Career Memos withSarina

Welcome to another episode of Career Memos! I am thrilled to welcome Allison Messner, the Co-Founder and CEO of Yardzen, an online landscape design platform. Allison’s career journey has taken her from PR to a budding tech startup, where she witnessed their growth from 10 to 200 employees.

In partnership with her husband Adam, Allison’s mission at Yardzen is to make landscape design beautiful and affordable for the everyday homeowner. She shares the wild way she came up with the idea, and what it was like to build her startup from the ground up. Hint: it was a lot of bootstrapping at first! Her advice and wisdom about raising capital and working with VCs is absolute gold, and there are so many takeaways in this conversation. Enjoy!

Did you enjoy today’s episode? Leave us a rating and review!

Learn more about Sarina here: https://withsarina.com/about

Yardzen

Careers at Yardzen

TechCrunch Disrupt

OpenDNS

The Job Seeker Lab withSarina - Enrollment Is Now Open!

Sarina’s Free Networking & Job Search Tracker

Chandra Caridi is the VP of Human Resources at Oatly, the delicious, go-to oat milk brand. Chandra shares about her career journey, how to build a strong workplace culture, and how she ended up at a fast-growing, trending company like Oatly by embracing failure and curiosity and welcoming the unknown.

Today, Oatly has over 165 employees and is widely known for having an incredible workplace culture. I’m thrilled to bring this conversation to you.

Did you enjoy today’s episode? Leave us a rating and review!

Learn more about Sarina here: https://withsarina.com/about

Oatly

The Job Seeker Lab withSarina - Enrollment Is Now Open!

Sarina’s Free Networking & Job Search Tracker

Claire Knebl is the VP of Brand at Ritual, a fan favorite company supporting women's health. Kicking off her multifaceted career as an Online Editorial Assistant at Teen Vogue and even working for Glossier in the early days, Claire’s career journey is so fascinating and she offers all of her insights of what it’s like to work for a fast-growing startup, plus many gems of career advice you won’t want to miss.

Did you enjoy today’s episode? Leave us a rating and review!

Learn more about Sarina here: https://withsarina.com/about

Claire would love to offer Career Memos listeners 20% off your first month of Ritual using the code CAREER20.

The Job Seeker Lab withSarina - Enrollment Is Now Open!

Sarina’s Free Networking & Job Search Tracker

If you’ve ever heard of the Enneagram and the Myers Briggs personality assessments, or just love learning and discovering new things about yourself, this episode is for you. Molly Owen’s career path went from a self-proclaimed aimless circle to becoming CEO and founder of one of the most scientifically-sound personality test companies, Truity. 

With a passion for people, psychology, and problem-solving, Molly’s mission is to make personality tests that are reliable, affordable, and accurate. In this episode, you’ll learn how these fascinating assessments can offer you unique insights for your career path.

Did you enjoy today’s episode? Leave us a rating and review!

Learn more about Sarina here: https://withsarina.com/about

Truity

Career Personality Profiler

TypeFinder Assessment

The Job Seeker Lab withSarina - Enrollment Is Now Open!

Sarina’s Free Networking & Job Search Tracker

The Holland Code Test Is a Key Tool for New Job Seekers (and is free to take through June 2021 at this link)

My Guest Post on Truity’s Blog: How To Overcome Your Blind Spots by Enneagram Type

Today I’m sitting down with Amanda Rosenberg, the Brand Director for Allergan Aesthetics, a leading pharmaceutical company that creates cutting-edge products in the area of medical aesthetics, such as Botox and cool sculpting. Amanda’s career has had elements of glamour that skyrocketed her from London to New York working at many different companies all grounded in beauty and fashion, and it’s also been dotted with multiple leaps, jumps, pivots, and risks, too.

Amanda has truly done it all, from PR, to communications, marketing, and brand and in this conversation you’ll learn how she navigated burnout, what the work culture is really like in New York, and how relationships and having many advocates in her corner helped build her career.

Did you enjoy today’s episode? Leave us a rating and review!

Learn more about Sarina here: https://withsarina.com/about

Allergan Aesthetics

Amanda’s LinkedIn Profile

The Job Seeker Lab withSarina - Enrollment Is Now Open!

Sarina’s Free Networking & Job Search Tracker

Seven years ago, Cherie Hoeger saw a real need for better reusable period care products – and after starting Saalt in 2018, it became clear how big that need really was. 

In their second year, Saalt products were stocked in all Target stores nationwide. By their third, Saalt had reached eight figures in revenue! Their company has since donated more than 100,000 products to help women and girls worldwide and has funded 600,000 days of school for girls.

What’s noteworthy about Cherie’s story is that her background wasn’t in business. It was in writing. But she did have five daughters, and the news from relatives in Venezuela – that political instability was causing a pad and tampon shortage – kept her up at night. Wasn’t there a reusable product that could prevent girls in developing countries from missing school?

In this episode, Cherie takes us behind the scenes of starting this very successful company with her husband. For them, conducting the research and pinpointing their mission has been crucial, offering them fuel while navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and helping them effectively create something that consumers wanted.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Cherie’s background as an English major, writer, and editor, and the conversation with her husband’s aunt in Venezuela that kept her up at night and provoked her to start Saalt
• The beginnings of the company, starting with the creation of a 3D CAD model of their first period cup, and how they differentiated themselves in a saturated market
• Their first years of business, which included a product recall and a buyer from Target who changed everything, helping them reach 8 figures in year three
• Becoming a B Corp-certified business: how to get certified, the impact it can have socially and environmentally, and the importance of mission for Gen Z/Millennial consumers
• Using market research to literally create a company that consumers wanted and the importance of surrounding yourself with other entrepreneurs

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Learn more about Saalt and the story of how the company came to be. 

Sarina is a career coach and consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, via email, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Fearlessness in putting yourself out there is Adriana Carrig’s secret to success.

Adriana is the inspiring Founder and CEO of the Little Words Project, a community built on the back of bestselling affirmation bracelets worn by A-listers like Taylor Swift, Lance Bass, and Alicia Keys.

After years of bullying, Adriana was inspired to launch her jewelry company as a way to build sisterhood in her college sorority. After college, the Little Words Project was intentionally built without capital by listening to her gut, the market, and her brand’s impact-driven values.

Sometimes it can be uncomfortable putting yourself out there, but discomfort is where growth happens. You never know who is going to get you into what space. You never know who is going to be interested in your product. 

This conversation with Adriana is incredibly powerful as she weaves in stories of resilience and empowerment and insights around motherhood and entrepreneurship. The result of her hard work isn’t just a business, but an entire community built on kindness and self-love.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The origins of the Little Words Project in Adriana’s college sorority, which was then a side hustle that she worked on in her parents’ basement 
• Getting the business “on sale” by hiring friends to help her with her website and create video content – and why she wouldn’t change those first steps even 10 years later
• “Baby stepping” her way into working at her business full-time and only growing when it was necessary, hiring her first employees carefully and strategically
• Allowing all the imperfect moments to be seen on their social media accounts and the impact this had on the Little Words Project community
• How to find the right people who can give you confidence in your business and help champion your brand, plus the importance of putting yourself out there

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Join the Little Words Project community and shop their bestselling jewelry.

Sarina is a career coach and consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, via email, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Slow and steady is the BEST way to build a business, laying the foundation brick-by-brick. 

Sabena Suri is the co-founder and board member of BOXFOX, an ecommerce gifting destination, curating elevated, thematic boxes for all occasions. The company is tremendously successful, and yet, Sabena and her co-founders never raised capital. Instead, they learned to wear lots of hats and built their business slowly with no outside forces dictating the direction.

After 8 years, Sabena made a bold and unconventional decision to pivot and step down from BOXFOX, realizing her “zone of genius” is actually in establishing the foundations for a new business from scratch.

Today, Sabena takes us on her fascinating career journey: her early experiences, what it was like to grow BOXFOX with friends, and the work she’s done since. She shells out great advice for fellow entrepreneurs, from the importance of being open, to knowing when it’s time for something new.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Sabena’s early work experience writing for CNET and working as an associate at Ogilvy and Mather, where she became fast friends with one of her future co-founders
• The benefit of focusing on problems instead of products and the birth of BOXFOX, a curated platform for gifting
• Sabena’s advice for deciding whether to start a company with a co-founder, plus things to consider, from your vision and commitment, to the skills you each have
• Why BOXFOX decided to not raise capital (an unconventional decision!) – and advice for entrepreneurs going that route
• Leaving a thriving company in order to pivot, pursue personal growth, and find more opportunities that enable you to use your “zone of genius”

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Check out BOXFOX’s elevated gifting options on their website.

Sarina is a career coach and consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, via email, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

What is it actually like to be a co-founder of multiple companies? Today’s guest Stephanie Cartin is spilling her secrets as a multi-passionate entrepreneur and how she went from selling Girl Scout cookies to launching her first company, Socialfly, a full-service social media marketing agency.

Stephanie has so much wisdom to offer in this episode from how she positioned herself as a thought leader to attain clients to why she hired senior talent as soon as possible (this will help your business grow faster!). She also delves into how to use angel investing to your advantage. 

Besides Socialfly, Stephanie is also the co-founder of Markid, a marketplace for parents selling pre-loved items, Pearl Influential Capital, an investing community helping female founders raise capital, and Entreprenista, an online membership and podcast for women entrepreneurs.

If you are starting or growing a business, this conversation is jam-packed with fascinating stories and tips! 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Stephanie’s foray into entrepreneurship (selling Girl Scout cookies and Beanie Babies), her time at Cornell University, and the Disney Vacation Club that inspired her career
• Being at the forefront of using social media for marketing, which inspired the first business she co-founded with her business partner, Courtney Spritzer
• The benefits of bringing senior talent on early in the business as consultants instead of full-time junior talent 
• Focusing on what YOU are really great at in your business and partnering or hiring people who can execute what THEY are great at
• Entreprenista, which started as a business podcast that turned into a membership community and media platform that provides content and tools for founders and leaders
• Balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood (and Stephanie’s favorite tool to manage it all, the Big A## Calendar)

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Are you starting a business and still in the trenches? Check out Entreprenista, an online community for founders who are looking to make meaningful connections that will lead to business growth and success, and listen to the Entreprenista Podcast. 

Stephanie is also the co-founder of Socialfly, Markid, and Pearl Influential Capital. 

Want to learn more about raising capital? Be sure to check out Episode 39 of Career Memos featuring Annie Evans.

Sarina is a career coach and consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, via email, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

What does it look like to disrupt an industry? Jennifer Ross is giving us a behind the scenes peek into her journey of launching Swoon, an innovative line of zero-sugar iced teas and lemonades. 

Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child, much of her motivation for starting the company stemmed from a desire for better sugar-free drink options, for the “young Jens” out there.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Swoon came to be, from coming up with the formula, building a proof of concept, and going door to door to sell it. Now, Swoon is available nationwide! 

Jennifer also shares what it’s like running a successful F&B company alongside her friend, Co-Founder, and Co-CEO Cristina Ros Blankfein, and she offers great advice for aspiring founders who have a similar dream of breaking into the food and beverage space.

Before Jennifer became an entrepreneur, she had very little experience in the food and beverage industry – and yet, she credits her previous jobs in banking and operations for teaching her the skills she uses today. It doesn’t matter where you start. No matter the job, no matter the industry, there’s always something you can take with you to your next career or business venture. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Jennifer’s career highlights, from Goldman Sachs, FanVision, Harvard Business School, and the cocktail mixing company she started with her partner, Cristina Ros Blankfein
• How Jennifer and Cristina navigated the crowded food and beverage space in New York by starting small, testing the market, and getting customer feedback early on
• The idea and origins of Swoon, a company that produces sugar-free lemonade and iced tea from monk fruit-based syrup
• What to look for in a Co-Founder and Co-CEO, and the value of working with people who think differently than you
• Working at a large company where roles are fixed vs. a small company where you have your hands in everything

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

You can find Swoon at Whole Foods, at your local grocery stores, at select Targets, Amazon, and on their website.

Sarina is a career coach and consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, via email, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.