Category: Featured

Female Disruptors: Felicia Barlow Clar of Epilogue Tributes On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

“You can live in a beautiful state or a suffering state. The decision is yours.” Taught to me by a mindset coach. It’s a deep spiritual principle, but in its simplicity, it makes life so much easier. Everything is meant to be and if we are suffering, we are the ones who put meaning into it. Take out the interpretation/meaning and everything simply IS.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Felicia Barlow Clar.

Felicia Barlow Clar is a sacred life celebrant, author, host of the podcast “Funeral Disruptors™, and an award-winning event and video producer. She created Epilogue Tributes to offer support in helping the bereaved mourn in an intentional way, shifting grief to gratitude and beginning the healing process. Felicia creates personalized memorial experiences, consults on end-of-life planning and options few know exist, and is changing the conversation around mortality to modernize the funeral industry.

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?

I grew up around the world of events, hospitality, and advocacy. I was raised by my mother and stepfather; he was the Executive Manager of the International Club of Washington, DC from its inception to its closing. It was a very prestigious, private club with historical significance. They were responsible for creating much of the high powered social scene we see in DC today.

The International Club hosted everything from ambassador-led embassy nights, to the first big Hollywood movie premiere in DC, to an evening with Prince Charles. Every sitting President from Kennedy to Reagan accepted the role as Honorary Chairman of the Board. Naturally this prestige required a high level of work ethic and discretion, which I saw in my stepfather every day and strive to emulate. I had a summer job there, which is where I first learned about event planning.

I knew I wanted to do something creative and graduated from New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology. In my studies, I focused on the creative marketing end of retail ⏤ fashion shows, window displays, and videos…all production related. Years later, I attended the University of Maryland, earning a degree in civil rights history, followed by earning my Master of Arts in communication/production. My interest always remained in the logistics and creativity of events, production, and entertainment.

Along the way, I became very interested in advocacy work and the deep study of spirituality. I believe I’ve taken some type of course in every alternative healing modality known, from numerology and reiki to A Course in Miracles and breath work.

I was never the “stay at a corporate job for 30 years” type person; instead I chose to explore many paths and landed in some very interesting roles. These included project manager for the Surgeon General’s Report on Women and Smoking, production assistant during season one of “Ace of Cakes,” an extra on HBO’s “The Wire,” and I wrote the “television” entry for the Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment. I’ve worked in accounting, office management, writing/editing, event/video production, marketing, and entertainment. I believe all of this prepared me for being an entrepreneur.

Overall, what has brought me the most joy is entertainment and producing large-scale conventions and special events, including a Presidential Inauguration. I’ve been blessed to experience many memorable moments, yet the one overarching theme in my life has been loss, including “covert childhood grief” and “disenfranchised grief.”

Although common now, divorce was not when my parents did and there was little support. This was an incredible loss for a 9-year old, as my father was in the military and stationed far away in Hawaii. It split our family. The loss and separation was traumatic. This is where “covert childhood grief” began.

From an early age, I’ve also lost many cherished pets, often tragically. Pet bereavement can be overwhelming, and this grief is often diminished ⏤ an example of “disenfranchised grief.” It is a loss that is now being understood as comparable, or often worse, to human loss because we spend so much time with our companions.

I’ve also lost family and friends, and in one year alone attended 10 funerals. I had never considered how much loss I’d experienced until the back-to-back deaths of my beloved stepfather and sister. It was in using the same funeral home and being handed the same templates, checklist, and navigating this routine for two completely different people, I discovered just how impersonal funeral home services are ⏤ especially when dealing with a company that says they offer personalized services. I watched in amazement as the funeral director quickly wrote my sister’s obituary that I could tell she’d written hundreds of times.

Because of my event experience, I took the details of my sister’s service into my own hands. I knew the questions to ask to personalize details beyond the formula, and I turned the funeral directors into live event staff.

My sister Laura was the funniest person I’ve ever known, quick witted, and ready to have a good time in any circumstance. She died tragically and the last thing I wanted was for her to be remembered this way. I chose fun photos and the sad, country music she loved to tell her story.

At the end, I had guests dancing to one of her favorite reggae songs, because that’s who my sister was. I know humans are capable of holding joy and grief at the same time and that’s what we did. When a friend remarked, “If this is appropriate to say, this is the best funeral I’ve ever attended,” I knew I had created a healing, cathartic experience and much needed change. We shifted our grief to gratitude and honored Laura.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

I find the funeral home experience entirely fear based and transactional, instead of transformational and healing. The focus is on death and those left behind, instead of the amazing experience of the person’s one precious life being honored.

Every single person has a story and every single person has impacted others whether small or large. I offer a customized, creative and meaningful experience where guests can grieve and celebrate the joy of their loved one’s story, using their own traditions and rituals. Because I don’t own a funeral home, I can offer alternative locations. The only limit is imagination.

I don’t believe families should bear the burden of becoming event planners during this time. My service supports a new need, new customs, and personal rituals and beliefs.

I am also an end-of-life educator. I inform consumers through my podcast and workbooks about the numerous alternatives and options that funeral homes rarely disclose.There are many myths around the funeral industry that I aim to publicize.

The biggest myth Americans believe is we have to use a funeral home after a loved one passes. In only 9 states a funeral director must be hired. In every state, families have the right to bring a loved one home after death; this can be for a viewing, washing, and/or a home service, which is sacred and far less expensive than using a funeral home.

We’ve been led to believe that all funerals are expensive. The truth is the consumer has the power to set the budget, not vice versa.

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 can’t think of a story about a funny mistake I made starting out because I was always a perfectionist and overachiever. I believe that’s what led me working anywhere doors opened, exploring industries, and then excelling in the detail-oriented events industry. What’s funnier is the story of my 2009 destination wedding and the mishaps every event producer fears.

My now husband and I traveled to Jamaica 4 months before our wedding to plan out all the details with the resort’s wedding coordinator. We had 40 guests flying down with us. I wanted to make sure they were taken care of the entire time and every detail was covered.

Mishaps started with my custom-made dress. I met with the seamstress in February and designed a cream and blue beaded gown. When it was finally ready mid-October, it was white on white. I was stressed for two weeks as the seamstress rushed to make me my new gown. I prayed it would fit and I had the time to pick it up. I received it 2 days before our flight.

All went fairly well in regards to travel and our welcome party.

Day 2 we had arranged two excursions, including a private catamaran cruise. We should have known this would not be an ordinary excursion; we were bused to another resort to get on the catamaran, which is unusual. While we were out at sea, we ended up out in the middle of a tropical storm. Jamaicans are very hospitable people and allowed one of our friends to trade his sunglasses for an opportunity to drive the boat…in the storm. How we all survived him driving in circles, being pummeled by rain, huge waves and low dips, and lightening while swimming ⏤ without any sea sickness, hysteria, or drowning ⏤ is a miracle. Thank goodness for rum punch to steady the nerves. My guests still talk about our memorable “Gilligan’s Island” cruise!

Next was the wedding day. Everything that could possibly go wrong, did. Our private island was canceled during the sunny afternoon due to an impending hurricane. My wedding coordinator never came to my room to tell me and left it up to a close friend to break the news to me. It was extremely disappointing. This caused all of the standard pre-wedding moments to go awry from the photos to the big reveal. I was in tears most of this time. If it hadn’t been for dear friends, I might not have any actually wedding photos.

It got worse in terms of the details. (Note to brides: Hire a day-of coordinator):

• With all the chaos of the island cancellation and watching it happen from my window, my friend hung part of my dress back in the closet, so I ended up forgetting to wear the train….and didn’t realize it until days later when we redid the photo shoot.
• The makeup artist put my eyelashes on backwards!
• The cake was a creative interpretation of the two photos I brought to their expert bakers in July who assured me they could create my vision. It looked like a circus tent with flowers.
• The resort photographer was not feeling well, so didn’t take many of the shots we wanted. This included my husband with his family and a group photo.
• The videographer hired by the resort filmed for hours with the promise of an edited video and the raw tapes. She gave the editing job to a novice who put Michael Jackson dancing over the special dance my husband performed for me to a sentimental James Brown song. When asked to correct it, she came back a week later, about 10 minutes before our transport back to the airport, and she informed us the editor had mistakenly erased the master tape. I left the resort in tears. I wish we had just kept her original version because nobody believes how “creative” it was!

While we planned with every expert months prior and were assured when we arrived that all was under control, what I learned from my wedding experience confirmed to me what I’d been saying for years ⏤ a wedding is not a marriage, it’s an event.

Everyone had a great time and few guests noticed the mishaps. When I talk to other planners about their own wedding, they tell me they had a similar experience of all going awry. It’s the one day where we can let go because we’re not ruining someone else’s dream. I learned to be completely in the moment and enjoy. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

The biggest mentor in my life was my stepfather, Rodney Hinton Sr. I didn’t realize I followed in his footsteps until years of working in live events.

Working at the International Club is where I learned the hospitality business, and watching Rodney’s attention to detail, work ethic, and commitment to the customer. He was rarely home on Friday or Saturday nights. He insisted that if he sat down with a bride (i.e., any customer) and she gave him every detail of her dream day, he was going to be there to make sure all ran as she envisioned.

Rodney said, “You are the person with the details in your head. You can’t always trust that when you relay information, it gets heard as it’s meant.” See my wedding as proof he was right. I met a friend’s friend years later who shared that she was getting married at the International Club. When I mentioned my stepfather ran that club and he would be there implementing every detail as planned, it calmed her stress about mishaps. She ended up feeling so at ease, she invited me to her wedding.

On the spiritual side, I was most impacted in 1997 when I took a series of Lifespring transformation workshops. It was unusual, but I had the same trainer, Charlene Afremow, for the entire series of classes. To say she changed my life is an understatement. Ms. Afremow saw things in me that I didn’t see, such as leadership. She inspired my growth. She taught me I had something to say, to speak up, and to be visible.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

When I was President of the DC chapter of Women in Film & Video, I told my fellow Board members to please never use the response, “That’s how it’s always been done” when discussing ways of approaching or resolving anything. As creative beings, I simply don’t believe anything is set in stone. We are here to be inspired and we should strive for progress, even if it’s uncomfortable.

As a historian, it’s precisely how I was taught to view the past. We use stories and events as a means to understand how something happened, and often why it should not be repeated. I believe analytical thinking has played a major role in my belief that change is good. It’s how progress, growth, and transformation happens.

So yes, I do believe disruption is always good in the long run. It’s simply moving forward and adapting. I’ve lived long enough to see disruption all around me, from laws legalizing cannabis to help many with health issues, to our understanding of mental health and seeking therapy, to inclusion and diversity training.

We see change in the events and entertainment industries that have helped us navigate a pandemic. It’s all growth and disruption; it’s all human progress.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

“Be careful who you step on on the way up. You may be rolling over them on your way back down.” My stepfather gave me this advice when I was in high school. Living in the DC area and working within the private conference rooms with so many high-powered politicians, he experienced firsthand how politics and relationships work. He was a master at networking and knew everybody in DC, where diplomacy is king. It’s a small world and life often comes full circle. I can’t say I’ve always heeded the diplomacy advice, and that has, at times, been my lesson.

“You can live in a beautiful state or a suffering state. The decision is yours.” Taught to me by a mindset coach. It’s a deep spiritual principle, but in its simplicity, it makes life so much easier. Everything is meant to be and if we are suffering, we are the ones who put meaning into it. Take out the interpretation/meaning and everything simply IS.

“You don’t live inside the box. Even if the box were the size of Texas, you wouldn’t be inside the box. Stop trying to be in the box.” One of my friends gave me this feedback as we gathered in a women’s circle. I was struggling to understand myself, to fit in. She was a new friend and saw right through me. This one statement gave me the freedom to be exactly who I am. We need free thinkers. Especially now.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I’m constantly looking for new things to understand and ways to educate and shake up the status quo through advocacy. I tend to see the world different from “the norm” and became a change agent in my 20s. I did this first by writing to beauty corporations for decades, asking them to ban animal testing. That industry recently has made drastic progress towards being cruelty free. This took decades of activism.

For 8 years, I’ve lobbied my reps for changes in Maryland’s animal welfare laws. I am grateful we have been successful. What I am always striving for is people to understand the bigger picture behind a simple decision to buy a product or attend a sports/entertainment game.

Since 2019, I have lobbied for a revised mental health law in Maryland. My state ranks among the lowest when it comes to helping the mentally ill and addicted adult. Families have zero power to help. I unfortunately know this too well and made a promise to my sister Laura that I would not let other families suffer the same tragedy and desperation as mine. My delegate is cosponsoring a bill this year to change this archaic law.

I intend to continue shaking up the funeral industry, as well. I’m creating programs to spread consumer knowledge and the alternatives to those who have a major impact on families. I am also working on legacy projects to raise the profile of significant people.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

The same issues we face in just about every sector of life ⏤ stereotypes and misogyny. Women, in general, face every day challenges men don’t. We don’t need to be disruptors to know we get paid less for the same work, have to work twice as hard to prove we are capable, and often face sexual harassment while doing so.

Harassment itself is still not completely understood and comes in various forms, including intimidation and lack of promotions when earned. We also have safety concerns that men never have to think twice about.

Not being taken seriously is enough to play on anyone’s self worth, making it even tougher for women. We often internalize the stereotypes and limiting beliefs, so we first need to disrupt our own mindset. I see it every day in the entrepreneurial programs I’m in, made up of at least 80% women.

Limiting beliefs can be anything from “don’t speak up” to “don’t be visible” to “don’t take up too much space”…and the list goes on. It takes a lot of confidence to go against the norm, and few men have to tackle these stereotypes and internal beliefs before taking on disrupting industries.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

The Conversations With God book series by Neale Donald Walsch and Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love impacted my heart and my thinking. I read these at the same time I started transformation trainings, back in 1997. It was the first time I discovered writers (and trainers) that viewed the world the same ⏤ deeply spiritual, and an understanding of metaphysical laws with a humanitarian perspective that we are here to change the status quo.

Ms. Williamson’s book Healing the Soul of America, followed by her creation of the Global Renaissance Alliance fueled my participation in grassroots activism. She taught us how to lobby from the heart, and she brought us to Capitol Hill to participate in our duty as citizens.

From there, I just went deeper and deeper, reading as much as I could find. Books by Gary Zukav, Deepak Chopra, and all of Ms. Williamson’s work. There is so much material out now, but back then it was nowhere near mainstream and not found in most bookstores.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every person was made to do mindset and self awareness work, at least by their late teens? Knowing yourself, your limiting beliefs, your story, your behaviors and responses…all of that which makes you, you…I find it all life altering. There would be a tremendous shift in everything from how we communicate to politics.

Then, if every aware person took up two causes they supported and contributed in some manner ⏤ lobbying, fundraising, or making others aware ⏤ humanitarian change would be inevitable.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Naturally Marianne Williamson’s famous quote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate…“ from A Return to Love sits above my desk and reminds me that we are all born to shine, not meant to be invisible, and always meant to speak our truth.

Another that is relevant to me is from Star Wars when the wise Yoda advises, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Knowing the incredible power each of us has within us to create and bring about change, this quote is what reminds me that excuses are defeating. Just do it…or don’t do it. What’s the worst that can happen? You succeed?

How can our readers follow you online?

I would love to hear from your readers. My online resources are:

My blog: https://celebratingthedash.com/blogs/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/epiloguetributes/

YouTube/Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3PlcxjPEvG6TuDFNoLSO-g

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/feliciabarlowclar

Instagram: @celebrating_the_dash

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Female Disruptors: Felicia Barlow Clar of Epilogue Tributes On The Three Things You Need To Shake… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Sarah Pilger of Best Life Nutrition On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

First off, I wish someone had mentioned you can NOT have a plan B or plan A will NEVER work. When I first got started some of my friends and family wanted to make sure I had a backup plan, just in case, so they encouraged me to keep my personal training certification current. Now I know they had good intentions, but I knew me. If I had a “getaway-plan” then I would eventually take the out when times got tough. So I say burn the boats and don’t give yourself an out. If you feel like you need a backup plan then plan A may not be what really lights you up.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Pilger, Co-Owner of Best Life Nutrition.

Health and Nutrition Expert, Sarah Pilger owns one of Scottsdale’s favorite shops, Best Life Nutrition. Her journey began in southeast Michigan, where she was taught the meaning of hard work at a very young age. Raised by a single mom, she had her very first job at 12, having started her own garden weeding service for her neighbors, a preview of the entrepreneur she would later become.

In 2010, Sarah relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona. After experiencing a relapse of her depression and anxiety symptoms, while working in a call center environment, she left corporate America. It was her personal journey with mental and physical health that led her to wanting to support others to improving their life through fitness. Sarah began by obtaining a NASM certification as a personal trainer.

In 2013, she re-focused her efforts towards nutrition education. She went on to start her personal wellness coaching business, in partnership with her husband. Her proudest accomplishment to date is the community that they have been able to create and the support they have been able to offer their clients in reshaping their bodies and their mindsets.

Sarah’s serving more than just healthy protein shakes and snacks at her Best Life Nutrition shop, she holds monthly challenges to help her community reach their goals. This isn’t your bland or starvation plan, Sarah’s creativity in her meal plans include “Fried Ice Cream”, the most popular protein shake flavor at Best Life Nutrition. Yes, hitting your goals never tasted sooo good!

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?

Yeah, you bet…it’s like the getting-to-know-you part of dating! So growing up I wasn’t an unhealthy kid but I also wasn’t aware of the impact that food choices could make on my mental and emotional state. After graduating high school and starting college I experienced a period of serious depression and anxiety attacks. As part of my journey of taking control of my mental health I began educating myself on the impact that both physical training and food choices make on my mental state. I became a certified personal trainer but quickly found that, not only are there some seriously amazing trainers out there already, the biggest struggle for the majority of my clients was getting the nutrition portion of their lives dialed in to support their goals. Educating and supporting people in taking control of their bodies through nutrition became my passion and eight years ago I went full force into health coaching. My personal transformation has been a huge blessing. Even more though, it has been beyond rewarding to help people transform not only their bodies but their mindset and they way they see themselves.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your health coaching and Best Life Nutrition?

In the beginning days of my business I treated it more like a hobby then a business. I wanted to do all the fun parts and would put off all the nitty gritty aspects. I still wanted to be seen as a professional, though. I wanted to be seen as someone with authority, but I was acting like an employee with very little skin in the game. I distinctively remember one day when a new customer came in, and I can’t remember what exactly he was asking about but what i do remember is him saying, “when your boss gets back you should tell him…” It struck me so hard that he assumed that not only was I not in charge, but that my boss must be a man. I remember calling my mentor sharing that with them in complete outrage. My mentor then proceeded to deliver some eye opening advice and said that the customer was picking up on my energy and insecurities as a new business owner. That hurt, but I was able to talk it through and take the coaching. I am big on being your authentic self but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t areas where I can grow. This experience helped me learn to manage my energy and show up in a way that projects knowledge and authority, while still being me and genuinely connecting with my customers and coaching clients. I put my whole heart into my relationship but I will not pull any punches. I tell it like it is which can be confronting for people at times but, I do it with a genuine desire to see people succeed and thrive.

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?

Oh wow okay here we go. So when I first got started I attended an event and the speaker talked about taking on characteristics and personality traits of people you admire to help you grow and develop confidence. I may have taken this a bit too literally. I think I spent the next 2–3 months rotating through personalities. Most of my mentors and trainers at the time had been incredible male leaders. Very straight, to the point, tell-it-like-it-is kind of guys with a bluntness that totally worked for them, especially because they had the knowledge and experience to back it up. So, imagine me, with my outgoing and friendly personality suddenly shifting into a take-no-prisoners kind of vibe? It was awkward to day the least. It was a great opportunity for personal growth and it helped me find out who I really was and create my own individual vibe and way of doing business that was true to who I am and my core values.

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?

This is gonna be super cheesy, I’m warning you now, but I have to say my husband. He not only was the person who first introduced me to the industry of health coaching, he was also my personal health coach when I first started my nutrition journey. If you want to make sure that your not only reach your goals but stay on track what better way is there to do it then marry your coach right? No but seriously, I vividly remember attending an event where he was speaking about building your own health coaching business and how passionately he spoke about all the possibilities you can create for yourself and others in this industry. I don’t know if I left having any idea what a health coach did, but I knew in my soul that if I worked hard enough I could really create something of meaning. He gave me that vision and for that I will always be immensely grateful.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to the End of the Year 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 foundingcompanies?

I was recently discussing something similar to this with a friend of mine… I think it’s a matter of balancing your energies. What I mean by that is, sometimes it may seem like you need to me more masculine or tough all the time to be successful on a larger scale. I have met female leaders who create a persona for themselves that is hard and intimidating. If that is really you at your core, then but all means, go hard! But I have personally found that being the most real version of yourself…tough when necessary, soft when its needed…a balance of both your masculine and feminine sides serves you best as a female business owner. Don’t hide your softer side because that is the side of you that will cause people to fall in love with you and by extension your brand or product. At the same time, embrace your greatness and allow your masculine energy to shine when it come to standing firm in your truths and how you want to see your vision for your business being fulfilled.

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 it’s going to take each of us doing the work on an personal level, as well as creating an environment of partnership, in all our relationships. True partnership to me means lifting each other up and recognizing an individual’s unique gifts and what they have to offer to a venture. I don’t mean to say that we all have to agree to be aligned in all things. We can learn as individuals and a society to disagree productively and with respect. I know that I am guilty of dismissing people’s ideas if we differ in opinion. We many not be on the same page in all areas, but that doesn’t invalidate everything that they have to contribute.

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?

I don’t know if it’s intuitive to me as a woman or if my circumstances growing up and being raised by a single mother just showed me that I wanted to be the creator of my own life. Having a company that you built yourself gives you a sense of purpose and, at least for me, a sense of security. The only person that can take my business away from me is me! At the end of the day what I make of it is what I put into it and I get to do business in the most purposeful and authentic way. To me that is everything. I wont play around and say that its an easy road because it is not, but it does over a sense of purpose and satisfaction that I never experienced in a traditional employment setting.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

I think that there is a perception that you have to be hardcore and almost unfeeling, especially as a woman, to make anything happen as a founder. While there are times that that side of my personality has to be called upon, just being true to who I am and communicating my needs clearly and effectively gets the job done. I also believe that there is an expectation of being able to create overnight success just through platforms like social media for example. Building both a physical location and in digital realm take a ton of commitment, energy, and time that is often overlooked when people consider founding something themselves. For the dedicated few, you can certainly thrive if you’re willing to go all in.

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?

Oh I like this question… No not everyone is cut out for this life. It is not an easy road to travel that’s for sure, but it can be wildly rewarding. I think traits that stand out to me the most are persistence, coach ability, determination and a heavy dose of stubbornness. I want to be clear that deciding being an employee is what’s best for you is not wrong… My mom used to tell me “the world needs ditch diggers too.” If clocking in and out each day at the same time works best for your priorities in life that is totally perfect. But not all of us fit that mold. We aren’t wired the same way and that is totally okay. Female or male, being a entrepreneur mean having a measure of drive that probably borders on crazy.

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.)

First off, I wish someone had mentioned you can NOT have a plan B or plan A will NEVER work. When I first got started some of my friends and family wanted to make sure I had a backup plan, just in case, so they encouraged me to keep my personal training certification current. Now I know they had good intentions, but I knew me. If I had a “getaway-plan” then I would eventually take the out when times got tough. So I say burn the boats and don’t give yourself an out. If you feel like you need a backup plan then plan A may not be what really lights you up.

Second, I would have been great to have someone who sat me down and supported me in creating a very clear and specific intention for what I wanted to create. When I first started I had stars in my eyes and thought everyone would like me and embrace what I was looking to create. Not so much…but that fueled me to create a clearer vision and really dig into the type of person I was looking to attract and support. I have literally had people walk into Best Life and tell me what we do is a joke…at first that broke my heart, now I know that what we are about and who I am is not something that they are ready to receive. Without clarity of purpose I would have been beaten down by the rejection.

That does lead me to number three on the list, as a women I wish someone had told me to develop and thick skin but don’t sacrifice my heart. The ups and downs of founding something of your own are many and at some point you will have to defend what you’ve built. That’s just a fact of being a trailblazer. In the early days of my business I shed a lot of tears over the harsh things people did or said to me. There was a point where I remember just being numb and I was doing what I needed to for my current clients but I was not actively seeking new because I just couldn’t take another hit from the haters. I closed my heart. I take the goals and needs of everyone of my clients to heart and, as long as they are still in the fight, so am I. But I didn’t want to take on any new battles. A mentor of mine reminded me that the trials I experience along the journey all have a purpose. Not only does each challenge teach a lesson but they allow you to become a better leader by helping to clear the way for others. Now, sharing how I overcame hurtles fills my heart because it will help someone else avoid those same pitfalls.

Fourth, I really wish someone had shared with me the importance of raising my vibration and surrounding myself with like-minded people. I was recently sharing on my social media about the family that we choose. At this point in my business and life not only is my biological family important to me but, the family I create through deep and meaningful relationships is vital to me. Not only does this help you grow to new professional heights but, it elevates and feeds your soul.

Finally, five, and I think this especially applies to women, I wish someone had told me that it is totally normal and 100% alright to have emotional meltdowns once in a while as you are building and running your own business. Many times I think this is seen as a sign that, women especially, can’t handle the pressure or stress of it all when really, if you’re not getting emotional about something you really care deeply about then I’m not sure it matters to you as much as you think. Sometimes, the best stress reliever is a good ugly cry.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

The epidemic of obesity is very real and very serious but, it is my firm belief that the war on this disease will be won on a micro level. Part of my purpose is to bring empowerment to individuals through nutrition education so that they can make smarter choices. When people are educated and know how to make nutrient-dense food choices that support in total wellness then they have the tools they need to transform their personal health. This has a ripple effect and can impact the health of current and future generations. We have to start locally and through our Scottsdale location Best Life Nutrition we are working to bring healthy options and education to our community and in the coming year we intend to open five additional locations to continue to grow the impact.

You are a person of great influence in the Wellness world. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Wow…okay I would love to see nutrition education taught in schools. I can not tell you the number of times I have started working with clients to find that grown adults don’t know what foods fall in the category of carbohydrate or don’t understand the impact of processed food on their overall health. If the basics of nutrition were taught at a young age it would be a monumental shift if the health and wellness of the world.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

There are so many people that have been influential in my personal development that I would love to connect with and be able to thank and then drive them crazy with a million questions. One of the top ones on my list currently would probably be James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits. I have always been an “all or nothing” kind of person. When I decide on goal or a skill I want to develop I make a plan, create a schedule and go all in. In many respects this has been great, but I often times set very lofty expectations or timelines for what I want to accomplish. I think I can complete a month’s worth of content in 45 minutes for a huge social media campaign or that I can take on huge projects without any support. Then, I have a breakdown that gets me off track and it spirals out of control. His book helped me develop the muscle to create small habits that compound and become second nature so that I can create anything, making the process of creation manageable and keeping my sanity in the process. I feel like sitting down with him and digging deeper into some of his processes would open up additional tools and skills to support in my personal and business evolution.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this!

Female Founders: Sarah Pilger of Best Life Nutrition On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future of Beauty: Eugene He of Invity On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Beauty Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Start your beauty routine from within. Before investing in expensive skincare products, take a deeper dive into your health, lifestyle, diet and mental health. Beauty is being confident, and confidence comes from being healthy — both physically and mentally.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eugene He.

Eugene He is an award-winning brand builder and a passionate phytochemistry researcher with over 16 years of experience in the consumer beauty and wellness industry. He is also an accomplished formulator and has created over 50 products for brands globally. He currently leads Qurio (www.qurio.com.sg), a consumer biotech group in Singapore and is also the Chief Product Officer of Invity (www.myinvity.com).

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I am the Chief Product Officer of Invity, a vertically-integrated longevity startup, the CEO of Qurio, a consumer biotech incubator, as well as the acting CTO of Quvo Lab. I started doing chemistry experiments when I was around 8 or 9 years old, and since then I had a thing for ‘reactions’. Whether it was acting in a play, investigating the medical history of my patients or developing a product, I found gratification in observing actions and predicting reactions.

I started my scientific education in Australia, where I trained as a clinical naturopath. A huge part of my focus was in formulation design and phytochemistry. While treating my patients, I discovered that our skin not only defines how we look, but is an accurate indicator of our underlying health. This fascinated me so much that I was already thinking about skin microbiome in 2006, when microbiome skincare wasn’t even a thing.

My approach to skincare research was inspired by the evolution of the human body and epigenetic changes. In my lab, I have created a vernix caseosa mimic, a prebiotic cream and most recently, an ATP broth. As cliche as this might sound, I am hunting for the fountain of youth, which I truly believe is finally possible in this lifetime.

In 2021, we decided to introduce Invity to the world. My personal research program grew into a vertically integrated set up, with a community of over 14 scientists, 9 pipelines and one common goal — to enable healthspan while extending lifespan.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I like to think that my story is still evolving, but there were definitely some memorable moments. Almost a decade ago, while I was still a budding entrepreneur, I was invited to Washington, D.C. where I met with various members of the Cabinet, and even had dinner with former President Obama. It was my first visit to the U.S., and let’s just say, I was overwhelmed with experiences.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

In the early days, I was hungry for success and tried to find it in metrics and numbers, and as Henry David Thoreau once said, “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” My “tipping point” came when I started focusing on my true passion and knowledge, rather than trying to build a profitable business. It kept me busy doing the right things, but it never burnt me out.

I am also a believer of the law of attraction. I began to see ‘success’ when I realized that I was attracting the right people, both in my personal life and professional career. My circle of influence changed, and so did my lifestyle and mindset. It was then when I finally understood what it feels like to be in the ‘zone’.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am grateful to everyone I’ve come across as our lives are shaped by the people we meet, but aside from my family, I do have three people who were instrumental to me getting to where I am today. I’d like to thank my high school teacher, Mdm Quek, for unlocking my passion in biology and showing me that science is not boring. My mentor, Sue Holly, for getting me obsessed with phytochemistry, and August Lee, for believing in my vision to make longevity science research mainstream.

Ok, super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

We want to use technology only when it makes sense as there’s no point trying to fix something that is not broken. When my scientists and I created Invity, we already had a good idea of what works to delay skin aging. Even simple ingredients like vitamin C can have profound effects on our skin. The challenge is getting those ingredients into the right depth in the skin so they can deliver scientifically validated results, consistently.

Our ‘cutting edge’ technology is in our delivery systems trials. We are working on emulsion and liposomal delivery technologies, to create bespoke solutions for individual activities. This ensures that clinically viable ingredients work not only in a petri dish, but also in your skin.

At the same time, a focus of my research is in metabolic pathways, specifically the impact of NAD+, sirtuins and AMPK on our skin. My team has been actively identifying candidates that can work transdermally, to induce cellular energy within skin cells.

Aging affects everyone and we hope that our research can not only regain youthful skin for everyone, but also inspire similar developments to eventually eliminate chronic diseases.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

By creating this free pass channel for active ingredients into the skin, it also means undesirable substances might potentially enter the skin too, if the technology is utilized by an inexperienced chemist or formulator. For this reason, we always ensure that we would only use this in formulas that contain safe, clean and tested ingredients.

I am currently working with my team to produce a compendium of ingredients that would qualify to be ‘clean’ from scientific viewpoints. This would not only streamline our formulation process, but also ensure safe handover of technology to our successors.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

1. At this moment, we are seeing a lot of consumer facing beauty-tech developments. Much of this is based on a point of sale engagement to increase customer loyalty and conversion. While this can be interesting or important to businesses, I am more excited when AI goes behind the scenes, for example, in product formulation and development.
2. I am definitely excited about our delivery system research. Beauty has evolved tremendously, from the first modern basic cold creams from 1857 to intradermal injection fillers today. Skin care is no longer just personal care, it is health care.
3. I am also currently advising a startup developing a diagnostic kit to monitor our ‘youth’ in real time. While they are still in the early stages of development, their success would be a breakthrough and a paradigm shift for our attitude and understanding towards aging because this will clearly define what ‘youthfulness’ means.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

1. As the barrier of entry into the industry has become very low, almost anyone today can start a skincare brand. While I am all for entrepreneurship, skincare formulations are based on science and can still pose certain risks to consumers. I’ve always shared the analogy that if you are ill, would you go to a doctor or would you seek advice from an influencer?
2. As someone who is a clinician, but also an entrepreneur, there is a daily dilemma in balancing product efficacy with practicality. A miraculous serum that cost $1000 to produce with a shelf life of one week is not practical. Likewise, a $20 serum that is essentially water with no clinically validated results is against my ethos.
3. Beauty has always been an industry propelled by marketing. The clean beauty trend has increased awareness and demand for safer products for our body and the environment, but at the same time, it has also fueled misconceptions and bad science.

To deal with such issues, local and global associations and health agencies regulate the type of products or ingredients that can go into beauty products. However, with no global alignment or benchmarking, the disparity is huge between countries and sometimes even states. In some cases, overzealous agencies over regulate the usage of ingredients. If I can have it my way, the three things I would do would be to firstly create and align a global safety standard, make it compulsory for beauty manufacturers and brands to have internal regulators and implement a beauty tax on brands and manufacturers to fund non-profit research for the industry.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Start your beauty routine from within. Before investing in expensive skincare products, take a deeper dive into your health, lifestyle, diet and mental health. Beauty is being confident, and confidence comes from being healthy — both physically and mentally.
2. Set a daily self-care routine. This could be during the day or night, but what is important is that you go through this routine everyday. Just like how people feel happier and motivated after a workout, a self-care routine makes you feel better about yourself.
3. Use a sheet mask. Do not underestimate the power of a well formulated sheet mask. Asian celebrities can’t live without it, and it is for a reason. It floods your skin momentarily with moisture, giving you a fresh and dewy complexion. With our SuperNAD Youth Activating sheet mask, we utilized an ATP activating technology to recharge the skin beyond just moisturization.
4. Reduce consumption of sugar. While most people know that excessive sugar intake contributes to obesity, it also increases AGEs (advanced glycation end products) in your body, which accelerates skin aging. It also affects our mood, sleep and recovery.
5. Consume a NAD+ precursor such as NMN and supplement your diet with brightly colored fruits and vegetables. These foods contain antioxidants that support metabolic pathways to preserve the integrity of your skin and health.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I am an alumni of the Catalyst-AA innovation program where I developed an idea to bridge the scientific communities with the general population to engage in crowd research. The advancement of science is heavily dependent on funding and the participation of volunteers. By getting the public to be interested in science, and leveraging mobile technology, we can work together to speed up life-changing research to bring good to the world.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Life is a journey, not a destination.

I often get asked why I wear so many hats and am constantly working. I am not a workaholic, but a lifeaholic — I believe there is no singular destination in life, but instead, milestones that mark our success. I love what I do, so it never feels like work, but rather it is a purpose for me. Every journey will have its ups and downs and failing only means you get another chance to take the exhilarating ride up again.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can follow my personal instagram @itseugenehe and also Invity @myinvity

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future of Beauty: Eugene He of Invity On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Joy and Amber Orah On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Surround yourself with people that share your vision and passion. I believe I am very lucky in this regards, since my partner is my sister, and I couldn’t imagine any better person to share this journey with. This point is especially important to me, because the road is not always easy, even for the most positive of us, and that’s ok, sometimes you just need help in focusing on the goal.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Joy and Amber Orah.

Amber Orah is the Creative Director of Dubai Based Fashion Brand ÚCHÈ By Amber, founded in 2019 with older sister Joy Orah.Born and raised in Nigeria to (IGBO ) parents, the brand name ÚCHÈ stands for “Idea”, a befitting name for a brand whose sole purpose is to challenge its audiences’ minds…daring them to be different, authentic, and fearless with their imagination while staying ethical.

Joy Orah oversees the business aspect of the brand, having over ten years of business management experience and a keen interest in the fashion world/the back-end of it. She joined forces with Amber Orah to create the Fashion Powerhouse ÚCHÈ By Amber, to cater to the tall community, among other niche audiences (seeing as both sisters are 1’8m and above).

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 childhood “backstory”?

Amber: I was born in Lagos to Eastern Nigerian parents and grew up mostly with my father (who himself is an artist). A lot of my fashion curiosity came from observing his style and seeing the pieces he purchased and how he put them together. I was not a very social kid compared to my peers in my earliest adolescent life. I relied a lot on my imagination, often times than most living in it and choosing it as my preferred reality. My mother was very fashion-oriented as well, so I had access to all these old catalogs and magazines that she had bought, and boy would I have a blast picking out my favorite pieces from the collections or combining looks and sometimes going as far as recasting models that I thought suited a look more…..it was so much fun!

Joy: I was born in 1988, on the beautiful day of March 29th, in Lagos, Nigeria. We are from a big family of 6 children. Amber is my immediate younger sister. We have always had a very strong relationship and shared similar interests, especially creativity. I was, however, away from home a lot for school. You see, I was in boarding school from my junior high years (11 years), so building relations with strangers came to me more easily than most since it was more of a survival skill. This skill has helped me a lot in my life and my career.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

Amber: I remember when I was about nine years old, I’d sneak in to look through my fathers’ (apparently) hidden briefcase filled with these amazing photographs of all these exciting events and parties he had attended! I remember being taken by all the different styles and personalities the numerous guests in each photo had. I think that was when I realized that that was interesting for me, the ability to see peoples’ thoughts, ideas, and fears just by merely what they were wearing and how they wore it.

Joy:I moved to Dubai ten years ago to build a career. At this time, I was fresh out of nursing school. I knew I didn’t enjoy nursing, and I didn’t like blood, I was desperate to try something new. My first job in Dubai was as a sales executive, and I enjoyed that way more. I started to learn and grow my experience. By year 3 in Dubai, I set up my first company, managing the business, making it profitable. From then on, it has been pure bliss in business management. With my skills and knowledge acquired over the years, Ambers’ talent in Fashion Design, it only made sense that we joined forces and excel co-dependently on what we are great at individually, which is Amber Creating, and I managing the business side of things.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Amber: So I got invited to an event at The Dubai Mall in 2019; the event was to launch a new concept store and a celebrity collaboration they had just released. Fast forward to the event day (I am dressed in ÚCHÈ ofcourse), and who do I meet there because it’s his collection release? The Legend himself STEVE AOKI! Anyway, I introduce myself, and mid convo, he interrupts (graciously) to ask where my outfit (particularly my ÚCHÈ JACKET) is from because he thinks it’s really dope…. I’m low-key dumbfounded, smiling and basking in this moment of Steve appreciating and acknowledging a piece we literally just released a few days prior. I tell him it’s my brand, to which he asks where he could purchase it….unfortunately, at the time, we had not set up any virtual or physical store (we were still at the Family and Friends stage) *sigh. Anyway, I say my ‘thank yous’, capture the memories of our interaction and eventually miss what could have been a great placement opportunity if I had just handed the jacket off my back to him (like rockstars do)….. so yeah, I still feel bad about that.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Amber: For me, I would say,

“ STAYING TRUE TO ORIGINALITY”_ we had instances where we felt that our design, style, and pieces were not understood in the majority of places we showcased our pieces. This might have been due to the fact that we are based in the Middle East, but after a bunch of trial and error, we reverted back and stuck to “US”, and that’s working out big time.

“TAKING CRITICISM AS A POSITIVE” _ my sister and I open our arms to criticism. I personally find it liberating that people have opinions and concerns about our designs…I see it as proof that it stands out and, as a plus, provokes the mind to think of ways to understand it.

“UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE’S NOTHING LIKE ‘TOO MUCH’ WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVE EXPRESSION”_ I’ve had to have mini pep talks with myself encouraging me not to tone down my creativity because of fear that it will be “too much.” I feel it is a fear you get when you create for the sole purpose of sales as opposed to as means of expression.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Joy: The ideas we put out make our brand special. We are always daring to be different. Within our first year, we got a request to style a well-known Artist to be hosted on the Jimmy Fallon show in Miami. It was so huge we thought it was a fake email until we requested they pay for the items before we ship, and they actually did!

Amber: I think our fearlessness makes us stand-out. We are boundless and aim to remain that way. We are not scared to venture into unchartered territory, opening our arms to trying new things. We thrive on the knowledge that there are so many possibilities out there, which you can see through our releases and collaborations so far, we do not have a particular style direction….we just explore and express.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

Amber: I don’t have a favorite one because I collect and keep a list of quotes that speak to me very deeply….the most recent on that list is “ FEAR OF DISAPPOINTMENT STOPS YOU FROM DOING A LOT.” This quote is relevant in every aspect of my life, not only the creative part. Creatively, however, I have taken on projects that scare me… the most recent is accepting an offer to design my first wedding dress! I mean, the fact that I even considered the proposal is due to the above quote.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

Amber: “Recycling and Upcycling” are becoming a full force trend, and that is very exciting to me. I am a huge fan of second-hand and vintage fashion. I feel like the pieces you find have lived a life that you now get to be a part of too. Finding new ways to add creativity to old/out-of-season pieces, instead of just throwing them out is definitely what I am looking forward to more of in the future. Not only because our imagination is sparked…it is also because it adds to maintaining the health of our planet.

Joy: I believe fashion is going in the direction of being more sustainable, especially with the big fast fashion brands looking to adopt more sustainable practices, I am very excited about that.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

Joy: Since the inception of ÚCHÈ, we produce a limited amount of pieces to mainly avoid waste and create exclusivity for our customers. We love Upcycling and Recycling.

It is one of our core values, we are the creators of the Bumbag Top/ Belt bag Top, it is an original idea, never done before in the world. It is literally a Bum Bag/ Belt Bag worn as a top, which is both Chic and practical. We believe with pieces like this , creativity can be sparked in our audience.

Amber: Earlier in my life, I learned to use fashion as a means to say what I thought when I felt I didn’t have a voice, my way of standing my ground defying societal and family expectations, a way to protect my identity and stay true to myself the best way I knew how. It became a means of protection for me. I felt invisible and sometimes untouchable in some pieces I dawned. Fashion helps me feel powerful on a day I feel weak, gives me confidence when I am lacking some, makes me feel strong and ready to conquer the world when I need to feel that way. It’s my armor, and by starting a fashion brand, I hope it will provide the same protection to me and the consumer. I want people to feel fearless and empowered when they: see our pieces, how it’s styled and put it together to make it speak in their own way. We design to give the audience the opportunity to push past the fear of being uncomfortable and just go for it creatively. This is a liberating feeling, and if we can help anyone push past such a little (almost insignificant fear like that), I believe it will eventually lead to other tiny steps towards conquering much bigger fears.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

Amber: When I source materials and fabric, I tend to lean towards the pieces that are the least desirable, that is materials that are unconventional among the pack (dead stock). These are the selections we then use to convey our ideas because, like most things in life, the beauty and potential of these fabrics have been overlooked. This way of sourcing also helps in reducing the amount of possible waste since unwanted fabric generally ends up as trash. We also buy locally made, produced and sourced material as frequently as we can in limited quantity to avoid waste. Every material we have ever purchased we make sure to use up and reuse in some cases, doing our part in contributing to waste reduction.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

Joy: Yes, this is true that fast fashion is not sustainable, and I believe it is bad for the environment, especially with the wastage it causes, which is estimated at 92 million tonnes of waste per year! This is an alarming number. Uche By Amber aims to first and foremost not add to this number, which is why upcycling and recycling are integral in our brand’s approach. We want to be part of the solution to this problem, which is why Amber usually uses “deadstock” when she sources for fabrics.

Amber: I agree with this, and I think we still have a long way to go in making fast fashion less fast, more thoughtful, and still affordable because, unfortunately, sustainable and ethical fashion can currently be accessed by the middle and upper class only. This disparity gap shows how far we still have to go in this industry. As a fashion brand, this is not a positioning we find ideal, we want our pieces to be accessible to anyone who relates with the designs….As a brand, we do our best to provide quality with every release we endeavor in, and promote the up-cycling culture as well as encourage consumers to embrace the imperfections that come with pieces; old and new (a rip or loose button doesn’t mean the whole garment is bad, it just adds character to that piece) so wear it or pass it on at least.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

Joy:

1. Surround yourself with people that share your vision and passion.

I believe I am very lucky in this regards, since my partner is my sister, and I couldn’t imagine any better person to share this journey with. This point is especially important to me, because the road is not always easy, even for the most positive of us, and that’s ok, sometimes you just need help in focusing on the goal.

2. Prepare for the worst, with an attitude of expecting the best.

One of our favorite quotes is from Elon Musk, when you try something new, failure must be an option, that speaks so deeply, because if you are afraid to fail, it will be extremely difficult to try new things. This is why we must try to push our fashion boundaries as much as possible and see what happens, always with a smile. I will take it a step further, and say celebrate the failures, why not, it means you tried something new!

3. Money must not be your only motivation.

I believe money must be secondary to your ideology, sometimes it takes some time to be profitable, which is absolutely ok. Use that time as an opportunity to find your tribe, and they are out there. If you start a creative journey just for the money, you will loose the creativity and eventually your motivation, and this is regardless of if you are monetarily successful or not. Mr Tony Robbins says it best, “Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure.”

4. Sustainability is the future, embrace it as soon as possible.

The waste contributed from the Fashion Industry is huge, it makes sense that the consumers are moving away from brands with unhealthy production practices. Everybody is responsible for keeping the planet safe, gone are the days when people had no idea how much damage was done to the planet, and the information will only get more transparent, so it is important we all start doing our part now.

5. Create more personal experiences for your customers.

We like to write personal handwritten notes to our customers, and I’ve had customers write me back to thank me directly, and even pledged their loyalty to the brand, and yes, they have been loyal. I think it’s nice for the customer to know it is truly humans behind the brand.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

Joy: I believe the fashion industry can improve itself by collaborating more, making it more of an exciting challenge, i.e., work with entirely different brands from your scope and see how unsold/unused pieces can be upcycled to create something new, I promise it will be insanely cool nevertheless.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Joy: My movement will be getting the big fashion brands to collaborate with upcoming fashion brands. There is so much talent, so many ideas, that can and should be utilized properly. Fusing the new and old is Power, the world is definitely ready for that aaaaaand waste will be curbed, so yes, win, win , win!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Amber : website :www.uchebyamber.com

instagram: @uchebyamber_official

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Modern Fashion: Joy and Amber Orah On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Author Gina Fontaine On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Surrender control. In my case, when I tried to make everyone around me happy, I ended up exhausting myself. The reality is that I can only control myself. I cannot fix, heal or change those around me. I now lovingly release my loved ones to their life lessons, and that is not easy to do.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gina Fontaine.

Author, Gina Fontaine is a Certified Personal Trainer and wellness coach for moms, and has built a career helping women use movement to achieve optimal health. In her book, You Are a Supermom, Gina teaches moms how to find a healthy, happy life balance through a realistic and sustainable approach to motherhood. She lives with her three children in Denver, Colorado.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I love to move! Growing up the youngest of 10 children in Indianapolis, Indiana, my life was action packed. When I wasn’t playing basketball or baseball with one or more of my 6 brothers, I was playing Barbies or Little People with my sisters. When the neighborhood kids went in and watched cartoons on TV, I was the kid who would rather climb a tree or play with my dog.

Naturally, I gravitated to a career that involved movement. Originally, I set out to be a physical therapist, an up and coming career in 1992, when I began the 5 year BS/MS Physical Therapy program at Boston University. I quickly realized that I did not want to do rehabilitative movement. Next year, I transferred to Indiana University, where I completed my degree in Kinesiology (fancy way of saying study of movement).

Colorado had been my dream destination to live ever since my family drove an RV to this wondrous state when I was 10. As soon as I graduated from college, I headed West to the Rocky Mountain state and never looked back.

I have enjoyed a dynamic career spanning nearly three decades where I have served various roles in the fitness industry. I have been a personal trainer throughout this time and have managed fitness programs at private health clubs and public recreation centers at various times in my career.

My passion is helping mothers thrive. When I had my first child in 2003, there was little information about prenatal fitness. I enrolled in a continuing education course on prenatal fitness as soon as I got pregnant, but still I felt like there was so much more to learn about the pregnant body.

Once I went through childbirth, I discovered that giving birth is like an athletic feat requiring not only physical strength but mental and emotional stamina, too. By my 3rd pregnancy, I was determined to write a book to prepare women for the rigors of pregnancy, birth and motherhood.

That material I collected eventually became the Power of Pregnancy Continuing Education program for fitness professionals. I certified dozens of fitness pros in this method I had created. I then decided that I wanted to teach the moms my course. I have taught Power of Pregnancy workshops for private groups of pregnant women and for the staff of 2 school districts in Colorado.

Shortly after the launch of Power of Pregnancy, I divorced my husband of 14 years. I had no idea how tumultuous and traumatic that experience would be and it has taken me every bit of the 4 years to this present time to regroup and rebuild my family as a single mom.

In September 2021, I released a book titled, You Are a Supermom: 5 Ways to Reclaim Your Superpower and thrive as a mom. It reached #1 on the Single Parenting category of Amazon, and I am excited to share my message of how to thrive as a mom in today’s ever changing world with as many mothers as possible.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I had the honor to be a personal trainer to a very prominent businessman in Colorado. I would travel up to his mountain top home once a week and train him. When we began exercising he was 99 years old and determined to live to be 125.

He was wheelchair bound at the time and through our work together and with the use of a technology I use that improves blood flow, he was able to graduate to a walker.

While I was working with him, a film production company was recording a video biography of his life. He invited me to sit in on a day of recording. That day, I heard him tell stories of triumph and unimaginable pain.

His unbreakable spirit was founded on 2 things that I could see.

1. Every day he counted 1,000 blessings. Sometimes he would still be counting when I would arrive for our session in the morning and I would wait as he finished.

2. He believed there should be an 11th Commandment. “Honor thyself. In the end there is only you and you have to take care of yourself.” Clearly he followed this — still exercising at the age of 100.

I was going through my divorce during the time I worked with him and his wisdom carried me through some of the most difficult days.

Lesson: Always be grateful and take care of yourself first.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

As a youngster starting out in fitness, I probably thought I was awesome. It is difficult for me to pinpoint one specific event. In retrospect, I can see that I tried to impose my values of fitness and health onto my clients. I figured they were hiring me to fix and transform their bodies.

Now, I operate from a space of loving acceptance. Do evaluations and intake forms help me connect with a client? They give me information. Yes. And I still use them. Now, my approach is to connect, first. Once the foundation for trust is laid, then ASK permission to offer advice or suggestions.

I consider myself an expert in the field of fitness, but, at the end of the day, my client knows herself best. It is my role to help her reveal the healthy, whole woman that she already is.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I encourage mothers to shamelessly place their health and well-being first. Too often in today’s culture of “everything for the kids” parenting, moms sacrifice their health in order to be the perfect mom.

What good are you to your family if you are not well — physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually?

For many years I sacrificed my time, health and happiness for my family. At a certain point I realized I am not responsible for my family’s happiness. I serve my home better by being the light who shines on everyone. I used to try to get everyone else to be happy, but I can only control how I feel. .

You Are a Supermom is a call to action for moms to be more of who they are by doing less.

I hope my message shifts the cultural standard of exhausted moms strung out on wine and coffee to a norm of happy, healthy and vibrant moms who inspire their kids to be their best.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Prioritize self care.

When my teenage son became rebellious during the breakup of our family, I spent too much time trying to fix and change him. When I began to nurture and care for myself more and more, he began to make small shifts. I was less reactive to his defiance and when I stopped losing my temper every day, he calmed down too.

2. Stay present.

Life gets busy and multi-tasking seems to be the best way to get more done. When I began writing my book, I realized that to achieve my goal of writing 2,000 words per day, I had to be fully engaged with zero distractions. After doing some research, I discovered that our brains cannot process more than one meaningful task at a time.

It is inefficient to multi-task. What a revelation to a woman who prided herself in being able to juggle it all. The mental health benefit of staying present and shutting off distractions is remarkable. I still get off track. What works for me is to give myself 3 big tasks each day and focus on them one by one. I go into more detail about this process in my book.

3. Shift your mindset.

Your thoughts become things. Worry is like praying for what you don’t want.

I am a recovering perfectionist. I used to think that being hard on myself and pointing out my flaws motivated me. In actuality it was tearing me down.

While writing my book, I could hear my inner critic encouraging me to stop writing.

“No one cares about your story. Your story is shameful.”

The original title of the book was “I Am Not a Supermom.” I thought I must be one of the worst moms, but as I read my own book I realized that embracing my imperfection and learning to stay positive even in the face of insurmountable odds did, in fact, make me a Supermom.

4. Set healthy boundaries.

When I began to set my stake in the ground and claim my time for self care, my kids pushed back. I stood my ground and took baths in the middle of the day or went for a jog while leaving my 13 year old in charge of the younger two. Sometimes I would come home to calamity, but my kids learned self sufficiency.

Now, they regularly encourage me to take breaks when they see me start to grow impatient and I think I have taught my kids to do the same for themselves.

5. Surrender control.

In my case, when I tried to make everyone around me happy, I ended up exhausting myself. The reality is that I can only control myself. I cannot fix, heal or change those around me. I now lovingly release my loved ones to their life lessons, and that is not easy to do.

My 18 year old son recently moved out on his own. I have heard from him once in the past 4 months. I still message him weekly and he doesn’t reply. I could scold myself for being a bad mom for not being more connected to him. Alternatively, I can celebrate that he is “adulting” successfully and doing his own thing. I choose to vote for his victory and celebrate his success.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I started a movement to encourage moms to prioritize their health and well-being. I call it the Supermom Club. We are a group of moms who are committed to daily self care, mindful presence, positivity, and enjoying life. We experience joy through our own experience not solely from the experience of raising our children.

The journey of motherhood begins in pregnancy and I envision insurance companies supporting moms to be healthier than ever by offering programs like Power of Pregnancy free for all pregnant moms.

Moms are the most powerful influencers in the world and we can shift the health of the planet one mother at a time.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. The average person really doesn’t care about all your expertise and knowledge.

I spent way too much time trying to educate my clients. They really just want someone who is relatable and can get them results. I probably bored my clients to tears with my detailed information about anatomy and physiology. Now, I wait for them to ask me questions.

2, Let it be ok to rest when you need to.

During my pregnancies and early motherhood years I tried to prove to the world that I was a badass mom who doesn’t slow down. I burnt myself out and my body paid the price. Thank goodness for restorative yoga teacher training for slowing me down. Now I have positive ways to refuel and have no shame for resting.

3. You only have to be one step ahead of those you are leading.

I have stalled myself in business feeling like I needed one more certification and one more training. Now I know that I can lead the way while I am learning something. I will spend the rest of my life voraciously learning and sharing what I learn along the way.

4. You don’t have to fix or change anyone.

Most people do not want to be assessed. They appreciate compassion and someone who can meet them right where they are.

Clients come to me expecting that I am a trainer and I will kick their butts. That is no longer my approach. I take time to connect with a client and keep things simple in the beginning.

5. You are enough.

I am an overachiever by nature. As the youngest of 10 kids I found that succeeding at anything brought me positive attention. At a certain point, I had to realize that I am enough just as I am. More likes, certifications, trainings or followers do not make me a better person.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is a topic near and dear to my heart. The global pandemic has adversely affected our mental health across the planet. While most people focused on a disease, I watched my teenage son’s mental health erode the longer we stayed in lockdown.

I nearly lost him to suicide in May 2020. Not enough people are talking about the losses incurred due to increasing suicide rates largely due to social isolation these past 2 years.

I am committed to shifting the focus from illness to wellness. We get more of what we focus on. Wellness is a mindset and it begins with commitment to taking care of yourself. My mental health is a reflection of how well I am honoring my needs at any given moment.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Website: www.ginafontaine.com

To find our your supermom archetype take this quiz.

www.ginafontaine.com/quiz

To learn more about Supermom Club:

www.ginafontaine.com/supermomclub

Facebook

www.facebook.com/gina.boslerfontaine

Telegram: @GinaFontaine

You Are a Supermom is available on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Supermom-Gina-Fontaine/dp/1955533008

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Author Gina Fontaine On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Carrie SiuButt of SimpleHealth On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Don’t be afraid to use PTO. Everyone needs a vacation, even the CEO. Don’t feel guilty about that!

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Carrie SiuButt.

Carrie SiuButt is the CEO of SimpleHealth, a nationally recognized telehealth provider of reproductive wellness. She is a former Wall Street Business executive-turned global minority wellness leader who uses her personal experience as a key motivator to bring diversity, inclusion and accessibility to healthcare. Under her leadership, the company was recently recognized as one of the 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and moved to the United States as a young adult. At the age of 11, I noticed that I began limping at the onset of puberty. After navigating through the healthcare system, it took about 2–3 years to finally be diagnosed with Dystonia.

Dystonia is a rare movement control disease that affects around 300,000 people. Symptoms include a foot cramp or a tendency for one foot to turn or drag, writer’s cramps, tremors, and involuntary pulls of the neck. It’s often considered a “hidden” disability or an “invisible” illness because it’s so rare and, therefore, difficult to diagnose.

Around the time of my diagnosis, it became difficult for me to write with my dominant right hand, so I taught myself to write with my left. Although my disease progressed throughout college, I graduated and went on to work in an extremely fast-paced environment where I was successful, but not in the best health due to the lifestyle that came with being a Wall Street executive.

After I completed my Masters of Business Administration program at Stanford University, my disease became significantly worse so I decided to seek options for treatment. Since I wasn’t a fan of taking medicine that would increase fatigue, I was presented with another option — deep brain stimulation surgery. Although it was a challenging decision to make at the time, it helped unlock many doors for me, including running my first 10K marathon. My journey with Dystonia is what led me to make the career switch from Wall Street to healthcare after realizing the lack of accessibility and diversity within the industry.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I joined SimpleHealth as the CEO in February 2020 and little did I know a pandemic was on the horizon. I started weeks before the COVID-19 lockdown and once it went into effect, I knew I needed to make immediate changes to the business. I moved quickly to improve our systems and operations to achieve profitability and increase employee engagement by 6% during a period of crisis.

Within my first year with the company, I was able to grow the SimpleHealth’s revenue by 900% because I quickly adapted the company to the changing landscape. Because of the uncertainty of coronavirus, I knew I needed to rise to the occasion to be the steadfast leader the company and my employees needed during such difficult times.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The biggest mistake I made when I was first starting out was trying to make everyone happy. I quickly learned as a leader that you can’t. There will always be someone unhappy with your decision, regardless. You simply cannot make everyone happy and that’s okay, as long as you believe in yourself and the decision you’re making for the company.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

At SimpleHealth, we’re committed to providing patients with personalized care, starting with reproductive health, which ultimately contributes to holistic health. We leverage our telemedicine platform to provide convenient access to comprehensive birth control options that can be tailored to each individual’s needs, including the pill, patch and ring — which are affordable and cost- effective for those with and without insurance.

With our recent acquisition of award-winning birth control and health tracking system EMME, we have united with another female-led company in its mission to break down barriers to reproductive healthcare across a wide user base spanning the U.S. SimpleHealth and EMME will integrate our product offerings and innovative technology to provide users with a best in class healthcare experience across their full reproductive cycle, all at their fingertips. Together, our hope is to eventually eradicate contraceptive deserts and provide better support for fertility preparedness, perimenopause and other transitional life phases through the accessibility of our platform.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

Working out on a regular basis. It’s important to maintain a fitness routine and to establish healthy habits to fuel your body and mind. There are plenty of times where I’m completely exhausted by the end of the day and it’s a struggle to find the motivation to get a workout in. Once I carve out the time, I always feel much better after as exercise is a great way to relieve stress.

Eating clean! What you put into your body will affect your everyday life. Maintaining healthy eating habits helps fuel your body and keeps you going during those long, stressful days.

Take breaks throughout the day. This is especially important in the midst of our heightened Zoom culture. Zoom fatigue and burnout is real. It’s crucial to give yourself 15 minutes in between calls to do something as simple as stretch.

Getting a daily dose of Vitamin D. It truly does make a difference when you begin taking Vitamin D supplements or when you step outside for a short walk when the sun is out. You’ll find your mood changing immediately.

Sleeping 8 hours a night. Try to set a healthy boundary of shutting down and focusing on your rest in the evening. As most of us are still working from home, you can easily find yourself blurring your boundaries between your work hours and rest time. Carving out meaningful rest and sleep time for yourself is the best way to recharge and avoid burnout.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I believe we’ve already started a movement at SimpleHealth with our mission to provide reproductive wellness to everybody. To cater to each individual, all of our physicians receive training on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging as well as best practices for empathetic communication.

Having access to birth control can give people the opportunity and advantage to lead a healthier and better life. I firmly believe in this as I’ve experienced first-hand the advantages of being on birth control which is why I want to ensure it is available to everyone.

In the past, I’ve struggled with chronic migraines and it would affect my daily life from being able to focus at work to my ability to train for marathons. As I searched for remedies, I discovered one of the many benefits of hormonal birth control is that it helps manage migraines because it helps even out estrogen levels. About one in five women in the United States have migraines, and it’s most prevalent for women in their twenties, thirties, and forties. Oftentimes women experience migraine symptoms when their estrogen levels change.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

Don’t be afraid to use PTO. Everyone needs a vacation, even the CEO. Don’t feel guilty about that!

Take your time hiring. You want to make sure the person you hire is aligned with your company values and brings out the best in your work culture.

Reward your high performers. It’s important to focus on the good, not just the bad.

You can’t please everyone. As a leader you have to make tough choices and many times people just won’t agree with you. That’s okay!

Culture evolves. You have to make sure your company grows with the changing world.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is a topic that means a lot to me, especially now that we’re in year two of the pandemic. Focusing on physical health has long negated the need to take mental health as seriously.

It is extremely important that we all carve out moments of self-care so we can feel and do our best in our daily lives. No matter how big or how small that moment of care is — whether it be through morning meditation, cooking yourself a delicious meal, an afternoon walk, or winding down at night with a new book. The body can only go as far as the mind can.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Your readers can follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter @carriesiubutt.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Carrie SiuButt of SimpleHealth On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lila Limon of Squeeze De Citron: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are Doing To Make That Happen

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Be thoughtful about your sales channels. We create in-house designs with artisanal products. I’m originally from Mexico and I had to sadly block all my channels from Mexico, along with China and Canada due to the high amount of knock off designs and products.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lila Limon.

Lila Limon is the owner and Creative Director of luxury women’s handbag brand, Squeeze De Citron. The brand fuses together culture and ethnicity in the form of vibrant, sustainable bags that are handwoven by female artisans in Mexico.

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?

After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business in Mexico, I went to New York to study Fashion Merchandise Management at the Fashion Institute of Technology. A year after I graduated, I met my husband. We had two children and moved to Orlando, FL. I always wanted to be a young mom, because I always knew that I wanted to build something after I had my kids. I didn’t necessarily know what that would be — but it didn’t matter. I had a thirst to create something of my own. My dad inspired that thirst in me. He raised us to be career driven visionaries. So, there I was, in Orlando in 2014, ready to go but frustrated because I was not legally able to work — I am from Mexico City and came to America with the student visa then on my husband’s visa. One day I said to myself, “If I cannot work, then I will create!” And, that is when the lemon seed was planted. From that moment, I began creating charity events to benefit children in need and I shared the beautiful creations of Mexican artisans with our bags.

Squeeze De Citron, or “Squeeze the Lemon”, is based on the principle of taking advantage of every fresh and juicy drop that a lemon, or a life, has to offer. We believe in celebrating a zest for life and adventure. The brand was born in 2015 with me, Lila Limon, serving as Owner and Creative Director. Squeeze features eye-catching, beautifully colored bags that are handmade by Mexican artisans. All of our products create a full circle impact for our seven artisan communities.

Our Core Collection is ethically made and gracefully sourced by Mexican artisans. These bags take 7–10 days to make just one. Our bags are hand woven with 100% PVC recyclable plastic. These bags help to create jobs for artisans. They all work on a fair trade basis.

Our Capsule Collection is ethically made by an older group of Mexican artisans that are in correction centers. These bags help create jobs so that they can support their families. They take 2–3 days to make and are, like the Core Collection, hand woven with 100% PVC recyclable plastic.

Our Lemon Drop Project provides Guatemalan artisans with jobs, which in turn provides them with hope and a better quality of life. They build a sustainable income to continue their studies and provide for their families. They are made of 100% RECYCLED plastic thread and each takes 5–10 hours to make.

After four years of learning the potential of the United States market, I began to sell the bags independently. I decided to create exclusive, in-house designs and color mixtures to appeal to the American market. With my background in fashion, business, and event planning, I began to showcase each of my collections at charity events.

After selling more than 500 bags, I realized the full potential of the U.S. market and launched Squeeze De Citron. My vision is that each bag inspires a happy celebration of culture and ethnicity.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

There are so many interesting stories for me to share but one of my most prominent stories is from when I was a little girl. I used to collect Care Bears and I always found the world of color, texture, and happiness so appealing. I could have never predicted that would translate into Squeeze De Citron, which has all those colors and textures while also having a positive impact with all of our products.

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?

When I was getting started, I was so excited about my vision. And, it being so colorful and happy, I would share it eagerly with everyone and I trusted that they would all respect my endeavor. But, as everyone could see our growth day by day, we started seeing our in-house designs all over Mexico! And then we started to see local people here in the states trying to copy what we have created.

I know that they say this is a form of flattery, but the reality is that not everyone is ethical. If they see an opportunity, they will take it. So, beware of the copycats. Protect your company. Lesson learned!

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?

I have three people in my mind that have been very important throughout my success and each one added in their own way. One is now an angel — my Dad. He always showed us how to have a vision. He taught us that if you have an idea, put it down in writing. And, the only thing that matters when you create that idea is that just one person believes in it. And that one person is you. He inspired me to believe in myself and in whatever my mind is daring me to dream.

The second person is my husband, Chava. He has not only mentored me but also pushed me when I was afraid to move forward. He is my number one supporter. He is always encouraging me and telling me, “You’ve got this!” I’m so grateful because without that backbone I don’t think we would’ve reached where we are today.

The third, is very dear to my heart: the Town of Windermere, FL. I could name so many wonderful ladies that spent days grinding with me, supporting me and the growth of Squeeze De Citron. I am particularly grateful for one special friend and mentor, Debby Heggins. She would spend Sundays teaching me that basics from how to do my taxes to how to use Shopify. Debby shared her time and talent out of the goodness of her heart and that kind of friend is hard to find. I will always be grateful to her and the Windermere Community.

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?

It is wonderful that times are changing and that women hold more credibility in the business world now. I feel we’ve figured out that we can be stronger when we all stick together, support each other, and continuously empower each other. I feel that business owners should take responsibility to continue to advocate for, to support, and to empower upcoming entrepreneurs. That will help grow the number of women owned businesses. There’s nothing holding us back — it’s just a matter of time. But we’ve figured it out.

One of the things I am most proud of at Squeeze De Citron is that the company is completely run by women. We’ve learned that we can be extremely productive within our “mommy schedule.” We work 20 hours per week and we get it all done AND we get time with our families. Why a mommy schedule? Because we work 10–3 for four days a week and we get it all done! We’ve learned that finding that work-life balance has a lot of power and keeps us focused, efficient, happy and feeling fulfilled.

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?

Community! Take the time to get to know your community and get to know your surroundings. It is so powerful because you will meet the amazing women that already surround you. We started by bringing together different entrepreneurs and business owners from our community for our events. We would, and still do, create community events not only for the purpose of making sales, but also to give and share exposure, network, meet new clients, and expand reach. Just because a business is small or just getting started, doesn’t mean they can’t add value and talent to your network. When you give someone an opportunity to collaborate, you support and empower them. That is what we need. And, that is something we can do so easily to “pay it forward” and start a path for the ones that are interested in building their own way.

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?

I am a mother of two and becoming a founder gives me the flexibility I need to balance my personal professional thirst and caring for my home and family. Becoming a founder allows you to grow as a person and to learn to work with a team. It gives you the power to really make an impact. I hope that, by my example, I inspire other women to know that everything is possible if you put your heart and soul into it.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

There is a myth that founders have powerful personalities — and this usually has a negative connotation. I think a founder or new entrepreneur can have a powerful mind and not necessarily a powerful personality. A founder listens to her inner voice, instinct, guts and brain, and takes risk in what her mind is daring her to dream. That is powerful.

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?

If you have a thirst to create and the passion to fuel your vision, you can achieve anything your mind dares you to dream. Not everyone has this thirst or passion. Some get excited and maybe even get started — but, as soon as things get hard, which is always does, they give up. Once that passion falls, they really just need to stand back up stronger and give it another try!

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.)

1. Protect your vision. Sadly, when others see your success, not everyone will feel happy for you. And, it is not uncommon that they might try to “replicate” your vision for themselves. I remind myself now: Although they copy, I create. I wish I knew that earlier. Don’t take anyone lightly. Protect everything you create. I now have individuals sign a Terms and Conditions Agreement to protect SDCs proprietary information when they join our team.
2. Be thoughtful about your sales channels. We create in-house designs with artisanal products. I’m originally from Mexico and I had to sadly block all my channels from Mexico, along with China and Canada due to the high amount of knock off designs and products.
3. Business costs can be high and unpredictable! For example, shipping costs can be so high, and they fluctuate wildly. Sometimes our shipping cost is higher than our actual product! So, we have learned to be more strategic about our cost structures across product lines.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Because I curate artisanal products, Squeeze De Citron makes full circle impact in everything we do. All our products are made and imported on a fair trade basis. Each weaving style helps groups of artisans. Not only does this provide jobs but also dependable income. We are currently sold out through 2022 so our artisans know that they have work for the entire year. It brings them stability.

Our Lemon Drop Project helps Guatemalan artisans to go back to school. The Lemon Drops are made by young Guatemalan artisans. It is such a beautiful project and creates an incredible impact for these girls to go back and have an education.

The Lemon Drops are 100% recycled plastic and all of our other bags are 100% PVC recyclable plastic. We offer a sustainable program on our website for all of our clients in the United States. When they are done using a bag, they can ship it to us at our cost and we will make sure it is recycled correctly. We will also give them 15% off for a new bag. So we are working towards environmental sustainability, as well.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I would create a movement where schools would add more entrepreneurial classes or guidance for kids from a young age. Creativity is a skill and must be nurtured and explored and learned to be used just like math and reading. It could be the “Think Out of the Box 101” movement. Embracing young entrepreneurs!

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would love to have breakfast with Oprah Winfrey! She is just such an inspiration and I love that she is a soul feeder. She shares always wise learnings through her questions when interviewing.

Another person I would love to have breakfast with is Martha Stewart. My friends call me the Mexican Martha Stewart. I love hosting and creating things. I enjoy using my creativity for a nice little setting or an event or really anything. I admire how she goes deep into detail and she appreciates the little things.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Lila Limon of Squeeze De Citron: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are Doing To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Louis Joseph Of Alps & Meters On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Team & Network: Fashion is one of the oldest forms of collaboration and assembling a team of passionate Co-Founders I have found to be a key success factor. Likewise, ensuring a broad network of supporters and advisors who can help guide a brand’s creative endeavors while also establishing glide paths of awareness and distribution development will help to bring more rapid ignition to the brand & concept even when operating at a modest scale. Truly, in my experience, one cannot be conducting enough conversations and network nodes; this is time consumptive for certain but many positive networking results are long-tail in nature and aggressively building one’s internal and external rolodex is an investment that will pay dividends across the various stages of fashion venture development.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Louis Joseph.

With 25 years of brand strategy, product design, and general management experience, Louis has a reputation for global entrepreneurship, creative innovation, imaginative marketing, and multi-million dollar P&L responsibility.

Louis is currently CEO of Alps & Meters, a luxury alpine sportswear brand, which he Founded & launched in 2018.

Prior to making the transition to full time entrepreneur, Louis spent three and half years as Global Director of Strategy and Innovation at Kering/PUMA SE where he reported to Kering’s COO and PUMA’s CEO. As a key member of the executive ranks, Louis’s time and energy were centered upon the production of “big ideas”, transformational brand-product concepts, and consumer experience across Kering/PUMA’s multiple commercial divisions and disciplines.

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 childhood “backstory”?

I was born in Santa Monica, California but was raised in Massachusetts by parents from a blue collar city called Brockton. My father was a first generation American whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Albania and my mother has a Lebanese heritage. I was extremely fortunate to be raised in an upper middle class home whose values were very much informed by my parents work ethic and general belief in the American dream. Another aspect of my childhood which many find unique is that I am one of 4 brothers comprising two sets of twins; my twin and I are fraternal twins while my younger brothers are identical twins. Such an environment made for a wonderfully rambunctious atmosphere that was full of sport, friendly competitiveness, and camaraderie.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

My professional career began during the early & development stages of the New Balance Athletic Shoe Brand of Boston, MA. 21 at the time, I was accepted by New Balance as a Marketing Intern and was kindly taken under the wing of the owner, Jim Davis, his Chief Marketing Officer Paul Heffernan, Head of International Catherine Jakaitis, and the wonderful group of Category Brand Managers including lifelong friends Steve David and Craig Heisner. The immediate mentorship and coaching I received from the New Balance family provided a lot of professional tailwinds which helped me sail into the PUMA/Kering organization thereafter where I contributed to Product-Marketing, Strategy, & Innovation in many arenas across Kering’s luxury & sportswear portfolio. My luxury learnings at Kering coupled with my passion for alpine sport eventually converged to conceptualize the Alps & Meters brand concept. Centered on a mission to uphold the classic traditions of alpine sport, Alps & Meters brand architecture, values, and business model were certainly influenced by my early career stints as well as my lifelong love of skiing and life in the mountains.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

One of the aspects of my career that I have most appreciated is the global nature of the brands & business with whom I’ve been associated. Since my first foray into the sportswear and fashion arenas I have been blessed to have traveled throughout the world meeting a host of interesting people with whom I worked directly or indirectly nearly all of which I still count to this day as friends. Working with fast paced and ambitious organizations most certainly created a bond that transcended nationality and language. To this day I recall spending months at a time in Europe, Asia, and South America and in each setting, the stories that unfolded enriched my life personally and professionally. When in Europe for a time I met the world’s most famous soccer player Pele; in Brazil I connected with the country’s most famous Jujitsu athletes; during a period in London my creative teammates and I collaborated with fashion icon Alexander McQueen, and when with PUMA, I had the opportunity to interact with Olympic 100 & 200 meter champion Usain Bolt. Looking back I recognize how fortunate I have been to experience these exciting moments and when I think about the future of my career I’m eager to remain centered upon what helped to deliver those interactions; hard work, a global mindset, professionalism, and kindness.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Reflecting on my own personal make-up, I believe that the following characteristics and learnings have positively influenced my leadership style….1). Adopting & maintaining a beginner’s mentality…2). Authenticity … 3). Grittiness. This trifecta of qualities I believe ensures a humble and real approach to leadership with an ability to navigate challenges and difficulties that inevitably arise with a firm resolve and long-term outlook. From my experience, adopting a beginner’s mentality helps to avoid decision-making bias while opening a wide aperture of possible solutions that can be provided from a set of alternative, and sometimes unobvious perspectives which is terribly important when innovating. Likewise, being one’s authentic self creates trust and in a start-up environment such bonds are critical for culture development. Honesty is the fuel of motivation and as a believer in servant leadership, I feel that sharing aspects of my own vulnerability is a means of flattening an organization while further empowering teammates to help drive the brand & business forward. Lastly, grittiness is inherent in all entrepreneurs and displaying and embracing such qualities builds an institutional fortitude that builds significant and nearly bullet-proof strength over time. Having navigated the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the team at Alps & Meters was especially full of grit and it is this quality beyond all others that has helped the venture climb to new heights despite stiff headwinds within the macro environment in which we are operating.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Alps & Meters’ mission is to uphold the classic traditions of alpine sport. We believe that our company’s mission and purpose manifests itself in a deeply emotional manner that connects our community to the origins, romance, and nostalgia of skiing’s past. In many ways, our product provides the most clear expression of our traditional values. Each piece is designed to fuse classic garment construction techniques, natural materials, and contemporary technologies to deliver handsome alpine sportswear that is tailored, technical, and timeless.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

My grandfather was an Albanian immigrant and my father a first generation American named after the President at the time of his father’s arrival to Ellis Island in the USA, Teddy Roosevelt. Before marrying, my mother and father grew up in a blue collar city in Massachusetts called Brockton. More so than any particular quotation, their work ethic, fortitude, and gritty spirit has greatly influenced my general attitude while also helping me to maintain a sound perspective about the good fortune I have found within my career to date. Within my family we often talk of an “immigrant’s mindset” which I feel encompasses an interest to blaze new trails, to realize family oriented long-term goals, and to strive and to always do one’s very best work. It is this particular “life lesson” that has been front and center during my childhood, adolescence, and which helps to inform and guide the winding professional path which I have walked since beginning my career 25 years ago.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

While I am quite an analog soul, I do have a deep curiosity about how virtual reality will come to impact the fashion industry. The applications of this particular technology are wide ranging and can influence aspects of sustainability (think about trying garments on virtually without the need for physical product production), shopping (lower carbon footprint without the need for cumbersome shop as well as the enhance ability for universal peer-to-peer interaction on the “shop floor”) and the creative possibilities to push the boundaries of what fashion is and what it means to audiences around the world.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

In an effort to uphold the classic traditions of alpine sport, Alps & Meters is focused upon the following Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) initiatives: 1). The ongoing development of the brand’s Mountain Memories Upcycled Product Collection designed in partnership with Tersus Solutions of Denver, CO, a sophisticated sustainability engine focused upon the re-use of R&D waste and re-commerce aimed at extending product life cycles while reducing the environmental impact of high frequency apparel consumption…2). Within the social arena, Alps & Meters is working hard to build a clear DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) roadmap and has embraced partnership with the Share Winter Organization whose mission is to provide winter sport access to under-resourced youth….4). From a Governance perspective the brand and its Board of Directors have, since inception, practiced conscious capitalism with the aim of ensuring a virtuous cycle of benefits among all connected company stakeholders including both internal personnel and external vendors.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

As expressed within our Corporate Responsibility Manifesto, Alps & Meters is committed to the use of natural materials such as wools and cottons. When harvested properly, these materials can be developed into garments that minimize ecological impact. When choosing our partners such as Allied Down, UPW Yarns, Botto Guiseppe Crade-to-Cradle cashmere, and British Millerain, Alps & Meters seeks suppliers who can supply raw materials that are obtained according to our values. While Alps & Meters dreams of operating on a global scale in the future, due to our boutique size at the moment our company aims to leverage supplier innovations to improve our methods of making while mitigating as much as possible environmental impact.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

Alps & Meters intention is to build the highest quality alpine sport garments that command timeless durability such that the pieces may be handed down from one generation to the next. Our company is firm believers in a “less is more” attitude and such philosophy is reflected in our very tight & scarce product assortment and drive for maximum quality and durability. Creatively, our brand believes firmly in designing garments that are built such that the pieces become a kind of memory keeper for our client that will house the embellishment of wear, travel, recreation, and experience for multiple years on end. Alps & Meters prides itself on delivering such comprehensive sturdiness and long-term reliability as a manifestation of our mission, love of tradition, and effort to deliver a positive promise of first class craftsmanship for our worldwide clientele.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

From my point of view, the 5 things you need to lead a successful fashion brand are as follows:

1. Purpose: the inherent reason that the company exists and mission that permeates every facet of the organization. At Alps & Meters our purpose is to uphold the classic traditions of alpine sport and this intention may found in our products, story-telling, culture, and partnerships
2. Authenticity: a clear and differentiated point of view about the world and how you would like to create an impact. Amidst an ever faster, more technologically advanced way of life, Alps & Meters is interested to embrace the simplicity and traditions associated with alpine sport and life in the mountains. In some ways we think of our brand in a “farm-to-table” manner by revisiting and reintroducing classic methods of making while distilling a narrative focused upon simpler times and the generational
3. Imagination & Insight: a mix of imagination and foresight makes for a powerful one-two punch when aiming to brand build within the fashion sector. Harnessing the idea of a brand, bringing it to life in myriad ways from product creation to content to distribution is obviously a creative and somewhat artistic endeavor, but calibrating the concept of the company with foresight surrounding unarticulated market needs and opportunities is an essential aspect of success. In the tech sector, this is called “product-market fit” and while need states of the consumer market place are likely not as linear as they are in tech, the needs nonetheless exist and are often emotional in nature. When leaping to build a fashion brand it is just as important to ensure that the water is deep enough to take the plunge and this act of entrepreneurial faith when married with a consumer driven insight is often the recipe for long-term success rather than a one hit wonder.
4. Team & Network: Fashion is one of the oldest forms of collaboration and assembling a team of passionate Co-Founders I have found to be a key success factor. Likewise, ensuring a broad network of supporters and advisors who can help guide a brand’s creative endeavors while also establishing glide paths of awareness and distribution development will help to bring more rapid ignition to the brand & concept even when operating at a modest scale. Truly, in my experience, one cannot be conducting enough conversations and network nodes; this is time consumptive for certain but many positive networking results are long-tail in nature and aggressively building one’s internal and external rolodex is an investment that will pay dividends across the various stages of fashion venture development
5. Conviction: Maintaining conviction for the brand building effort after the shine of inception has worn off is difficult but essential. There will be failures and disruptions and as we’ve learned when navigating the pandemic, significant headwinds out of the Founding Team’s control. Holding on to the creative conviction, insight, and purpose of the brand is a challenge and most especially because there is certainly not a shortage of opinions from tastemakers and influencers regarding which brands are hot and which are not. Nevertheless, commanding a long-term view of the brand building exercise and recognizing that the entity is only ever just a work-in-progress will allow fashion entrepreneurs to maintain a course of “true north” while steering the ship toward changes and opportunities that might more succinctly align the brand to its existing and new clientele.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

Two areas that excite me about improvements within the Fashion sector are democratization and sustainability. Democratization is the idea that fashion is influenced from the “bottom-up” and not the “top down.” More than ever, across industries the consumer commands great control and most especially with spending power which can be directed to brands which align with their personal makeup, values and ethical demands. Sustainability continues to be a work-in-progress but consciousness of the fashion industry’s ecological impact have never been higher nor has the pace of innovation which includes legitimate science steering toward carbon neutrality, biodegradable & recycled initiatives, along with greater respect for extended and closed-loop lifecycle management of which the combination immediate upcycling & re-commerce activities hold great promise.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

As an entrepreneur, if I could start a movement it would be to advocate for universal and paid apprenticeships for high school and post-high school students as an alternative to college. A version of 21st century apprenticeships would allow individuals to enter the paid working world across all fields (the arts, technology, marketing, traditional CPG, etc) in a manner that would foster continuous and practical learning while initiating financial independence in contrast to the significant debt which has saddled a generation of college students and families.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Readers may always learn of new initiatives and content at www.alpsandmeters.com New stories, publications partnerships may be discovered within the Journal, Podcast, and About the Brand section of the website.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Modern Fashion: Louis Joseph Of Alps & Meters On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Anoop Virk of Basmati & Spice On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Start within. As individuals, we have a significant wealth of knowledge within us. We just need to believe in ourselves, look inward, and can find clarity and answers. The foundation within us is so pivotal to ensure we don’t get lost by others’ opinions and perspectives on this journey. If you know who you are, and believe in yourself, you will be able to navigate the process without getting distracted by external factors. Take the time to know yourself, listen to your gut, and be patient.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Anoop Virk.

Anoop Virk is an award-winning nonprofit founder, executive producer, authorized home builder, and restaurateur of Basmati & Spice, a wellness focused food concept that is now available in more than 900 hospitals serving patients and healthcare workers.

Known for her philanthropic initiatives including building a gender equality based school in Africa and reconnecting homeless in Vancouver to their lost loved ones, now at 28 years old, she has dedicated the last decade to successfully creating and executing businesses and purposeful projects, advocating for girls and education.

Through her philanthropic projects, Anoop has connected with some of the most influential movers and shakers around the world — the Royal highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate, Ndaba Mandela, Chelsea Clinton, President Jimmy Carter, Bono, and Nile Rodgers.

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?

Looking back at my journey, I do see a thread that has led me to where I am now. From some of my earliest memories as a child, I felt a deep connection that I was on this earth to serve and really enjoyed helping people, which I feel naturally led me to embody this as my passion. This undoubtedly came from watching my mom, who was a single immigrant mother. I witnessed her start from the bottom — from barely speaking any English, and having no money, or family support, and running away to a women’s shelter with me as an infant, to cleaning people’s home during the day and learning English at night. My mother’s story is one of true resilience in my eyes, as she got her Master’s in Education, became an award winning national best selling cookbook author, and hosted TV shows on Food Network.

I knew the hardships and challenges she overcame would not be the journey for everyone, and I felt a connection to her injustices, and found my purpose to help people in this lifetime — in the areas of homelessness, gender equality, and food insecurity. This led me at the age of 14 years old to cofound a project that helped reconnect over 500 homeless in Vancouver to their lost loved ones, at the age of 18 years old to create a 50% gender equal school in Zambia, Africa, and to now help revolutionize hospital food and patient care menus all across the US. As a teenager, I was named Top 20 under 20, and then a Global Teen Leader for the We Are Family Foundation in New York. My degrees in International Studies focusing on politics/foreign policy, in addition to working along side the most vulnerable communities globally helped me understand the complexities and variables involved in development. At the age of 24 years old I understood the power of storytelling which led me to join TED’s mission of ideas worth spreading as the first female Executive Producer for TEDxVancouver.

Food and especially wellness focused food has been a big part of my life. I think most of us have experienced either ourselves or our loved ones being in the hospital, and often not having healthy food options. I remember thinking, why hasn’t anyone thought of a solution for this? A hospital should be a sanctuary for healthcare, and the food being served should not be an exception.

My mom and I have always been business partners since I was a teenager (from helping her manage her media tours or helping produce her cooking shows). Fast forward, she partnered with Morrison Healthcare, a leading national food and nutrition services provider, serving 7 of the top 20 hospitals and health systems and 3 of the top 10 children’s hospitals. They too believe in our philosophy food is medicine, and we created Basmati & Spice, a wellness focused food concept that is now available in more than 900 hospitals, for patients, doctors, nurses, and hospital staff to enjoy.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Hospital food should be delicious and healthy, and that’s what we are doing! Our food concept Basmati & Spice provides wellness focused food in hospitals for doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and patients. Hospitals can be stressful, and if you’re a patient, the food sometimes feels like it can be the only choice or control you have. Instead of having a bland meal, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a healthy and wellness focused meal? Perhaps a lentil and spinach soup? We have doctors and nurses say their diets can be really bad as they are running around all day during long shifts and it’s easier to grab something from the vending machine, but now they have options such as our plant forward bowl filled with chickpeas and roasted cauliflower, or perhaps a butter chicken with yams and mushrooms. The emails we get from the hospital staff saying the healthy meals helped them fuel their day, is very rewarding feedback. Our food itself is plant forward, and also spotlights the healing power of food by both boosting immune health as well as supporting local farmers and regenerative agriculture.

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?

Chilli pepper flakes! This is an ingredient you have to keep your eyes on! Recipes are normally created for smaller portions, say 4–6 servings. When you have to create the same recipe say for a few 100 people, you can mostly multiply most of the ingredients…except the chilli pepper flakes. This seemed common knowledge, but we definitely should have made a warning note in bold letters. Let’s just say, when we arrived to taste the food, it had a kick to it. It’s funny now, but I remember in the moment, the food was going to be served in 30 minutes, and there was no way to start from scratch. I can’t remember what the solution was (probably because I tried to block this memory out ha!), but we just had to smile and nod while everyone was eating and sweating. The lesson learned here is even if something comes second nature in your mind, if it needs to be recreated by someone else besides yourself, go into as much instructional detail as you possibly can, even it seems redundant or over explanatory. Better to be safe than sorry!

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I’m grateful that my mom is both my mentor and my business partner. I feel like we have this synergy that makes us this dynamic duo, and the fact that we are over 10 years into business together, I wouldn’t have wanted to be on this journey with anyone else.

I’ve been grateful to have wonderful individuals in my path that have helped me. I would also say individuals from my projects have incredibly helped me along in my journey and motivated me to keep going. One of my earliest experiences was with a woman named Sandra, who was not my mentor but left a profound impact on me.

The Downtown Eastside of Vancouver is known as one of the poorest neighbourhood with hundreds of homeless people on the streets. In high school, a few students, counsellor, and I, created an idea of helping reconnect families through writing cards to their lost families and loved ones. After spending time volunteering on the streets and homeless shelters, it became evident that hundreds of individuals hadn’t seen their families in 5, 10, 15 years. I remember walking up to an older woman named Sandra on the street, and I helped her write a card to her daughter she hadn’t seen in over 10 years. Much to my surprise, we were able to locate her daughter, who in fact had come down to the streets several times to find her mom but was unsuccessful. But with that card, we brought them together for a mother daughter weekend. This was the first moment I was able to witness how just one person could make a profound difference in someones life. We successfully reconnected over 500 lost loved ones and these stories and heartfelt experiences of the project are instrumental to my journey.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Before any disruption takes place, there needs to be a clear plan in place and an understanding of WHY. Why is the change needed? Just for the sake of it or is it actually going to make the industry better. Is the disruption there to find a solution to a problem?

I think disrupting an industry for the greater good, especially when it’s helping people, is a good disruption. If there is a system that has been running the same way but is creating more challenges, there is room for good disruption. For example, most of us have known or had bad experiences with hospital food. Finding a solution to this traditional structure is a good disruption as it’s helping with peoples health and well being. If there was a hospital that was providing wellness focused food and someone came in and wanted to disrupt it by bringing in unhealthy food or taking away the food altogether, that disruption in the industry would not be so positive.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

1. Start within. As individuals, we have a significant wealth of knowledge within us. We just need to believe in ourselves, look inward, and can find clarity and answers. The foundation within us is so pivotal to ensure we don’t get lost by others’ opinions and perspectives on this journey. If you know who you are, and believe in yourself, you will be able to navigate the process without getting distracted by external factors. Take the time to know yourself, listen to your gut, and be patient.

2. Lead with Compassion, purpose and hope. Just because you are in a position of power or authority doesn’t mean you need to lead with an iron fist. Being authoritative doesn’t equate to power. You can support and encourage people around you by building trust and loyalty, and using collaboration to get to your end goals. You can still be efficient and care about the wellbeing of the ones around you. In times of darkness, hope and light are the answers through.

3. Family First. Family is my everything and has been the biggest motivator in my life that continues to both drive me and ground me.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

The core of my projects and work comes down to service and helping people. I’ve seen how essential and pivotal food is around the world — from my school in Zambia, Africa where we were providing 7,000 meals a month to the most vulnerable children in the community, to now here is the US providing nutritious meals in hospitals to serve patients and hospital staff, especially in a pandemic. Through the pandemic, we have seen how challenging these times have been for healthcare workers, and if we can play a small part in taking care of them, I think we are on the right path. Our food concept Basmati & Spice is now available in more than 900 hospitals, and the focus is to continue and provide as many healthy meals to patients and healthcare workers as we can.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Like many women, from the very earlier stages of my career, all the way up to holding the most senior positions, I have faced discrimination. To create disruption, you need to be able to convince others of why this change is necessary to get the support around you, but I think women still have to work harder to get the respect needed to be taken seriously to lead. I’ve been aware of the challenges I’ve faced have not been there for the men who held the positions before me. As more women are holding higher positions and normalizing women in those roles, I think it is becoming easier, and will continue to do so for the next generations to come.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Eckhart Tolle has been the most influential author I’ve read where his teachings deeply resonate with me. I remember a shift occurred after reading “The Power of Now” and “Stillness Speaks”. We can get really wrapped up in this narrative we have of ourselves where our brains can become so busy in thought it can become overwhelming. If we focus on the here and now, the present moment, there is peace and acceptance.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The Power of Food! Food is medicine. I think it is important to be mindful what we put into our bodies, and there is significant amount of research and data backing the benefits of eating better. If I was to inspire a movement that would help people, it would be to take care of yourself, and one of the ways you can do that is your lifestyle and the food and nutrition you provide yourself and your families.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“If not us, who? And if not now, when?” — Hillel the Elder

I was introduced to this quote in university from reading about Ronald Reagan using it, and it resonating with me because when thinking about world problems or the problems in our communities, the mindset of waiting for someone else to take action that is more prepared or better equipped to handle the situation can cause a level on inaction as everyone is waiting for a saviour. I think we all have the capabilities to stand up and make a difference. Whether it’s addressing homelessness in our cities, addressing gender equality, or creating change in our hospitals with providing wellness focused food. The time is now!

How can our readers follow you online?

@anoopvirk + anoopvirk.com

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Thank you for the opportunity!

Female Disruptors: Anoop Virk of Basmati & Spice On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Ursula Eysin of Red Swan On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Don’t become your own slave master: When I founded my own business in 2015, I became my own worst boss, a real slave master, until I learned to develop healthy boundaries and take a rest. As a business owner, of course, you COULD work 24/7 as there is always something to do, but that will kill you. Definitely.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ursula Eysin.

Ursula Eysin is a Vienna-based Creative Strategist and Founder of Red Swan that helps individuals, companies, and other organizations to turn uncertainty into a competitive advantage with future scenario thinking methods. Master in Sinology, Political Science, Economy, and Advanced Studies in Public Relations Ursula uses her knowledge to share information on future scenarios, technology, business, and the human factor and helps her clients become wildly successful by diving deep into their subconscious minds.

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 looks as if I started my career in a completely different area, but in fact, everything comes together beautifully in my business now . I used to work as a production manager, moderator, and presenter in theater, opera, and film before I became a technology consultant and communication professional. As a sinologist, I am fluent in Mandarin and several other languages. My broad knowledge and experience enable me to not only develop various future scenarios and new business ideas, but also create the right story, vision, and action steps around them.

In my business, Red Swan, I focus on the strategic future process of “scenario thinking”,the creation of creative concepts, innovation, technology transfer, business development, and strategic communication. I had the great opportunity to learn the scenario method from one of the best: former chief strategist with Royal Dutch Shell, Karl Rose. During the past 11 years, I conducted future scenario projects for a variety of ministries, companies and business associations. Besides that, I am an Expert Evaluator with the European Commission (Startup Accelerator), mentor various Austrian and international startups, give lectures at several universities, and write the monthly column “Code Red” for the Austrian technology magazine E-Media.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

In 2014, right after I quit my job and in the preparation phase for my own business, Red Swan, I traveled to China for the first time in a long time for a conference. At that event, the keynote speaker was the Israeli Nobel Laureate (2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of quasicrystals), who at that time was also a presidential candidate in Israel. People were lining up to take selfies with him. Not me. I consider this a dehumanization of well-known personalities. But then he suddenly stood in front of me and I asked, “And who are you?” I was startled. “Do you mean that as a philosophical question?” I uttered. “No, not as a philosophical question. Give me your business card.” I didn’t have one! So he said, “Here is my business card; write me an email.” I did, but I didn’t expect an answer. I was wrong. A month later, I received a message from him: “Is Salzburg far from Vienna?” I am giving a lecture there, and if it is not too far for you, we could meet. Salzburg is not far from Vienna, and we had a very interesting conversation, which should be the beginning of a wonderful friendship and business partnership.

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?

It wasn’t my funniest mistake, but definitely, the biggest one that I learned a lot from. Prior to launching my own company, Red Swan, in 2015, I assisted a former colleague in the development of another company beginning in 2011. He poached me from PWC at the time, and when he asked me to help him build the business, I said, “You know, I have strong entrepreneurial thinking, which means I want to own shares in the business I help build. He said: “Yes, of course. Now I have already founded the company as my company, but in two years I will give you your shares. “ Of course, after two years, he couldn’t remember that. We then discussed it for another year before I decided to turn my back on him and start my own business. I was then told several times that this was a typical woman’s mistake. A man would never have agreed to transfer the shares later but would have demanded immediate delivery. It was only recently that I found out that he has sold the company for a whole bunch of money. Guess how much I did see of that money? Zero. My learnings: I didn’t fall for that kind of future faking again and developed a healthy distrust at the beginning of each business partnership.

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 brother Johannes, He is a great sparring partner, and though he frequently says, “I didn’t do anything,” he was the one who helped me shape my business the most. He was also the one who came up with the beautiful name “Red Swan.”We often walk around downtown Vienna for hours and just talk. In the process, we also always discover new things. Whether it’s a nice new pub, great architecture or small winding paths that we had never noticed before. And on these paths, new project ideas and visions often emerge.

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 talk a lot with other women who tell me: “I could never do what you do. I couldn’t take the risk and the constant uncertainty of owning a business.” I need a secure job. “ I think safety thinking and risk aversion are the issues that often keep women from starting their own business. To that, I would say: the biggest risk is not taking a risk at all. I like to quote Jim Morrison in this context: “No one here gets out alive.” That may sound a bit morbid, but it’s also very comforting. What are we waiting for? For death to arrive safely? We are not here to live life safely. Taking risks is part of life. And there are no safe jobs anyway. Especially in times like these. It’s just a big illusion that people like to believe in. But they are fooling themselves.

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?

Paradoxically, you have to help people to feel safer to be able to take risks and to understand that the biggest risk is to not take risks at all. This starts in childhood. Children who feel safe with their primary caregivers develop healthy autonomy. They are ready to venture out to conquer the world. We have to start in this early phase at the very root of the problem. And we have to abolish the punishment-reward-system in education, school, and socialization. This system makes people so risk-averse. They want to avoid punishment and be perceived as good at all costs. That hinders creativity, experiments, and taking risks. It is hindering innovation and the development of new businesses.

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?

It is always good to have mixed teams. Female and malefactors are both enriching businesses and organizations in general if they play beautifully together.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

Many new founders tell me they want to found their own business because they want to be their own boss and “just do what THEY want” Well, that’s not the reality of owning a business. There are obstacles to overcome every single day and there are a lot of things interfering in your business. Things like tax, regulation, etc. And of course, your clients are your bosses now. :).

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?

I think that’s a myth I used to believe in, too. I learned that not everyone is feeling well as an entrepreneur. Some people are just very good in leading teams, or being part of a team. Everyone provides valuable contributions, but you have to allow them to find the specific role they can thrive in. Entrepreneurs have to be risk-takers and are willing to take on a lot of responsibility. That’s not for everyone. And that’s ok.

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.)

1. Don’t become your own slave master: When I founded my own business in 2015, I became my own worst boss, a real slave master, until I learned to develop healthy boundaries and take a rest. As a business owner, of course, you COULD work 24/7 as there is always something to do, but that will kill you. Definitely.
2. There will be obstacles to overcome every single day. And that’s exactly how it is supposed to be, nothing went wrong.
3. Unsolicited advice has much more to do with the advice-giver than with you. When I started my business I still believed that we should always be open to criticism. It is interesting HOW many people, especially men, feel that they should give you unsolicited advice especially if you are a female founder. Then, one day, there was this guy who told me: “One thing I would like to tell you is that your overwhelming enthusiasm and passion will not take you very far.” Well, I thought to myself, that’s EXACTLY my biggest strength which opened me all kinds of doors worldwide and on all levels. I realized that he actually was jealous of a trait he didn’t possess himself and tried to raise himself up at my expense. That kind of thing happens a lot. I took unsolicited advice and criticism with a grain of salt ever since.
4. You are nothing without a good, trustworthy, and reliable team. This was something I knew very well, yet, it was not easy to find that team and this kind of business partner for myself. Until I became very clear about my own driving forces in business, developed future scenarios for my business partnerships, and used them as a checklist for finding the right business partners and employees. With great success. I know have people I can really rely on who support my business 100%.
5. Better communication = better (business) relationships = better life and more successful business. As a communication professional it came as a surprise to me how many people are so very bad at interpersonal communication. Especially in the communication sector. Connecting to people and communicating in a way that makes you recognize what your clients, employées, and business partners really want and need comes so naturally to me, that I didn’t consider it a valuable asset. In my own business, I learned that that’s actually the secret of my success. It makes me co-create an endless number of opportunities and new projects with new and also with existing clients.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I try to make the world a better place with what I do every single day. How? The most important thing for me in every meeting, in every project, in every interaction is deep human connection. If this is established, it was a good meeting, etc., and low and behold, the money, the business success, etc. just comes all by itself. And better relationships with other human beings are the way we can change the world for the better one step at a time.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I think the biggest problem right now is that human relationships are in a deep crisis. I try to change that every single day in my life and in my business by becoming aware of my own patterns and triggers and integrating them. And by deeply connecting to other people. To listen to them, to feel into them, to really see them. That’s how we create trust and better relationships.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

The former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss. His book “Never Split the Difference” is the best book on interpersonal communication I’ve ever read, and his master class and videos are priceless! His often counterintuitive approach to negotiations and communication in general works every single time. I use it every day with great success. I use it every day with great success. With his methodology, I gained many clients and new projects.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this

Female Founders: Ursula Eysin of Red Swan On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.