The Mentor Files

Today's guest is Katya Libin, one of the powerhouse women behind Heymama, a membership only network to support modern working and entrepreneurial mothers. The group boasts more than 700 CEOs, founders, creatives, and leaders in countless industries. After spending years in sales in the tech industry, Katya wanted to find a better way to support women and help moms connect - that's how Heymama was born.

What exactly is Heymama? It's an amazing source of community inspiration, and career intel and support for mamas, with a combination of daily inspirational editorial content, high profile partnerships, national events, and community meet ups.

In this episode, Monica sat down to chat with Katya about they company's journey: what steps she took early on to help herself and the company, how they attracted such an amazing community of women, the value of a good ambassador program, and the highs and lows of starting a membership-based business.

Early in her career, Sonia Nagar founded a mobile shopping app called Pickie. After much success, the app was acquired by Retail Me Not, where she became the vice president of product and head of mobile apps for the coupon shopping site — and earned a Webby Award for Best Shopping App!

Upon relocating to Chicago with her husband, Sonia was preemptively meeting with VCs about future potential investments when one thing led to another and she was offered a position that was too good to refuse. Today, Sonia is the Vice President at Pritzker Group Venture Capital and is responsible for sourcing the firm's investments in consumer enterprise and emerging technology.

If you're thinking of pitching an idea to investors or toying with the idea of starting an app for your brand, you're going to want to listen in. Sonia and Monica discuss the best way to capture the attention of a venture capitalist and what qualities Pritzker Group looks for in a founder and their company.

Azeeza Khan left her corporate job for the chance to pursue her dream of launching a women's wear brand, which she did with just a $3,000 budget. Since launching, her store has been listed by Forbes as a top shopping destination in Chicago and Azeeza herself was named by Women’s Wear Daily as the city’s “it designer”.

Azeeza's brand is a perfect combination of accessibility and luxury, so it's no surprise that it’s a favorite among celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, stylists, and fashion-forward women. The line is now carried exclusively at Barney’s where it continues to sell out each season.

She runs her business like a tight ship with a lean team, all the while balancing being a mom of a toddler. In today's podcast, she talks with Monica about her decision to quit her corporate job and take a chance on her own business, how her brand has evolved, and the importance of utilizing your network.

In 2015, Jen Rubio was traveling back from a trip to Switzerland when her luggage broke in the middle of a crowded airport, sending her clothes and belongings everywhere. As she looked for a replacement she couldn't find the kind of iconic, high-quality, affordable luggage she was looking for.

Jen called up her friend Steph Korey - the two met in 2011 at Warby Parker back when they had only twenty employees - and they got to work. Just a few years later, they launched their direct-to-consumer luggage company, Away, in 2015. It boasts high end features such as two built-in USB ports and a durable, sleek design but is a fraction of the price of competing luggage.

The Away team now has more than 100 employees and tens of millions in revenue. They have expanded their product line, which now offers the bag in six sizes and eight colors and have partnered with people like Gray Malin and Karlie Kloss. In their conversation, Jen and Monica talk about how Away launched without a product, the way they handle collaborations, and why the retail and digital arms of the business aren't so different after all.

Today's episode might just make you want to go home and do laundry.

After graduating from Cornell University’s Fiber Science and Apparel Design Program, Lindsey Boyd and Co-founder Gwen Whiting found themselves in New York City, working at some of the largest fashion houses in the world (hello, Chanel and Ralph Lauren!) where an unspoken dress code led them to build their wardrobes with “investment” pieces with “dry clean only” tags. Tired of the pricey bills and damaged, chemical-ridden clothing from the dry cleaners, the duo set out to revolutionize the laundry industry with eco-friendly, fabric-specific home and fabric care products.

Now, fourteen years later, with successful collaborations with John Mayer and J.Crew, a flagship store in NYC and shelf space in more than 1,500 retail stories including Barney’s, Net-A-Porter and Bloomingdales in over 38 countries, The Laundress has completely changed how people do laundry.

Today, Lindsey and Monica discuss the evolution of The Laundress, their wholesale strategy, and the secrets to their long-term success.

Lindsay Pinchuk did something most expectant mothers would never do. At eight weeks pregnant, she started a business. After realizing that moms and moms-to-be needed a place to meet and connect with one another, she decided to create the community herself.

Eight years later, The Bump Club and Beyond has sold out more than 700 events in over thirty cities and has a community of more than 300,000 parents and parents-to-be across the country.

Today, Lindsay and Monica discuss how to best launch an event and work with national partners, how she uses data to drive her business decisions and how she utilized her own network in the early days to get her business off the ground.

With a tagline of “Fewer, Better Things,” Cuyana might be one of the only fashion brands that encourages their customers to actually purchase less. The cutting edge brand offers high quality leather products at an accessible price point by sourcing different materials from around the world.

Along with her co-founder Shilpa Shah, Karla Gallardo spent two years building their companies supply chain before launching Cuyana in 2013. At the time, consumers had not yet grasped the idea of affordable luxury with a direct-to-consumer model.

Listen in as Karla and Monica discuss how a crucial part of growing the business was educating customers and investors about the new model. They also discuss the “Fewer, Better Things” motto and how it drives everything they do at the company. Karla also reveals the process she used to find the best suppliers, the role of influencers in customer acquisition and the steps they take to hire the right team.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-founders, Tamara and James Lohan first came up with the idea for a carefully curated collection of hotels after their first international trip as a couple turned out to be quite disastrous. The experience led them to write down every single thing they would want from a hotel. Those notes quickly became their business plan. What originally started as a guide book has now become Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a carefully curated collection of 1,000+ boutique and luxury hotels across the globe.

Mr & Mrs Smith quickly gained a cult following. The global travel club now caters to more than 1 million like-minded members in 100+ countries and counts tastemakers like Stella McCartney, Olivia Von Holle and Dita Von Teese as fans. The company now offers Smith24, a 24-hour customer service and booking support line and launched a “Family Hub” to highlight child-friendly hotels.

Listen in as Tamara and Monica discuss the trajectory of Mr & Mrs Smith, how she manages a team located around the globe, how to best tap into influencer marketing and why you have to balance the human and digital aspects of customer service.

As the founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Cota Capital and as founder of Signatures Capital, Bobby Yazdani has invested in more than 130 early stage tech start-ups in 15 years. Companies in his portfolio include everything from Birchbox and Bonobos to Google, Dropbox and Uber. In 2014, he was named by CB Insights as the #1 angel investor, out of a list of 2000, for most successful follow-on funding and is also currently an investor and board member for Monica + Andy.

In this rare interview, Bobby discusses his early days as an immigrant from Iran and how that shaped him into the entrepreneur and investor he is today. He also reveals the crucial steps any entrepreneur needs to take before approaching a potential investor, the two qualities of any successful entrepreneur, and the invaluable advice he shares with CEOs in his portfolio.

One weekend while studying abroad in Italy, Ariel Kaye checked into a boutique hotel on the Amalfi Coast and got into bed after a long day of travel. She felt sheets that were softer and more luxurious than anything she had ever experienced. The experience stuck with her.

Ariel went on to graduate from NYU before spending ten years at an agency in brand development and advertising. In 2012, she was shopping for bedding and was faced with overpriced monotonous products. So in 2014, with those Amalfi Coast boutique hotel sheets in mind, she launched Parachute, a direct to consumer home essentials brand that offers quality, non-toxic bedding, bath, and table linens. In addition to their e-commerce site,the brand also now has their own hospitality line and in 2016 opened The Parachute Hotel.

In this episode, Monica chats with Ariel about how she got started, how she best utilizes the advice and expertise of her investors, the importance of evolving with your customer and the number one thing you need to know about building a team.