Entreprenista

It’s never too late to reinvent yourself. Just ask Ruth Zukerman, one of the original cofounders of SoulCycle (arguably one of the most successful spin class companies anywhere) and who, after a devastating exit from the company, picked...

When you’ve built a very successful business as a jewelry designer for more than 20 years, the natural move is to leave it all behind and start making documentary films celebrating and supporting female artisans and entrepreneurs through authentic...

Determination is an essential ingredient to succeeding in business and overcoming the inevitable challenges any entrepreneurial journey can pose. It’s also something that defines Tina Hedges, who at every turn has pushed forward to realize her vision of a company that can make a difference to countless beauty consumers and the environment as well.

Tina Hedges, Founder and CEO of LOLI Beauty (a beauty brand using only organic, raw, fair-trade, non-GMO ingredients), joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How Tina’s career trajectory changed from being on track to run factories in China to starting her own beauty company

Standing up for your morals even if it may cost you your job

The changes in the fashion industry from the 80s to today

Learning to appreciate the little details of running a beauty company by working in retail

Why Tina still makes sure to spend time in stores when on business trips to stay in touch with the consumer’s experience with the product

How a chance phone call changed Tina’s trajectory from going to business school to working on a creative marketing team and learning on the job 

Why giving employees autonomy and encouraging decision making is important for building a strong team 

How Tina’s childhood shaped her view of health and beauty products 

The environmental damage the beauty industry does, and how that sparked Tina’s decision to start LOLI

The filling station concept, and the spark to deconstruct the beauty industry to fresh and raw ingredients which can be customized and sustainable 

Getting accustomed to working for yourself, and how to judge work for yourself objectively 

How Tina started LOLI as a surprise subscription box service, and the benefits of using your early clients as a focus group to hone your brand 

The creative ways that LOLI operates as a zero waste organic beauty brand, but upscaling from food produce sources and finding ways to operate without adding or wasting water 

The strength of collaborating with brands, like Adidas and Alexander Wang, to gain traction and boost visibility 

How Tina funded the start of LOLI, and some tips for those presenting business plans to potential investors 

Ageism, and how Tina overcame the obstacles she encountered when trying to find investors 

A dramatic story where a sick Tina flies to Geneva to meet with investors who had the funds to start LOLI

Learning to hire employees and the stresses and learning experiences Tina experienced while building a strong team around her 

The importance of communicating with your consumers and solving issues quickly 

A one minute brainstorm on how LOLI can build more traction as the look to take their next step forward as a company

A case study on building a business empire-in-the-making, proving that creativity, hard work, determination, and research can transform a passion into a real business, why believing in your excellent product is crucial for growth, leveraging people around you to jump start your business, how the use of influencer marketing before it was a thing and early adoption of social media made a major difference, challenges from having from no money for payroll to running out of cash during construction, and why you won’t hear Britney Spears in any of Heather’s pilates studios…

Heather Andersen, Studio owner and Program Director of New York Pilates (a New York city-based fitness company offering music driven, small group reformer classes and private sessions),  joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How Heather discovered pilates, and what led her to open her own studio, New York Pilates

Why the social aspect of taking classes with groups and friends is important to Heather and how that shaped her studio space and business model 

How Heather started her own studio without any outside investors 

What Heather did to market her studio’s brand, and why being passionate about your product is vital 

How Heather’s business grew from a one-woman operation to opening multiple locations 

ClassPass, and the difficulties in converting people looking to save money into reliable returning clients 

The challenges of learning how to run a business on the job 

What kept Heather going even when the responsibilities of running a studio on a shoestring budget were daunting 

How Heather is keeping New York Pilates feel like a tight knit community even as it grows into bigger spaces and new markets 

The challenges Heather had with learning to grow as a manager, and the lessons she learned through trial and error and a book that helped her 

How New York Pilates uses social media to showcase their brand ethos to potential clients

What being an entreprenista means to Heather 

Plus, a one minute brainstorm about organization and managing ideas and goals 

Some of the greatest ideas for a business come from solving a problem the founder has personally experienced. Sarah Kugelman is such a founder, whose personal experiences with anxiety, and the impact of stress on her skin, led her to build a successful business…

Sarah Kugelman, Founder/CEO of skyn ICELAND (a Vegan, Cruelty-free, natural skincare line) joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How Sarah’s personal dealings with anxiety led to her founding skyn ICELAND, and the connection between stress and skin health

Sarah’s entrepreneurial spirit, and how she combined her working experience and her passion to forge a new career path for herself

The vacation that led to the name of the line, and what makes it more than just a name

The challenges of importing ingredients overseas, and finding a chemist who shared Sarah’s vision for the line

How Sarah approaches bringing new products into the line, and know when some products have run their course

The tentpole moments in skyn ICELAND’s history where Sarah knew she had made it

How Sarah manages stress now, and how that has evolved over time

Sarah shares some of the biggest scares she’s had while running skyn ICELAND, and the lessons she’s learned along the way

What Sarah did to keep the business alive when one of their biggest retailers decided to phase the line off the shelves

Some of Sarah’s most out=of-the-box marketing ideas from the pre-social media age and what she did to adapt to the current marketing climate

What Sarah sees as the future of the beauty industry, and for skyn ICELAND What having more educated consumers means for the industry

‘Sarah shares what being an entreprenista means to her, and gives some advice for people who are starting their own businesses

Plus, a one minute brainstorm on how Sarah can boost her engagement on Instagram

Social media is powerful, but what if you can’t use big platforms to advertise your business and initiate products, such as sex toys? Plus, hiring the right people, having hustle, how health challenges can inspire an entrepreneurial mission, the challenge of raising money in a boys’ club, and never giving up.

Polly Rodriguez, CEO and Co-Founder of Unbound (a leader in changing how feminists explore and enjoy their sex lives., through a quarterly box, online shop and Unbound Magazine), joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How Polly went from working as a consultant to finding a business parter and starting Unbound

The difficulties in finding steady income while trying to commit to growing your business, and why it’s better not to feel embarrassed by doing whatever it takes to set off down your own career path

The growing pains unique to Unbound as a sexual wellness brand

How through self motivated research and practice Polly helped Unbound tackle advertising hurdles by utilizing SEO and content marketing

How Unbound grew from a subscription box only to a broader wellness product company that produces its own goods

The process of finding investors, and why timing is crucial

How Polly and her co-founder Sarah split their workloads

The importance of finding motivated employees and structured hiring processes

Polly’s experiences with cancer and how that led to her career change

The importance of support systems outside of the company you work at

A one minute brainstorm about white-listing ads and the future of social media

If you have any connection to the fashion or beauty industries you’ve most likely heard of Alexandra Wilkis Wilson at least of The GILT Group and Glamsquad. Her latest entrepreneurial success is Allergan’s Spotlyte, educating millions on beauty and medical aesthetics.

Alexandra shares her remarkable entrepreneurial journey—from a childhood lemonade stand to leading 1,000 employees, how startups are romanticized, and teams are everything, the importance of a two-way street and how becoming a mother impacted her professional life, finding the right people to hire, launching a company in the biggest way, how culture has been a focus for her new company, and how she’s learned to say no (but sometimes yes). Plus, a surprise, and a brainstorm for a social media strategy.

Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Entrepreneur, Executive, Board Director, Investor, Advisor, Mentor, Author, Public Speaker, and SVP, Consumer Strategy and Innovation for Allergan, joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

Coming from a lemonade stand as a child to launching GILT as her first entrepreneurial effort as a professional person

Being bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, a major turning point for her — seeing tech, fashion, commerce, all really changing

Why Alexandra is a big believer in teams

The unexpected level of difficulty, and how startups are romanticized

The process from idea to raising money and figuring out a business

How Alexandra is involved in many startups in various ways

Always seeking the perfect market fit — a perfect storm of a good idea and amazing people, timing and funding

What the co-founders focused on in their roles

The importance of a two-way street, LinkedIn, helping others, what goes around comes around

The timing of becoming a mother, how it brought a change

Getting involved in Glamsquad because she bumped into cofounders who had a great idea

What Alexandra is doing now is scarier than anything before

Someone from Socialfly was the 500k Glamsquad customer

When she was looking for board roles, a big client is Allergan owned Botox, doing something innovative

Spotlyte – a great place to learn about beauty and skincare

Alexandra is an expert in understanding consumer behavior, consumer strategy and innovation into an industry heavily regulated, that wasn’t focused enough on customer

A billboard in Times Square and a food truck for a launch

Educating millions of consumers on beauty and medical aesthetics, unbranded

Why Alexandra is surprised that a big, global company is so entrepreneurial

Keep meeting people, keep track of people

Hiring 50 new people in a year

Leading over a 1,000 people at one time

The culture at Alexandra’s current office – transparent, communicative, respectful, agile, teamwork, fun, passionate, and more — consistency

Whether being an entrepreneur gets easier? The good days and bad days phase her less

Learning to say “no”

A happy accident on a 21st birthday and an old Hollywood secret inspired a booming beauty business, the importance of a balanced team and open dialogue, why it is crucial to learn from customer feedback, and the challenges and rewards of running a business with your life partner.

Rachel Katzman, Founder/CEO of Cuvée Beauty (champagne-inspired/infused haircare line), joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How a happy accident on Rachel’s 21st Birthday and old Hollywood secrets led to a booming business

Starting a beauty product band from scratch

Learning on the job while building a business

Differentiating a product in a well established industry by focusing on the consumer

Finding business partners as a small upcoming brand

Growing up in an entrepreneurial family and starting a business without a formal education

Working through discouragement and insecurity to find success

Learning on the job while building a business

The importance of building a balanced team

Why this is the time of the indie beauty brand

How personal experiences shaped Rachel’s focus on hair health and investments in clinical trials

Prioritizing the product before focusing on marketing and social presence

The importance of having an open dialogue and learning from customer feedback

Managing two business, one on your own and one with your partner

The good and bad of running a business with your life partner

The challenge of keeping your personal and private lives separate

How being a problem solver helps push your business and products to the next level

And a 1 Minute Brainstorm for Cuvée’s next marketing plan and products!

How it all started…

Socialfly founders Stephane Cartin and Courtney Spritzer take a break from sharing the journeys of other female founders—and to share there own. Hear how they met, there first days as co-founders seven years ago, how and why things took off, the challenges and victories, how they’ve changed and grown, and biggest sources of pride.

Happy holidays!

A desserts-in-a-jar business so successful that major fashion events have made them a must, and actually started on Instagram by a 22 year-old founder without a formal business education who just wanted to share her love for baking… Dani...