Female Founders: Catherine McKenzie of Min & Mon On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
I think that education from elementary school should start exposing children to opportunities that aren’t just traditional career paths — to help shape the minds for the creatives and entrepreneurs of the future. Better access to child care — more assistance that allows women to be more independent. The pressure to be a good parent is a constant stress.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Catherine McKenzie.
Catherine McKenzie is a co-founder of the New York-based, Colombian-made accessories brand, Min and Min. She is a trained flautist and educator, and her absolute favorite part of the business process involves encouraging narrative around individual products and capsules. For Catherine, no work day is complete without enjoying an unconventional pairing of coffee and bone broth, punctuated by frequent visits from her cockapoo, resident Min & Mon model Milo. In her down time, Catherine can be seen on the streets of NYC with her children, husband and Min & Mon fanny pack.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
It was rather serendipitous. After all, I have a degree in music and education and was a stay-at-home mom with no real plans to work full time. One of my best friends asked me to join vision to create an accessories brand that would later become Min & Mon — I believed in it so much that I couldn’t say no. I believed in her and she knew I had something to offer, even though I could not see it at the time. I never imagined it would be the brand it has become today.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
How much I have grown in the midst of so much uncertainty. Not knowing what was coming next, but finding confidence in the growing process has been comforting. The life experience of being a female entrepreneur, mom, and wife have been an educational journey that I never expected to be fulfilled by.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I would say realizing there is purpose in making mistakes — and understanding that they (mistakes) leave me better off than I was. That’s really funny to me now looking back. Most of my mistakes have turned into great opportunities. Some of our design mistakes at Min & Mon have turned into best sellers as well.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My partner Carolina thrives for excellence in everything she does but is never dismissive in her approach. She is so supportive and always saw more in me than I saw in myself and that I had more to give and believed in me.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience, what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
I think gender roles — we still live in a society where caretaking primarily falls on women. The idea that you can have it all and still be a great mother is false. You can only do what the support system you have around you allows. Also equal pay, and normally who stays home who makes less money which is normally the women. And by caretaking I also mean taking care of aging parents, not only kids. I would also say education — men are expected to take risks which are encouraged from birth to do so. Women take smarter risks which can sometimes be a hindrance or anchor to entrepreneurship.
Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?
I think that education from elementary school should start exposing children to opportunities that aren’t just traditional career paths — to help shape the minds for the creatives and entrepreneurs of the future. Better access to child care — more assistance that allows women to be more independent. The pressure to be a good parent is a constant stress.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Women are naturally problem solvers and think critically. We tend to involve all of our senses in decision-making, and in that process to build robust eco systems for communities and businesses.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
That we have all the answers. That our ideas are the best ones. I am only as good as the support system and teams I have around me.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
Tenacity and your relationship to risk. It’s not about a certain type of person, it’s about their life story and how they perceive risks and failures. The journey of being a founder does mean you have to fail forward.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
- That success and growth are not linear — sometimes it is cyclical
- That your value system is something you should always hold on to — it has been most integral to our success.
- How you measure success is very personal. Success does not look the same to everyone
- Growth comes at a price.
- Believe in yourself
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
We have created a community and workforce I hope to empower people by creating an ecosystem that breads more fair wages a — by manufacturing and making our products in Colombia is one of our proudest moments. Focusing less on the margins and profit, we believe in social equality.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Social equality — is the DNA of our brand. Consumer responsibility — making things that bring joy and happiness but within –
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Catherine McKenzie of Min & Mon On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.