Female Startup Club

Female Startup Club
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Jul 29, 2022 • 46min

Fave Hits: Whitehouse staffer turned Beauty Entrepreneur, Stephanie Lee on creating the intersection between wellness & beauty with SELFMADE (part 1)

This episode is with Stephanie Lee from SELFMADE.SELFMADE is a culmination of Stephanie’s lived experiences and spurred from healing from her own mental health crisis. She began her journey as a field organizer on the Obama presidential campaign, and quickly moved to the White House where she worked for the First Lady Michelle Obama. She then changed direction from politics to the prestige of the beauty industry as a product developer at MAC Cosmetics in New York City. While dealing with depression and anxiety, she left the corporate world to travel the globe solo and hear from women about their experiences about their own self-worth and emotional wellbeing. That’s when SELFMADE was born.So much about our wellness has to do with our ability to self-trust, and turn into our self-worth, rather than look outside of ourselves. But our whole world and society tell us to look outside of ourselves. How do you gain that self-gain and trust? Beauty is something where women are already spending so much money, so much time. Women are already taking care of themselves. So why not use that to inject credible mental health? How do you fall down, be vulnerable, ask for what you need, and try again? It’s micro-moments. It’s not one moment, it’s a series of moments and conversations that helped Stephanie come to a point where she might have an answer to this. We chat a lot about the pitfalls of perfectionism in this episode, something close to my heart that we chat about often on the podcast. How as a woman, if you’re planning to be an entrepreneur, perfectionism is hugely common. We need to employ the idea that we can just put something out there and iterate along the way. So much of our paralysis comes from spinning in circles around certain things and running circles, whilst part of it is just putting it out, seeing how people react, and then changing it. Psychologically, perfectionism stops you from having to face failure. But it actually keeps you from moving forward. You should do this for youself and everyone who needs this. Not to be perfect. If you love Stephanie’s story and you’re building an ecommerce brand in the beauty space, you might be interested in checking out our private network where you can access modern mentorship from women on the show, like-minded women in the ecommerce / cpg space and experts.LINKS WE MENTION:SELFMADE's InstagramStephanie's InstagramFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokPodcast: NPR's Hidden BrainBook: Daring Greatly by Brené BrownTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 28, 2022 • 7min

Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Melanie Travis, Founder of Andie Swim (part 2)

Joining me on the show today is Melanie Travis, Founder of swimwear label Andie. Andie is a swimwear company that makes the swimsuit shopping experience for women incredible through a tailored fit finder, a desirable returns policy, and relatable content.Since their launch back in 2016 Andie has curated a well-rounded swimwear collection for every moment of your life, racking up over 100 styles with multiple texture and coverage options. The whole idea is that these pieces last longer than just one season, and you can bring them back out of your wardrobe time and time again. I love how inclusivity has been part of Andie's DNA since the get-go, with sizes ranging from XS to (recently) 5XL.In this episode, we’re talking about how Mel launched a swimwear label in a competitive market, the process of validating her idea through a crowdfunding campaign, how an equity deal with her manufacturer enabled her to scale up in a really big way, and the steps the company took to grow their Instagram from 12k to almost 100k in just 2 years. Melanie dives into her different areas of focus at different stages of the business, something super interesting to get an insight into. Before launch, three workstreams were taking the majority of her time. Manufacturing, web design, and crowdfunding. She ended up with about 100K to do all of this. All that went to creating swimsuits and to a PR agency, part of the next step of the process. After having the swimsuits in hand, she decided very early on that one of the first places to invest would be PR. This is how you legitimize your business and get people to start talking about it in a serious way. After riding this PR way, Andie started investing in Facebook and Instagram advertising, leading to one of her biggest learnings since starting the business. This key bit of advice: learn how to work these social ads yourself. Don't just rely on outsourcing that, you are definitely going to need it at some point and the skills will come in very handy.There are lots more pointers where that came from, so let's get straight into it.LINKS WE MENTION:Andie’s Website Andie’s Instagram Melanie’s  InstagramFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokBook: Radical CandorTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 27, 2022 • 42min

Fave Hits: Growing sales 100% year on year (on year) to build a $20M brand, with Andie Swim founder Melanie Travis (part 1)

Joining me on the show today is Melanie Travis, Founder of swimwear label Andie. Andie is a swimwear company that makes the swimsuit shopping experience for women incredible through a tailored fit finder, a desirable returns policy, and relatable content.Since their launch back in 2016 Andie has curated a well-rounded swimwear collection for every moment of your life, racking up over 100 styles with multiple texture and coverage options. The whole idea is that these pieces last longer than just one season, and you can bring them back out of your wardrobe time and time again. I love how inclusivity has been part of Andie's DNA since the get-go, with sizes ranging from XS to (recently) 5XL.In this episode, we’re talking about how Mel launched a swimwear label in a competitive market, the process of validating her idea through a crowdfunding campaign, how an equity deal with her manufacturer enabled her to scale up in a really big way, and the steps the company took to grow their Instagram from 12k to almost 100k in just 2 years. Melanie dives into her different areas of focus at different stages of the business, something super interesting to get an insight into. Before launch, three workstreams were taking the majority of her time. Manufacturing, web design, and crowdfunding. She ended up with about 100K to do all of this. All that went to creating swimsuits and to a PR agency, part of the next step of the process. After having the swimsuits in hand, she decided very early on that one of the first places to invest would be PR. This is how you legitimize your business and get people to start talking about it in a serious way. After riding this PR way, Andie started investing in Facebook and Instagram advertising, leading to one of her biggest learnings since starting the business. This key bit of advice: learn how to work these social ads yourself. Don't just rely on outsourcing that, you are definitely going to need it at some point and the skills will come in very handy.There are lots more pointers where that came from, so let's get straight into it.LINKS WE MENTION:Andie’s Website Andie’s Instagram Melanie’s  InstagramFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokBook: Radical CandorTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 26, 2022 • 8min

Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Fiona Chan, Founder of Youthforia (part 2)

Hey everyone! Doone here. Your host and hype girl. Today on the show we’re learning from Fiona Chan, the founder behind a brand called Youthforia. While they’ve only launched just last year they’ve managed to build some crazy buzz in the beauty industry garnering more than 50m views on tiktok and growing! At Youthforia, they believe that makeup is an extension of your skincare. All of their products are formulated to be so good for your skin, you can sleep in it. Fiona actually tests all of their products by sleeping in it for an extended period of time. And so does her husband. Most conventional makeup brands formulate with fossil fuels and liquid plastics, which can be harmful or irritating for the skin. Instead, Youthforia uses skin friendly plant based ingredients to provide luxurious textures and targeted treatments for your skin. Heaven, right? In this ep, we’re chatting about the beauty industry as a whole and Fiona’s advice for standing out in a saturated space, how she harnessed the power of tiktok to get traction and commits to creating 2 videos a day AND why you should get onto Supergreat if you’re in the beauty industry. Youthforia is seriously killing the TT game. Currently boasting a modest 1.4M likes, we had to know the secret. Fiona’s strategy comes down to three overarching principles she was able to share with us, starting with consistency. Create at least two TikTok videos a day if you’re going to take this seriously. You never know until you actually do it what will resonate with your audience - it’s a numbers game. But keep in mind: lean into what you’re able to commit to. If you’re going to create this much content, pick a content style that’s easy for you.Secondly, make sure it's relevant. Create a product that works well for the platform. Products that are visual, stand out and get influencers on TikTok talking about your brand. It’s important to keep your pulse on the trends. It’s a very reactive platform and what will perform well is heavily dependent on what’s going on that week.And lastly, intimacy. As a founder, be the face of the brand. Let your audience get to know you. Vids with the storytelling about your background and why you created the product tend to perform very well. Use your individuality as your superpower.Now, let's get straight into it.LINKS WE MENTION:Fiona's InstagramYouthforia's InstagramYouthforia's TikTokFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 25, 2022 • 25min

Fave Hits: How to launch a brand through TikTok and boast 2.3M views, with Youthforia's Fiona Chan (part 1)

Hey everyone! Doone here. Your host and hype girl. Today on the show we’re learning from Fiona Chan, the founder behind a brand called Youthforia. While they’ve only launched just last year they’ve managed to build some crazy buzz in the beauty industry garnering more than 50m views on tiktok and growing! At Youthforia, they believe that makeup is an extension of your skincare. All of their products are formulated to be so good for your skin, you can sleep in it. Fiona actually tests all of their products by sleeping in it for an extended period of time. And so does her husband. Most conventional makeup brands formulate with fossil fuels and liquid plastics, which can be harmful or irritating for the skin. Instead, Youthforia uses skin friendly plant based ingredients to provide luxurious textures and targeted treatments for your skin. Heaven, right? In this ep, we’re chatting about the beauty industry as a whole and Fiona’s advice for standing out in a saturated space, how she harnessed the power of tiktok to get traction and commits to creating 2 videos a day AND why you should get onto Supergreat if you’re in the beauty industry. Youthforia is seriously killing the TT game. Currently boasting a modest 1.4M likes, we had to know the secret. Fiona’s strategy comes down to three overarching principles she was able to share with us, starting with consistency. Create at least two TikTok videos a day if you’re going to take this seriously. You never know until you actually do it what will resonate with your audience - it’s a numbers game. But keep in mind: lean into what you’re able to commit to. If you’re going to create this much content, pick a content style that’s easy for you.Secondly, make sure it's relevant. Create a product that works well for the platform. Products that are visual, stand out and get influencers on TikTok talking about your brand. It’s important to keep your pulse on the trends. It’s a very reactive platform and what will perform well is heavily dependent on what’s going on that week.And lastly, intimacy. As a founder, be the face of the brand. Let your audience get to know you. Vids with the storytelling about your background and why you created the product tend to perform very well. Use your individuality as your superpower.Now, let's get straight into it.LINKS WE MENTION:Fiona's InstagramYouthforia's InstagramYouthforia's TikTokFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 23, 2022 • 12min

Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Jessica Warch,Founder of Kimai (part 2)

Today on the show we’re learning from the co-founder of London based jewellery brand Kimai.Kimai is a modern fine jewelry brand that delivers true traceability by using lab-grown diamonds and recycled 18k gold. By using lab-grown diamonds – which are physically and chemically identical to those that are mined – and recycled gold, they cut out all mines and middlemen and control the whole jewelry process, from design to delivery. They operate on a mission to prove that diamond mines are not forever, and that the biggest luxury is knowing where your jewellery comes from, and safe in the knowledge that it doesn't harm people or the planet.In this episode, we chat through the serendipitous moment that generated $150,000 worth of sales, her approach to fundraising and how they built a new brand in the midst of a pandemic. It's a good little reminder that if you thought cold emailing was outdated, it might be time to change your mind. Jessica talks us through a mind-blowing story that reminded me just how important it is to try your luck. No matter how big the goal. Jessica is a strong believer in cold emails. She cold emails everyone. Even investors. Looking online, figuring emails, guessing emails, or finding them.The Kimai founders were on the hunt for the perfect match for their brand and landed on Meghan Markle. She was the dream. But how do you reach royalty? Looking into her close network to figure out how can we get in touch with her and how can we tell her our story. Through a few cold emails, they got her to wear their products a few months after launch. Their strategy was all around looking at her close friends that might be more accessible than she is. With the help of LinkedIn, Facebook, and guessing emails, the girls gave themselves the chance at a stage on which to tell their story. Why they’re doing what they’re doing. And Meghan loved it. They ended up selling to Meghan through cold emailing a friend, and the rest is history. In the 2-3 weeks after she wore the earrings, they made $150,000 without any marketing. They then took advantage of that situation to go and fundraise with the advice: take advantage of the situation because you never know what happens afterward. A $1.2M seed funding round later, this is clearly a fairytale ending.Now, let's get straight into it.LINKS WE MENTION:Jessica's InstagramKimai's InstagramFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 22, 2022 • 32min

Fave hits: Building the jewelry brand that Megan Markle adores, with Kimai’s co-founder Jessica Warch (part 1)

Today on the show we’re learning from the co-founder of London based jewellery brand Kimai.Kimai is a modern fine jewelry brand that delivers true traceability by using lab-grown diamonds and recycled 18k gold. By using lab-grown diamonds – which are physically and chemically identical to those that are mined – and recycled gold, they cut out all mines and middlemen and control the whole jewelry process, from design to delivery. They operate on a mission to prove that diamond mines are not forever, and that the biggest luxury is knowing where your jewellery comes from, and safe in the knowledge that it doesn't harm people or the planet.In this episode, we chat through the serendipitous moment that generated $150,000 worth of sales, her approach to fundraising and how they built a new brand in the midst of a pandemic. It's a good little reminder that if you thought cold emailing was outdated, it might be time to change your mind. Jessica talks us through a mind-blowing story that reminded me just how important it is to try your luck. No matter how big the goal. Jessica is a strong believer in cold emails. She cold emails everyone. Even investors. Looking online, figuring emails, guessing emails, or finding them.The Kimai founders were on the hunt for the perfect match for their brand and landed on Meghan Markle. She was the dream. But how do you reach royalty? Looking into her close network to figure out how can we get in touch with her and how can we tell her our story. Through a few cold emails, they got her to wear their products a few months after launch. Their strategy was all around looking at her close friends that might be more accessible than she is. With the help of LinkedIn, Facebook, and guessing emails, the girls gave themselves the chance at a stage on which to tell their story. Why they’re doing what they’re doing. And Meghan loved it. They ended up selling to Meghan through cold emailing a friend, and the rest is history. In the 2-3 weeks after she wore the earrings, they made $150,000 without any marketing. They then took advantage of that situation to go and fundraise with the advice: take advantage of the situation because you never know what happens afterward. A $1.2M seed funding round later, this is clearly a fairytale ending.Now, let's get straight into it.LINKS WE MENTION:Jessica's InstagramKimai's InstagramFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 21, 2022 • 6min

Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Margaret Wishingrad, Founder of Three Wishes Cereals (part 2)

Today I’m joined by Margaret Wishingrad, Founder of Three Wishes Cereal. In the 12 months since launching, Margaret and her husband slash business partner Ian have built a multi-million dollar business through thoughtful retail expansion, unique guerrilla marketing moments, and a tasty better-for-you product that people want to keep buying. We’re going through the blueprint to launch and why it’s important to keep your customers' behavior front of mind. Three Wishes is a healthy cereal that tastes like childhood indulgence, led by the cereal aisle’s first female founder, Margaret Wishingrad. While other cereals on the shelf force customers to choose between flavor and nutrition, there’s no compromise with Three Wishes. It’s high protein, low sugar, gluten and grain-free, and made from ingredients like chickpeas, pea protein, and tapioca. In this episode, we discuss Three Wishes' extremely successful launch strategy, how to go about the financials after making sure you have a great minimum viable product, and making sure to get your product on Amazon.I absolutely loved chatting to someone who's such an innovator in a traditional space. Our top five learnings (it was hard to narrow it down!) from chatting with Margaret are the following:There is no ‘too early', once you have a product that you’re comfortable with and ready to get into retail you should start talking to those buyersWhen something isn't working, instead of freaking out and not knowing what do, take a step back, pivot quick, change and keep goingHaving the flexibility and understanding of how to quickly turn things around and be resourceful is an absolute saving grace A total of 45% of searches begin on Amazon, it’s a search engine in its own right and for that reason a very important channel to focus on. If you're scared to get started, yank the band-aid, just go for it - whatever is holding you back, look it in the eye, just go for itBy the way! Have you heard about our private network open to Founding Members? If you’re a woman in ecommerce and you’re looking to build your network, get access to women on the show for mentorship and experts to help you build your brand - join the waitlist. We have a limited number of Found Member spots available and you can pop your name on the list at femalestartupclub.com/waitlist.LINKS WE MENTIONThree Wishes Cereal's InstagramMargaret's InstagramFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 20, 2022 • 28min

Fave hits: From 0 to multi-millions in 1 year, how do you do it? Learning from Three Wishes founder Margaret Wishingrad

Today I’m joined by Margaret Wishingrad, Founder of Three Wishes Cereal. In the 12 months since launching, Margaret and her husband slash business partner Ian have built a multi-million dollar business through thoughtful retail expansion, unique guerrilla marketing moments, and a tasty better-for-you product that people want to keep buying. We’re going through the blueprint to launch and why it’s important to keep your customers' behavior front of mind. Three Wishes is a healthy cereal that tastes like childhood indulgence, led by the cereal aisle’s first female founder, Margaret Wishingrad. While other cereals on the shelf force customers to choose between flavor and nutrition, there’s no compromise with Three Wishes. It’s high protein, low sugar, gluten and grain-free, and made from ingredients like chickpeas, pea protein, and tapioca. In this episode, we discuss Three Wishes' extremely successful launch strategy, how to go about the financials after making sure you have a great minimum viable product, and making sure to get your product on Amazon.I absolutely loved chatting to someone who's such an innovator in a traditional space. Our top five learnings (it was hard to narrow it down!) from chatting with Margaret are the following:There is no ‘too early', once you have a product that you’re comfortable with and ready to get into retail you should start talking to those buyersWhen something isn't working, instead of freaking out and not knowing what do, take a step back, pivot quick, change and keep goingHaving the flexibility and understanding of how to quickly turn things around and be resourceful is an absolute saving grace A total of 45% of searches begin on Amazon, it’s a search engine in its own right and for that reason a very important channel to focus on. If you're scared to get started, yank the band-aid, just go for it - whatever is holding you back, look it in the eye, just go for itBy the way! Have you heard about our private network open to Founding Members? If you’re a woman in ecommerce and you’re looking to build your network, get access to women on the show for mentorship and experts to help you build your brand - join the waitlist. We have a limited number of Found Member spots available and you can pop your name on the list at femalestartupclub.com/waitlist.LINKS WE MENTIONThree Wishes Cereal's InstagramMargaret's InstagramFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 19, 2022 • 5min

Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Michelle Cordeiro Grant, Founder of Lively (part 2)

We’ve got Michelle Cordeiro Grant, the founder of LIVELY, talking us through how she founded and sold her company within 3 quick years for 105 million dollars. I. know. It’s crazy but the story is even crazier. I don’t want to give too much away but we talk through her unique launch that was a combination of strategy and luck, generating 130k emails in 48 hours. LIVELY is a brand that empowers women and provides a sense of community. They deliver lingerie, activewear, swimwear, loungewear, and self-care that take the best elements of high-style and ultimate comfort from each category to achieve a brand new POV of lingerie called Leisurée. But it’s more than its product — since launching in 2016, LIVELY has built an Ambassador network of 150,000+ members, opened four retail stores, developed several sustainable product collections, maintained its commitment to “Price Equality,” hosted hundreds of IRL and virtual events, launched a podcast, provided a platform for its community to share their passions and projects, and developed retail partnerships with Nordstrom, Madewell, and Target (launching a diffusion line called All. You. LIVELY with Target.com and select stores). Growing from its concept stage, to $15m in funding to fuel its growth, all the way to an acquisition of $105M by Wacoal in 2019, LIVELY is poised to grow even more and make bigger and bolder strides towards its mission of inclusivity, community, sustainability, and accessibility. LIVELY is an experience and mindset that reminds, inspires, and enables its customers to live life passionately, purposefully, and confidently, doing what they love, with the people they love.The key learning here is that Michelle is an absolute queen at building community. “The secret is to build a brand, with the world. Not to build a brand and try and sell it to the world. Let’s build this thing together.” This is two-fold. Building a community digitally, and also bringing women in physically. Build the relationship, and then build the machine. And they didn’t build the machine (LIVELY) until 1.5 years after the community was founded. It is important to get people on board that know how to take content, are passionate about showing their personal brand and then simply reach out to them. When it comes to the physical, the magic of focus groups is that they create invaluable data. Physical focus groups help you understand whether this is the image, this is the focus, or this is the tagline. It does take time. But when you know all your focus women are on board, you have the confidence that this content is going.Now, let's get to it.LINKS WE MENTION:Michelle's InstagramLIVELY's InstagramLIVELY's WebsiteLIVELEY's TwitterLIVELY's FacebookFemale Startup Club's InstagramDoone's InstagramDoone's TikTokTo redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/Learn more about Athletic Greens and get your FREE gift at Athleticgreens.com/STARTUPTry Zapier for free today at zapier.com/STARTUPLearn more about Dymo at Dymo.comIn partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businessesFemale Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club’s Private Facebook GroupSay hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.comFemale Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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