Female Founders: Renee Ainlay of Renee’s LIVE On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Women are strong and insightful. Women have so many amazing functional ideas for products that need to hit the marketplace. The more women that become founders helps all of us to network. It’s also always a good example to mentor other women and to help with their dreams.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Renee Ainlay.
Renee is a 62-year-old wife, mother, and grandmother. Renee is also a survivor of significant chronic illnesses, kidney disease and the costly fragmented US healthcare system. She is an advocate for herself and others, a teacher, a friend, a health enthusiast, an entrepreneur and owner, creator, and chef of Renee’s LIVE, https://www.reneeslive.com, the dairy-free, cultured crème frozen desserts.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
After fourteen years of illness, including over 1500 days in bed, and well over a million dollars in medical expenses, I found my path back to health through a combination of superfoods being introduced into my regular diet after returning from death’s doorstep. Once my health returned, I knew I needed to spread the word about my journey back to health and wellness so that others might find the same relief and benefits. My husband and a few family friends helped me in making Renee’s LIVE a reality to get the same superfoods that helped me to retail stores as an indulgent dessert so they can be easily accessed by everyone they might help.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
Before our launch in retail, we spent two years in test markets, traveling across fifteen states, from Tennessee to California, traveling between Vegan festivals. We often had more than ninety minute waits for a chance to taste. Once, in Cincinnati, we had a line with over one hundred and fifty people at our concession trailer. We got caught out in strong thunderstorm with torrential rain where the wind picked up and started throwing other vendors’ equipment so we were forced to shut our windows, and after about ten minutes of blowing over canopies and tables, the storm blew past and we opened up again to see that there was still a line of people standing just as long as when we shuttered up, waiting to place an order and try a flavor. It was a sight to see.
We asked them, “Why didn’t you run for cover?” and the response was, “There was no way we were getting out of this line.”
They were all so soaked. Later we found out that the intense storm was a microburst.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Oh dear, back in either 2012 or 2013 during a practice run when cupping the ice cream into the new machine. We had an incident occur where someone didn’t properly shut a particular valve that was under pressure on the ice cream machine. Absolutely everyone on the production line was standing there and got covered in ice cream, faces, clothes, all over us. The resulting mess and clean-up was a reminder to always make equipment checks.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have been very fortunate to have a personal family friend that believed in the same things I did regarding a healthy diet and coconut crème being extremely important in our lives. We met back in 2007.
He played an integral part in my using foods as a medicine but also he was my main benefactor for helping the initial launch of Renee’s LIVE into over a thousand stores.
Also, my husband, so there are two people. I wouldn’t have made it this far without him. It makes me tear up even thinking about how he’s always rooting me on. He’s amazing, even when I was sick, he was there and took care of me, he’s just a genuinely amazing person.
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?
Being taken seriously when trying to get funding for a woman-owned business. Resources are not directed toward women. There is also a lack of role models and mentors for young women out there.
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?
Redirecting resources could help, such as making more grants available for start-ups. Small companies like mine don’t have a chance of scaling up without investors as it can take several million dollars. In 2017, more than 11 million women-owned businesses are still in the minority. At trade shows, we were outnumbered five-to-one, which can feel a little overwhelming. Always staying true to yourself, persevering. Never stop trying to get funding, for me funding has been difficult. Getting funding is difficult as women entrepreneurs are not being given the benefit of the doubt, unless they already have a relationship with investors. It helps to develop a “Never quit” attitude.
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 strong and insightful. Women have so many amazing functional ideas for products that need to hit the marketplace. The more women that become founders helps all of us to network. It’s also always a good example to mentor other women and to help with their dreams.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
Just because you’re a founder, people think that you’re rich, that you have a lot of money. By the time you get on the grocery store shelves people have no idea what it took to get you there, years of no pay, years of seventy plus hour work weeks. This venture should be your utmost passion because it will take 100% of your time & effort.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
I think a trait you should have is to never give up. Constantly move forward. Don’t let the naysayers live rent free in your head.
People that aren’t really cut out to be founders are only willing to work 40-hours a week. People that need a secure paycheck each week. Also, people who really enjoy their own free time because you don’t have a lot of that when you’re starting off.
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.)
- Frozen dessert category is the hardest one to get into as there’s a tremendous amount of competition for a very limited space.
- Distributors will always find a way to nickel and dime you to financial ruin
- Total amount of investment needed to a see a business the first five years
- Retail slotting fee costs, as to be in a retail store the store will require slotting fees to stock your product
- How hard it is to find investors, especially as a woman
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Since 2007, I’ve shared all the incredible knowledge I’ve learned about food as medicine, so paying it forward.
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.
Stop eating processed foods. Eat whole, fresh, organic, or at least non-GMO foods.
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.
Both Rihanna, who is a Vegan, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who is a Vegetarian, would be excellent lunch companions. Both are extremely active with health foods and are amazing.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Renee Ainlay of Renee’s LIVE On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.