Rejection and setbacks are part of life, not just professional but our personal lives. I cope by letting myself feel the pain, but then putting a boundary around that (say 24–48hrs). I then act quickly and move forward with a new way or plan; I don’t see the point in dwelling on the failures of the past. That new approach is what keeps me moving forward.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kristy Chong.
An Australian mom of four on a mission, fash-tech entrepreneur and social advocate for health issues and human rights, Kristy Chong, CEO and founder, came up with the Modibodi concept while training for a marathon in 2011. Puzzled by the fact the disposable hygiene and apparel sector hadn’t evolved with advancing technology, Kristy began her quest to create an entirely new and better solution. In 2013, Kristy officially launched Modibodi online and empowered people to change the world…by changing their underwear.
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 was a full-time mom of a two-year-old and five-month-old living in the US, I was training for a marathon, my periods had not long returned and I had started to experience occasional light bladder leaks. The available solutions were ugly, inconvenient, uncomfortable and a hazard to our environment-disposable hygiene. I just felt we deserved something better. So, I took matters into my own hands; designing, testing and patenting Australia’s first and best-selling period and leak-proof undies, Modibodi®.
Once I realized how problematic the issue was, I couldn’t understand why with all the advancements in technology, underwear and disposable hygiene had not evolved. I knew instantly that I was going to have to create an entirely new product for women. I am proud that I took that idea and turned it into a product (and now products) that can more conveniently, comfortably and reliably manage menstrual flow, incontinence, sweat and even breast milk leaks, and reduce the amount of single-use products ending up in a landfill and damaging our environment.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Modibodi’s purpose is to create limitless positive impact for people and our planet. Beyond selling leak-proof underwear and sustainable health apparel that empowers people’s lives, we are committed to being sustainable in all we do, helping to end period poverty and supporting health education programs that normalize or open conversations around our bodies and leaks.
What sets Modibodi apart is our commitment to creating the most comfortable and effective (scientifically-certified) products to manage bodily leaks in the most sustainable way. To create our patented absorbent technology, we conducted nearly 1000 tests and consulted extensively with chemical textile engineers and scientists.
Most recently, in a milestone step for sustainable apparel and femtech innovation, unseen in the industry to date, Modibodi has launched their Biodegradable Undie. It’s the world’s first biodegradable period and pee proof underwear, scientifically proven to have 97% of its components break down into nontoxic substances at the end of their usable life, with most of the underpants materials decomposing within 6 months when buried in active soil. At Modibodi, we believe in responsible innovation, and we will continue to invest in sustainable solutions to support and protect every person, through all life’s leaks.
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?
While not my personal mentors, these women have been inspirations and to name just one person is very hard. From a business point of view, the persistence and innovation of American entrepreneur and Spanx founder Sara Blakely inspired me to give the Modibodi idea a go. My passion for contributing to a more sustainable world is inspired by young climate change activist Greta Thunberg, as well as @1millionwomen founder Natalie Isaacs; and last, but definitely not least, I’m inspired by my mom. A fantastic parental role model, she taught me to always seek new opportunities, to get out of my comfort zone and try new things (even when I really didn’t want to) and to persevere…even when all you want to do is give up.
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?
Since day one, Modibodi has existed to reduce the impact on the environment by providing an alternative to disposable products. This continues to be a central motivator to all decisions made by the brand.
Our vision is to have “limitless positive impact” on humanity and our planet. We do this by creating the best products daring to design the most comfortable and effective products to manage bodily leaks in the most sustainable way. Driving equality and self-acceptance by using our voice and brand to celebrate diversity and inclusivity, promote self-acceptance and open conversations around our bodies and bodily leaks and at times challenge unjust cultural norms in the name of equality. As well as helping those in need by donating our products to menstruating people in need to help period poverty.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
The biggest learning I’ve taken with me throughout my journey is to listen to my gut and back myself. Once I’d developed Modibodi®, I sought some opinions as to how I should market this range of life-changing undies. I was repeatedly told we’d need super glamorous models to make supposed unmentionable topics (menstruation and incontinence) tolerable to Australian consumers and the media.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. When you embark on your own business, it will push you out of your comfort zone daily.
Rejection and setbacks are part of life, not just professional but our personal lives. I cope by letting myself feel the pain, but then putting a boundary around that (say 24–48hrs). I then act quickly and move forward with a new way or plan; I don’t see the point in dwelling on the failures of the past. That new approach is what keeps me moving forward.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Modibodi is going from strength-to-strength, with products now available via Amazon in AU, USA and UK, as well as on our e-commerce website. Exporting worldwide to countries including the UK, Iceland, South Africa, South Korea, USA, NZ, Singapore, Japan to name a few, we have sold millions of Australian-designed garments and replaced the need for billions of single-use disposable products.
For Modibodi, we’ll continue to expand our offering across our ranges, with new leak-proof solutions for all bodies. We also have plans to further our social impact and grow our Give a Pair initiative, offering more support and dignity to people in need
We want to continue to be a customer led business, taking all feedback on board and ensuring the ongoing innovation of the Modibodi product offering continues. We have a global collective of agencies and creative partners that we work with on special projects when we require them as well as a passionate internal team and we’re looking for even more of a global reach in 2022 and beyond.
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.
We are committed to using our voice and brand to celebrate diversity and inclusivity, promote self-acceptance and open conversations around our bodies and bodily leaks. It’s important for us to break the stigma that periods are ‘gross’ or shameful. Over half the population has had them at some stage of their life, and it is high time we banish the shame that is associated with something that happens regularly and is natural. It is time to call for a change of attitude so that the next generation of women will feel empowered by their period, not ashamed.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Female Founders: Miriam Scott of Maralytics On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
A founder has a life like a roller-coaster. There are many ups and downs with the wins and fails of the business, and they need to have the resilience to be able to ride these times by celebrating and just holding on until it gets better. The world they work in is unpredictable, so adaptability is required at all times. Not knowing where the next dollar is coming from but having faith that it will come is very common with founders.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Miriam van Heusden.
Miriam Scott is the founder and CEO of Maralytics (www.maralytics.com). Maralytics is a SaaS product that gives you insights and analytics for any marketing campaign you are running. She is a restaurateur, a business coach, a certified professional vocational trainer, a food and travel consultant, and an outdoor adventure lover!
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?
Running my restaurant and got advice from my business coach that I needed to track the sales revenue from all advertising so I could see statistics. Then finding out through POS rep that there was no automated way to collect this information. Checked constantly with advertising reps to see if they knew a way that I could find or see, and they also said there was no way to collect this data. When iPads were created and POS apps came onto the market, I discussed at length with some developers to see if it was possible to develop a solution and they advised yes, so this became the beginning of my software development journey.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
My software developers are based in Vietnam, and my marketing team are based in the Philippines. This gives me a good excuse to travel and visit them in their country as I want to create a good relationship with the teams. I find it is a great way to experience their home country, have fun with them and where they can show me their way of life which is not only about work but includes family connection. These trips have had some adventures for my son and my mother with the team, and we have created strong bonds with them that goes beyond business and into friendship with a lot of trust.
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 joined a coaching program with the intention of finding out a way to get started on my developing my software, as I had never heard of startups and getting investor funding for the idea that I had. This program specialized in membership sites, and my software is a subscription platform. I thought this was the same thing, and they also convinced me that it was as well. They gave me the connection for my developers which I still have now; however, I spent a year trying to make my business into a membership program rather than concentrating on the requirements of building a subscription business.
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 did a business accelerator program for 15 months and this was a fantastic program for building the business around my software product. I had initially thought that launching my software would be the business, but I learnt through doing the accelerator that there is a lot more required around an online business. I owned restaurants previously, and that type of business has lots of tangible items, with an online business there is nothing, so you have to imagine walking through a customer’s footsteps online and create a whole digital persona for yourself as the founder and for the business, so that you provide credibility to prospects.
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?
Lack of confidence and support. Women have husbands and families to look after and are often don’t have any support or someone to help them bring great ideas into an innovative business. Businesses and startups need to fit a traditional model and innovation doesn’t fit within these models, so it is unknown territory, yet aspects of the models can be used for innovation.
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?
More support by government for innovation founders. Currently they are only directed at supporting big business. There are only a few grants that are available, and these have huge numbers of applications (over 1,000) with only 30 getting funded. This is the case with the Ignite Ideas Grant. There is almost no way of getting any funding.
If there were more smaller grants like the Business Basics Grant for $5,000, this would help the innovator for getting set up or the business receiving the grant money to create more business. More smaller grants would increase support for innovators and female founders.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder, but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Women are great problem solvers and multi taskers. Generally, in their personal life they are already managing their own family, extended family relationships, extracurricular activities, work, and their own plans and ideas. As women are doing so many things in their lives, they come across problems all the time and can create the solution to make their life easier. This is a great skill to have, as the best innovation ideas come from problem/solutions.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
You won’t be successful as you’re too young/old — young are not enough experience and old is you have the experience but only life experience not in technology
You won’t be successful in a startup because you don’t know enough about business — having run businesses for more than 20 years and got lots of life experience, I feel like I have an advantage over many startups
You won’t be successful in a startup because you don’t have a university degree — many startups are problem/solution based so having a university degree is irrelevant as you have the experience with the problem and creating the solution
You won’t be successful in a startup because your company is not the first to develop a particular type of product or service — many startups are innovative and do not have direct competitors, and are usually the first of their kind
You won’t be successful in a startup because your business plan is not perfect yet — business plans are good to have but a startup is not a business yet, they have started a new product or service and need to get customers onboard before it becomes a viable business. Once they have customers, then a business plan is required to set the direction of the business.
Women are bad at negotiating — women are good negotiators but are just different from men. Women support, encourage, co-operate in negotiations are not taken as seriously as their male counterparts, and their feminine traits are often used against them.
Women with kids do not have time to meet leadership obligations — most women are great organisers and prioritize what is important to them. If leadership is required, then usually this flows into every area of her life.
Women lack the confidence to lead — women have a lot of ambition for their own business, but a lack of success usually comes because of obstacles — lack of support, access to opportunities, lack of knowledge, etc
Women are not supportive of other women — there are so many networking groups supporting women that this is false
Women aren’t made to be entrepreneurs — women entrepreneurs are growing at a faster rate than their male counterparts
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?
No, I don’t believe so. You need to have complete unwavering dedication and a lot of people don’t have this quality.
Successful founder characteristics:
Dedication
Persistence / Resilience
Adaptability
Curiosity
Decisiveness
Vision
Focused
Regular employee:
Certainty
Security
Risk adverse
Dependability
Reliability
Team player
A founder has a life like a roller-coaster. There are many ups and downs with the wins and fails of the business, and they need to have the resilience to be able to ride these times by celebrating and just holding on until it gets better. The world they work in is unpredictable, so adaptability is required at all times. Not knowing where the next dollar is coming from but having faith that it will come is very common with founders.
Employees like to have certainty. That they know what to expect on a daily basis with their role expectations, and that their paycheck will arrive in their bank account with the same amount at the same time every payday.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
That the journey is much longer than you expect. I thought I would be making money within 2–3 years of developing software, and it will be year 6 that we are turning over revenue.
Is it better to get investors or not? Startups encourage investors, business does not. It is very conflicting, and I still don’t know what the best option is.
The classic startup journey curve or evolution. Knowing the trajectory of a typical startups journey would have made it easier to know the pathway that I was traveling on.
Join an accelerator. Startup accelerators are designed for startups to take their innovative ideas through the ‘Startup journey’ to the stage that they are ready to set up a business.
Keep focused. It is so easy to get distracted from your core business with helpful suggestions from experts or other people, and you go down these detours only to find out that you should have stayed on your own path.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
The book I have written and the software I have developed helps business owners learn about how to market their own business and track, measure and report on their results so they can stop wasting money on activities that don’t work. They learn how to build a marketing system that is repeatable and tailored to their own business.
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.
A modern version of succession planning.
Getting more experienced businesswomen and leaders providing mentoring and support to our young and inexperienced business people through their first years in operating a business.
Currently this is only done in large companies for executive management.
We have school-based traineeships and apprenticeships for training and development of young people into the workforce.
We have the NEIS (New Enterprise Initiative Scheme) that is a government funded program to help entrepreneurs to start a viable business through small business training, coaching and income support.
But neither of these programs will help, support and mentor a new business owner on how to navigate the first 3 years in business. This time is when businesses have the highest rate for failure. This is usually because the business owner did not know what to do when something happened or did not effectively operate their business. Both of which can be navigated by having an experienced mentor.
Providing this type of movement would see success for new operators and energize experienced operators, and having the government provide a funded program for this would see a reduced failure rate of small businesses.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Jenny Zhao of GoGuardian On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Lead with authenticity: I’ve never believed that trying to force a certain leadership style because I’m a woman in a male-dominated field would earn trust and inspire my teams. Instead, I focus on who I am — my authentic self, my passion for serving user-centered technologies, and my drive to achieve great things alongside my colleagues.
As a part of my series about “Lessons from Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jenny Zhao.
Jenny Zhao is Chief Technology Officer at education technology company GoGuardian. Her multi-decade rise through globally-dominant tech companies started at computer graphics innovator Silicon Graphics, where she led advanced simulation middleware solutions for clients including the U.S. Air Force and Disneyland. She also served as a Senior Director of Engineering at Google. She is passionate about building effective learning solutions that advance educational outcomes.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
That’s a good question. I am very passionate about both education and technology. I’ve worked in technology in my entire career, including a recent role as Senior Director of Engineering at Google where I helped build innovative solutions in GPay, Search, and Maps. Not many people know this, but in 2002 I took a break from my engineering work to help launch an immersive Chinese-American bilingual school in the San Francisco Bay area. It was motivated by the needs of my kids and it helped many other families, as well. I joined the GoGuardian team in 2021 as Chief Technology Officer and really love that I can combine two of my greatest passions since it’s an education technology company. It’s a perfect fit to merge my parallel career paths.
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?
The first time I worked on a 3D real-time graphics simulation release, I had quite the typo. I underestimated how much time I needed to work on the project, so I was up until 3:00 a.m. trying to finish a beta to send to user companies. At that time, you had to physically cut a beta. My job was to do the final editing. Instead of saying “if stuck, click any key,” I typed “if stuck, lick any key.” This experience taught me that with engineering, you need to factor in enough time for testing and quality assurance. Projects aren’t finished when you’re done coding; you need to do it in its entirety.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
GoGuardian is truly unique as a startup because of the incredible passion for education I see from all my colleagues! The team that our CEO and co-founder Advait Shinde has built is remarkable in its dedication to our mission to supercharge human potential through the ultimate learning platform. We’re constantly asking ourselves not just “How can we engineer this better?” or “How can this be designed more intuitively?” but “How can we better inspire students to achieve their best educational outcomes” and “How can this help make our world a better place?” It sounds like an exaggeration, but every day at GoGuardian is an inspiration.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
One of GoGuardian’s most interesting services is Beacon, a student mental health solution that uses AI to help identify online activity that suggests a student may be at risk in order to help schools support students who might be struggling. Beacon’s AI alerts designated responders, which is especially critical during the pandemic and at a time when the U.S. Surgeon General has declared student mental health a national emergency. Last year, we introduced the ability for Beacon to identify cyberbullying and potential threats of violence, empowering schools to deploy our AI as part of their complete security solution. Our objective in introducing this new feature is that schools can use Beacon alerts to help prevent future tragedies and keep students safer on campus. We know that psychological and safety needs are foundational parts of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and we believe that schools can use our technology to help students feel more safe, secure, and supported in their learning journey.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
There’s certainly room for improvement — not just with women in STEM, but with diversity across the board. When I recruit for my teams, I seek to build groups of outstanding engineers with widely different backgrounds, each of whom brings their own unique skills, points of view, and backgrounds. Diversity results in more creative thinking, which is what we really strive for at the highest levels of engineering. To really change the status quo we need to constantly think about elevating diverse backgrounds across gender identity, race, ethnicity, neurodiversity, socioeconomic origin, and so on. In this way, we can truly diversify STEM and make our field an agent of societal change.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
I’ve noticed that many successful women often hold themselves to an unachievable high standard. We have to be overachievers not only in our careers, but in our home lives too. Whether put on by society or women themselves, that pressure leads to guilt when you realize you can’t do everything perfect. Our energy is limited, and if we strive to overachieve in all parts of our lives, it takes a toll on our physical and mental health. We have less time with friends, less sleep, and sacrifice selfcare. To address this, I encourage women to strike a balance and give themselves permission to not be perfect at everything. Sometimes good enough is good enough.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?
There is a myth that STEM is boring, dry, and lonely. Sure, back in the early days of computer science, you’d sit in a corner and crank something out by yourself. That’s not the case today. A lot of work in STEM is about solving real problems in people’s lives. There is cross-functional collaboration and abundant creativity. If you’re a woman considering a STEM career, I’d like to underscore that the work we do is about connections between people and making a real-world impact. It’s far from dry and boring.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned from My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Lead with authenticity: I’ve never believed that trying to force a certain leadership style because I’m a woman in a male-dominated field would earn trust and inspire my teams. Instead, I focus on who I am — my authentic self, my passion for serving user-centered technologies, and my drive to achieve great things alongside my colleagues.
2. Have a clear strategy and clear direction: Great teammates appreciate a clear understanding of our “true north” — our collective strategy and overarching direction beyond the “deep in the weeds” conversations we often find ourselves day to day.
3. Follow your passion and learn from experience: My greatest successes have come from following my passions, whether in technology and software engineering, education, or now at GoGuardian, the combination of both! My most valuable lessons, hard-won experiences, and proudest triumphs have come when my work is something I can place my whole heart in.
4. Empower great talent: As a leader, you’re only as good as your team! Recruit exceptional people and then empower them with the tools and resources to do great work, and the entire team reaps the rewards.
5. Take risks and step out of your comfort zone: As the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” and many of my hardest-won yet most valuable lessons have come when I tried something new or took on new challenges. Even at this stage of my career, joining GoGuardian as CTO presents a fascinating new challenge that will keep me growing, adapting, and learning new ways to lead and inspire my teams.
What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?
Recognize that there’s no one universal way to be a good leader. I’ve seen new leads, especially young women leaders, try to mimic someone else’s style, and only end up limiting themselves in the end. To help your team thrive, be true to yourself. If you’re more of a nurturing person, it’s okay to be more nurturing with your team. If you’re more technical and detail-oriented, it’s okay to be technical with your team. When you’re confident with yourself, you are comfortable with your team, and that comfort lets people feel safe to take risks, to find passion in their work, and innovate.
What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
Be inclusive and be the best manager you can be regardless of your label as a woman leader. Hire, attract and recognize talent. Check in with your team often and be clear on strategy. See the “leaves and forest” at the same time. Be organized. Inspire and create room for innovation for people, but also give them an understanding of constraints. Learn how to manage up. Recognize diversity and respect culture.
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 was fortunate to work with the great Michael T. Jones. As creator of Google Earth, he was a brilliant computer science pioneer who helped put 3D graphics and simulation on the map for the United States. He thought outside of the box and taught me that engineering isn’t just about coding — it’s about connecting with customers and solving their problems. Not only that, it’s about anticipating problems they don’t even know they need to solve yet. I’m truly thankful that he was my manager.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Part of my personal mission is to bridge the gap between the East and the West. I have spent a lot of time in China and the U.S., so I have a well-rounded perspective on how both sides can appreciate differences and find common goals and passions. Over the years, I’ve also had the pleasure of working with people in India, Singapore and other parts of Asia. My hope is that I’ve helped people around the world have more respect for each other and be more willing to collaborate based on a true understanding of background, culture and what’s in our hearts. I hope that many people have seen and experienced each other’s worlds firsthand through my work and that these experiences have had a lasting impact.
You are a person of enormous 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 want there to be a movement of appreciation. I want individuals to appreciate all the people that have helped and influenced them — and to not be too focused on how they may have felt wronged. In short, appreciate more, everywhere. An impactful way to support DEI goals is to have a great deal of appreciation. Positive energy brings out positive energy in return.
When I helped build out an office in Beijing, I created an appreciation wall that included the name of every person who has worked in the office. I felt it was important to thank all the people who contributed to the site even if some of them have left the company. This brought a lot of goodwill — some employees actually came back and some recommended good talent. I encourage people to find ways to give appreciation both personally and professionally.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
A famous quote from Confucius is roughly translated as “With three men walking together, there is always a teacher among them.” I carry this with me all the time because I am always seeking and learning from people around me. Willingness to be educated will take you far in life.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders 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 sit down with President Biden. I admire his mature leadership style and how he rose up through the ranks over many years of hard work. I would like to learn his insight on making progress in extremely complex situations.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Trust the process and hire a team that shares your vision. When you’re all working together to achieve the same goal, you grow, face challenges, and succeed as a team, and it makes the journey so much better.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Karen Bell.
A creative entrepreneur from an early age, Karen used her fashion sense and determination to create fun, fashionable socks and tights and founded K.Bell in 1979 in Southern California. Since then, K.Bell Socks has a global reputation for great designs and quality products, currently selling to major retailers and specialty stores throughout the country as well as worldwide as part of the legacy sock manufacturer, Renfro Brands.
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 moved to California in my twenties and had this wonderful job working at an accounting firm. I eventually moved from accounting to venture capital, but I’ve always been interested in fashion and was very crafty.
I always made my own clothes in high school. I was constantly crafting accessories and rhinestone T-shirts. Eventually, I started embellishing socks with rhinestones and buttons, and was dyeing them in my washing machine different bright colors, because the socks those days were so plain! At that point, I started giving them to my friends as gifts and my friends kept telling me that I should be selling them. I had that thought somewhere in the back of my mind, until one day it all happened.
I walked into Right Bank Shoe Company — a chic and very trendy store at that time — owned by shoe designer, Donald Pliner. Donald saw my ankle socks that I decorated with rhinestones to spell out “RBSC” or Right Bank Shoe Company. He loved them so much that he put in an order for them with me right then and there. When I came to deliver the first batch, he even put in a re-order that same day!
It was in that moment I realized that I could sell these socks and make a profit out of it. So in 1979, I officially gave my hobby a name — K.Bell — and started manufacturing socks. I grew K.Bell into a multi-million dollar business with an international customer base and a strong retail presence. Today, I remain involved in the business, which is now part of legacy sock manufacturing company, Renfro Brands.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
In the ’70s when I founded K.Bell, manufacturing was 100% based in the United States. It was all domestic in those days and everything was made in the United States. It wasn’t until the ’80s that imports started to come in heavily. It was such a change that it was causing some fashion companies to go out of business because they couldn’t compete with the prices. Brands had to start importing. Fashion started coming from overseas and it was all less expensive than the products produced domestically.
I’ll never forget when a gal came in to see me one day and she had on my socks, or at least, I thought they were my socks. She asked me what I thought of them, and I said, “What do I think of them? I love them, I made them.” In response she said, “No, I made them, you just designed them.” It turned out my designs were being manufactured in her factory in Taiwan for half of what I was paying my domestic manufacturer.
What’s interesting is that in that moment I had yet to see how both domestic and international manufacturing would help grow my business. I started to be able to really scale my business after this by fulfilling very large orders both in the states and abroad, which allowed me to sell to bigger retailers from then on.
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 have always been a big fan of Nicole Miller. When I was starting K.Bell, she was my favorite designer because of a Nicole Miller scarf I had with a fruit cart print all over it. The print was so cute, and I thought it would look great on a sock. In no time, I manufactured a sock with the fruit cart design on it and showed it to a few people. Everyone loved it, so we had to put it in our line.
At the time, I didn’t know copyright regulations so naturally, I got a call one day from a gentleman who identified himself as Bud Konheim, CEO of Nicole Miller! It turned out that he was looking at my sock with their fruit cart stamp on it and wanted to inform me that I knocked off their print. With great excitement and zero hesitation I responded — “I love that print, and yes, I put it on a sock!” Not only had Bud never had anyone admit to him that they knocked off Nicole Miller prints, but nobody had ever been as excited about it either.
After we got to chatting about copyright, Bud admitted that he loved my interpretation of their print, and that’s how I landed my first licensing deal! A grand mistake turned into a friendship and a business deal at the same time. The next day, I flew to New York to meet with Nicole and Bud. To this day, Nicole and I are great friends, and it turned out to be a partnership that launched Nicole Miller into the sock business.
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?
Early on in my business, I was working all day, every day. For seven days a week, I was doing all my own sales. I used to fly to New York and meet with my customers, and then I would fly home to California that same day. Things were getting a little chaotic and inefficient until I met a woman named Tori Galbreath, who I hired to run my New York showroom. This one hire completely changed my business. Suddenly, I had someone else who knew my product as well as me and was also selling it. I had independent reps before Tori but she was my first salaried salesperson and she worked exclusively for K.Bell. She called every major retailer in the country and got us into numerous stores. She was also just a lovely person. Tori retired seven or eight years ago, but she was a game-changer for K.Bell because all of a sudden, we were selling all over the country and she helped me organize my manufacturing processes and customer relationships. I’m thankful to her still for being my right-hand woman and taking K.Bell to the next level.
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?
The world we live in has greatly changed, and more women are taking on roles that were primarily held by men — I mean, we have a female Vice President now! It’s really a great time for women to take charge. I believe what continues to fuel any barriers to entry for women into founding companies is — confidence, resources, and passion. I don’t think it’s really gender specific anymore, but “it’s just the climate of the era” like Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg used to quote from Paul Freund. The barriers are shifting away from women being tied to the household, children, etc., and now, the opportunities for women in the workplace and in entrepreneurship are growing. We just need to fuel and support their passions and re-build their confidence. I always tell my kids to do something that they love, and the money will follow. I really found something I truly loved, before I started to make real profit from it. And I think that if everybody could do that, I think they could all be founders, because what it takes is just really, authentically loving it.
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?
To start, I think as individuals we need to learn how to delegate and shift away from thinking that we need to hand-hold every single process. Surrounding myself with a trusting team changed my life and the direction of my business. Support must be there universally from everybody. I mean, we’re seeing this in so many walks of life, in so many different causes. And as soon as we start to invest in committed partnerships, in supporting each other, then female-run businesses and their entry will become a norm. I think females are having their moment with the number of strong female voices in our landscape today. I think, now more than ever before, it’s a very good time for women in business.
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?
Community is everything, so it’s essential that we continue to grow this group of women founders together. There are quite a few female founders within the fashion industry, so being surrounded by other women with similar experiences to mine has been extremely important to my career journey. It’s critical that we have a support system to fall back on in times of need, so I encourage more women to pursue their dreams — especially if that means becoming a founder.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
The first myth I’d like to dispel is the idea that some founders grow their business to sell. Most of us grow our businesses to serve. I think that’s an important differentiation to make because I truly grew to serve — I wanted to make socks that were fun, fashionable, and they felt good to wear. I originally started my business to pay my credit card bill and earn some extra money, so the thought of building my business just to sell socks never entered my mind — I was doing something I loved. I remember the year my husband and I were doing our taxes, and our accountant asked if I had considered quitting my job and doing K.Bell full-time as I was making more money making socks than I was at my full-time job. And that’s how I quit my job to pursue my business full time!
The second myth about founders is that we’re all lone wolves. That is one hundred percent not true. I depended on an enormous and growing team every single day and could not have gotten where I am today without them. I had an amazing team that shared our mission, helped build the mission, and moved us forward as a company.
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 was an entrepreneur from a very young age, and I always had a business every summer. One year I sold freshly picked blueberries another year it was macrame belts, and any type of widget — I would sell. I think people who are cut out to be founders are entrepreneurs at heart.
I also think that becoming a founder is not for the weak of the heart; I always say, “no higher highs, or lower lows.” At one point, I had to take out a second mortgage on our house so I could afford to buy materials wholesale to fill a huge order. It’s clear that these scary times are not for everyone, but I always knew I would succeed. You need to have that tenacity, confidence, and passion to make it through those moments that try and test you.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
“If you do what you love, the money will follow.” At the beginning, the cash flow was really challenging. My business grew extremely quickly. One year I took out a $50,000 line of credit and in the same year, I had to raise it to $100,000. The great thing was that it worked out in the end, even though it was never easy.
Sweating the small stuff is important! A lot of people say the opposite, but I think the details are what make up the big picture. The little details can make all the difference. I remember when my father offered to reorganize my shipping warehouse, and his first change was to shift the product order to feature the most popular selling styles in the front. This tiny change, and attention to detail, accelerated shipping significantly and allowed us to pack orders more efficiently.
Surround yourself with a strong team and delegate. At first, I was working seven days a week before I hired my middle managers, which changed everything. I wish someone had told me this sooner, because once I brought on people to run sales, operations, merchandising, and more, it made such a huge difference.
Trust the process and hire a team that shares your vision. When you’re all working together to achieve the same goal, you grow, face challenges, and succeed as a team, and it makes the journey so much better.
I wish someone told me to enjoy the journey! It goes by so fast.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
My husband and I support a lot of children organizations, specifically looking at addressing juvenile justice and food insecurity. I’ve sat on a few boards across various organizations tackling these issues, and I hope to use my platform and success to help people in need to make concrete changes.
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 inspire a movement to address food insecurity. This is a worry of mine because I believe we, as a country, have the resources and power to make strides towards solving this issue that affects millions of people around the world. There are a lot of new organizations finding creative ways to tackle this, for example, urban gardens and inner-city programming, and they need more support and attention.
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.
Barbara Streisand! I’ve idolized her since the sixth grade when I used my own money to buy her album, “My Name Is Barbara.” I love her music, acting, the way she presents herself — I think she’s so great and would love to pick her brain.
Modern Fashion: Lorrie Dixson Griggs Of Eskimo Advertising On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
Hustle: Customers don’t just appear. You have to get out there and show your designs, market your brand and sell yourself and your designs to your target demographic.
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 Lorrie Dixson Griggs.
20 years ago Lorrie Dixson Griggs started Eskimo Advertising, a boutique marketing, public relations and social media agency. After finding much success in that industry, she entered the fashion field with Drifter Merch on the side as a fun project. Her graphic apparel and accessories company was started to create goods inspired by music and later expanded to include offering custom promotional projects for Fortune 500 companies, schools, bands and events.
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 grew up in Winston-Salem, NC where I went to Summit School and Salem Academy. I learned about being an entrepreneur early on as my father, both of my grandfathers and great grandfather were businessmen. My dad’s family ran one of the oldest wholesale hardware and appliance distributorships while my maternal grandfather founded Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path? Both of my businesses were started on a whim followed by lots of hard work and determination. I started my career at CNN in news production after graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in TV and film. The pay was not great and the hours were just as bad but it was a great opportunity to work for the world’s 24 hour news leader at the time. I remained there for 15 years working in the live news control room watching the largest stories unfold while being a part of the teams which won Peabody, Emmy and DuPont awards for our coverage. During that time, I was on call and mostly working weekends so I started freelancing for an advertising agency on the side. After a while I realized that didn’t like the way that company was run. I had already made the connections necessary to start my own firm where I could make all of the decisions myself. Thus, Eskimo Advertising and my entrepreneurial journey had begun. Fourteen years later, my husband and I started Drifter Merch where we sell shirts and hats inspired by our favorite bands to the fans. Later promotional apparel and accessories were always requested so it was an easy fit to add custom logo merch as we had many friends and clients who needed the services.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
This may not be the most interesting story but one that I thought was pretty cool. One of the first bands that I loved seeing in college was the Allman Brothers. Last year, I had the opportunity to sell our merch at an Allman Betts show that featured three of the original Allman Brothers’ sons. I had the pleasure of meeting them before the show and give them some of our tees that were inspired by their father’s top hits. They couldn’t have been nicer and loved what we had created.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
With 20 years’ experience in the hospitality and lifestyle industries, branding is my business. As a boutique advertising, public relations and social media agency owner, I know that investing in your brand through marketing of promotional apparel and accessories is always a smart move for any business, band, school or event to gain exposure. Add in exceptional customer service with attention to detail and our customers always are always satisfied.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
I don’t necessarily have a life lesson quote that I live by but definitely can provide words of wisdom. When life gets hard and you are struggling to move forward, it is important to be strong, push through and just keep going the best that you can. At the end of 2019, my husband and business partner passed away unexpectedly. It rocked my world. We had a two year old and two businesses at the time. I went back to work the week following the funeral. I planned a now annual memorial festival in his honor three months later which was also one week before the pandemic started. Staying busy by working hard was the only thing that helped distract me from the pain of my extraordinary loss. I continued to focus on all of the things we had planned to do and while the pain never goes away, I find peace in knowing that he would be proud of all that I have done since he died.
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?
I think the trends are continuing to be on the casual side. Once the pandemic started and people weren’t going out as much, comfortable clothes became the norm. I think this will continue in the future, which is actually great for my brand!
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
Part of being a good person is giving back. We participate in nonprofit events all of the time, whether paying to be vendor, donating products for auctions or printing merch for fundraisers at discounted prices.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
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?
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.
Creativity: If you are not always bringing creative, new ideas to the table, then your fashion brand can get stale.
Drive: You have to have the initiative to attain your goals and never give up no matter how many roadblocks that may cross your path.
Hustle: Customers don’t just appear. You have to get out there and show your designs, market your brand and sell yourself and your designs to your target demographic.
Teamwork: You can’t do everything yourself. Align yourself with strategic partners who excel in other areas.
Patience: Success may not happen overnight but if you work hard and learn from your mistakes, you can always be successful.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Women In Wellness: Noelle McKenzie of Leading Edge NY On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Manage your stress levels. Emotional stress is a major contributing factor to the six leading causes of death in the US: cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, respirator disorders, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. You can manage your stress by having a healthy work/life balance, seeking therapy in some cases, practicing more self-care habits, surrounding yourself with non-toxic people, getting adequate sleep, and practicing both gratitude and stillness.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Noelle McKenzie.
Noelle McKenzie comes from an athletic background. She played sports growing up and has always been into health and wellness.After witnessing many gyms operating more like a conveyor belt concerned more about quantity of clients rather than quality of service they felt the need to start a training business where the client comes first. Her desire was to help people realize their full fitness potential when they have the right program to follow and a strong support system behind them.
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?
Back in 2010, my husband and I met while I was working at a big box chain gym. I was miserable, overworked, under-appreciated, and felt like the company’s values did not align with my own. My husband, who was also into exercise science, and I made the decision to go into business together on our own. We started by training just a few independent clients on our own and over the course of the next few years that would follow we managed to grow our clientele to a place where we could make a comfortable living. We then decided to really take our business to the next level; we needed to incorporate ourselves and hire a team. We started by bringing on two trainers who helped us broaden our reach and later went on to expand to seven trainers in total. Today, we are a multi-six figure business taking a total wellness approach to fitness which includes exercise and dietary support. We have both a marketing team and a social media manager, who have allowed us to reach clients not just in NY, but all across the country and even in other parts of the world like London. We are never done brainstorming new ways to expand. We launched our virtual training platform two and a half years ago which brought us massive success. We also now offer a customized online training program for people who prefer the convenience of an app, and this year we launched a new nutrition app with hundreds of customized recipes to offer more support to clients with their dietary needs. We are excited to see what’s next for us!
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?
The most interesting story that happened to us since we started our career is when we were forced to quickly pivot our business model during the start of the pandemic. At the time gyms were closing and our clients were unable to see us in person. I remember my husband and I launched our virtual program model and at the same time we took out a non-interest bearing credit card because we were afraid our business would fail. Needless to say, it ended up being the best move for our company, and to this day, we’ve never touched that credit card. The launch of our virtual personal training platform allowed us to grow our business twofold. We were able to then add more trainers to our team and increase our clientele reach in NY and beyond. This model allowed us to also reach clients outside of NY in places like California, Florida, Texas, and even London! It also provided our clients with the added convenience of being able to train from anywhere, so they never had to worry about missing another workout. Most importantly, this launch gave my husband and I freedom to work from home training purely virtually so we could spend more valuable time with our six month old son at the time and never miss a milestone. It has been the biggest blessing for our business.
Main lessons/takeaways:
Don’t be afraid of risk or failure, as scary as it may be. Change can lead to some of our biggest wins.
– Always be adaptable to the current trends and needs.
– Have a growth mindset and you’ll never fail. You’ll always find a way to make your idea work.
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 we made when we first started was waiting so long to expand our team. We were managing all of our clients on our own and not delegating any of the responsibilities of our business. We felt like we were in a hamster wheel. We were always “on” and could never catch a break. We were burning the candle at both ends. Between waking up extra early, running around the city all day to our clients, and then managing the day to day managerial tasks at night we were constantly burned out. Everyday was exhausting and it really took the joy out of what got us into training in the first place.
Lessons learned from this:
– You can’t run a business alone and have it be truly successful.
– Delegation is the best way to focus your time on the things that really matter most to you in the business.
– Don’t fall into the trap that “nobody else can do it better than me.” You can find the right people who represent the characteristics of your brand who you can trust to do their jobs well. Find people who share your passion and have a knack for doing what you do and who are adaptable and willing to learn.
– Don’t get in your own way. Trying to do everything yourself only hurts you and your business in the long run. It holds you back from being able to reach more people, and it takes the joy out of doing what you love.
-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?
– The work we are doing is helping make a bigger impact in the world because we are teaching clients that there is no one way to train. We make our program adaptable to our clients’ needs and goals. You can have just as effective an exercise and nutrition program training either in-person or virtually. Even following a customized online training program through our app can be an effective method for helping you reach your goals. When you follow a program that fits within your lifestyle and needs, you are much more likely to stick with it and see the long-term results you desire.
We are educating people about the importance of form over aesthetics. Fitness is far more than just about how we look. It is critical to also be aware of how we move and how this affects the mechanics of the body and contributes to chronic pain and compensation in the body. By bringing this awareness to our training, we are helping people not only look better but feel better, so they can enjoy a better quality of life.
You do not often see a black-owned family business in the fitness industry, so we are changing the landscape of the fitness industry. We represent diversity, growth, and family-held values that are inspiring for others to be a part of.
We are also teaching people that fitness is not just about what you are doing in the gym; it is a lifestyle. It is about the choices you make day to day. It is about how you move outside of the gym and how you choose to nourish your body. As we know, diet is just as crucial as exercise because we can never outperform a bad diet. Our program is unique in that we incorporate both diet and nutrition support.
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.
Our top 5 lifestyle tweaks to help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing are:
1. Prioritize sleep by creating a wind-down routine to encourage you to get to sleep at the same time every night ensuring you are getting at least six to seven hours of quality rest. Studies have shown that after one night of bad sleep significant hormone imbalances are detected which can affect mood, energy, productivity, clarity of mind, and lifestyle choices.
2. Move everyday and increase your steps. NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) accounts for 65 to 70 percent of your daily metabolic burn, which is important in today’s age of most people having a sedentary lifestyle and the over accessibility to hypercaloric foods, both of which negatively impact one’s health.
3. Build your plate around whole foods high in protein and vegetables. This will help decrease spikes in your blood sugar (risk factor for diabetes), keep you satiated longer, and ensure you’re eating a well-balanced diet. We find that people that do not get enough protein and fiber in their diet have a tendency to overeat, over consume carbs leading to a drop in energy, and they lack the macronutrients necessary for weight management and an optimally performing metabolism.
4. Eat a diet high in micronutrients and fiber to aid in a healthy digestive system. You can also incorporate pre and probiotics to improve your microbiome. Gut health is important for improving your immune system, mood, and all other bodily functions. Gut health is also important for weight management. People with poor gut health are more susceptible to disease and obesity.
5. Manage your stress levels. Emotional stress is a major contributing factor to the six leading causes of death in the US: cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, respirator disorders, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. You can manage your stress by having a healthy work/life balance, seeking therapy in some cases, practicing more self-care habits, surrounding yourself with non-toxic people, getting adequate sleep, and practicing both gratitude and stillness.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
This movement would be a continuation of what we are already doing as our goal is to make exercise and nutrition easily accessible for everyone. The online fitness industry has allowed us to reach people across the country, and by continuing down this path, our goal is eventually use this platform to reach people on a global scale. We also aim to help other fitness professionals build a more sound program with the most value by introducing a certification program where we can share the value we have created with other trainers. This allows us, together, to leave the greatest impact.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
1. Running a business takes time, discipline and patience. There is no substitute for time. You can not work harder and get there faster. They say it takes five years for a starter business to become sustainable, so always be thinking of the big picture.
2. Know your audience instead of trying to reach everyone. The more specific you can get about knowing who your customers are and how to solve their problems, the more you will attract this type.
3. Do not worry about things being perfect. The timing will never be perfect. Your website will never be perfect. Just go for it. Procrastination is your worst enemy. The biggest mistake you can make is delaying your start.
4. Delegate aspects of your business that you are not good at to people who specialize in these specific areas instead of trying to learn everything yourself.
5. Do not undervalue your services. Know your worth and do not be afraid to charge accordingly. If you deliver an excellent product or service people will pay for it. And you will attract the right people who respect and also value your worth.
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 most important to us because there is a direct correlation between treating mental health issues like depression and anxiety with exercise. Regular exercise is associated with lower neuroticism, anxiety, and depression. The reason for this is that we have noticed that exercise helps instill healthy habits, better confidence, self-care, self-worth, and work/life balance all of which carry over into other life decisions. People who are well cared for are more likely to find happiness in their work and family life and make decisions that are for their greatest good.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
You can find us online at www.leadingedgeny.com. You can also follow us on instagram at @leadingedgeny and check out our founder’s accounts @bodybynoelle and @kda_fitness.
Music. music is the ideal way of giving myself up to the warm and embrace of my home. Music sets the tone of the my mood and, depending on my intention, it can help me unplug and relax on the sofa with a glass of wine or help me cross the finish line with my never-ending home chores! In these troubled times, music playing in the background can be a solace and an easy way to turn the disappointments of the day to a Joyful consolation.
As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing James Stanley, of James Stanley NY. James Stanley NY is an Architectural Design/Build Firm located in Tribeca New York City. It was founded in 2011 by Principal James Stanley.
Thank you so much for joining us in this series! 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?
A few things brought me to this career path, but mostly my Mother.
Growing up with my Mom in SoCal, she owned a General / Engineering / Construction firm where she pushed me to watch and learn how to run the business and manage a team. As a result, I learned how to use my mind and hands to build just about anything. My Mother was also a major antique collector, so I honed my eye on that world as well.
When I left SoCal for Miami Beach, I had the opportunity to design and remodel a few small boutique hotel lobbies in Miami Beach through my employment with a small design firm. I quickly became passionate about what I was doing and learned how to apply the skills I learned through my experience working with my Mother and her team.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
One of the proudest moments of my career was working as lead designer at IM PEI’s Centurion and it happened by fate or as some may call luck. During my early career in NYC, one of my real estate acquaintances was designated to lead the Inhouse real-estate team for selling Condos at The Centurion. My contact reached out and asked if I was interested in possibly designing one of the model apartments. Naturally, I jumped on the opportunity. We met onsite and did a walk-through, and with no prior preparation, I came up with a design concept on the spot and presented the design real time. My design concept was well received and I was asked to illustrate the design in a Story Board. After spending few days working on the Story Board, we met at a restaurant, as I didn’t have an office in those days. After presenting to her my design proposal, she loved the concept but did not feel the presentation had the professional edge to compete with the other big design firms who are also being considered for this project, however, she said she will keep me in mind.
Few days went by and as my disappointment was beginning to fade, my phone rang, and to my surprise, it was my contact asking me to meet with the owners of the building immediately and pitch my design because the big firm they were considering were not ready to meet in person and present. I knew right there and then that this was my shot and I had to take it. With no presentation on hand or assistance, I headed to the IM PEIs Centurion, walked into the lobby and met the developer and Mr Trump. During the elevator ride, Mr Trump asked about my design background, etc., then proceeded to ask if I had a choice to design the best unit or the worst unit, which would I choose. I said the worst, as it would be the more challenging and fulfilling to work on. Mr Trump replied with a slight smile on his face“ Right Answer” … We walked off the elevator, and there I was, unprepared and standing in the middle of the worst unit that was different than the unit I previously drafted the design for, with eyes all on me in anticipation for my design pitch. After taking few minutes to get a feel of the space, the developer/owners asked what my thoughts where. I intuitively went into Designer mode and started proposing and recommending ideas and concepts that are best suited for the type of buyers/clientele that would live in the space. After about 10 minutes, both Developer and Trump said “ We heard enough”. After we parted ways, I received a call an hour later from my contact telling “ You blew them away” there only concern was “ Could we afford his Firm” …
Always believe in yourself and give 110%.
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?
On one of my first design projects, I was fortunate to have my client’s full trust to let my creativity run wild when designing and fabricating several of his furniture pieces. Unfortunately, the thrill of artistry and innovation ruled over practicality, and consequently, I didn’t take into consideration his above average height when making the Principal Suite bedframe footboard. The client was elated with the pictures of the completed bed. After the bed was delivered to the client few weeks later, I received a call on my cell very late in the evening from my client laughing stating that I forgot to incorporate his height into the dimensions of the bed and he had to sleep with his feet up on the footboard. I, on the other hand, was mortified, and disappointed that I Iet this important detail slip through. We remade the frame to accommodate my client’s height.
Lesson: The Devil is in the details. Triple check all details and then check again…
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
Brownstone on the UWS and a Duplex in trendy Brooklyn
The Brownstone is in CPW’s Historic Landmark District . Steps to New Yorks Central Park make’s for quintessential NYC living. We are gutting the entire home-building, interesting/exciting Architectural-Design features include a Full size elevator to the roof, Roof top garden-entertaining space-glass slide back door system in the Garden level to create indoor-outdoor living. A partial glass floor in the Principal suite letting additional natural light in while putting in Smart Tint at the push of a button for privacy when needed, not to mention a automated Principle Suite closet with Dry-Cleaning capability.
Brooklyn Duplex: Located in a very trendy part of BK, this newer construction home was initially purchased by my client as a two bedroom unit with a massive outdoor terrace that we completely redesigned to fit their specific needs and esthetic. Since then, the client purchased the mirrored unit above it, and we are in the process of combining the two units into one large Duplex.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life? “Look Within For True Happiness”
I’ve been blessed to have found the Buddhist Path. The teachings have transformed my life. Like most of us, I used to seek happiness by surrounding myself with materialistic things associated with Luxury. Alas, the pleasure was transitory and passed faster than the trend associated with its extravagance. My meditations allowed me to truly connect with my inner self, which connects me to True Happiness. Don’t miss understand, I still gravitate to Luxury and the Materialistic, I’ve built my Brand on it, But, The Quote-Mantra “Look Within For True Happiness” really helped me focus on what’s important in the big picture… Enjoy what life has to offer, every detail, But be aware these are fleeting moments, and the Happiness we all seek is Within…
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?
First: My Mother. She instilled an extremely hard work ethic in me and an eye for details.
Second: My first Big client. He trusted me enough to let me explore creatively and pushed me to really think out of the box, which gave birth to a insanely creative project and paved the way to opening my design/construction firm…
Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1.Paint- Painting the interior of your home the right color is one of the simplest elements about your home design decisions. Selecting a color pallet that best represents your personality will connect you emotionally with your home. Select colors that evoke calmness, contentment, gratitude and relaxation. Whether a single accent wall or an entire room, paint can create Joy…
2.Lighting — Lighting is the single most important design element that your home interior needs. The right lighting adds the element of intimacy, soft or striking, from just a table or floor lamp, to overhead fixtures and pinspots, lighting is key in sparking happiness.
3.Art- Art is particularly my personal favorite design element in a home. I know this may sound like a cliché, but beauty in Art is truly in the “eye of the beholder”. Chose art that speaks to you, that you can relate to, that you enjoy looking at and excited to share with your loved ones. Art comes in many forms and shapes, so don’t limit yourself to traditional paintings and prints, venture outside the box and go for vintage advertisement posters, blown-up back and white photograph that you personally took, framed old post cards from your favorite parts of the world, etc… Art should take you on an emotional experience and evoke pleasure.
4.Accessories- Accessories are the catalysts that tie your wall color, furniture and flooring all together. Pick pillows, area rugs, throws, coffee table books, small boxes, vases, candle holders, etc…that you absolutely love, have a personal meaning and complement your color theme. They are the icing on the cake and the bow on the gift. Accessories can unquestionably stimulate enjoyment in your home.
5.Textures. and last but not least, selecting the right and balance of textures. Choose soft and comforting fabrics for your pillows, throws, cushions and upholstered furniture, but balance with few accent pieces that are bold and daring such as leather and suede. Don’t be afraid to include faux fur for the holidays because the softness of faux fur induces warmth and calmness.
BONUS- Music. music is the ideal way of giving myself up to the warm and embrace of my home. Music sets the tone of the my mood and, depending on my intention, it can help me unplug and relax on the sofa with a glass of wine or help me cross the finish line with my never-ending home chores! In these troubled times, music playing in the background can be a solace and an easy way to turn the disappointments of the day to a Joyful consolation.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
ELON MUSK- My hero and indirectly my mentor. I look up to him because of his ability to take something he has no background or education in and create brilliant innovative solutions that revolutionized the industry. He defied critics who believe it could not be done and proved them wrong by making the impossible possible. His brilliance and courage to bring his ideas to fruition inspires me beyond words.
I believe his motto says it all:
“ Do your 5 yr plan in 1 yr. Even if you don’t get it all done, you’ll be much further ahead”
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Instagram: @ jamesstanleyny
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!
…I don’t want to be discouraging because I believe that more people can be founders that end up making the leap, but I also don’t think that everyone is cut out to be a founder, just like I’m not made to be a theoretical physicist. I also believe that certain personality traits can help a founder succeed more than others.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Frances Simowitz. Frances is the CEO of WEVE Acceleration and an expert in the NYC technology startup scene. Prior to her time with WEVE, she has over 10 years of experience in the startup ecosystem, helping to establish and grow operations in cities such as Boston, Chicago, DC, and New York for startups like Sittercity and Startup Institute. She has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and has established one of the largest entrepreneurial communities in NYC through HackerNest.
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 had a very non-traditional path to get into the startup scene. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Voice Performance. I fell in love with music because of Choir, it was an opportunity to create something beautiful collaboratively. I decided not to pursue music any longer because when you start to seek out a solo career as an opera singer, it’s very much the mindset of “my success means someone else’s failure.” My ex-husband was a software engineer and worked in the startup space. I loved how collaborative they were, it had the energy of building amazing things with great people, and I knew I wanted that.
I found an educational program run by the Managing Directors of TechStar’s Boston (and built on the same accelerator model) called Startup Institute. Instead of accelerating startups, they accelerated individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to work and be impactful at startup companies. This program changed my life and set me on the path I’m on today. It was clear that the accelerator model was a fast-track to clear outcomes through network and knowledge. After getting my first job at a startup through their network, I later worked at that accelerator, selecting the cohort and helping run the program.
From there, I had the opportunity to join the global accelerator, NUMA, as one of the founding team members of the New York office. They were already globally established, operating in seven other markets around the world, headquartered in Paris, and looking to open a New York office specifically to help startups globally expand to the US. I was excited by the prospect of building an accelerator program from scratch, especially when leaving one that had already existed and was operating when I joined. I quickly progressed at the company, promoted to Program Director after six months, and before two -years, I was promoted to the CEO of the office.
I then had the very fortunate opportunity to continue my growth trajectory in the company. In July of 2021, my business partner, Giulia Imperatrice and I acquired the US subsidiary of NUMA and rebranded to WEVE Acceleration. It’s a beautiful feeling to be able to own the thing I’ve been building and pouring my heart into for the last five years.
Can you share the most interesting story that has happened to you since you began your company?
It’s been an exciting and ever-changing five years, but I think my path to fully owning this business is unusual. It’s not every day you start at the bottom, eventually get promoted to CEO, and then buy the business. People told me not to even interview for the company because they heard the position was junior, and I’m not junior, so I shouldn’t pursue it. However, I firmly believe that opportunities are not yours to say no to until they give them to you. I also had two other job offers at the time, one of them with a base salary of more than $40K more than what I was offered originally at NUMA (now WEVE). Choosing a non-traditional path and not being the typical picture of an entrepreneur or leader has been thoroughly rewarding throughout the journey.
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 am historically not great with WhatsApp, but I had to start using it more early on because it is one of the main modes of communication for international companies and startups. So, unknowingly, I chose a profile photo of me on New Year’s Eve wearing a sparkly short sequined dress and a sparkly cat-eared headband. We had been working on a client project with a large enterprise to run an innovation program, and for these programs, we needed to use WhatsApp to communicate with all of the program participants. The program went exceptionally well; however, I had an embarrassing moment when the client mentioned to me on a later call how his wife had seen my photo on WhatsApp and had been concerned with who “ that girl” was. Thankfully after a bit of damage control, I was able to reassure the wife that I was only his contact in a professional context.
While this didn’t end up being a deal-breaker, it could have been, and it was a reminder that when you are working with clients, it’s essential to keep an appearance of professionality — that sparkly fun party photos should stay on accounts I only use for personal things. It also highlights one of the many challenging things about being a woman in business: I don’t think a photo of a man at a New Year’s Eve party would have likely received the same type of commentary.
None of us can 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?
There are many. I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of unique bosses and mentors along the way. Attending the accelerator program, Startup Institute, was pivotal for me. Coming from a background in music and working as a nanny on the Upper West Side of Manhattan right before I attended the school, I entered with a lot of excitement for the new path. Still, I knew it would be hard to prove my capabilities to work in business to the business world. There was a program component called Partner Projects, where we would get put into groups and have the opportunity to work with a real startup to solve a real challenge using our new skills. One day at lunch with the founder, we were discussing his business, and he looked at me and said, “Wow, you are pretty smart for a nanny.” I credit the staff at Startup Institute and all of the mentors for being incredibly supportive at building the necessary confidence and skills to make a massive transition into a new career path.
My first two opportunities in the startup world were working under women bosses. When I was at Sittercity, my boss, Martina, was an incredible leader. She showed compassion for her reports and operated with extraordinary competency. She also was 100% herself; she would come to the office in sky-high heels and dresses. It was vital for me to see that being feminine didn’t mean that you couldn’t still be incredible at the work you do.
My next boss, Katie, was also a significant role model. It was under her that I learned my most treasured skill of sales. I had joined the company in a role that was positioned heavily as a sales position, which brought vivid thoughts to my head of used-car salespeople, cold-calling, or a room full of sales-y tech-bros. Under her leadership and teaching, I learned that the nuance of sales is about solving problems, listening, empathizing, and understanding if you can help their challenges. If you can, educate them on why and how, or craft a solution creatively together, and if you can’t solve it for them, be honest and direct them to something that might. Sales is such an essential skill for leadership. Even if you are not directly selling a product or service, you are selling your company’s vision or selling your employees on why they should work with you and your company. It’s also a very male-dominated industry, which confuses me — many of the top “skills of selling” are actually attributes that women I know possess, like the ability to empathize, actively listen, and solve problems in a genuine and caring manner. Working alongside and learning from these outstanding female sales leaders has shifted my approach to sales and business, and these takeaways are now a large part of how I now coach my team and their sales skills.
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 excellent 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’s a complex question: there are many challenging things for female founders, from dealing with unconscious biases to having more examples of female leadership, etc. One of the things that are starting to evolve (but has not changed nearly enough) is the number of women who are GP’s in Venture Capital — it increased from 12% to 15% in 2021, which I’m confident also has led to the increase in female funded companies. But in order to see a shift in where the capital is moving, the diversity of who controls the money needs to change first and foremost.
My current team is 100% female-owned, all of the leadership is female, and at this present moment, the entire team is female. Previously we’ve had men on our team, but at WEVE, the women who work with us get to have a unique tech experience compared to male-dominated companies. Examples of determined female leadership have been beneficial for many of our previous and current employees — seeing the ways women can succeed is compelling. This is why we need more prominent, public examples of female founders who are collaborating & coaching other women. This is not to negate the value of my male mentors, but the truth is that women will be faced with different challenges when it comes to perception and negotiation. Understanding how other women have overcome similar hurdles can positively impact self-perception and one’s ability.
My final point will be on the different work-life pressures women face compared to their male counterparts. When I was a student in the accelerator program Startup Institute, one of my fellow students was a gentleman from out of state who had moved up to New York for eight weeks for the duration of the program, and he had a wife and children back at home. No one ever asked him, “Who is watching the kids!?” or questioned his quality as a parent because he focused on his development and career. Sadly, this is not what happens to women. Many female friends of mine have wanted to start businesses, or they had a business and have closed them down for the sacrifice of being the main caregiver of their family. Being an entrepreneur is a very challenging career path, and I think it’s hard for women to see a way to do both in the way our society is structured. For example, I have personally delayed having children because my business is my baby right now, but that is not the choice many women make.
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?
At my core, I believe that changing the demographics of where the money comes from is critical to overcoming these obstacles. Many funds are working to diversify their portfolio and invest in more female-led companies, but I would love to see more LPs do similar things.
It’s also important to think about the collective ecosystem versus the individual. As someone that runs an accelerator, I understand how powerful a network of mentors, peers, and advocates can be. And as a women business owner, I need to make meetings and have calls that are more in a coaching or advisory posture to other women in their careers, building businesses themselves, or developing professionally. It can all feel like a lot to juggle when running a business, but taking time for networking can feel fulfilling and meaningful. Male mentors (which I’ve found many) should also consider finding diverse founders to work with and support. Having a robust network can also lead to opportunities, capital, and other resources, so I’d love to see in general more support for diverse businesses.
The government also has the power to play a positive role. For example, most investment companies get in the United States are from private and venture capital. Compared to Europe and other places globally, early-stage startups have access to much more government funding and grants. An increase in government support could positively affect the democratization of access and serve as a way to preserve ownership stakes in early-stage businesses. I’d love to see the U.S. develop similar programs specifically targeted at women and minority founders.
Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
I have a vivid memory of being in the third grade, and it was career day at school when people came in and spoke about different jobs. I remember having a visceral reaction when they talked about entrepreneurship, thinking, “Who in the world would want to do that!? That sounds like a terrifying amount of responsibility!” But third grade fears aside, it’s a great career path for many reasons.
Having ownership and building something for yourself has more value than the salary at any job. Ownership is a great path to earn wealth, often delayed wealth, but more wealth in the long run. A well-run business can be an asset; if you sell it or go public, you own a piece of that and get a return. It’s the same reason why renting forever has less value than if you can buy a home. A home is an asset, and it can increase in value. Economic independence is a beautiful thing.
You can create the work environment and culture you want to see. Entrepreneurship is still heavily skewed towards men, which means many teams and company cultures are still very male-dominated in their leadership. As an employee, you can impact the culture of an organization; but as a founder or business owner, you dictate that culture. WEVE is 100% women-owned, currently 100% women in leadership positions, and at the time of me writing this, my team happens to be 100% all women. Building a company culture means injecting the values you want to see in the world into your brand and team. Our team cares about individual growth, feedback, communication, and authenticity, and getting to build that has been truly rewarding.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
The glamor of it. In our culture, we often idolize entrepreneurs and founders — we look at the Jeffrey Bezos and Elon Musk’s of the world and see a shiny new toy. It’s so common as a founder to feel like you need to have it all together; everything has to be multiplied and growing, and you always need to present the rosiest picture possible. The truth is, it’s not easy, it is not always picture-perfect, and there will be ups and downs in the business. You will make tons of mistakes (all of the time!), but what matters is that you just keep moving forward and learning from them.
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 don’t want to be discouraging because I believe that more people can be founders that end up making the leap, but I also don’t think that everyone is cut out to be a founder, just like I’m not made to be a theoretical physicist. I also believe that certain personality traits can help a founder succeed more than others.
Resiliency is an important one. As I mentioned before, it’s not always the easiest path: there will be setbacks, challenges, and an occasional sleepless night worrying about your team, the business, or a specific problem that needs to be solved. But having the confidence in yourself and your team always to find the solution and continue pushing forward towards your goals is a huge asset.
A big difference between people that are good as employees vs. founders is the ability to be comfortable with ambiguity and to be a self-starter. One of my old managers used to tell me that I’m tough to manage, in the sense that I don’t let her manage me. I was never waiting around for what to do next or asking for a path; I was much more comfortable and excited by coming up with new ideas or ways of going about things and testing or implementing them. Now, this was a challenge for me when I was on the other side of the table as a manager. I did not like or need much management or oversight, so in the beginning, I would give my reports a lot of freedom. I learned that in reality, a lot of people want and crave structure and to be managed, and that is 100% okay, but I had to work to implement those things for my employees. It’s also common earlier in a career as people learn to need more management and support. I always tell people with future entrepreneurship aspirations to start at larger companies where you have support and guidance from leadership, maybe one that isn’t so huge that you can work directly with senior management and use that as opportunities to learn and build confidence. Over time you can choose smaller and smaller companies until you have the confidence to strike out and develop your own business.
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.)
Be friends with your fear. There is a notion of the fearless leader, but it is a myth, and it creates a lot of shame for founders and leaders. When I was first promoted to the CEO position at NUMA (now WEVE) more than three years ago, we had a negative $7K balance in the bank account due to late-paying clients, and I was terrified about how to handle the next payroll. In those moments, and there will be those moments, you will not be scared, but you need to act anyway. Moving through fear has been extremely useful to start learning how to do it, and acknowledging that the fear is a normal response and it doesn’t mean you are incapable can help in those moments. I turned into problem-solving mode and figured out short-term solutions until our clients paid.
There will be many things you don’t know, and that’s okay. Starting in the world of business was especially intimidating for me because I never went to business school — I majored in classical singing and music education. Early on, it took a lot of humility to admit when I didn’t know something ( like what a KPI stands for), but it was the only way to learn. That feeling, no matter how long I’ve been doing this, never goes away. And even though I run an accelerator, I can easily forget that I can equip my network and people who guide me for support and knowledge in areas where I lack expertise. For example, when we were going through the acquisition process, I had conversations with 8–10 people that I respected and trusted in the business world to tell them the situation and said to them, “please tell me what I don’t know that I don’t know about this.” I also have employed this recently when exploring changing our tax status for the business and whether a C-corp, LLC, or S-Corp would be the best structure. On the call with our tax and accounting firm, they were throwing out terms like NOL’s and QSBS, and making them stop to explain to me what these terms mean instead of being embarrassed helps me make better business decisions.
Leading people is a different skill-set. I was a fantastic operator! I loved running the actual accelerator program, doing the day-to-day with the founders, sending invites to demo days, and running the show-flow for the events. When you step into a leadership role, this changes entirely. In the beginning, it was tough to let go of what I felt was MY program, like it was my baby. It was a struggle with my internal sense of trust and letting go of things, and I think this is common for many leaders. As soon as I learned to let these things go, delegate, and trust, it has done wonders for the business. My team often has far better ideas than I do. My business partner and COO, Giulia, who took over as Program Director after me, ran the program far better than I ever did. We had fantastic outcomes for our founders, but that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t let go for her to have the creative liberty to own it. And my day-to-day is different. As WEVE grows, my role continues to evolve: instead of being involved in every individual program and its execution, my part now is to think first about my team. It’s my job to support them to be successful, make sure they have the resources and support they need, that goals and objectives are clear, and that they feel excited and cared about as human beings to do their best work.
My teachers were right; math is useful. I make this joke that I wish I had paid more attention to math in high school because there are actual real applications, especially in business. It helps when running a business to have a good grasp of numbers, especially regarding your finances. Initially, this was intimidating for me, and I know it is for a lot of early founders, especially if math and numbers are not their strong suit. My math teacher put me in algebra competitions, but it was the only type of math I was ever good at, and at music college, math is an after-thought type of class. It’s something you can learn and get better at and equip others to support you. I learned to manage a P&L and calculate our businesses’ EBITDA from asking those that do it well to walk me through it, as well as utilizing my good friend ‘Google search’. I learned how to do cash-flow analysis and be better (but by no means the best) at excel spreadsheets. I also know that I’m not a financial expert, so I have chosen a great accounting and tax firm and work with a wonderful woman who is a contract CFO supporting me in making our forecasting and analysis. Founders shouldn’t avoid this area just because it feels unnatural to them or overwhelming; having these numbers is critical to making decisions and will give you the confidence you need to continue growing and managing your business.
You have to take care of yourself — every boss I ever had used to struggle to get me to take time off. When I started at NUMA, I hadn’t taken a vacation in three years. I suppose I felt like it earned me some badge of honor that I worked so hard and didn’t need to take time to recharge. I also tended to feel an incredible sense of responsibility to the work and to the people I worked with and felt guilty when taking time as if I was letting people down. One of my bosses told me, “you might love the job, but the job will never love you back.” My perception of this had to change as soon as I stepped into being the business leader. In some of my employees, I saw what my previous bosses saw in me. Many of them worked so incredibly hard, and I couldn’t get them to take time off because they also felt a tremendous amount of personal responsibility. I realized that as the leader, it was up to me to set the example, and I would make myself go on vacation, no matter how uncomfortable it was for me, which I realize sounds strange. I lamented one Saturday morning in bed, struggling for hours to pick a place to go, and finally settled on Costa Rica for a solo trip. And when I’m off, I try my hardest to actually be off because if I don’t do that, my team won’t be comfortable doing it either. I am responsible for setting the culture and tone, but more than anything, I do not want my team to burn out. This has become especially important in the pandemic when people couldn’t travel, but that did not protect us from burnout. In fact, the uncertainty of the world increased feelings of burnout despite the fact we were all home. I set the example by taking a week off while I was home to recharge, and after that, several of my team did the same. It felt super odd having nowhere to go, but I needed a mental break, and so did they. As a founder, this also extends to other areas of your life. It’s easy to feel like your business needs to be 150% of your life, but you will be a better leader if you also make sure you take the time to exercise, eat well, and spend time doing hobbies and things that you love besides your business. I took up doing musical improv comedy in New York, and having a regular creative outlet has increased my overall well-being and ability to lead.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
My hope and goal is that my business (WEVE) can accomplish that daily through our work. Accelerators are platforms that provide tremendous opportunities to companies and individuals through access and connections to knowledge, network, and resources. So many of the startups we work with are solving significant challenges across industries, including areas like education and sustainability. Being able to support these founders in achieving their dreams and solving meaningful problems will hopefully have a greater impact on the world in the long run. The better our business does, the more entrepreneurs worldwide that we can support.
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’m extremely interested in the idea of applying the accelerator model in new ways. There’s an old-school way of thinking in the accelerator community that an actual accelerator is for early-stage startups to get seed funding (meaning it’s only for startups, and the primary outcome is access to capital). But this is a limited view of its applications, and I often argue that the traditional use-case is a VC fund that utilizes an accelerator to increase the chances of success for their portfolio.
An accelerator is a model that can speed up the desired outcome due to access to knowledge and curriculum on topics taught by those working in the field rather than academics, has a community aspect through a cohort, and provides access to expansive networks and relationships in a condensed and focused time. This type of model can be applied to many different challenges and populations of people. For example, an amazing accelerator called Defy Ventures has an entrepreneurship program for incarcerated individuals to reduce recidivism and aims to create more economic opportunities for the population. I recently met another woman named Frances doing her Ph.D. at Yale in Music. She built an accelerator program and venture fund called Midnight Oil Collective to increase the equity ownership and wealth opportunities for artists (artists are often the ones who financially benefit the least from their craft).
I’d love to see more individuals apply accelerator models in new ways designed to tackle real problems — for example, creating an accelerator to support people without homes.
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? They might just see this if we tag them 🙂
This is a tough one to answer — there are so incredible leaders I’d love the opportunity to meet! Given that Entertainment is a category, I’m going to say that I’d love to meet Imogen Heap. I had the chance a few years ago to see her speak at Web Summit, and was thoroughly impressed and surprised to learn that she has a keen interest in technology and solutions to help artists through solutions like blockchain. She’s also one of my favorite musical artists. With my background in music and being in the business career I have now, I’d love to chat with her about running an accelerator program to support companies building those types of solutions.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this interview!
Women In Wellness: Nicola Fernandes of Self Love With Nicola on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
…One is that you have to find your voice. For so long I had very specific guidance. I asked my coaches, how do I write that? What should I say? How do I do that? And it’s really about finding your own voice. Trusting that being you. That’s the only way.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicola Fernandes.
For more than 10 years Self-Love Coach and Shaman Nicola have been helping thoughtful and open-hearted leaders to move from self-sabotage & doubt to Self-Worth, Self-Love, and Success! With her Wholeness Mastery Method she supports her clients to get re-connected with themselves and spirit — finally falling in Love with who they truly are and for filling their Dreams with Joy. She is a master trainer in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and a leader in her field. She is also certified in wiki, Laughter Yoga, and Time Line Therapy — She has won several awards for her work. She has made it her life mission to help empower people and change their lives.
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?
Sure. My backstory is: I studied business in Munich, Germany, started working for a major music company in New York City, had a beautiful office on the 43rd floor overlooking Times Square and was traveling the world.
I got married, had my first child, had a live-in nanny — living the life.
And then my second daughter got diagnosed with autism and that changed everything. The doctor said they don’t know where it came from and what to do about it. And so I stopped working and it became my job looking deeper and deeper for help with her. And my husband was very generous and let me go to a lot of seminars although we had three kids at home. And guess what happened, every time I came home after a seminar? Every time I came home from a seminar Luisa was better. And so long story short, as she got much better, I was asking what’s my mission? What’s my purpose? Why is Luisa and this experience in my life? And so I started seeing clients and I started more and more boiling down to what is it in life, what makes life enjoyable at its core? What makes the biggest impact? What makes the biggest difference in people in the shortest amount of time? And that brought me to being a Self-Love Coach and Shaman.
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?
The most interesting stories since I started my career: You know, my career is not independent from my life. Everything that shows up is either because I’ve worked through it before, or I still have to work through it. And so I grow a lot with my clients because whatever shows up, I make sure I clear it so I can hold them and guide them through their highest and best journey. And so the most interesting story that really happened was that as I bring my clients to clarity, to a higher beingness, to this joy in life, I was also expecting that from my husband. I was asking that he finds what brings him joy. What is it? Our life was great, but it wasn’t 100% And as somebody who wants to be clear in life and expects to open the doors for my clients to 100% I wanted that in my marriage. And I asked my husband so often that it finally came to a point, six months ago, where he said ‘it’s not our marriage that makes him happy’. So I guess that’s the most interesting story that has happened. As I demand clarity around me I realized my marriage is not that. And so it was a lot of grieving and working through my own processes after 26 years together. And my courses as well as my clients kept me really going and this interview here with you is part of my next step. That’s why I’m here now writing articles, showing up in the media: Because I asked the universe ‘what do you want me to bring to the world next? I had beautiful children. I had a beautiful marriage. I had a good business.’ I was guided; I need to be bigger. I need to show up more and there are so many more people that need what I can give. So, that is the biggest story that started my career.
My biggest takeaway, the main lesson was really that I always wanted my husband to be happy, instead of asking for what I wanted. But it was so important to me that he was happy. And, realizing that I can create anything I want, I finally got him to find his happiness: which was not being with me. So I really learned that I need to make myself and my wishes a priority. And that I can create what I want, so be careful what you wish for. Focus on what you truly want! So from now on I ask what is the best outcome for me. And what is the highest standard for me. And not what’s the best for others. So that’s what I really teach my clients: Ask for you! Make yourself a priority. That’s really what I learned myself.
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?
I think I actually made two big mistakes when I first started out. As many healers, I saw people in increments of a few sessions and that was too little. I do such deep work, it’s not fair to leave my clients on their own when they are healing & integrating over a period of time. And I can’t hold the space when I don’t know how deep we can go. So I initially started seeing people for a few sessions and now I actually hold the container for my 1:1 clients for six months or longer.
And I only take clients and that’s my second learning who really want to make that jump because that was also in the beginning a problem. I so wanted to help everyone, not seeing that some people just want to find someone to let out their resentment or anger with no intention of getting better. And so now I have a clear questionnaire inviting only clients that are willing to do their part. I help them, I guide them, I make it easier, but it’s really their work and they understand that. And so now I have the ideal clients that totally fly because in six months, their life is totally different. So I really learned from that. Thank you for asking.
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?
How is the work I’m doing helping to make a bigger impact? That’s exactly what I boiled it down to as I was asking what makes the biggest difference that makes the difference. And it’s going first of all to the Self, starting with yourself and from a place of Love. I am convinced that when we allow ourselves to love ourselves, make ourselves a priority, even be selfish, meaning when we are full of love, we enjoy life in a way that everybody else gains. We are in a good mood, we are happy, we are friendly. Everybody around us gets a piece of that. Imagine everybody in the world would feel that love inside of them, then the whole world would be heaven on earth. And we start with ourselves. So as we take care of ourselves and are in this loving space, falling in love with ourselves, everybody around us benefits. It’s just the most miraculous thing for your friends, your children, your partners, your co-workers as well as the store clerks, the postman, your neighbors, everybody benefits when you just fill up with your own Love. And it’s not just your own Love, it’s that Love from above, that universal Love, that divine Love that makes you feel whole and makes you love yourself, even for your faults. That’s the most beautiful thing.
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.
So my five top Lifestyle tweaks and you’re might laugh, because you know I am very intuitive and very connected and so I asked actually spirit what your readers would like me to share and so it’s specifically for you because there are so many tools I have given and that come to me anew all the time.
So the first one is your morning setup. For the first morning set up don’t even put your foot out of bed before you have thought a good thought. Like,’ thank you for this great day ahead’ or ‘this is going to be a great day’. And then before you start work, you want to do some work for yourself. Meditate, journal, exercise, even if each is just five minutes. Having that time for yourself, I can tell you, whenever there’s just one day where I don’t spend that time, it’s not the same day. So I really recommend making it your practice and if you can do even half an hour of each, journaling, meditating and exercise that’s even better.
And the second one is, and never had this rhyme before, it goes ‘be kind in your mind.’ So it’s really about not only positive affirmations, but when you say the negative/old version of i.e. ‘I am not good enough’ still being kind in your mind. Like a little kid that just spilled the milk. You know, there is this three years old who spilled the milk. You wouldn’t say oh my god, you spilled the milk. You’re never going to learn to carry the milk. But that’s how we talk to ourselves in our minds, right? So you would say ‘Ah, no problem, next time you’re going to do it better’. So that’s how you want to speak to yourself in your mind. Be kind in your mind.
And the third tweak that came is really seeing the abundance as an example in nature. You know, so often when we have a good life when we feel good, we feel like oh my god, I don’t want to show off. I don’t want to stick out, everyone will think ‘who do I think I am’? No! It’s like nature: the flowers are proud. And nobody thinks oh my god, look at that sunflower how she’s like beaming in yellow now. No, she’s beautiful. We all have the same abundance as nature. So really taking part of that and reminding ourselves that whatever we have, be grateful for that, because it’s like nature. It is just as when the grass is green and the leaves come out, the same we have available and just bask in that knowledge that the same abundance is available for you. And when you walk through nature, remind yourself that it is all available unlimited in this universe.
And the fourth tweak that came was Smile, smile even if you don’t feel like laughing in a moment. But something happens even if you just physically smile with your face. It’s almost impossible to be angry while your face smiles. So just smile more often and smile to yourself. And if you want to go a step further, smile at your heart, smile at people and smile specifically to yourself looking in the mirror smiling at yourself. We always have a choice to be happy or sad. And why not choose happy? Life is easier that way. So as I told you, I just separated from my husband and I often have that ‘happy or sad’ choice in front of me. And then I look at myself in the mirror, and tell myself ‘you can choose happy’ and I smile at myself. And it’s a better day. So I wish that for you.
And the last one is specifically for your readers, because it’s really so important. If you can lower the amount of negative news and speed up reading positive literature, you will experience a great uplift in your energy and well-being. That can be a high vibrational book, but specifically what I got is to really use the Authority Magazine. You know, it’s so good to read about people who reach something because it’s so inspiring. Reading about these authorities is so inspiring because it tells not only your conscious mind but your unconscious mind that it is possible and all you have to do is model it. You know, once somebody does something, it’s so much easier for us to do it and believe it. And so that’s what I got as a fifth one: reading your magazine. What about that? Let us know how it goes.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Starting a movement that is easy, two things:
One is to practice speaking lovingly to people, because I really truly think we can say anything and everything. It really depends on with what energy we say it and when we say it from the heart, with love, it can be received with love. And so it makes everyone feel so much better.
And the second one is, say only what you want. Imagine we would really know that everything we say creates an energy around us, like a bubble. And we only want to create a bubble that we like, so we only want to say what we want to see around us. So what if everybody would only talk about what they do want and not what they don’t want? Wouldn’t that be so beautiful? Everybody would use these positive words. I think it would be heaven on earth — again.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
So the five things I wish somebody would have told me before I started.
One is that you have to find your voice. For so long I had very specific guidance. I asked my coaches, how do I write that? What should I say? How do I do that? And it’s really about finding your own voice. Trusting that being you. That’s the only way.
And so with that comes the second one that you have to make mistakes. There is no other way, because you learn from them and through them, what works and what doesn’t. And in the beginning, it’s so scary to make mistakes because you have clients and you want to do the best for them and you want a positive image for your business. It’s really learning to be honest and saying, ‘I made a mistake, I’m learning and it’s going to get better’.
And with that, comes number three, that there are growing pains. It’s not straightforward, and some of the things you learn only, once you didn’t do it the right way. So it’s all good. It’s really like a little child growing up and, when they start walking, they fall sometimes down. It’s okay.
And with that comes, one of the biggest lessons that I learned is that growing a business is freaking the best and most challenging personal development. You have to be so clear, because whatever you need to work on next, a client will show up exactly with that. And until you clear it in yourself, clients with exactly that issue will keep on coming. It might be you don’t believe in yourself or you don’t trust or you’re insecure,; all your clients coming give you the possibility to clear it. And even more, if you don’t believe you get clients you don’t have clients showing up. It’s just crazy how you have to and to be successful will get clear with yourself, with your goals, with who you are.
And, and that really brings me to point five because once you know that this is all available, there’s no way back. Once you know, you know. And so as you see, in my example, I got so clear, I knew what I wanted, I had a much higher bar then when I started and I had that much higher bar of not just having a 90% marriage but a 100% marriage. And there was no way back. So I couldn’t accept for my husband that a little piece was missing, which was in the end a big piece, because he was not totally happy. So it’s a big life change. It’s a dedication and I wouldn’t want to have it another way. And I’m grateful my daughter who with her autism brought me to it. Otherwise I’m not sure, but she definitely kept me going. So thank you, Luisa.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
So of these topics, it’s definitely mental health, because I truly, truly believe that the All, the Universe is mental. The universe started with a thought and so when we are more aware and can be more aware of our thoughts, those thoughts then create feelings and then create movements and matter and physical extensions. And all those go always back to the thoughts. So, if the thought is good, like the tests of water where researchers take water molecules and either say the word ‘love’ or say ‘anger’ to them and then they would freeze the molecules. And with love the water molecules became the most beautiful ice crystals, like mandalas and the ones with anger were just rough and didn’t look nice. That’s where the thought starts. So I think that mental health is the start to everything else. When we learn to control our thoughts, then we’re on our way to change our environment and how we treat the earth. It starts from the inside out.
So mental health is my choice. And also specifically because I see so many youth now struggling with mental health and they are our future. So I’m really invested in showing them that there’s another way to think. And that’s a big mission for me too. Thank you.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
Modern Fashion: Maria Glezelli Of Maria Glezelli Jewellery On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
Believe in yourself. I repeat this to myself every morning in front of the mirror. Everyone should do that, every morning. I think that the ability of believing in your own qualities can be a very powerful tool. They say that if you believe you can do it you are already half way, and I would add that you are likely to succeed and to do it very quickly. This doesn’t mean that is easy, believing in yourself takes a lot of self-discipline and practice and it doesn’t come in a day. But when you master this art, you will see the benefits in every aspect of your life.
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 interviewingMaria Glezelli.
Maria Glezelli is a Jewellery Designer and Founder of the Maria Glezelli Jewellery brand www.mariaglezelli.com , a “company of one” focusing on completely handmade and sustainable jewellery with the purpose of empowering women to be proud of their origins and value their heritage. Working in the intersection between fashion and jewellery, she has built a zero-waste business and her biggest secret is that all pieces are entirely made by hand by using a traditional knitting technique, without the use of any machinery.
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”?
When I was 5 years old, I realised that I wanted to become an artist. I used to spend hours learning new crafts, drawing and creating all sorts of things from decorations to gifts. Later, a special person, my grandmother taught me how to knit and that memory has always accompanied me throughout my journey. At the same time, I spent a lot of time in theatres, museums and art spaces and I like to think that they somehow nurtured my creativity.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
When I grew up, I knew that a career in fine art was a clear choice for me. However, while I was studying at the university of fine arts, I reached the point where I wasn’t sure of what direction to follow. I started experimenting with different materials and techniques and after a lot of research I decided that I would explore the intersection between art and fashion. My graduate project was a series of wearable costumes and body adornments in an effort to revive historic periods through time. I continued working on a bigger scale when I realised that there was a lot of demand in the jewellery sector. The technique I had developed until that moment was very uncommon and different from the jewellery methods that were popular in the market and I had a lot of people requesting bespoke jewellery made with my technique. That was the first time I started making jewellery and I gradually moved from the large to the small scale.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
A few years ago, I applied to take part in an international exhibition in Los Angeles. To my surprise, I was selected and after receiving the invitation directly from the exhibition’s curator, I decided to physically attend the opening ceremony. I travelled all the way from Europe and I had the most interesting and amazing experience in my life. From the people I met there to the feedback I received to the travelling experience I had, everything strongly influenced my later life decisions. A few months later, I decided to move to London where I founded my business. I know now that this trip gave me the motive and the courage to change my life significantly.
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?
Being a CEO, I believe you should have a variety of skills that would help you stay in the game in the long run.
I remember reading about why new businesses fail. Many researches prove that the first reason is resilience. When I read that, it was a big revelation for me. I soon realised that staying focused and not letting any failure defeat you on the path to success is a fundamental quality. Being resilient is challenging and at the same time the most important to hold close to your thoughts and your heart.
Adaptability is also vital and will make your life much easier if you realise the power of it. As a leader, you will face a lot of challenges and changes and often you will find yourself dealing with unexpected events. Being able to adapt and change your way of thinking to come up with new solutions for your business is a contributing factor to the growth of it. For example, some time ago, I was testing some marketing campaigns through a known social media platform, the preliminary results however were very different from what I was expecting and I soon realised that I would have to allocate a different budget than initially planned. Because I had quite a strict budget/goals ratio, I decided to abandon the campaigns and focus on a different promotion strategy. Luckily the new strategy proved very successful and hadn’t I adapted to the new situation, I would probably have spent a lot of money without getting the same results.
Lastly, the ability to connect and collaborate with people is necessary for success. Today, where we operate more in inter-connected environments and less in hierarchical ones, by sharing our ideas and listening to others’ opinions, we can truly build valuable relationships and organically expand our knowledge. I like to surround myself with people, experts in a variety of fields and then flood them with questions, from technical to abstract questions, every drop of knowledge counts and the synergies that are being created are priceless.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
The fact that each of my products is entirely made by hand without any machinery is what makes my business unique. In a fast-paced environment where we people are heavily dependent on technology, I decided to do things differently. Working with your hands is a very unique process — you develop a relationship with the tools which eventually become an extension of yourself. When you come across a handicraft — an item that has been used or created by one of your ancestors — you don’t just see a tangible piece; you see the years and feel their hands, you preserve a moment of their lifetime. Reminding people of their ancestors through a piece of jewellery is what I envision to achieve through my business.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favourite quote is “everything happens for a reason”. I happen to say this quote to myself almost every day and it follows me wherever I go. A prime example can really be the recent pandemic. Two years ago, when the pandemic started, cases were going up in every country and restrictive measures were applied everywhere. I found myself in a very difficult situation, I lost my job and everything seemed dark around me. Instead of closing myself to the outdoor world I took the situation as a wakeup call and I decided to focus solely on my business and put all my energies into developing it and growing it. After two years I feel very proud of myself and of what I have learned. I am very conscious of the fact that hadn’t been for the pandemic, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
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?
Definitely the whole world is making sustainability a primary focus. In recent years I saw all the brands, from the major to the small ones, becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability. I also see that businesses are giving every day more importance to the ‘’human’’ factor, there is less interest in producing at every cost and more focus on quality, working conditions and giving back to the society. This of course aligns with my values and I couldn’t be more excited to see what the future holds.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
One of my main values is to help women believe in themselves. With my pieces and my philosophy, I aim at empowering women, making them aware of their origins and by doing so of their power. Although it is a very small contribution to the goodness of the world, I like to think that everything matters and that no matter how small, everyone should contribute in their own way.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
Sustainability is at the core of my business, by working only with my hands and basic tools I have a very limited yet sustainable and ethical production; this allows me to control the supply chain and to use only ethically sourced materials. I am a big believer of quality over quantity and I encourage everyone to take a stance and fight for a more sustainable world.
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?
I believe that hyper-consumption is the core of fast fashion’s exploitative nature. The need for ‘more’ without thought has surpassed the need to sustain ethical practises. Slow fashion restores the consumer with the artistry of a piece, creating an emotional connection through storytelling and at the same time, it ensures that sustainability is preserved. Sustainability is deeply present in every aspect of my company, from the small handmade production, to the use of ethically sourced materials and the use of an ancient technique instead of mass production machines.
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.
Resilience is definitely one of the main traits that a Fashion Brand leader should have. In a very fast world where things evolve and change day by day, being resilient and not giving up is of paramount importance. Business leaders who have the ability to operate under pressure, cope with changes and recover quickly from setbacks, can advance faster and unlock their performance potential.
What goes together with having resilience is having a purpose. If resilience is a state of mind that guides you in the right direction, a meaningful purpose is what makes you look forward to the next day, with a smile on your face. A purpose gives you the energy and the motive not to give up and not to diverge from your path.
Another challenging aspect of being a leader is being willing to go way beyond your comfort zone by seizing opportunities and taking risks to create change. As humans, we feel more comfortable when using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a task and most of the time avoiding risks makes us feel secure. But effective leaders know that when stepping out of their comfort zone, improvement will follow; because for most things to change they have to be challenged.
Believe in yourself. I repeat this to myself every morning in front of the mirror. Everyone should do that, every morning. I think that the ability of believing in your own qualities can be a very powerful tool. They say that if you believe you can do it you are already half way, and I would add that you are likely to succeed and to do it very quickly. This doesn’t mean that is easy, believing in yourself takes a lot of self-discipline and practice and it doesn’t come in a day. But when you master this art, you will see the benefits in every aspect of your life.
Last but not least I believe that you won’t be able to lead a Fashion Brand without being meticulously organised and without having time management skills. It might seem something very operational and practical, at the end everyone has their own way of doing things, however I firmly believe that a solid time and task management foundation is a key factor of success. I used to write my notes on every piece of paper that I found, to keep them everywhere and to write my appointments in multiple places. Day after day I started to lose documents, to miss appointments and to lose control of my business life. I then attended a short project management course that served as an eye opener. I started to organise my thoughts, to write them down in an organic way and to create realistic to-do lists. Since then, I have taken back control of my business and things run much more smoothly than before.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
With the advancement of technology there are now new materials that have incredibly long-lasting capabilities and at the same time are very sustainable. I believe that technology can help in shifting from a fast-fashion model to one focused more on quality and durability. After all, the fashion industry not only depends on our planet’s resources but they also consume a lot of them. Promoting social and environmental responsibility will benefit both the brands and the planet in the long run.
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. 🙂
My biggest purpose is to empower women to be proud of where they are coming from. Thousands of women, especially in local communities and minority groups, are fighting every day for their rights and they get discriminated against because of their ethnicity. Our rich history enabled us to learn about past societies, ideologies and cultures and help us form our understanding of the world. Each culture, race and ethnicity are unique and every woman should feel proud of who they are whether this is their history, their family traditions, their linguistic or skin colour background. If I could start a movement, it would be supporting women in every possible way and fostering a more inclusive education to contribute to a better and dignified society.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
They can follow my social channels, especially Instagram @maria.glezelli and also my main website www.mariaglezelli.com.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
