Amy Errett on Radical Transparency and Intimacy for the Company Win, Recognizing that One Door Closing Opens Another, and Promising Yourself Not to Repeat Bad Patterns

Amy Errett's multifaceted career has ranged from founding and operating companies to investing in startups to volunteer nonprofit leadership. But then she left it all to create Madison Reed, an omnichannel beauty brand that is challenging industry titans in the hair color space. Noticing that women only had two options when coloring their hair - Purchase a low-quality, cheap box from a drugstore or go to an expensive salon, Amy aimed to create an innovative option. But where Amy is truly innovating is in the way she leads her company. With the mantra that employees can bring their whole selves to work and a policy of openness and sharing where the entire company has lunch with Amy and coffee with Amy weekly, she's building a culture that's more like a family than anything else. Not to mention she's paying her colorists as salaried employees who don't have to rent their chairs like the rest of the hair color industry and also receive full benefits. When her stores closed during the pandemic, she continued to pay them, moved them all over to the call center, and taught them new skills. 

Prior to founding Madison Reed, Amy was a General Partner responsible for the Bay Area office of Maveron; a leading venture capital firm co-founded by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz - focused on investments in consumer facing companies. Before Maveron, Amy was CEO of Olivia, where she repositioned the travel business as a complete lifestyle company and also where she was delivered her biggest career blow. Amy is the proof that women belong at the top. Amy founded Madison Reed with over 30 years of business and operating expertise as a four-time entrepreneur, venture capitalist and social-mission visionary. In 2015 and 2018, Amy was named one of the "Bay Area's Most Influential Women in Business" by the San Francisco Business Times. She was also a finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2018 Award in the Northern California region, which she won in 2006 for the consumer category. She was also featured on Fast Company’s first ever Queer 50 list of LGBTQ women and nonbinary innovators in business and tech in 2020. In this episode, Amy shares her truths in both her failures and successes. If you want a tutorial on how to be a leader and inspire greatness, this is the episode for you.