we embrace it and celebrate it in someone else, but as soon as it’s our own, it’s like a deep shame spiral.”
On finding your tribe:
“Find something safe in this life and let it tether you.”
“Something I love about working with women is that we spend so much time unpacking things like having kids that there’s something very fun about getting to get in the zone and watch them crystallize in this other pocket.”
On social media:
“The one thing I would caution the kids is compare and despair. Don’t buy the lies of social media. Everyone is architecting a make-believe life.”
“Proceed on social media with caution. Spend the time having human interactions. Life experience can’t be beat.”
On shining light on real issues through her work:
“I’m glad to have been a part of OITNB, but I’m happier that there was some attention or awareness brought to the prison industrial complex. The heavier aspect of working on the show for years as as team has been intense, processing what we’re really doing.”
On changes in Hollywood:
“It’s complex to know what’s changing. We’ve had good news in Hollywood, but let’s see how it tracks into the new world.”
“It’s a good time to be a woman in film, but the numbers aren’t there yet. These are early days.”
On work, success, and looking back:
“Directing an episode of Orange is the New Black was very healing around my own self-doubt, worthiness, and steadiness—there was something about the fact that the producers, and Netflix, and the cast were all open and inviting to it. I would be at the monitor just weeping. It was healing for me.”
“We work hard in life. There are no lucky accidents.”
Advice she’d give her teenage self:
“You’re in the war, but the war will be over. I promise. Hang tough, babe.”
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Looking Back on 2018—Our Best Year Yet!
BEST. YEAR. EVER.
Thanks to all of you, 2018 was our BEST. YEAR. EVER. Your passion inspired our small-but-mighty team to bring you the biggest and best events we’ve ever hosted, and Create & Cultivate is forever changed because of all of you. Below, we’re sharing 10 of our favorite moments from 2018. Can’t wait to see where you all take us in 2019!
1. Create & Cultivate 100
Back in January, we kicked off the year by introducing you to 100 badass women in everything from music and entertainment to STEM and entrepreneurship. We were so inspired to start off our year by sharing their amazing stories!
2. Create & Cultivate LA
We were so excited to reveal our panelists for Create & Cultivate LA: Chrissy Teigen, Kim Kardashian, Lauren Conrad and more amazing women showed up to make this our best conference yet! LA was a day that changed the way our team dreams and executes events—we’re going into the new year with plans to do 2019 even bigger and better, and we can’t wait to show you what we’ve got in store for you next.
3. Gina Rodriguez at Create & Cultivate ATX
“When I’m alone and I read something nasty or hurtful, and want to be like, ‘Why do I do this?’….and then I come to this event, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s fucking worth it.’” - Gina Rodriguez shared so much wisdom with us in Austin, and we were THRILLED to see how many of you showed up to see her speak (the line formed at 4am!).
4. The #CCDesertPopUp with Kate Bosworth
We hosted an event in the middle of the desert during one of the craziest party weekends in Palm Springs…and you guys showed up in crowds to support us! We loved hearing from Kate Bosworth and seeing all of you connect, converse, and inspire each other. We truly are so lucky!
5. Our Mini Road Trip!
Back in April, we hit the road to spread a little inspiration on the west coast. From Palm Springs to LA and up to San Francisco, we gathered inspiring entrepreneurs like Catt Sadler, Payal Kadakia, and Taylor Sterling to chat about corporate responsibility, philanthropy, and how to focus on more of what matters in your community.
6. Our First Beauty Summit
In May, we jetted to New York to host the first-ever Beauty Summit and hear from some of the best in the biz on how they’re shaking up this billion-dollar industry. The beauty category has historically been a boys’ club, but you’re all changing that: The beauty space has more female executives and board members than any other industry!
7. Brunch with Nicole Kidman
Back in June, we (super casually) hosted Sunday brunch with Nicole Kidman. It was a highlight of our summer!
8. The WorkParty Book, Tour + Podcast
This summer, our CEO Jaclyn Johnson released her book, Work Party, and an accompanying podcast where she digs deep with talented women like Kristen Bell, Bobbi Brown, Sara Blakely, and Sophia Bush. Oh, and we roadtripped on a 10-city book tour with Emily Shuman, Lisa Price, Rebecca Minkoff, and so many more amazing women. We were so excited to read your thoughts on the book/podcast, and thanks to your support, we’re hard at work on season two—stay tuned!
9. Create & Cultivate Chicago with Jennifer Hudson
Who better to take our keynote stage in Chicago than the Chi-town legend herself, Jennifer Hudson? J-Hud shared tons of advice on staying true to yourself, trusting your gut, and defining your own version of success. We ended the night with a surprise donation to her charity and our big balloon drop announcing our Miami Vision Summit!
10. Our Out Of Office Retreat
CEOs are plugged in 24/7, 100% of the time. In September, we pulled a few of these inspiring women of the office for a day of relaxation, meaningful connections, and conversations about “the big picture” for their biz—oh, and wine and hot air balloon rides, too! We can’t wait to see what they (and all of you!) accomplish in 2019! Happy New Year!
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Why Genevieve Padalecki Says the World Is a Crazy Place Right Now
But nothing can stop her.
Rocking a black "We Should All Be Feminists" tee on Saturday at Create & Cultivate Seattle, digital darling Genevieve Padalecki took to the Microsoft stage to chat all things tag, snap, story, and social.
Though the Cali-native, who now calls Texas home, admits she's relatively new to the social game, she's clearly caught onto the rules. Genevieve boasts a highly engaged audience-- woman's got a 25% engagement rate. If you're wondering what that means, know it's relatively unheard of in the blogging world.
So what does the actress (she's classically trained), blogger (of Now and Gen), mom (of three), and wife (she met husband Jared on the set of Supernatural) think about this crazy, social world we live in? We found out. From how often she posts to her thoughts on political content, you've got to read through!
You launched your blog this year and saw immediate success. As part of the launch strategy you worked with skincare brand Elemis and crashed their site with a giveaway you hosted, thats MAJOR!.... How has the transition been going from social only content to long form blogs?
It’s been really surreal! I loved working with Elemis as I actually love their products, so it felt like an organic partnership that was really natural and aligned. Also, I’m breastfeeding currently as I have a 6 month old and so I’m really cautious of beauty brands that are low chemical and more natural. We decided to host a giveaway on the blog as part of our launch strategy - my followers really love a giveaway, and it was fun to create a space for them to participate! Yes, they actually BROKE the link in bio on Instagram...we were all trying to figure out why the link wasn’t working and TONS of comments were coming in, and after a LOT of confusion we figured out that they crashed the site where the giveaway was hosted! Pretty crazy!
I enjoy creating long format content because I get to tell more of a story. Long form blogs provide a space for narrative to build and for people to go deeper...I always think of social as a “tease” and a great place to foster community, but long form blogs are a DESTINATION where you can drive people and encourage them to go deeper...which is really fun in the beauty space, because we’re always looking to discover new products...but I especially love it for some more of the emotional pieces, like blogs about parenting, or an open letter that my husband wrote to our 3 children on the blog which was really rad too. The letter really moved people and was WAY too long for a social post!
"Authenticity always wins. Be unapologetic about who you are, and have no fear."
Tweet this.
What’s changed the way you create content the most in the past year? Do you love it or hate it?
I am really new to the social media game. I officially launched my Instagram prior to my blog earlier this year in March, and became really strategic about what I wanted to post about and promote. I had been private on Instagram for a while, but figured it was time!
We all know video is happening with IG LIVE and Facebook Live and algorithms propping up video the most. How are you all using it to build your businesses?
I only post once per day, and try to get more active in stories. I use my static “feed” as a place to post more curated things, and photos that I want to have a level of “permanance.” I use IG Stories to post what’s happening in real time, mainly of the kids eating...there is always a TON of food! I’m a big foodie and I love to cook, so that content tends to go there. Kids and food. LOL.
From a business perspective, your audience wants to really connect authentically. Videos, especially in stories since they delete after 24 hours, gives people a really inside look. I’ve seen a lot of engagement in stories, as well as fans screenshotting the stories because it’s much more intimate, fleeting, almost uncensored….there used to be a lot of focus on curating a gorgeous feed, which is still important, but there is so much connectivity in IG Stories, Boomerangs, videos...it’s also a place where I share my thoughts on the political climate or what’s happening in Texas (with the hurricane, for example).
There’s literally a million places we could be sharing content if we wanted. How do you decide what platforms to use? And what type of content goes where?
Social media is kind of like hosting a party. If you are creating an experience for your people, they will hang out there with you. It can be anywhere you are really, heavily engaged. Which is why there are “experts” in each space - youtube, pinterest, etc. Instagram is where I hang out because it’s the platform I’m most interested and engaged with personally.
"People are really looking for permission to be real."
Tweet this.
As a mother who shares these amazing moments with your family, how do you decide what to share and how to share it when it comes to your family? Do you stick to any self made rules?
Personally, I try to be as open as I can about motherhood being messy. My most vulnerable posts, when I felt like I SURVIVED through a day, have gotten some of the most beautiful and best responses. I think people are really looking for permission to be real. I want to create a safe space and open up some of that dialogue.
I decided to launch my new blogging business while I was 9 months pregnant, I basically gave birth to my new baby and my blog at the same time. It hasn’t been easy, and I don’t want to hide that. There is a level of perfection that people try to project on social media, since everything is so highly curated. I love a pretty picture too, but I also try to balance brand partnerships and the curated stuff that I shoot with a photographer with a selfie I shot at midnight breastfeeding my baby and zoning out to Bravo. We all can be a little more vulnerable.
You’ve collaborated with brands, you’ve put political issues into the work, which as a new content creator that can be scary-- how are you deciding on content and what you want to put out into the world?
One of my first collaborations straight out of the gate was with Pop & Suki. One of my friends is a co-founder, and when Odette was born, we decided to announce our baby name on a heart keychain with the brand and created a space for others to personalize hearts with their names on it. 50% of proceeds went to the Human Rights Foundation, and the other 50% went to Planned Parenthood. We raised over $200,000 for these causes.
Not everyone is going to like what you stand for. And that’s fine, because there are enough people out there who will show up and stand beside you to do what’s right. The world is in a really crazy place right now, and anything I can do to spread awareness I will show up and do. Maybe it will reach one person, or two, or three...that is the beauty of having a platform. Use your platform for good.
I’m constantly amazed about how many brands are aligning with more causes every day. People are really conscious right now, and awake. They want to know they are spending money with a brand who is doing something to better the world.
I also worked with SECRET who launched a new campaign about transgender people, and what it must feel like for them to walk into a restroom and feel judged. That is a reality for many people, and something that should be shared and neutralized.
Any final advice for all the content creators out there in handling whatever gets thrown their way next?
Authenticity always wins. Be unapologetic about who you are, and have no fear. Perfection is bullshit, just find your voice and have a vision for what you want to create. Make sure to stand for something. That’s how you will find your tribe, keep giving, consistently.
Photo Credit: Smith House Photography/Alyssa Dawson Photography
Arianna Schioldager is Editor-in-Chief at Create & Cultivate. You can find her here.
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Do You Want Just More? RSVP Here for a Panel with our Hawaii Posse
We're popping up again!
GUESS WHAT? the gang's getting back together!
Last month thanks to the creative brains at Richer Poorer we headed to Honolulu on a entrepreneur adventure with five other amazing founders: Jen Gotch, founder and CCO of Bando, Bobby Kim, co-founder of The Hundreds and JENNIFER, Jeni Britton Bauer, founder and CCO of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Iva Pawling, co-founder and CEO of Richer Poorer, and Ellen Bennett, founder and CEO of Hedley and Bennett.
And now we're bringing everything we learned in Hawaii back home. (Like the idea of entrepreneurs sharing assets). Full details below.
Our Founder and Editorial Director are joining the "Just More" panel, hosted by Richer Poorer, on what it really, truly (we're gonna dish all the details and regret it in the morning) means to be the founder of a business. The late nights. The juicy stuff. Yes, there will be some cocktails too.
ALL DETAILS BELOW
WHEN: Monday, April 17th, 2017
WHERE: Hedley & Bennett HQ
3864 S. Santa Fe Avenue
Vernon, CA 90058
Map it here. Don't stress. There is ample street parking.
TIME: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Join us for cocktails and convo starting at 6:30pm. Panel will begin at 7:00, last 45-minutes, and then we will open up to audience Q&A. Bring your questions! Feel free to stick around after to say hi, meet the speakers, and soak in the boss vibes.