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Female Founders: Julie Melnick of SkySquad On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Make time to take care of yourself. This one I am still working on. There have been many days and weeks where I skipped exercise to work. On the days that I make time to work out — even if it is just a 20 minute bike ride or yoga class, my day is more productive and enjoyable. I need to remember this daily!

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

Julie Melnick is the CEO and founder of SkySquad, a technology-enabled platform that matches travelers with experienced airport assistants to provide support from car door to plane door and vice versa. She also served as a partner at Stand Out Public Relations, president and founder of Nanny in the Clouds, and a sales executive and marketing director for Coldwell Banker. Julie holds a Masters of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Rutgers University.

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?

What led me to SkySquad? I would say that my life led me to SkySquad. After working in TV, marketing, and PR, I was living in California with my husband and my two and a half year old son. I traveled to the East Coast often to see my family, and I had one flight where I literally could not carry my car seat, diaper bag, suitcase, stroller, and toddler to walk on to the plane. I asked the gate agent for help, and he said, “Sorry ma’am, those are your own belongings. You are on your own.” I could not believe it! I looked around the airport and thought, there have to be more people like me who could use an extra hand. That is when I started my first startup, Nanny in the Clouds … which eventually morphed into SkySquad.

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

I think the thing that surprised me the most is the value of saving time for our customers is huge. In Ft. Lauderdale, where we are able to expedite customers through both check in and security, we are extremely busy. Some days, we are helping 90 to 100 groups. Even though I started this business to help moms and dads at the airport, it has grown into a company that is saving time and stress for seniors and, most surprisingly, solo travelers who just want to have a better airport experience.

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?

Funniest mistake!? Yes! Well, I am LOL as I write this. When we got the opportunity to open in Ft. Lauderdale, the airport gave us permit paperwork along with the information about getting an airline sponsor. We had opened in several other airports before but getting an airline sponsor was new for us. After working on that for several months, we finally had a sponsor. This was very exciting for us, and we were so excited to launch! We bought airline tickets, the team flew down to FLL, we started hiring, and got to the airport for launch day with SkySquad signs and our team. But, one small thing that we forgot to do was to complete the permit paperwork. We inadvertently thought that by obtaining an airline sponsor that we were good to go! However, that permit paperwork was a vital piece of the puzzle. We had to pack it up on day one, go home, and press pause for a few weeks while we got our permit paperwork approved. That was a lesson I will never forget. We learned that one the hard way.

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

My family has helped me get here! There’s no way I could have started SkySquad without the support of my husband, my kids, my mom, and my sister. They have all played a very special part in my ability to bring SkySquad to life. On February 12, 2019, I went to ‘The Future of Travel” conference with my mom in Miami because I was seriously considering leaving my PR company to start a company to help families travel better. I knew that I wanted to bring SkySquad to life but I knew it would be a major life change. That day, we saw many startups present. And, all I could think of was, “Wow, this is going to be a LOT of work and wow, I really want to do this.” Having started Nanny in the Clouds a few years earlier, I had an idea of what I was getting myself into. Once I made the decision to pursue SkySquad, I was I in 110%. I have not looked back since. My mom has been there cheering me on that day and every single day since. She told me that day back in Miami, “Julie, you have a great idea, now you just need to surround yourself with smart people who can help make it happen!” She was right!

My husband Matt was a bit skeptical, because he is a realist and knew that startups have a high failure rate. But, he has supported me in every way possible, helping with balancing our busy schedules, being there to listen, and to remind me that I can do this. My sister Melissa went with me to the first pitch event I was invited to attend in Tampa, Florida. I don’t know if I would have gone if she hadn’t supported me and helped me present. It was my first time on a stage presenting SkySquad, and at that point I didn’t have a co-founder or anyone helping full time in the business. My family was my foundation to launch this company, this is for sure. Their belief in my has helped me to believe in myself. That day in Tampa we placed third. That was where I met the first investors who showed interest in SkySquad and that event played a big part of the beginning of my journey. My kids who are 13 and 10 have seen me work on this business for years, and it is a big topic of conversation in our house. They have given me suggestions that work, they have cheered me on, and they tell me that they love seeing SkySquad grow into what it is today!

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?

Wow, what a great question. With as much progress as we have made, we still have so far to go. When I became a business owner, I realized just how much more responsibility women have. Taking care of the kids, running the mental list of the household — the grocery list, the dentist appointments for the kids, taking the dog to the vet, the after-school activities, the babysitter, it goes on and on. Starting a company comes with a lot of risk. It doesn’t always work out. Adding a lot of work to “try” something that may or may not work is hard, especially when, as a woman, you are typically the one who is supposed to be running the household. It is a lot safer to stick with a job that has the outcome clearly outlined with a certain role and a certain salary. To make it even more risky, women get so much less funding which means that they are starting way behind men when it comes to a success rate of raising money. I think that more women need to be in the driver’s seat of allocating funding. Hopefully, the women who are running successful companies today will decide to pay it forward to invest in women-owned companies to help steer the startup world into an a more even playing field.

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?

As individuals, I think it is super important to talk with your partner about the household responsibilities so that both men and women can feel like they are equal partners. Society can show examples on TV, Instagram, TikTok, and other communication channels of men and women carrying the weight of household responsibilities and work. Kids today don’t think twice about a female doctor, lawyer, or judge. We have come so far considering that women just got the right to vote in 1920, just 100 years ago! We need to do more to show girls that careers in entrepreneurship and tech are an option, and that their ideas matter!

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 the ones who have the babies, who breastfeed, and who do a lot of the childcare. They are seeing and experiencing things that many men don’t. To me, it is so obvious that women should be creating companies and sharing their vision with the world. After all, half of the population is female! Necessity is the mother of invention, and women have needs that are different than men. For our society to solve the world’s problems, we need both a feminine and masculine perspective.

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

The biggest myth is that you need to be good at everything. The truth is that no one has it all. Surround yourself with people who can complement your strengths. My two co-founders Chris Tomseth and Dave Osborne bring a lot of experience and skills that I do not have. I am also lucky to have an incredible VP of Operations, Megan Smith, who helps keep our ship running smoothly. I wanted to find co-founders and team member who could help fill in the gaps. I am so lucky to have the best team ever.

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! Not everyone is cut out to be a founder. There are many traits that you need to increase the likelihood that someone will be successful as a founder. For example, patience and a positive outlook are vital. I would say that positive self-talk is a huge part of being a founder. I am constantly reminding myself that I have gotten this far, and I can keep going! As founders, we are constantly hitting speed bumps on our way and getting rejected daily. We need to be able to see the end goal and not let it get to us. We have to believe that we are solving an important problem, and if people are not seeing the vision along with us then they are not the right person to talk to. Entrepreneurs must keep going, and never give up. Failure is part of the entrepreneurial process. It is the richest source of learning, so if one thing is not working on the journey, that is your lesson to pivot and go in a new direction. But, as long as you believe in your vision and you have others to support you, you must keep going.

Some people don’t enjoy this process, and that means that they are not cut out for the entrepreneurial journey. That is okay! There is something for everyone.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

5 Things I wish someone told me before I started:

  • Raising money will take a lot longer than you think. We started on Labor Day weekend and finally finished the week of Memorial Weekend. We thought it might take 2 months! Ha!
  • You don’t need to be an expert in the field of your startup to be a success. For example, I have never worked in travel before. But, my passion to improve the space is so strong that I am able to bring a new perspective to the field and help show the travel industry (airlines and airports) how important it is to focus on the customer experience. I now see my lack of airline experience as an asset, not a weakness.
  • It can be lonely at times. Starting a company from scratch is hard and there is no playbook. Find mentors and friends that you can talk to so that you can feel less along.
  • A coach is so important! I found a coach through one of my investors and it is a game changer. She has coached me on going from a founder to a CEO. It is an ongoing process but I wish I had met her sooner!
  • Make time to take care of yourself. This one I am still working on. There have been many days and weeks where I skipped exercise to work. On the days that I make time to work out — even if it is just a 20 minute bike ride or yoga class, my day is more productive and enjoyable. I need to remember this daily!

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

Since I find air travel to be very stressful, I like that we are taking the stress away for so many people. We are giving peace of mind to families, single moms, seniors, and helping solo travelers have an easier airport experience. We get messages from customers saying that we were “sent from heaven” to help them through a difficult time, or with a relative. Who they were worried about. That is very rewarding.

You are a person who has the opportunity to have 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.

What movement would bring the most amount of good? I think my greater mission is to encourage people to believe in themselves. If you believe that you have something to offer the world, go for it! Nothing can stop you if you take baby steps in the direction of your dreams and are committed to your goal. My goal of improving the airport experience is coming true before my eyes and it is pretty cool to watch it happen. It is possible because of my team and our vision to make air travel easier and better for all.

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.

That is easy. Sara Blakely is my favorite role model! She has built an empire and I love learning from her. I have watched her MasterClass, follow her on Instagram, and have read many articles about her. My favorite advice that she has given is: Courage comes from making it about more than just yourself. Meeting Sara would be a dream come true.

If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch about your company to someone, what would you say?

SkySquad is a service that empowers individuals and families to fly with confidence. Traveling is hard, and traveling with kids is even harder. SkySquad was created to provide customers with a helping hand from the minute you arrive at the airport to the moment that you walk on the plane. Our staff are badged and background checked to get through security, and to the gate.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

@skysquadnow (Instagram)

https://www.instagram.com/skysquadnow/

@The Sky Squad (Facebook)

https://www.facebook.com/theskysquad/

@SkySquad (LinkedIn)

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

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