Priceless Tips for Women in Business From Stella Simona, Co-founder of Haati Chai & Amarilo
Sage advice is #Priceless.
In celebration of International Women's Day, Mastercard and Create & Cultivate are teaming up with prominent female leaders and business owners to share their #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women entrepreneurs.
Stella Simona, Co-founder of Haati Chai & Amarilo
Stella Simona is an LA-based mother, wife, content creator, visual storyteller, creative entrepreneur and co-owner of fine jewelry brands Amarilo and Haati Chai. With a clear love for aesthetics and storytelling, Stella is passionate about skincare, wellness, and design. In addition to her creative ventures, she partners with various organizations that shed light on issues close to her heart, epitomizing the importance of allowing passion to guide your process, and fostering an authentic and impactful connection with both her brand and audience.
In her role as creative director and director of marketing and strategy, she seeks inspiration from the women in her life lives to integrate both brands into the bigger conversations that speak to the identity and values of its consumers.
Below, Stella shares her #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women in business.
What is one piece of advice you would give to women looking to turn their passion into purpose?
You are meant to do great things. There is someone out there who needs to see you and your work and get inspired to follow their passion.
What is the most important message you have for women advancing their career or growing their business?
Do not underestimate the power of having your own voice. Invest in yourself because the success of your business is rooted in your well being-- and this trickles down to your business growth. Take mental breaks, take small vacations, workout, sleep, eat well, have fun with your family. Don’t sacrifice everything for business. We are living to not work but work to live. Balance is key. Once you nurture heart, body, and your mind your business will thrive.
What tips would you give women entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses, especially in our digitally evolving world?
Always be prepared to pivot. Have a plan a, b, c, etc. Partner with other amazing businesses and entrepreneurs whenever you can. Build a community.
What’s next for Haati Chai and Amarilo?
This past year has taught me to take it back to my roots. I began doing what I do to personally grow as an individual and an artist and giving back to a bigger cause. It’s really important for me to give back whether it’s to important organizations in our community or ones on a larger global scale.
In celebration of women in business, what are (3) small businesses you want to highlight to encourage others to shop, share and support?
Three small businesses I would like to highlight include:
Priceless advice for women in business in two words, or less:
“Love Yourself.”
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Priceless Tips for Women in Business From Lo Bosworth, Founder & CEO, Love Wellness
Sage advice is #Priceless.
In celebration of International Women's Day, Mastercard and Create & Cultivate are teaming up with prominent female leaders and business owners to share their #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women entrepreneurs.
Lo Bosworth, Founder & CEO, Love Wellness
Lauren Bosworth is the founder and CEO behind the leading clean, personal care brand, Love Wellness. Bosworth has made a name for herself as an entrepreneur, using momentum from her decade-long career in television to shift her focus to creating and running a modern feminine care brand from the ground up.
Love Wellness was born in 2016 after Bosworth began experiencing chronic health issues for over five years and old-school products from legacy brands didn’t address her problems. With the guidance of doctors and some trial-and-error, Bosworth finally found relief through a holistic approach that combined natural products with a healthy lifestyle.
Ultimately, through this journey, Bosworth became aware of the lack of innovation in the women’s healthcare category, and made it her mission to change it by sharing the information she had learned with women everywhere. Love Wellness initially launched with a focus on creating better-for-you feminine care products, but has since grown to include multivitamins, supplements and other products to help women tackle issues like gut health, stress, sex, and skincare.
Beyond products, Love Wellness is committed to giving women support and the space to learn, engage, and share experiences with each other through the brand’s community platform, ‘The Love Club’. Bosworth is seeking to change the narrative around self-care culture and empower women to feel supported, welcomed, and safe during their wellness journeys.
Below, Lo shares her #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women in business.
What is one piece of advice you would give to women looking to turn their passion into purpose?
If you know you are working on something good, don’t give up easily. Never lose sight of what you are trying to achieve.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in business? How did you overcome them?
I think for me the challenge was the transition from being known as somebody who was on television. When you're on reality TV, you're definitely put into a certain box. It was finally through education paired with effective products that I was able to bridge the gap between being known for TV and being taken seriously as an entrepreneur.
What is the most important message you have for women advancing their career or growing their business?
Growing a business will have low lows and very high highs - embrace the good times and the failure. This will teach you how to adapt and pivot, both of which are important to scaling your business.
What’s your perspective on the importance of mentorship? What advice do you have for women seeking mentorship or looking to become a mentor?
Mentorship is extremely important and helps you look at things through a different lens. My advice for those who are seeking mentorship - remember that mentors are people too. Invite them for a coffee (or a virtual one these days) and have a casual conversation...ask them about how they’re doing. Let the relationship build organically.
What tips would you give women entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses, especially in our digitally evolving world?
Build a team you can learn from and trust. As we continue to work from home and live in this virtual world, it’s important now more than ever to trust and rely on your team. Secondly, you need to hire people who may know more about certain subjects than you do - that’s how you grow and take the business to the next level.
What’s next for Love Wellness?
Our strategy is hyper-focused with a crawl, walk, run strategy meaning we don't bite off more than we can chew. We have some exciting things coming up this year, so be on the lookout!
In celebration of women in business, what are (3) small businesses you want to highlight to encourage others to shop, share and support?
Priceless advice for women in business in two words, or less:
“Trust Yourself”
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Priceless Tips for Women in Business From Monique Rodriguez, Founder and CEO, Mielle Organics
Sage advice is #Priceless.
In celebration of International Women's Day, Mastercard and Create & Cultivate are teaming up with prominent female leaders and business owners to share their #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women entrepreneurs.
Monique Rodriguez, Founder and CEO, Mielle Organics
Monique Rodriguez is the CEO and founder of Mielle Organics, a Black-Owned global hair and skincare brand. Since founding the beauty brand in 2014, Monique has expanded her empire from one signature product to half a dozen collections. Mielle Organics has been distributed in more than 87 countries and can be found in more than 100,000 stores across the U.S.
The inspiration behind Mielle Organics was born through Monique’s journey of self-discovery after loss. After the passing of her son, she used haircare as an outlet to regain her natural roots and build a community for women to connect and share their stories.
In addition to her work with Mielle Organics, Monique is recognized as a leader in the business community as well as a role model for women of all ages. Gems from Monique on her experience as a Black entrepreneur in beauty, business, and more can be found on her ‘Secret Sauce to Success’ Podcast.
Below, Monique shares her #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women in business.
What is one piece of advice you would give to women looking to turn their passion into purpose?
One piece of advice I would give to women looking to turn their passion into purpose is to remember your why. There will be amazing days and then there will be hard days where owning a business isn’t always glamorous. So it’s important to remember the why that’s attached to your vision, so you can push forward.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in business? How did you overcome them?
As a Black woman in business, I would say one of the most notable challenges I faced in the beginning of Mielle Organics’ founding was raiding funding. When my husband and I founded Mielle Organics, we backed the company with our own funds. We were later blessed to receive funding from investors, but as new business owners that area.
What is the most important message you have for women advancing their career or growing their business?
The most important message I have for women advancing their career or growing their business is to always remember no one can grow your vision like you can. If you have an idea or a plan, don’t allow yourself to be distracted from executing it.
What’s your perspective on the importance of mentorship? What advice do you have for women seeking mentorship or looking to become a mentor?
I believe that finding a mentor is very important. As you elevate to that next level in life or in business, it’s important to speak with someone who’s already where you want to be. Without a great mentor, new business owners end up working harder and not smarter.
What tips would you give women entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses, especially in our digitally evolving world?
Leverage social media to connect with your customers.
Develop a great team that understands your vision and knows how to creatively communicate that vision to your customers.
Develop quality partnerships that align with your vision and allow you to grow.
What’s next for Mielle Organics?
The next chapter for our business includes continuing to create opportunities that aid Black women succeed in business. Whether it’s through our recent Secret Sauce to Success Retreat or our partnered education program with the Newark Business Hub and Rutgers University, we are dedicated to creating new opportunities for women to thrive in our community.
In celebration of women in business, what are (3) small businesses you want to highlight to encourage others to shop, share and support?
Three small businesses I would like to highlight include:
Priceless advice for women in business in two words, or less:
“Stay motivated.”
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Priceless Tips for Women in Business From Sharon Miller, Bank of America's Head of Small Business
Sage advice is #Priceless.
In celebration of International Women's Day, Mastercard and Create & Cultivate are teaming up with prominent female leaders and business owners to share their #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women entrepreneurs.
Sharon Miller, Bank of America's Head of Small Business
Sharon Miller is the head of Small Business at Bank of America with over 25 years of bank, wealth management and payments leadership experience, and is a member of the company’s Management Operating Committee. Her team is responsible for providing 12 million+ business owners with a full range of financial products and services through Bank of America’s network of 4,300+ financial centers including 2,300+ Business Advantage centers as well as 17,000 ATMs and its award-winning digital banking platform.
Her team provides a full suite of financial advice, guidance, products and solutions to companies with up to $5 million in annual revenue. Each client relationship is personalized so that entrepreneurs have the power to achieve their business and life priorities.
Sharon appears regularly on national and local TV and radio, discussing small business issues and advocating for the nation’s entrepreneurs as the engine that drives the U.S. economy. She serves as a council member on Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Council and is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment within the company.
Below, Sharon shares her #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women in business.
What is one piece of advice you would give to women looking to turn their passion into purpose?
Many successful businesses are built around a passion. I hear stories about parents creating products to meet their children’s needs, students developing tools to learn more efficiently, and restaurants centered around a family recipe. It is important to do thorough research and think through questions before transforming an idea into a business. Look into the industry at large – where are their holes? What impact will your product or solution have on the marketplace? Will your product or service solve a new issue, or perhaps create a more effective solution? How can you make your offerings unique – which will help them stand out? Following this initial research, work with a banker or tap into mentors in your network to develop a strong business plan. To ensure your best chances of success, lay out your short- and long-term goals, avenues for funding and staffing needs before opening your doors. Planning is essential to successfully starting your business and critical to navigating bumps in the road as you become established.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in business/a position of leadership? How did you overcome them?
Heading up small business for Bank of America – overseeing 2,600 small business associates serving 12 million+ clients that drive the engine of U.S. economic growth – is my dream job! I’m proud to represent the company as a woman in a leadership role.
Most recently, one major challenge our team faced was rapidly creating our Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application and portal last year. Our team worked around the clock to get the PPP process up-and-running, as we know that getting this funding into the hands of business owners is essential to keeping them operational, their staffs employed and local communities thriving. Bank of America was the first major bank to begin accepting PPP applications in early April. To achieve that, we redeployed and trained thousands of teammates and developed new technology—all in a matter of weeks. It was one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences I’ve had so far during my time with Bank of America. I am unbelievably proud of how our team responded resiliently in an uncertain time.
What is the most important message you have for women advancing their career or growing their business
Throughout my career, I’ve made it a priority to build and surround myself with a strong network of peers and mentors. I would encourage aspiring women business owners – as well as those generally interested in advancing their careers – to do the same. The ability to tap into a network provides women with an opportunity to connect, and share common experiences, which is immensely helpful especially for women entrepreneurs looking to get their feet off the ground and grow their business. A strong network can unlock access to resources, expertise and unexpected opportunities, all of which can help women thrive.
What’s your perspective on the importance of mentorship? What advice do you have for women seeking mentorship or looking to become a mentor?
A good mentor can be an invaluable resource for any business owner—and we know from our recent research (based on a survey of more than 1,000 small business owners nationwide) that a majority of women entrepreneurs believe having a mentor directly contributed to their professional success. I currently serve as a leader and mentor for the Global Ambassadors Program, which has given me the incredibly rewarding opportunity to connect with emerging women leaders and accelerate their leadership and economic empowerment.
For those seeking mentorship or looking to become a mentor, I suggest looking into your local chapter of national organizations dedicated to supporting women in business, whether that be the American Business Women's Association, National Association for Female Executives or other organizations. At Bank of America, we have a longstanding partnership with the National Association of Women Business Owners, or NAWBO, and I would highly recommend getting involved with your local NAWBO chapter where you can tap into a strong professional network, either as a mentor or mentee.
What tips would you give women entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses, especially in our digitally evolving world?
As we’ve seen over the past year, the shift to doing business digitally has only been accelerated by the pandemic. I would strongly encourage entrepreneurs to virtually meet with a trusted advisor to develop a clear business plan to help them navigate the current economic environment. A trusted advisor can be a friend, mentor or even your small business banker. Whether it’s setting up short-term goals, evaluating funding options or discussing different digital innovations that can aid a business, an advisor will be able to provide input that will help a business owner set their own growth path.
As business owners continue to navigate challenges on the road to recovery, it is important to remain resilient, creative and innovative. Our recent research found many business owners stayed open by implementing enhanced safety measures, changing their primary revenue stream (such as distilleries that retooled to make hand sanitizer; or clothing designers investing in the production of face masks) and shifting to a more digitally-focused strategy (such as shifting sales to e-commerce, or boutique fitness studios offering online classes when physical locations close).
In celebration of women in business, how can we encourage others to shop, share and support?
Despite the challenges of the past year, an overwhelming positive has been seeing the way people are investing directly into their own communities. I have been inspired by just how much communities have rallied around their local businesses—and businesses have returned the favor by investing back into their communities through donations to support coronavirus relief efforts and offering products like face masks and hand sanitizer. Small businesses are a vital part of our communities and by committing to support these businesses, we can help to jumpstart their recovery.
There are so many small businesses deserving of promotion, that I’d be remiss to just pick a few! I encourage everyone to continue to support local businesses in their communities, and shop small whenever possible.
Priceless advice for women in business in two words, or less:
“Foster Community.”
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Priceless Tips for Women in Business From Morgan DeBaun, Founder & CEO, Blavity Inc.
Sage advice is #Priceless.
In celebration of International Women's Day, Mastercard and Create & Cultivate are teaming up with prominent female leaders and business owners to share their #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women entrepreneurs.
Morgan DeBaun, Founder & CEO, Blavity Inc.
Morgan DeBaun is the Founder & CEO of Blavity Inc., the leading media company for Black culture and Millennials. She is also the Founder of WorkSmart, her signature advising program and The WorkSmart Podcast, both designed to help small business owners scale their business.
Morgan founded Blavity Inc. with the intention to build a media company that is a reflection of the new majority of America, and to create a platform for Black thought leaders, creatives and storytellers. Blavity, Inc. began as one brand with 4 college friends in an apartment, and has grown to encompass 5 brands with a company full of employees dedicated to serving the multifaceted lives of Black millennials.
She is committed to small business owners and helping them scale up their business to employ more people, build their operations and take home more profits through her free WorkSmart Advisor Podcast and her mentoring program WorkSmart Advising Program.
Below, Morgan shares her #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women in business.
What is one piece of advice you would give to women looking to turn their passion into purpose?
My advice to women looking to turn their passion into purpose is to focus on a core demographic and solve their problem.
What is the most important message you have for women advancing their career or growing their business?
People growing their small business should always keep learning new skills and studying great leaders so they can learn new ways of thinking. Entrepreneurship is a journey and successful business owners will constantly need to navigate changing customer and market environments.
What’s your perspective on the importance of mentorship? What advice do you have for women seeking mentorship or looking to become a mentor?
People looking to find mentors should narrow in on skills or areas of development they are looking to grow in and focus on finding advisors for that specific area.
What tips would you give women entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses, especially in our digitally evolving world?
Entrepreneurs looking to grow their business in today’s digital environment should stay committed to exploring new technologies and tools but try not to spread themselves too thin. There are a lot of digital tools in the business that can help you automate or streamline your process internally in your company or reduce your overhead.
In celebration of women in business, what are (3) small businesses you want to highlight to encourage others to shop, share and support?
Books, wine, and self-care through health & beauty have been staples of my quarantine routine and I encourage others to shop the small businesses that I’ve used continuously throughout the last year. Shelves Bookstore is an incredible online and mobile pop-up bookstore that is committed to celebrating the joy of reading. McBride Sisters has a beautiful story, great-tasting wine and is the largest Black-owned wine company in the US. Golde’s mission is to make wellness accessible and fun through their superfood-filled smoothies and skincare products.
Priceless advice for women in business in two words, or less:
“Think Big!”
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Priceless Tips for Women in Business From Denise Vasi, Founder of Maed
Sage advice is #Priceless.
In celebration of International Women's Day, Mastercard and Create & Cultivate are teaming up with prominent female leaders and business owners to share their #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women entrepreneurs.
Denise Vasi, Founder of Maed
Brooklyn-native and Los Angeles-based Denise Vasi first became known by many for her high-profile modeling and acting career, but the mother of two has also organically built an inclusive online community. In 2018, Denise launched the digital resource, Maed.co, that focuses on nutrition, beauty and mindful life-balance for women who find themselves juggling careers and parenthood. Growing up in an inclusive community of engaged women, Denise realized that she was consistently being asked to share her tips and suggestions on parenting, beauty and non-toxic living living. With the encouragement of the many women in her community, she created Maed with the intention to inspire, inform and empower her readers.
Since launching Maed, Denise has exponentially grown her close-knit audience with her well-informed clean beauty recommendations, vegan recipes, and conscious parenting tips. The site has since evolved into a supportive community and thriving business, partnering with dream brands and ambassador programs, while helping the community advocate for equal rights and encouraging them to invest in themselves through self-care challenges.
Below, Denise shares her #Priceless advice to inspire and elevate women in business.
What is one piece of advice you would give to women looking to turn their passion into purpose?
Be consistent, show up every day and don’t aim to replicate what other people in your space are doing. While it might work great for your peers/competitors, what makes your brand and your business unique is your voice, your opinion, and your authenticity.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in business/a position of leadership? How did you overcome them?
I originally pitched a man my idea for MAED, in hopes of finding business support for my idea. He didn’t understand the aspect of what I was trying to do.
If I had the support of his company I would have been able to build my site much faster and have some financial backing. But because he passed and because I decided to go out and do it on my own, I can proudly say I own my business outright, learned every role it takes to run my business and I only have to answer to myself both financially and creatively.
What is the most important message you have for women advancing their career or growing their business?
Hire out your weaknesses! It’s important that you can perform each task of your business but then it’s vital for every entrepreneur to know when it’s time to add people to the team.
What’s your perspective on the importance of mentorship? What advice do you have for women seeking mentorship or looking to become a mentor?
Even though there are men who have taken women under their wing, it’s more the exception than the rule. In my opinion, if you're a woman who has #MAEDit, you should seek out women with talent and mentor them. Show them how you were able to break glass ceilings. If you can mentor other females and show them what worked for you and your business and what didn't, you could save another woman months, maybe years of mistakes.
What’s next for Maed?
I have a lot of big goals for Maed but my immediate next steps are to continue building out my team and delegating responsibilities, expand my community and to collaborate more with inspiring women and business owners. It takes a village!
In celebration of women in business, what are (3) small businesses you want to highlight to encourage others to shop, share and support?
Care Package is female founded. They do incredibly beautiful curated boxes of hand selected items from other small businesses. I love sending these boxes as gifts.
SoCal ISR gives infants and kids the skills to survive in water with Infant Swim Resource Self-Rescue swim lessons. I love businesses that are modeled this way because it affords a lot of mothers the ability to run their own businesses offering them tools, resources, but most importantly credibility.
54 Thrones is a Black-owned clean beauty line that recently made Oprah's 2020 Favorite Things list. The founder, Christina Tegbe, creates intimate skin experiences through African beauty rituals. Their body butter in the bomb!
Priceless advice for women in business in two words, or less:
“Trust Yourself.”
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Cass Dimicco, Co-Founder, Aureum Collective
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Cass Dimicco, Co-Founder, Aureum Collective
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
I love that everyday is a new challenge. Our team is very small so I’m constantly developing new skills in every area of the business. One day I’m tapping into my creative side designing new pieces or coming up with our next campaign, the next day I’m strategizing business development or coming up with a marketing plan.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
I’ve always been someone who isn’t afraid to think differently and take some risks. When I decided to launch Aureum I believed in myself and what I was capable of. I think it’s important to take it one step at a time and trust in your abilities to learn as you go. Sometimes the greatest lessons can only be learned through firsthand experience, so I was not intimidated by not having a formal business background.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
Right now, our biggest challenge is expanding our team and scaling. Finding the right people is key to growing your business but it’s not always easy to find people with the same level of passion. I’ve been asking my peers who have experience building a team for advice – never be afraid to ask for help.
“Aureum has always relied heavily on visuals to tell the story of our brand. We love being able to utilize the Vistaprint postcards to add campaign imagery and a note from the founders. ”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product options have enabled me to personalize my product experience and made the customer unboxing experience Instagram-able, which has helped my business grow organically. We include a postcard made with Vistaprint in every one of our orders. It’s the little touches that make a customer want to come back and purchase from you again.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
Aureum has always relied heavily on visuals to tell the story of our brand. We love being able to utilize the Vistaprint postcards to showcase our latest campaign imagery and include a note from the founders. Exciting visuals encourage customers to share their purchase on social media which has been vital to reach new potential customers. We pride ourselves on having strong campaign imagery and it is one of the most exciting parts of running the business and building our brand. Vistaprint helps make it all possible.
“Don’t always follow the playbook of how things are supposed to be done. Sometimes having no experience is the best way to be innovative and think from the customer’s perspective instead of a business owner.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
Don’t always follow the playbook of how things are supposed to be done. Sometimes having no experience is the best way to be innovative and think from the customer’s perspective instead of a business owner.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
I haven’t gone through the process of raising money for Aureum but when I hear how low the percentage of VC funding goes to female entrepreneurs it’s really disappointing. I hope for the next generation I see more opportunity for women to raise capital to fund their businesses.
Cass Dimicco is an entrepreneur and digital talent. In September 2019, Cass founded jewelry brand Aureum Collective alongside her fiancé, Matthew. Aureum is a jewelry brand of statement pieces designed to elevate the everyday. The brand has quickly grown into a 7-figure business and has been seen on countless top influencers and celebrities, including Kylie Jenner, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, and Hailey Bieber. The pieces range from plated to demi-fine and are made in the US and designed by Cass DiMicco herself.
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‘Real Stories’ From Vistaprint Alum: Mary Orton, Entrepreneur, Investor and Influencer
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Mary Orton, Founder, Owning the Interview and Memorandum
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
Between my husband and I, we run several businesses and find entrepreneurship to be both incredibly challenging and hugely rewarding. Controlling your own schedule and having the independence to build a business you’re passionate about makes the grueling hours entirely worthwhile. I’m also an unusual mix of right and left brain, so I love that entrepreneurship often provides opportunities to use both business analytical skills as well as creative skills. As someone who started her career on Wall Street, I know that I would not be personally fulfilled by a job that only allows me to utilize one side of my brain!
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?Yes, I’ve definitely always had the entrepreneurial bug. In addition to Owning The Interview, Memorandum, and our other businesses, my husband and I are angel investors and are constantly talking about new, disruptive businesses and industries. Even when we were fresh out of college and both working for large investment banks, we were constantly discussing business ideas.
In many cases, I think the best businesses arise from a challenge you’ve experienced firsthand. Our most recent endeavor which is our digital interview course, Owning The Interview, was born out of our personal experience on both sides of the interview table and our realization that there was a huge hole in the market. We’ve seen repeatedly that even the most qualified candidates are often overcome by nerves, stumbling over the smallest details in the interview process. Yet, no one was providing people with comprehensive interview training that went beyond the superficial “sit up straight and make eye contact” and really dug into the strategies and psychology that make a candidate stand out. We decided to take our combined 30 years of experience on both sides of the interview table, along with insights from dozens of executives and hiring managers from Fortune 500 companies, startups and everything in between to create a comprehensive, universal interview course that provides the real insider tips to approach any interview with complete confidence.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
I think one of my biggest professional faults is the tendency to be a perfectionist. I’ve learned over the years that when you’re starting a new business, the desire to work on something until it’s “perfect” is often counterproductive. It’s more important to get your product (or service) out in the market, solidify product-market fit, and get customer feedback.
For example, we began working on Owning The Interview almost two years ago and in early March of 2020 we were solidifying a production studio in NYC to help us film all of the course videos and content. Days later, Covid hit and we have spent the entire pandemic at our home in Wisconsin. While it was far from ideal, we had to adjust our plans for the perfect studio setup and professional film crew and create a makeshift studio at home during quarantine, filming everything ourselves. In the end, it worked out beautifully. Maybe our set design isn’t as perfect as it could have been had we filmed in a professional studio in NYC, but our course sales and feedback speak for itself, surpassing our wildest hopes. People have found immense value in the content and the rest just didn’t really matter. Ideally, style and substance go hand-in-hand, but when it comes down to it and you’re pressed against a wall in a pandemic, substance over style wins everytime!
“Vistaprint has long been our go-to for marketing materials, branded merch for our team or personalized items to send to business partners.”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Vistaprint has long been our go-to for marketing materials, branded merch for our team or personalized items to send to business partners. Whether it’s business cards, t-shirts or even fun items like mugs and water bottles, we know we can always rely on the quality of Vistaprint products.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
A strong visual brand is hugely important for any business. It engenders trust in the company, makes your business memorable, facilitates referrals and so much more. Especially in the digital age, visual branding that is weak or inconsistent can significantly undermine your credibility, no matter how spectacular your product or service. Strong visual elements, executed consistently wherever your business is represented, can be one of the best ways to communicate with current and prospective customers.
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
You have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and tackle anything that comes your way. No task is too small and no job is beneath you. For example, when I was starting out, I knew nothing about how to create a website and didn’t have the budget to hire a web developer. There also weren’t nearly the same resources online for creating inexpensive, visually-appealing websites as there are today. Instead, I had to spend many late nights researching HTML coding and figuring out how to take a basic wordpress template and make it my own. Would I have preferred to focus all of my energy on the big-picture tasks in building the business? Of course. But especially when starting out, you have to be creative and as the saying goes, there’s no substitute for hard work. Entrepreneurship is not glamorous, despite what social media might make you think!
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
As investors, my husband and I are particularly interested in helping underrepresented founders and this certainly includes female entrepreneurs. Throughout my career, I’ve been in countless meetings where investors ask me questions that they would never ask my husband or other white male business partners. The biases that exist result in female and BIPOC founders receiving disproportionately less funding to start businesses. I certainly hope to see this change for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Mary Orton is an entrepreneur, investor, and the influencer behind fashion and lifestyle blog, Memorandum. In late 2020, she launched Owning The Interview, the premier online interview course helping every job seeker learn the insider tips to land their dream job. Before starting her own businesses, Mary worked for many years in investment banking in NYC and is a graduate of Georgetown University.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik, Co-Hosts & Co-Founders of Almost 30
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik, Co-Hosts & Co-Founders of Almost 30
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
Krista: Where do we even start? We’re grateful for so many aspects of having our own brand, but what we love most is that we get to be completely true to ourselves and share our own voices. When we feel called to create or share something, we get to follow that intuition — without being blocked or influenced by others’ opinions or objections. When I was in the corporate world, I felt like there were a lot of barriers to creation and innovation. As the leaders of our own brand, we get to remove those barriers (for ourselves and our team) and do what feels right to us.
We also love that the brand evolves as we do. We’re not the same people we were four years ago when we launched Almost 30 (for starters, we’re past 30 now!), so the podcast and brand has grown and matured along with us. We’ve gone through several visual rebrands, new logos, and changes to the podcast to reflect who we are now. Having our own business allows us to have that evolution.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
Lindsey: Yes, we have both always been entrepreneurial. Before starting Almost 30, I was an actress and singer, and I worked as a bartender, fit model, and a senior SoulCycle instructor, among many other jobs. Krista worked in marketing in the corporate world, but also had side hustles as a blogger, starting a travel business, nannying, and serving. We both always knew there was “more” for us — that there was a more impactful way to share our gifts. We met when I was an instructor at SoulCycle and Krista was auditioning to be an instructor. We were transitioning from our 20s to 30s, and we both felt really lost. We started having deep conversations around growing up, purpose, fear, and rejection. We thought we couldn’t be the only ones having these feelings, so we brought our conversations to a podcast. It took a LOT of work (we recorded for 7 months before putting anything out there and balanced full-time jobs with podcasting for 2 years), but making that leap was the best decision we ever made.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
Krista: We launched our show before podcasts became really mainstream, so there was no blueprint for how to do this. In fact, some people told us we were crazy for putting so much of our blood, sweat, and tears into this thing that no one else was doing. That was our first big lesson to tune out unaligned feedback and follow our own intuition — and we always come back to that lesson.
In the beginning, we had to figure out in real time how to record quality audio, grow our numbers, get sponsors, and structure our pricing. We didn’t have a lot of other people to look to and model ourselves after. That turned out to be a huge blessing because we got to follow our gut, experiment, and figure out what worked for us — and that paid off in a big way.
“Vistaprint has helped us express our creative vision in so many different ways”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Lindsey: We love that Vistaprint has helped us express our creative vision in so many different ways. We used Vistaprint to create thank you cards to send to our podcast guests, which adds a personal touch that helps us build authentic relationships with our customers. When we were on a worldwide tour to meet our community in person, we used Vistaprint to create beautiful signage that made the events feel even more special. And most recently, we launched a line of sustainable slow fashion merchandise. We used Vistaprint to create stickers and postcards that we sent with each product. We were able to translate the branding and aesthetic of our merchandise onto these postcards and stickers, and it added a special touchpoint when customers received their purchase.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
Krista: Visual elements are hugely important to our brand — they help us express who we are, how we’ve grown, and what we represent. Whether it’s graphics on our website (we just rebranded it with a new look!), social channels, downloadables, merch packaging, or podcast art, our look conveys our vibe and it helps attract the people who resonate with us.
“I hope that the next generation feels more free to express themselves openly, take risks, and try things that have never been done before.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
Lindsey: I would tell them, before you do anything, get really clear on the intention behind your business. Why are you launching this? Why are you passionate about it? Who is it serving? Having this idea in your head isn’t enough — speak it out loud, write it in a mission statement, infuse it in your branding and marketing. This intention may change over time, and there’s absolutely no shame in change (that’s called growth!), so revisit your intention every year or 6 months to make sure it still resonates.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
Krista: I hope that the next generation feels more free to express themselves openly, take risks, and try things that have never been done before. I think they’ll be fortunate to have a lot of amazing role models from this generation of female entrepreneurs, so I hope they learn from us but also do things in a completely new way that keeps us all evolving.
With 400+ episodes and more than 20 million downloads, the Almost 30 Podcast has been hailed as “The Best Wellness Podcast to Listen To Right Now” by Covetuer and nominated for “Best Wellness Podcast” and “Best Spirituality Podcast” by iHeart Radio. Hosts Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik are your virtual best friends, impactful female founders and seasoned event speakers as seen on the stages of Create & Cultivate, BlogHer and POPSUGAR Play/Ground to name a few. Almost 30 is the go-to place for heart-centered, hilarious conversations and real, raw, impactful interviews with brilliant guests. In each episode, Krista and Lindsey dive deep into everything from modern spirituality to health and wellness, aliens to entrepreneurship, and social justice to self development. Almost 30 also hosts life changing events and retreats, as well as provides courses, workbooks and programs to assist in your spiritual and emotional evolution.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Remi Ishizuka, Founder of RRAYYME, Co-Founder of HōmeBodies
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Remi Ishizuka, Founder of RRAYYME, Co-Founder of HōmeBodies
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
I love coming up with fresh new ideas for content, setting goals and figuring out how to achieve them. I also love connecting with like-minded individuals and brands, all while empowering others on their own journeys!
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
Growing up, I saw my dad run his own business, but I never thought I had it in me to do the same. I was working corporate jobs 9-5, but I felt unhappy and unfulfilled. It wasn’t until I made a decision to better my own wellbeing from the inside out (exercise and eat healthier) when everything changed.
I started sharing a different breakfast recipe each morning on my Instagram, mostly to keep myself accountable. Without realizing it, I started impacting the people around me. Looking back it was the consistency of posting something of value every single day and connecting with others that led to more opportunities. Eventually I quit my full-time job in corporate, became a content creator, and now a co-founder of a popular at-home fitness program called, HōmeBodies.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
At the beginning of the pandemic, my boyfriend and I hopped on Instagram every single day at 9am and led a full body workout on IG LIVE. During this uncertain time, people following along met us every morning on their mat. It was how we connected during a time of isolation - It created a sense of normalcy.
We became a super tight knit community, and after 3 months of free workouts, some technical setbacks, and people wanting a better experience, we decided to launch our own subscription-based fitness program.
The challenge we initially faced was the push back that came from turning a free service into a paid one. I learned that we can’t make everyone happy, but we sure as heck will try! While we knew our price point was on par with what we were offering, we wanted to give as many people as possible the opportunity to benefit from our program. One week later, we added a different package at a lower tier so people who wanted to join HōmeBodies, but couldn’t afford the full program could still weave in creative movement into their schedule 3-4X a week.
“The process was a breeze, the quality was amazing and all of our customers were so excited about it.”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Vistaprint's wide selection of product options has allowed us to connect with our customers and enabled us to personalize the customer experience for our very first physical product launch, Deck of Cards! We created custom stationary through Vistaprint and included a handwritten note in every order to elevate the unboxing experience. The process was a breeze, the quality was amazing and all of our customers were so excited about it, which is exactly what we wanted.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
I’m huge on aesthetics. Visually, I wanted HōmeBodies to feel luxe and unisex, but most importantly minimal since that is our bottom-line philosophy. Branding is important because it’s a direct reflection of not only the product, but the community you cultivate. When someone visits our website or unboxes a product from us, we want them to immediately feel what HōmeBodies embodies, if that makes sense? People should feel empowered to make incredible changes on their health journey, while also feeling accepted and welcomed as they are. Their power comes from within themselves and HōmeBodies helps them realize they don’t need to take excessive measures to get there.
“What you focus on, thrives. If your heart isn’t in it, your audience will know (sometimes even before you do). ”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
1. What you focus on, thrives. If your heart isn’t in it, your audience will know (sometimes even before you do!). Don’t build or sell / promote something you don’t 100% believe in.
2. Social Media is free marketing, so use it, but remember you don’t own the platform AKA - it could go away tomorrow - we have no control over algorithm changes or guideline updates. Make sure you start to gather your communities’ emails. Create a free offer with SO much value that they want to sign up and give you their email. Oh, and keep offering them value. If you offer killer FREE value, they will trust you when you decide to create something they can buy. I missed out on that for years until the launch of HōmeBodies .
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
This has already started happening, but I can’t wait to see more and more content creators turn into entrepreneurs in their own right. Creating their own products, growing their teams and using their platforms to solve problems and inspire their communities!
Remi Ishizuka is an LA based health and wellness expert. Remi shares relatable tips - making her channels a place for her community to access her daily workouts, healthy recipes, skincare tips, and love for her pups. She is also Co-founder of HomeBodies a successful virtual online workout program that consists of 365 unique workouts a year.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Whitney Rife Becker, CEO/Founder, The Retail Therapist
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Whitney Rife Becker, CEO/Founder, The Retail Therapist
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
I love being my own boss and that I have been able to create a lifestyle that I love. I get to be a wife, a mom, I get to travel and experience life, and most importantly, I get to make women feel good about themself and express themselves daily with the cutest clothes, accessories, and shoes on any budget.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
Yes, it honestly started with selling food in a play kitchen, then in 4th grade, I made staple necklaces and bracelets, and sold them for $0.25 each. My parents both work hard and own their own business so I learned a lot from them. I have worked for as long as I can remember and had always wanted to own a boutique one day. I loved shopping and my mom had always dreamed of owning a boutique as well. It is so fun to get to do it alongside her and with the help of my brother we have turned our little dream into a big reality. I had no idea owning my own boutique would turn into becoming a Fashion Blogger/Social Media influencer as well and then open the door to owning a tanning salon as well – but that’s the fun!
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
In every business there are always challenges and curve balls thrown your way. Going to the Apparel Market the first time was overwhelming and I could have planned better for it but it only took one trip to learn what works best for us. There were days we had a negative bank account and some days we didn’t know how we were going to pay our employees. What I did know though is that this was my dream, my baby, and we were not giving up. Beyond the first year, 2020 as a whole was really tough for any small business. Thankfully with our online store and the power of social media we were able to adjust and keep going.
“ Vistaprint is essentially an extension of my business, and my go-to source for all of my marketing and packaging needs – business cards, flyers and sale flyers, pens, masks, and more.”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
I have used Vistaprint since The Retail Therapist opened online almost 8 years ago. Vistaprint is essentially an extension of my business, and my go-to source for all of my marketing and packaging needs – business cards, flyers and sale flyers, pens, masks, etc. Each order from the boutique gets a cute postcard as well, designed right on Vistaprint. You name it, Vistaprint has always been there for us. I’ll never forget the day I was able to order personalized bags from Vistaprint for our storefront.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
I love to update our packing based on whatever season we are in plus sometimes like to include special discount codes plus features and highlight customer photos or influencers we are working with. If it is Christmas, every order gets a Christmas card, if it’s summer, you may get a cute summer card with return policy + if you tag us in a picture on social media, you may even see yourself on the mailer. It is so nice to be able to depend on Vistaprint to update all packaging plus ship in a timely manner and be so affordable. Every penny counts when owning a business and I am thankful Vistaprint is always cautious of that.
“YOUR time is now. While you’re waiting, someone else is already a step ahead of you.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
DO IT! Quit searching for answers to questions you may have. Not every business is ran the same and you have to do what is best for you and your business. In today’s world, it’s so easy to compare your start to someone else's middle, especially with social media. STOP doing that and just start. You can’t wait on someone to get back to you with an answer that you just sent a question to via DM. You may always be waiting. YOUR time is now. While you’re waiting, someone else is already a step ahead of you.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
I would like to see females not worry about being a female. I started my business over 8 years ago when females were not as far along as we are now. Women clearly deserve to have CEO after their name and I’d love nothing more than for another female to never have to worry again IF she can do it all because SHE CAN.
Whitney Rife Becker is the every girl's girl. As a wife, mother, and entrepreneur, Whitney documents her love of fashion, food, and daily real-life experiences as a working Mom on her blog and other social media outlets. Coming from a small town in Virginia where she owns a women's clothing boutique and tanning salon; Whitney now resides in Murrells Inlet, SC with her husband, Shawn and son, Bo. After starting her blog in 2011, Whitney has reached over 400,000 followers across her social media platforms. Her signature style mixes high end designer pieces with everyday affordable styles. You can find her boutique storefront in Tazewell, VA or shop online at www.shopretailtherapist.com
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5 Essential Elements of a Strong Brand Identity
Hint: It’s more than meets the eye.
Meet the newest member of your marketing team: Vistaprint. Together, we’re bringing you an all-encompassing Brand Campus packed with free resources, ideas and tips to help you grow, adapt and evolve your business.
When we think about someone’s identity, we think about the characteristics that are unique to that individual. A brand identity is no different. It’s the sum of all the attributes that shape a business into being.
The term ‘brand identity’ is often used interchangeably with ‘brand image,’ – the visual elements of a company such as logo, colors, branding and typography – and while both appeal to the senses, they are two distinct concepts that support a common purpose. Brand identity is inclusive of brand image as it governs the entirety of a brand’s expression to the world and how it is perceived, but before you understand the visuals you want to constitute that expression, you first need to know who you are as a brand.
Beyond brand image, brand identity reflects the company’s character, principles and values. It anchors the business with intention and creates the lens through which all decisions in the organization should be evaluated. Brand identity lives in the everyday interactions of the brand. Every aspect of an enterprise from the packaging and the marketing materials to employee relations and customer service – is a part of its brand identity.
A strong brand identity is necessary to scale a business. Operating from a place of authenticity establishes trust and credibility with customers, and helps cement the brand’s authority within the market. Ready to bring your brand to life? Begin building an effective and comprehensive brand identity by contemplating the following five qualities, through the lens of your own brand.
Brand Mission
What’s your “why?”
A strong brand identity is anchored in an enduring mission statement – a declaration of your brand’s purpose, explaining WHY you exist. One of the first things any new business should do is get clear on the company mission statement. It is the foundation of your business. Though your business strategies and tactics may change over time, your mission statement will not. It represents the underlying philosophy of your brand, tethered at its core. Have you noticed that every great tagline includes the what, the who and the mission that motivates the brand?
Brand Values
What beliefs drive your business?
Like a person, a company has a set of guiding principles. These are the values that you uphold and emulate through your business, and the heart and the soul behind your mission. Think about what’s important to you about the way you run your business. How do you want customers to feel when they work with you? What about your employees? These are the core values upon which you build your brand, and from which you will govern decisions across every facet of the business.
Brand Personality
If your brand was a person, what would they be like?
The personality of a brand relates directly to its target audience, and reflects the qualities and traits that they expect the brand to be. Is it convivial, or sophisticated? Young or refined? Sarcastic or scholarly? The defining characteristics of your brand’s personality will manifest in the everyday interactions, so it’s important that they remain constant over time in order for customers to connect with its authenticity.
An important attribute of a brand’s personality is its voice – the style in which your brand speaks to your audience. The voice you use to communicate says a lot about your brand and helps positioning through communication – should reflect your audience and the way you want your brand to be perceived. Your brand voice
Brand Positioning
How does your customer identify and distinguish your brand from the competition?
Your brand personality should be reflected in the brand positioning — which is how your brand is perceived against its competitors and in the mind of your customers. More specifically, it's the strategy used to set your business apart from the rest.
Your brand’s positioning is influenced by its competitors, and what they have to offer. Tailor your strategy to highlight your product’s competitive advantage and share what makes your business unique in your messaging. What sets you apart from the competition? What do your clients love about collaborating with you or why do they love to purchase your products?
Brand Promise
What promise do you make with your customer – and consistently deliver?
A brand promise tells your customer, either explicitly or implicitly, what they can expect from your product or service. It sets their expectations on the quality of your products or services. The more a company can deliver on their promise, the stronger the brand value in the mind of customers and employees.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Jaclyn Johnson, CEO and Founder, Create & Cultivate
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Jaclyn Johnson, CEO and Founder, Create & Cultivate
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
The ability to make decisions quickly – especially in 2020 when things changed overnight. We were able to pivot quickly and decisively, which in turn saved our business and grew our brand exponentially.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
No! Despite the fact that I grew up with an entrepreneurial family, I found myself in the corporate rat race early on. I was laid off from my corporate gig and left to figure out what I wanted out of my next career move, and accidentally fell into starting my first company – it worked out for the best.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
We are a completely self funded entity with high growth, and scaling has always been a challenge. From knowing when to hire to when to invest in technology, it’s always a game of chance. For us, a major shift in our business happened when we brought on our COO, who really helped create systems and processes that gave us the runway to grow productively.
“Vistaprint makes it easy to create and customize marketing with easy-to-use digital tools and design-templates!”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Vistaprint makes it easy to create and customize marketing with easy-to-use digital tools and design-templates! We have been wanting to design Create & Cultivate merch for awhile, and it felt like an arduous process with large minimums and high costs. Vistaprint, made it easy to test drive different products – from totes to hoodies – to see what our audience liked most!
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
BRANDING is so important when you are building a BRAND! The visual representation is part of your brand’s DNA from day one. Create & Cultivate’s signature pink/beige color has been our guiding principle throughout our design and in many stages of the business over time. It has become a signature of the brand, to the point where people will say “that’s so C&C!”
“Create your own momentum. Don’t pay attention to what everyone else is doing.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
Create your own momentum. Don’t pay attention to what everyone else is doing. Focus on your brand mission, and keep on creating from there.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
I would love to see more women having access to capital, whether its venture capital or angel investing. Women need money to see their ideas through, and need to be in the rooms where deals are being made.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Hayet Rida, Founder, That Hayet Rida
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Discover "Real Stories'' from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Hayet Rida, Founder, That Hayet Rida
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
My favorite part about having my own brand and business is the connection to the community. As an entrepreneur, we tend to think we are just selling ideas or products – but our businesses are really an avenue to connect deeper with the community.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
I would say, yes – I have always been entrepreneurial. When I was about seven I started making bracelets out of beads. I had no idea what ‘business’ was but I understood at some level that I was making something other people would want, and that I could sell it to them. It took me a bit longer to cultivate the confidence to make the leap to full solopreneur, but I’m glad to be where I am now.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
The greatest challenge I faced launching my business was getting out of my own way. I would overthink everything, wondering what if it didn’t work – but what if it did work? What if I don’t have enough time? What if nobody likes my product? At the end of the day I realized that I did not have the answers to those questions. And the only way I would be able to get the answers to those questions was if I gave it a try.
“I trust Vistaprint to help me create quality products that reflect and elevate my brand.”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
For one of my businesses, Aïya Candle Co., I wanted to convey a luxury experience to our customers with beautiful visuals in our shipping boxes. I used Vistaprint to design beautiful, high-end campaign cards, which really helped to elevate the entire experience. As for my other business, my blog, I like to keep stationary on hand to surprise my supporters with a handwritten thank you note from time to time. Through Vistaprint, I was able to create a quality set of ‘thank you’ stationary, which not only reflected my brand and my business, but my relationship with my community.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
Visual elements are the key to branding. It’s not just the imagery and the photography, but how you communicate your brand message all the way down to your notepads, the stationary, the product packaging, and all of the things in between. I trust Vistaprint to help me create quality products that reflect and elevate my brand, without having to worry about ordering high volumes.
“We don’t always have to have these big audacious ideas. Sometimes the true value lies in the smallest idea executed by the smartest people.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
My only advice to other business owners and entrepreneurs, especially women, is to get out of our own way. Often we seek other people to help nurture us into the confidence to launch our business. But the sooner we realize that though we must work together, believe in each other, and share a vision, ultimately the chance is ours to take. And last but not least, know that it is OK to fail. Failure is a part of growth. When you fail, you learn, you adopt, you grow.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
I hope the next generation of female entrepreneurs is not afraid to share and build their ideas – even if they seem silly or obvious. Some of the best ideas are low hanging fruit and we wonder why someone hasn’t done it already. Well, the reason why nobody has done it, is because it’s for you to do. We don’t always have to have these big audacious ideas. Sometimes the true value lies in the smallest idea executed by the smartest people..
Hayet Rida
When I was starting this brand, I wanted it to be more than just a product, but a full experience that was built on not only my vision, but a strong team of black women. In every production, and visual decision I chose to hire 100% black women. Every product is the labor of our own vulnerability, trust in ourselves and desire to remind our customers that they deseve black owned luxury.
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8 Women in Venture Capital Share Their Best Fundraising Advice for Female Founders
From what you should (and shouldn’t) include in a pitch deck to how to identify the right investors for your business.
Statistically, women-led and owned businesses make more money but they’re still woefully underfunded, especially when it comes to venture capital. And, unfortunately, those stats aren’t improving year-over-year. A recent report published by Fortune discovered that companies founded by women received less VC investment in 2020 than in 2019. By the numbers, female-founded companies raised $3.31 billion in VC in 2020, or 2.2% of the year’s total sum, compared to $3.5 billion and 2.6% in 2019.
So, we reached out to eight women in the venture capital industry and asked them to share their best fundraising advice for female founders—and they didn’t hold back. From what you should (and shouldn’t) include in a pitch deck to how to identify the right investors for your business (spoiler alert: they need to bring more than just money to the table), scroll on for their words of wisdom, including insight into how they choose which companies to fund. Needless to say, if you’re an entrepreneur who’s thinking about bringing VC into your business, you’re going to want to heed their advice.
Sarah Kunst, Managing Director, Cleo Capital
“If the terms are clean and the money is green, they are most likely the right investors.”
—Sarah Kunst, Managing Director, Cleo Capital
How do you choose which businesses to fund? What do you look for in a business and/or an entrepreneur?
I look for founders with an incredible amount of grit, coachability, subject matter expertise, and resilience. I look for businesses in large markets that I'm excited about. If I can find all of those things in a pre-seed startup, I'm likely to invest.
What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?
Make sure you explain the problem you're solving (and the solution you're building!), why your team is the right team to solve the problem, and why the market is large enough to build a billion-dollar company.
What are some of the most common mistakes people make when raising money and how can others avoid these mistakes?
Mistakes to avoid are bad decks and pitches. There are tons of resources available from simple searches about what a good pitch deck looks like and how to pitch angel and pre-seed investors effectively. Make sure you're putting your best foot forward by preparing both your pitch deck and pitch meeting speech.
What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors?
If the terms are clean and the money is green, they are most likely the right investors. At the earliest stages, most founders won't have a surplus of options so making sure you can live with the investment terms is very important so you can raise money and keep growing your business. Resources like CooleyGO and YC have great examples of boilerplate investment terms.
What is your #1 piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Save money on things that don't matter. Fancy offices or expensive business cards likely don't matter, great employees do.
Jaime Schmidt, Co-Founder, Color
“Fundraising means giving up equity in your business, so the earlier you raise money, ultimately, the more it will cost you.”
—Jaime Schmidt, Co-Founder, Color
How do you choose which businesses to fund? What do you look for in a business and/or an entrepreneur?
My fund Color invests in things people buy, and the places people buy them. This includes personal care, food and beverage, retail, publishers, tech-enabled marketplaces, and e-commerce platforms.
To make an attractive investment, first and foremost the product must offer a clear solution to a problem, and provide for a timeless need versus a fleeting trend. I look for brands that start out catering to a niche customer base, but that can show a clear path to reaching the masses. I’m excited about founders with an authentic passion for what they are building and who can make a case for why they are the right person to be building it.
What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?
It’s important to show a clear understanding of the competitive landscape and how your product and brand will add value to the category as a whole. Show who the existing competitors are, those on the rise, and where your brand fits amongst them. The best pitches focus not on how a product is better, but on how it is different.
Investors will also want to see your distribution strategy. Lay out your plans for where the products will be sold, whether that’s through your website only or across different retail channels. This requires knowing what customer demographics you are targeting, too. I’m personally drawn to brands with an openness to exploring sales channels otherwise overlooked by competitors in their space. For example, when I was building Schmidt’s Naturals, I wanted my products available to the mainstream consumer, where most of my competitors in the naturals space catered to a more niche market.
Show images of the standalone product, plus pictures of it being used. This might sound obvious, but so many decks are lacking bold, high-quality photos. These are especially important in the earliest slides, so the investor has a clear understanding right away of what you are selling. The deck should include colors and design elements of the brand, too. This shows that you care about how your brand is represented and that you understand its unique positioning in the category. Make it pretty!
What are some of the most common mistakes people make when raising money and how can others avoid these mistakes?
The biggest mistake I see is founders raising too early. Fundraising means giving up equity in your business, so the earlier you raise money, ultimately the more it will cost you.
Media often paints a picture that landing investor money means a brand is positioned for guaranteed success. But this isn’t necessarily true, and founders don’t always spend investor money wisely. I like to encourage founders to bootstrap for as long as possible—this teaches you how to be scrappy and intentional with your spending, which will serve as a valuable skill throughout the growth of your business.
What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors?
The right investor will ask smart, relevant questions and show real enthusiasm for you and your brand. Be wary of those you suspect might have different goals for your company. Listen to your gut, and don’t settle for partners you aren’t excited about working with.
Not everyone will get what you’re trying to do, and that’s okay. Be patient, and believe in yourself. I recently tweeted: “10 yrs ago I started a business that, as a VC, I probably wouldn’t have invested in. As a founder, I was all in, but as an outsider, there was good reason to be skeptical. 7 yrs later the company sold for $100M+. The rejection you might see today is no indicator of your potential.”
What is your #1 piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Allow yourself to be simultaneously frugal and willing to spend by knowing where to cut corners to invest in things that matter most. This takes some of the rigidity out of financial management, while still providing boundaries for responsible spending.
Sydney Sykes, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, BLCK VC
“Look for someone who answers your calls and texts. You should feel comfortable asking them questions and reaching out to them, even if they may not have the answer to your problem.”
—Sydney Sykes, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, BLCK VC
How do you choose which businesses to fund? What do you look for in a business and/or an entrepreneur?
I look for a combination of two things: vision and numbers. If an entrepreneur has an incredible vision for her company and she's been able to motivate others to believe in her but the numbers aren't incredible, I may be willing to invest. On the other hand, if an entrepreneur has incredible numbers, but the vision of what the business will be in the future is still developing I may also be willing to take a chance. Ideally, she has the perfect combination: an incredibly strong vision with economics or growth that is starting to show traction.
What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?
1. Why your problem is important? Why should you/I/the customer/the employees care about this? You should be able to easily convince me about this. It means this is an important issue that needs to be solved and you're the person who understands that best.
2. Any traction. This comes back to the numbers. What indications are there from the market/customers that this will be successful? It could be sales, but it could also be customer conversations, conversion rates, or engagement.
3. Growth projections. How do you predict sales to grow and how many customers will it take to get you there? This helps me (and you) understand if these assumptions are reasonable. It also helps me understand if this is a long or a short run investment? Some companies need a little bit of money to go really far, and others need a lot more. Neither is right or wrong, but I need to know if your expectations for the business align.
What are some of the most common mistakes people make when raising money and how can others avoid these mistakes?
A lack of focus on the target customer. Especially when seeking venture capital investments, entrepreneurs frequently aim to have the largest TAM possibly and therefore try to expand who their target customer is. However, these two things aren't inherently linked. There can be a large total addressable market, but your product needs to appeal to individuals -- and you need to know exactly who those individuals are.
What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors?
Look for someone who answers your calls and texts. You should feel comfortable asking them questions and reaching out to them, even if they may not have the answer to your problem. This free communication can set the tone for the relationship.
What is your #1 piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Make sure the unit economics makes sense. Especially with consumer companies, there needs to be an understanding of how each customer could be profitable. Ultimately, incredible growth is unsustainable without strong unit economics.
Jesse Draper, Founding Partner, Halogen Ventures
“Remember one thing, not all money is good money. This is a long-term relationship. A marriage you cannot get out of. It will be a 10-year partnership. Do your research.”
—Jesse Draper, Founding Partner, Halogen Ventures
How do you choose which businesses to fund? What do you look for in a business and/or an entrepreneur?
We invest in consumer technology so I start there. The three main things I look for in an entrepreneur are:
1. Founder, founder, founder. Why are you the best person to run this company? Are you going to take it all the way? Are you in it for the quick exit or the 10-year marathon? Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? And mostly, is this someone I want to get into business with?
2. Product. How is your product a unique offering? Is it defensible? If it's a busy space, why is yours the one that will stand out?
3. Traction. This could mean $1 million in revenue, 100,000 users but don't let those numbers dissuade you, many people especially in hardware need to raise capital to get their product to market. If that is the case, show me some research or data that there is a need for this.
What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?
A. Know your market size. Make sure you are going after a billion-dollar market. As a venture capitalist, my business only works if you sell your company for a billion dollars, I have many investors who I need to pay back. If you are going after a $50 million dollar market, my business model doesn't work. I often have to say to founders, go find the bigger market here and come back to me.
B. What problem are you solving? The best businesses are built out of a need. Be clear about what your solution is and why you are building this company.
C. The ask! I am always perplexed when this isn't in the deck. What are you looking for? $1 million? Advisors? Put the ask in the deck and it's much easier to ASK for an investment, etc.
What are some of the most common mistakes people make when raising money and how can others avoid these mistakes?
Founders who think they have all the answers. I certainly don't have all the answers and I don't believe anyone should ever think they are the smartest person in the room. Whenever I see a founder who tells me, “This is the only way it will work.” that is a big red flag and I usually run in the opposite direction. The best companies are able to pivot and evolve when needed. It's never a straight line up a mountain, there are ups and downs, and who knows, we may end up in an international pandemic!
What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors?
Remember one thing, not all money is good money. This is a long-term relationship. A marriage you cannot get out of. It will be a 10-year partnership. Do your research. Call their other portfolio companies to see that what their work ethic is like, how they partner with founders, are they in the trenches with you, or hands-off. One bad investor can poison the well. You will find the right capital for your company even if it takes a little longer because you have to turn some down. Be diligent and selective.
What is your #1 piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Fundraising is a grind. Don't get discouraged by the “no’s.” I often have founders say, “Well, everyone said ‘no.’” And I say, “Who is everyone?” And they respond with, “Well, I talked to eight investors!” That is NOT a lot. Plan on having 100 meetings because you have to cast a much wider net to find your investors. If you plan on having 100 meetings, you will be pleasantly surprised because it probably won't take 100. Also, ask for more. Get clear on the number you think you need and double it. It is what I like to call a "misc" category. If your goal is to raise 1 million, go for 2 million instead. It always takes more money and more time than you think. Set yourself up for success.
Arielle Loren, Founder, 100k Incubator
“Not every business can start small, but the vast majority can. Get a small amount of capital, start testing, collect your data, know your conversion rates, and then think about an investor.”
—Arielle Loren, Founder, 100k Incubator
How do you choose which businesses to fund? What do you look for in a business and/or an entrepreneur?
The most successful and scalable businesses place a heavy focus on their analytics and numbers. They pay attention to their mistakes, learn fast, and are quick to pivot to where they’re seeing traction, whether that’s an increase in their user base, higher revenue, or increased profitability. We love women entrepreneurs who are obsessed with those details, and who aren’t afraid to get creative to reach their growth goals. We don’t expect things to go smoothly, but we do expect for the bumps to be measured.
What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?
Know your conversion rates before going after large amounts of capital. If I give you something small like $10,000, could you take 10% of that ($1,000), invest it in an ad campaign, and turn it into $2,000 in sales? Can you go granular and know how much it costs you in ad spend just to get one customer? Could you measure and see how quickly a first-time customer makes their second purchase? Too many entrepreneurs get caught up in creating a perfectly branded pitch deck when really the decision comes down to proof of concept and real-time data. Gary Vee posted a great quote recently that said, “When you overthink, you slow down and you get passed.” Not every business can start small, but the vast majority can. Get a small amount of capital, start testing, collect your data, know your conversion rates, and then think about an investor (if that’s really what you want to do).
What are some of the most common mistakes people make when raising money and how can others avoid these mistakes?
There are so many entrepreneurs not taking the time to get educated on all of their funding options, and part of that is because angel investors and venture capital have become so popular in the media, that entrepreneurs jump to make that their desired funding vehicle. The vast majority of entrepreneurs do not need venture capital; we teach and help entrepreneurs access 11 other types of funding. When our members first enter the 100K Incubator app, they're asked to take our 50-video boot camp on how to prepare for funding, what their funding options are, and how to use funding to scale to their first $100,000 in annual sales. And for the entrepreneurs who are already earning over $100,000 in annual sales, they still find extreme value in the boot camp, because it breaks down funding and scaling in a way that most of them have never heard. Getting the funding is the easy part, they actually have a lot of options, but learning what drives and scales their business, getting into the data, that’s where their true talent, grit, and creativity is tested as a business owner.
What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors?
When partnering with the right investor, it’s more about having an honest conversation about what they expect in terms of a return on their investment, how fast they want it, and how much control they expect to have in the business. Then it’s making sure that you have a skilled lawyer to put those terms into contracts so that there’s little misunderstanding down the road. Most small businesses don’t need investors. What they really need is access to capital, customer acquisition and retention process, a deep understanding of how it works for their own business, and how to scale that into a six and seven-figure in sales with a healthy profit. The TV and social media world have made angel investors and venture capital funding sexy without telling how much stress it puts on founders, and how much it costs financially. At a minimum, make sure your investor is bringing something to the table other than money because if your company is successful, that investor capital you took in exchange for your equity will end up being the most expensive type of capital you’ve ever taken.
What is your #1 piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Make your move, learn from your mistakes, and trust the process. How much you raise in funding is nowhere near as valuable as what you learn along the way. And while helping women get access to funding is rewarding and an accomplishment in itself, it’s far more exciting to help them use that capital to create real sustainable six-to-seven-figure businesses that change their lives, their families’ lives, and their futures. We love to be the catalyst and support system for more women understanding the complete cycle of entrepreneurship. Getting funding is truly just the first step.
Elizabeth Edwards, Managing Partner, H Venture Partners
“Make a big list and do your research. You should be putting a list of 100 investors together based on stage, sector, and geography focus.”
—Elizabeth Edwards, Managing Partner, H Venture Partners
How do you choose which businesses to fund? What do you look for in a business and/or an entrepreneur?
We're looking for next-generation, iconic consumer brands that we can help scale from $0 or $5 million in revenue to $10 or $50 million in revenue within a handful of years. These are products in your home that you use every day, like your Peloton bike, baby food, or skincare. We look for brands that are fundamental to life, better for human health, and better for the environment, and we like to support underrepresented founders and consumer groups of all kinds.
In particular, we also like businesses that have one or more of the following in the business model: superior products, scientifically-proven claims, intellectual property, network effect, owned channels, the convergence of media/retail/brand. We tend to lean towards inclusive brands vs. exclusive, and we're particularly strong with omnichannel brands that are going to ultimately scale in retail.
What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?
The pitch uses a combination of stats, calculations, product photos, and charts to tell the following story:
We know this consumer inside and out - and they have a big problem that we deeply understand.
We have a unique way to solve that problem, sell the solution, or make the solution because we have a lot of domain expertise and credibility in this particular space.
This problem represents a huge market, our approach has compelling unit economics, and this brand has clear exit opportunities — strategic and otherwise. If you invest X dollars with this round, we’ll spend the money in these ways to turn it into Y revenue over Z timeframe
What are some of the most common mistakes people make when raising money and how can others avoid these mistakes?
Not using DocSend is a common mistake; it's industry standard in venture capital, and anyone who tells you otherwise is suspect. There was a Twitter controversy over this not long ago, but as Ronald Regan said, "Trust but verify." There are a lot of thoughtless (or bad) actors out there, who will forward your deck on without thinking - because it's not their business, it's yours. If you're sending your business plan to strangers, DocSend is a good way to track and control it. If you are sending it to a current investor in your company, go ahead and bury them in PDFs of decks and attachments. But there's no reason to do that with strangers.
What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors?
Make a big list and do your research. You should be putting a list of 100 investors together based on stage, sector, and geography focus. Crunchbase Pro is relatively cheap, and you can get access to thousands of VCs this way. Then, put together a "Perfect Triumvirate" of three venture investors that complement the weaknesses of your management team; those that can help you with strategy and open their network. It's important to have three deep pockets in any deal. It's tough for the entrepreneur, and the investors, if there's only one set of deep pockets when times get tough — as they invariably do.
What is your #1 piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Cash is king. Spend your venture capital money like you don't have any money. Growth hack, test, iterate, and once you figure out a way to get a 7x LTV/CAC, go for it. Raise more money, hire the absolute best talent money can buy and your cap table can bear, and then change the world.
Maria Salamanca, Investor, Unshackled Ventures
“The right investor will be a combination of ‘they get what I am trying to do’ and ‘they push me to think deeper about the problem.’”
—Maria Salamanca, Investor, Unshackled Ventures
How do you choose which businesses to fund? What do you look for in a business and/or an entrepreneur?
We are sector agnostic. We know founders see the world differently than everyone else so we are open to all sectors. Like most VCs, we look to invest in companies that can grow at “venture scale” in large market opportunities.
What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?
Answering the question: what is new about your solution that others haven't tried before (what’s your secret sauce/unique insights), why is this the right team to tackle this, and why is this a massive opportunity?
What are some of the most common mistakes people make when raising money and how can others avoid these mistakes?
Founders don't always do their homework on the competitive landscape, many times only focus on big older companies but the real competition is often from peers only a few steps ahead or behind.
What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors?
The right investor will be a combination of "they get what I am trying to do" and "they push me to think deeper about the problem"
What is your #1 piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Figure out what is the best form of capital that will help you scale and why (VC, loans, bootstrapping, PE, etc) because this impacts how you think about company building. There are many ways to build a profitable business and venture is not always the right capital to get you there.
Maya Baratz Jordan, CEO and Founding Partner, Founders Factory New York
“Partner with investors who can help you beyond writing you a check and help in the areas you actually need help in.”
—Maya Baratz Jordan, CEO and Founding Partner, Founders Factory New York
How do you choose which businesses to fund? What do you look for in a business and/or an entrepreneur?
As an early-stage investor, I always weigh the team’s DNA heavily when considering an investment. A business at the startup stage will go through many changes—and will look and be as different two years in as a newborn is from a toddler. It takes a lot to keep a business not only alive but thriving. That's why over 90% of startups fail. The consistent piece is the team. Does the founding team have the unique superpowers required to get their specific company off the ground, along with the experience to allow them to stay the course and attract the best talent and returning customers as they grow?
The second piece that's important is the market: Is the ultimate market this business is targeting large enough to be investible? For a business to be investible, it needs to generate returns for investors that make it well worth the risk and opportunity cost. There are a lot of great examples of successful businesses that are not investible, but still wonderful businesses. For an investor, the potential reward needs to be multiples higher than the risk—which often means that the company can serve a very large group of people.
The third piece that's important is the problem that's being solved and how it's being solved; this is the glue that bridges together the first two pieces (i.e., the founders and the market); it's what dictates whether or not the business is truly fitting the needs of the market it is targeting.
What are three crucial elements everyone should include in a pitch deck when raising money and why?
What you put in your pitch deck will depend on the stage of the company. The general areas you'll want to cover include, but aren't limited to, the problem you are solving, how big that problem is (market), and what it is about your company that puts you in a position to win. You'll want to weave them all into a story with a natural arc; it needs to flow in a way that would answer someone's questions as they listen to your pitch.
If you're an early-stage business with little or no traction to show, you'll want to highlight what it is about your business that will defend it over time and help you win the market over, despite current or future competitors who enter that market. Sometimes that defensibility relies on the experience of the founding team, if relevant. For instance, if you know that the CEO of a wildly successful venture is now starting a new company in a related space, their experience and learnings from running their previous business will likely help them in their new venture. You ideally want to focus on the things that differentiate your company from competitors, specifically zeroing in on the aspects that can't be easily replicated by others and that are necessary for the business to grow and be successful.
If you're a company with traction that shows you're growing quickly, a so-called hockey stick growth chart can help tell the story of why you are already running a rocket ship. Every company should have its own way to express its ultimate "right to win."
What are some of the most common mistakes people make when raising money and how can others avoid these mistakes?
One of the mistakes I've seen founders make when pitching is speaking but not truly listening. Partnering with investors is a two-way street. The questions and feedback you will get will help guide you to refine your pitch as you go, and perhaps even help your business. And you never know when you may get a "no" from an investor now and perhaps that turns into a "yes" in a later stage of your company. Relationships matter and you can use the fundraising process to grow relationships, even with investors who say no. It's likely that, especially if this is your first time fundraising, most of your pitches will end up with rejections, so you may as well use each interaction as an opportunity to learn. You also want to know your pitch like you know your business; don't memorize it or it will feel unnatural. The best pitches feel like conversations.
What advice can you share for entrepreneurs on partnering with the right investors?
Partner with investors who can help you beyond writing you a check and help in the areas you actually need help in. Try to avoid bringing on partners who either don't know your market or haven't invested in companies that are in the same stage your company is in. You'll want to partner with investors who are empathetic to the journey you're on and can be helpful in the right ways when you need help, whether that means giving you the right advice or making the right introductions. This is why former founders or operators within startups make great angel investors; they understand the challenges of building a business and know the importance of helping a company beyond the capital they put in. You'll also want to partner with investors who generally agree with the path you're going on so they can best support it.
What is your #1 piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Your biggest financial job will be ensuring there is ultimately more money coming into the company versus out. It sounds simple, but if you have this mandate in mind, you'll be protective of your runway when you need to be and push your company to grow in a long-term, sustainable way so you can ultimately be independently profitable. You don't want to spend money on frivolous, performative things upfront. Think about your runway as fuel; if you're close to running out of it, the company can quickly grind to a halt. Spend money where it's truly needed and understand exactly how every dollar you spend will ultimately get your company to your long-term goals. Most people in successful early-stage companies wear multiple hats and have the urgency/scrappiness to pull things off with limited resources for this reason.
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5 Branding Lessons from an Influencer with Over 1.35 Million YouTube Subscribers
Here’s how to stand out from the rest.
Photo: Karen Rosalie Courtesy of Aileen Xu
Here’s one thing that has remained consistent since I started Lavendaire in 2014: My hair color is constantly changing. My subscribers always notice when I go from pink to blonde to lavender to blue, and everything in between.
At this point, my changing hair color is part of the Lavendaire brand. I encourage my audience to experiment with their looks as a form of creativity and self-expression, which are core values for Lavendaire as a personal-growth brand.
Framing my hair changes as an example of how to embody Lavendaire values is just one way I’ve been intentional with my brand.
If you’re looking to start or refresh your own brand, here are five other lessons for you.
Lesson #1: Choose your brand name wisely.
It would have been easy to name my brand after myself, but “Aileen Xu” is not easy for people to spell or pronounce. I wanted it to be easy for people to recognize and—more importantly—to share my brand name.
“Lavendaire” was unique, easier to spell and pronounce, and it also reflected the aesthetic of the brand itself: dreamy, fresh, and clean.
Bonus tip: Think about Google-ability. If you Googled your brand name, would you get a bunch of results unrelated to your brand? Since I made up the word, if you Googled “Lavendaire”, you’d only find Lavendaire-related results.
Lesson #2: Be strategic about your niche.
Here’s a lesser-known fact: I used to be involved in the Asian American YouTube community, mostly through music videos. It was a fun experience but not related to what I wanted my brand to be about.
So, I made the decision to distance myself from that niche and create content in my own niche of personal growth. I wanted to be “Aileen of Lavendaire,” not “Aileen from that music video.” If I hadn’t made that decision, it would have been harder to position myself and my brand as separate from the entertainment niche.
Lesson #3: Make what’s missing, and make it your own.
Self-help content already existed online, but it didn’t feel like it existed for me. The people creating the content were generally older white men that I couldn’t relate to as a young Asian woman.
So, I made the content I wanted to see, but I also put my own spin on it. I wanted to bridge the gap between practical self-help and woo-woo topics like manifestation. Other people who couldn’t relate to existing self-help content could turn to Lavendaire instead and get that extra value from the woo-woo topics.
Ask yourself: What gap does your brand fill and how can it stand out even further?
Photo: Courtesy of Aileen Xu
Lesson #4: Have a long-term vision.
Here’s mine: In ten years, I want Lavendaire to be a household name. It sounds a little vague, but having that vision allows me to ask, “Okay, so what would it take to get there? Marketing, PR, maybe projects with a wider reach.” And so, we planned projects with that in mind.
Your vision doesn’t have to be super specific, but you have to have some sort of idea of where you want your brand to be a year or five years from now. That way, you can work backward and plan projects that will get you closer to that vision.
Otherwise, you might just keep churning out work without direction, using your time and energy just to keep your brand relevant.
Lesson #5: Curate your brand with one person in mind.
I create content for Lavendaire with one person in mind: a girl in her early twenties who’s looking for her path in life. She loves inspiring books, yoga, astrology, and journaling. Her fashion is feminine and relaxed. Ultimately, she’s the ideal client for Lavendaire.
She’s who I had in mind when I created the 2021 Artist of Life Workbook. I know this girl wants to plan her year with intention, and it would be a bonus to do all of her planning in a pretty notebook that she’d be proud to keep by her side at all times.
By keeping this ideal client in mind, Lavendaire’s branding and messaging stay consistent across the board. Obviously, not everyone who follows Lavendaire fits perfectly into that mold, but enough of the brand resonates that people are drawn in.
If you know who your brand is for, you’ll reach and attract people who resonate with it. You’ll also naturally repel people who don’t resonate with it, which is perfectly okay and even beneficial to your brand! Don’t think you’re shutting anyone out or losing potential audiences.
As Lavendaire subscribers know: It’s more valuable to use your energy on people who effortlessly vibe with you than to use it trying to convince people who don’t.
About the author: Aileen Xu is a content creator and entrepreneur in personal growth and lifestyle design, inspiring people around the world to embrace their true potential and create their dream life. Her YouTube channel, Lavendaire, has over one million subscribers and her podcast, “The Lavendaire Lifestyle,” has over five million downloads. Aileen is the creator of the Artist of Life Workbook, a detailed guide to creating your most inspiring and successful year, and the Daily Planner by Lavendaire, a tool for designing a productive, effective and meaningful day.
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This Entrepreneur Is Making the Beauty Industry More Inclusive, One Kajal Eyeliner at a Time
Meet Kulfi Beauty founder Priyanka Ganjoo.
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 Priyanka Ganjoo
Priyanka Ganjoo knows all too well what it feels like to be overlooked by the beauty industry. “Growing up in the South Asian community, my relationship with makeup and beauty was defined by Eurocentric standards and the patriarchy,” she tells Create & Cultivate. “It was only when I started working in the industry and playing with makeup that I discovered the joy of makeup and using it to express how I feel.“ Now, she’s on a mission to empower others who have also been alienated by the beauty industry to experience that same satisfaction and self-expression she found.
This past February, the Estée Lauder and Ipsy alum officially launched her own makeup brand, Kulfi Beauty, to center and celebrate South Asian beauty. Named after kulfi, a South Asian frozen dessert similar to ice cream, the brand’s first launch boasts an array of brightly hued kajal eyeliners not only designed to present beautifully on deeper skin tones but, more importantly, to encourage self-expression. “South Asian women can sometimes feel like we’ve been portrayed as the victim or needing charity,” explains Ganjoo. “I want to change that dialogue and present to the world an empowered South Asian who is not only comfortable in their own skin but thriving in it.”
Ahead, the founder and CEO reveals the extensive research she did before launching the beauty brand, the mistakes she’s learned from along the way, and the number one piece of financial advice she’d give to her fellow entrepreneurs.
Did you write a business plan? If so, was it helpful? If not, what did you use to guide your business instead? Why did you take that approach?
I didn’t write a business plan. I had worked in the beauty industry for years and was the general manager of IPSY Glam Bag, so I understood the high-level economics of the beauty business. I knew the problem I was trying to solve was massive and underserved. What I wanted to figure out was how?
Celebrating South Asian beauty was the mission from day one. In the initial months, I wanted to understand what that meant beyond me and my immediate circle of friends. I was part of a Facebook group with South Asian members, so I posted on the message board saying something like, “I’m building a beauty brand. Come talk to me.” I did hundreds of in-person interviews in New York, followed by online surveys with people across the world from Singapore to the UK. I wanted to know their attitudes towards beauty, the challenges they faced, the brands they loved, what they thought was missing.
I flew to Mumbai, India for a month to meet beauty entrepreneurs in India and even signed up for a Bollywood celebrity makeup artist workshop. I took this approach because if I wanted to create delight for our community, I had to understand the space first. Very quickly, it became clear to me that the alienation I had felt in the beauty industry had been felt by many across the world. That gave me the confidence and the data to dive right into building the foundations for Kulfi.
How did you come up with the name Kulfi Beauty, and what are some of the things you considered during that process?
“Kulfi” is a South Asian dessert, most similar to ice cream, and is made in so many fun colors and flavors. Some of my happiest childhood memories are eating kulfi during summer in Delhi. So, the name came out of two very personal emotions tied to the brand: celebration and joy.
South Asian women can sometimes feel like we’ve been portrayed as the victim or needing charity. I want to change that dialogue and present to the world an empowered South Asian who is not only comfortable in their own skin but thriving in it. Growing up in the South Asian community, my relationship with makeup and beauty was defined by Eurocentric standards and the patriarchy. It was only when I started working in the industry and playing with makeup that I discovered the joy of makeup and using it to express how I feel.
Kulfi was the working name for the brief I shared with my creative director, Badal Patel. We did a naming exercise too, where we came up with multiple options, but Kulfi just felt right for our brand personality. Some practical things I looked at were: can we get a global trademark? Can people pronounce it? Is it memorable? The wonderful thing is that while you’ll find it really hard to find any French word not trademarked in beauty (even brands that are not French want to sound French, and what does that say about the industry?), there are so many beautiful South Asian words that are viable options.
What were the immediate things you had to take care of to set up the business?
The first thing I did was incorporate. Then, I opened a business bank account, where I transferred all my personal savings. Once the brand name was finalized, I bought the domain kulfibeauty.com. I even reached out to the person who owns kulfi.com but they didn’t want to sell. I got the social channels I could, though we still don’t have consistent naming due to lack of availability across channels.
What research did you do for the brand beforehand, and why would you recommend it to fellow entrepreneurs?
I highly recommend researching through interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Some of the people I met through this process now follow the brand and are fans even before launch. They’ve been there from the start. The data from the research helped define my product roadmap.
In April 2020, we launched our digital platform Kulfi Bites. That’s been such an amazing resource. We share stories of relatable and aspirational South Asians. People started reaching out to us with their experiences. Now I regularly ask our community on Instagram for their inputs.
How did you find and identify the manufacturers that you work with? What advice can you share for fellow business owners on finding the right manufacturing partners?
Having a beauty industry network who work in product development helped. While I was at IPSY, I had attended trade shows with our procurement team and started to understand the landscape of manufacturers. That’s where I would start if I were starting from scratch: go walk the floor of a trade show (when they are on again).
Once I knew the products I wanted to launch, I got referred to a few best-in-class manufacturers. In my early conversations with them, I filtered based on who was open and excited to work with indie brands and small volumes. I submitted my product briefs to two manufacturers for each category and picked the one that was able to achieve the closest fit in formula I desired.
Last year, COVID made the product development process challenging for a small brand. We had long gaps in communication with our manufacturers. My advice would be to keep following up and building the relationship because your manufacturers are also trying to do their best and pivot their businesses in times of uncertainty.
How did you fund Kulfi and what path would you recommend to entrepreneurs today?
I self-funded the business with my personal savings until last year. Towards the end of last year, I raised an angel, friends-and-family round to support our investments this year. The process was initially intimidating. I had never fundraised before. It was very time-consuming because you are sending a thousand emails, pitching on hundreds of calls, and then following up and following up again until the money is in your account. You hear “no” 99% of the time but you still pitch the next person with the same enthusiasm.
Whether to fundraise or not is a personal and business decision with a lot of factors at play. Even if you decide not to fundraise, going through the process is educational. Towards the end of the round, I was crystal clear about what I wanted and what I didn’t want my business to be. I also learned about the types of investors I want to bring with me on this journey.
Do you pay yourself, and if so, how did you determine what to pay yourself?
I don’t pay myself and I don’t plan to until we turn profitable. Every single dollar is going into the business. My partner is supporting my living expenses which is a privilege.
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?
The first person I hired was our brilliant creative director. She’s a freelance creative director and we work on a consulting basis. I have a team of amazing interns who are helping me with marketing and partnerships. Our editor works full time on Kulfi. I’m hiring an operations specialist who will join us prior to launch. Most of the people on our team are members of our community who found Kulfi through word of mouth and wanted to help out. I had hiring experience at IPSY, where I built and led a team of nine people. What I consider when hiring is to look for the combination of passion for the company mission and the ability to execute. I’m being mindful about full-time hiring until we are profitable because I have to keep our burn rate low.
Did you hire an accountant? Who helped you with the financial decisions and setup? Are there any financial tools or programs you recommend?
I hired an accountant to help set us up on Quickbooks. We’re still very early, so I haven’t felt the need for external resources for financial planning. I make my budget on Google Sheets and try to stick to it!
What has been the biggest learning curve during the process of establishing your business?
Surrounding yourself with people who believe in you is so important to get you through the rejections and hard times. I had also heard this many times, and it’s true: everything takes twice as long and is twice as expensive.
How did you promote your company? How did you get people to know who you are and create buzz?
Our marketing efforts have been very organic. We are building our digital platform Kulfi Bites through one on one conversations and with a community of writers who want to create representation. We got some great early buzz through an article on Allure that emerged from a conversation my friend Loni and I were having about Indian Matchmaking.
Do you have a business coach or mentor? How has this person helped? Would you recommend one? How do you get one?
When I have a business question, I go to some of Kulfi’s investors and advisors who are beauty entrepreneurs themselves. In the past year, I’ve built relationships with many entrepreneurs in the consumer space who are great resources.
I found them through networking during the fundraising process. I tapped my personal network. I applied to competitions and accelerators. Kulfi was selected for Supermaker and VentureCrushFG.
How has COVID-19 impacted your business operations and financials? What tactics and strategies have you put in place to pivot and ensure your business is successful through this period?
Our launch was delayed due to COVID. I was planning to fundraise in Q2 2020 but that was not an option anymore. My initial launch date was Q3 2020 but product development was delayed. I focused my energy on what I could do: building community. We built and grew our digital platform Kulfi Bites in this time, which has helped establish what our brand stands for. We held online events with our community. For example, we had a panel with South Asian women in entrepreneurship. I got on a phone call with almost everyone who wrote in. While it can be frustrating to see your plans disrupted, I’m grateful for the space it gave me to grow Kulfi in such an organic way.
What short-term changes will be crucial to your business strategy long-term post-COVID-19 and what plans are you making for when we get back to “normal?”
I think the biggest change is how I think about physical retail. I want Kulfi to be where the customer is. Before COVID, physical retail was a big part of the customer journey. During the pandemic, some of that traffic has shifted online and brands overinvested in physical retail have suffered. I do believe consumers will go back to stores again, but it’ll be crucial to find the right timing.
What advice can you share for small business owners, founders, and entrepreneurs who are also reeling in response to COVID-19?
In March/April 2020, I definitely had a moment where I thought to myself: should I even continue building Kulfi? I’m so glad I pushed through the challenges and uncertainty. This isn’t the answer for everyone. But if you still have the passion for your business and the means to support yourself through these difficult times, keep going.
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?
I wish I had started working on multiple products in the early days. Product development takes a long time and now I can’t spend as much time as I want on it with marketing, operations, and fundraising taking up a lot of my time.
For those who haven’t started a business (or are about to), what advice do you have?
Just do it! You only learn by doing. When you put your heart and soul into it, people see that and are attracted to it.
What is your number one piece of financial advice for any new business owner and why?
Assume you’ll never raise money. Build your business to achieve profitability with the runway you have.
If you could go back to the beginning with the knowledge you have now, what advice would you give yourself and why?
I would say to myself: believe in yourself. Surround yourself with people who believe in you.
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Jamie Kern Lima Shares Her #1 Piece of Advice for Overcoming Rejection
Her success is a testament to why you should never take “no” for an answer.
Photo: Courtesy of Jamie Kern Lima
It’s not easy to cope with rejection. No matter how many times you hear “no,” it never gets any easier to swallow. But learning how to deal with and overcome rejection is essential if you want to succeed as an entrepreneur. And nobody knows this better than IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima. Before the ubiquitous beauty brand became the household name that it is today, Jamie pitched IT Cosmetics to retailers for three years (!) before she got a “yes.”
And it’s safe to say her persistence has paid off. Today, IT Cosmetics has over 1,000 employees and is one of the largest makeup brands in the country, not to mention one of the top-selling brands at Sephora, ULTA, and QVC. And Jamie has been named on the 2020 Forbes Richest Self-Made Women list, Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, and WWD’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Beauty. Essentially, her success is a testament to why you should never take “no” for an answer.
In this episode of WorkParty, host Jaclyn Johnson sits down with Jamie to chat about how she cultivated confidence in the face of rejection, overcame self-doubt, and built a veritable beauty empire.
Subscribe to WorkParty and never miss an episode.
On launching IT Cosmetics…
“I knew nobody in the beauty industry, and I knew nothing about how to start and scale a makeup company.”
“My husband and I wrote the business plan for IT Cosmetics on our honeymoon flight. Got back, quit our jobs, and dove all in.”
On facing rejection…
“The first three years of the brand were really hard.”
“I would send products to Sephora, Ulta, QVC, and the department stores and every single one of them said ‘no.’”
“I couldn’t afford to pay myself for the first three years and we got down to under $1,000 in our personal and business bank account.”
On IT Cosmetics becoming the #1 luxury makeup brand in the U.S.…
“This company that I created in my living room with close to no money is now larger than all of those brands that I used to save my Denny’s tip money to buy.”
On tuning out the noise…
“There is so much noise all around us, from our own self-doubt and our own inner critic to other people’s opinions.”
“The dial of the volume is so loud that we don’t know how to hear our own gut anymore and we second guess it.”
On coping with the “no’s”…
“Our humanness wants to take it personally when someone tells us that we’re not the right fit or your vision isn’t going to work.”
“No matter what kind of rejection I got, I made the decision not to take it personally.”
On believing in yourself…
“Learning to believe in yourself and trust yourself are the only ways to become the person you’re born to be.”
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Classifieds: Dolce Vita, Yellow Leaf Hammocks, and iHeart Media
Job hunting? Check out these new gigs
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How to Get Better Results From Your Marketing Efforts (Without Spending a Ton of Money)
Hint: Messaging is key.
Photo: Anthony Shkraba from Pexels
As an online business owner, one of the most important parts of your marketing strategy is your messaging. What you say to your ideal clients and customers (and how you say it) is just as key to your overall success as where you say it, which makes sense when you think about the fact that how we connect and communicate with other humans is through storytelling.
Unfortunately, the “messaging” part of marketing is often overlooked, in part because it requires time and effort. It’s easy to set up an account on the social media platform of your choice or throw some money at paid-for ads, but it’s harder to actually dig into and strategize what you’ll spend your time saying to your audience once they’re sitting in the room.
This is one of the most common mistakes online business owners and entrepreneurs make when it comes to their marketing: they spend A LOT of effort (and time and money) bringing in new leads to their business but they forget to take a minute to think about how they will convert those leads into actual clients or customers.
Which is where your messaging comes in.
So, what do you need to be hitting on in your messaging to see more results, more revenue, and more impact from your marketing efforts?
Here are three key things to lockdown so you see better results from your messaging.
1. Cultivate a strong brand identity.
In order to stand out from the crowd with your messaging (and let’s be honest: in the online business world, it’s BUSY), you need to first cultivate a strong brand identity. This means digging into and defining your core messaging aspects like your why, your mission, your values, and your beliefs. It also means shaping your story and putting into words what makes you different from all the other [insert what you do here] out there.
These are the things that make you and your brand truly unique. By clarifying them, you’ll ensure that your brand identity and personality are completely aligned with who you are (which means your messaging will draw in your dream ideal clients who are actively searching for someone like you).
2. Optimize your offerings.
Your offer is more than just the thing you’re selling. It’s how you change your client or customer’s life. But in order to convert the browsers into buyers, you need to make sure that the messaging and copy around your offer is telling them everything they need to hear to be ready to buy.
This means diving into things like understanding where your ideal clients are right now so you can make sure that your offer is exactly what they want and need, seeing what others in your niche are offering so you can position your offer as different (and better), and then clarifying the core aspects of your offer from a messaging perspective. If you can understand exactly who it is for and what big transformation it will bring them, you’ll be able to create the kind of messaging and copy you need to see great conversion rates and results from your funnels.
3. Create a scale-worthy strategy.
In order to achieve anything in life or business, you first need to have a plan. When it comes to your messaging and marketing, I call this creating a scale-worthy strategy. This is where getting clarity on things like how to share your vision with your team, what kind of content you need to be sharing to prime your audience, and what your big goal map for your business actually looks like comes into play.
When you have a strategy like this, it means sustainably scaling your business will be so much easier, and it means you can finally stop spinning your wheels thinking you need to be doing all the things and being everywhere in order to achieve your goals. A simplified strategy that is focused on building your authority, creating real connections with your audience, and crafting impactful messaging is way more effective than throwing spaghetti at the wall or copying what your competitors are doing (top tip: do not do this. You want to stand out in your industry so that means zigging when everyone else in your niche is zagging).
So there you have it, three things you can start working on today that will allow you to create the kind of messaging strategy that will bring better results from your marketing and get you closer to your business goals.
“In order to achieve anything in life or business, you first need to have a plan.”
—Ciara Gigleux, CEO of The Copy Atelier
About the author: Ciara Gigleux is CEO and chief copywriter at The Copy Atelier, a boutique copywriting agency for online business owners and CEOs that specializes in pairing conversion copywriting with a high-impact strategy for maximum results. She’s also the host of The Copy Coach podcast. She is (slightly) obsessed with all things messaging, marketing, and copywriting, and the main mission of her business and podcast is to help entrepreneurs use their copy and messaging to cut through the noise, stand out online and maximize their results, revenue and impact. Find her on Instagram and Clubhouse @ciaragigleux.
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