Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / How this impact driven personal care brand launched by giving thousands of products away for free, with Hiki’s Ariel Wengroff

Transcript

How this impact driven personal care brand launched by giving thousands of products away for free, with Hiki’s Ariel Wengroff · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Arielle Wengroff for Female Startup Club. Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. I'm your host, Doon Roshin, and joining me on the show today is Arielle Wengroff. This woman that you're about to hear from is an absolute powerhouse with so many interesting projects under her belt.
• 0:29
  Having spent many years working at Vice and building out their female-focused media vertical, she's since produced Gloria Steinem's film Woman. She's co-founded ARFA, which is a consumer goods company that produces personal care brands Hickey and State Of. She's recently launched a production company, and she's an advisor for Liontree, a new age digital meets investment banking company.
• 0:53
  In this episode, we're chatting through the development of ARFA and what it looks like to build out a portfolio of brands through a collective of real folks, a very unique launch for Hickey, and her key advice for women who have a big idea. And if you're feeling the vibe, please do share the show or this episode with someone in your life who will benefit from hearing it.
• 1:14
  If we can empower our network of women in our lives to create profitable brands that are better for the people and the planet, we can collectively change the world. This is Arielle for Female Startup Club. Arielle, hi, welcome to the Female Startup Club podcast. Hi, I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
• 1:34
  Me too. I'm so excited. You have such an impressive track record. You were an executive producer on the Gloria Steinem film Woman. You've had a new film premiere recently. You were previously the co-founder of Arthur Inc, which is a consumer goods company that develops personal care brands like Hickey and State of Menaphors. And now you're an advisor at Investment Bank Liontree. Holy moly. Have I missed anything? Is that it?
• 2:02
  I mean, it's been a busy couple of years. I'm also just founded my own production company called Culture's Last Stand. So I'm excited for some upcoming projects there as well. That is just so cool. Wow. Such a go-getter. Holy moly. Okay, so today we're going to hone in on your time at Arthur Inc. building Hickey and State of Menopause and the lessons you've learned along the way. Where does that story start in your life?
• 2:30
  Well, it's funny because I actually think the story starts with being just an incredibly curious person. My entire career and background is founded in this notion of what is the best medium to connect with people and allow other people to open their minds and really be more excited to learn about people that may not be like them. You know, I started out in politics.
• 2:53
  in Vermont, which is a small state, but it's a laboratory for change. And it allows you to have a lot of accountability because if you have a conversation with someone, you're probably going to run into them at the grocery store and they're going to ask you about it. And so it was a great way to start my career and an understanding that your words really matter.
• 3:10
  And at that point, I realized politics has so much red tape. I think that there are other ways to connect with people. And that's really where media became such a opportunity for me, because when I ended up moving to New York and started working at Vice back in 2014, it was such a small company that if you wanted to raise your hand and really run full steam ahead, you could.
• 3:31
  And I realized at that time that there was an incredible opportunity to also tell many more stories that focused on the female characters on the ground. And that was when we started working with Gloria Steinem and developed our show Woman. And so that led me to realize, OK, there are all these brands that are trying to work with media companies that want.
• 3:51
  They want that cachet of cool, right? They want that audience to feel like it resonates with the brand. But it was very hard to convince them of the things that the audience actually wanted and would resonate with them. And I started to realize, actually, if you flip the script and you worked with the people around the country to create the brands with them, which was the direction we were going into, which is this aspect of the digital identity changing.
• 4:14
  And the fact that people don't care if it's a brand or a media company that's helping to lead their identity. They just want them to do a good job. That's really what led me to go into this idea of consumer, because I thought that it would be an incredible opportunity to bring the creator along the journey and hopefully have them reward in the outcome. And personal care is an incredibly intimate and vulnerable aspect of our daily lives. So it was none of this has been planned for me.
• 4:41
  But it's always been this idea of how do we bring people in? How do we open their minds and how do we create something that has a more conscious journey as the end result? And that's when you're talking about bringing people into the journey, you're specifically talking about the collective that you built around these two consumer brands, Hickey and State of Menopause, that kind of guided you on the naming, the branding, the product, all of the things. Is that right?
• 5:09
  Yeah, absolutely. I guess I'm kind of getting ahead of myself. But when we started ARFA, we realized we needed people around the country to actually help because we wanted to create personal care brands with people like you and me around the country. And so I got into a car, spent a lot of nights in weird motels and hotels pre-COVID and went to places like Gulfport, Mississippi and Detroit and New Orleans and met incredible people in their homes.
• 5:33
  who opened their doors to me and sat down with their friends or strangers. And we would have conversations and it would start everyone with, you know, how are you doing today? How are you feeling today? And then going into the history of their experience around body odor and smell and sweating and all of these crazy things where you're not thinking about it all day long, but it does have an impact on your daily life. And if you think about personal care as a category, you
• 5:58
  you know, it's probably the first thing you interact with before you've had a cup of coffee in the morning. If you leave the house and you forget it, you might feel a little off and you don't know why. And it sees you naked probably more than anything else in your life. And it's this incredible life habit that we've developed. And a lot of that comes from sort of fear and marketing based campaigns that started in the 40s and 50s and have never really been undone. And so there's a proper why.
• 6:24
  to be had if you're actually using something on a daily basis. And so in order to actually go through that process, we wanted to have a collective as a part of it. And so we had those initial conversations and then they actually helped at all of the key development stages of the brand journey. Wow, that is so cool. I want to kind of backtrack just slightly to really set the scene and paint the picture for what was kind of going on.
• 6:50
  So you met your co-founders and did you decide to leave Vice and start this new kind of umbrella company or what was the kind of early journey like there?
• 7:02
  So I met one of my co-founders, Henry, at actually a dinner in Cannes that we were hosting, my friend Laura Carrente and me. And it was all about people in media and entrepreneurship that were trying to change things up. And I had never met Henry. I really didn't know that much about Glossier, to be honest. And he was sitting next to me at a dinner and we just kind of hit it off.
• 7:22
  And really believed that, you know, he wanted to go into the next level of customer interaction than what Glossier had started, which was such an incredible inflection point at the time. And I believed that there was a deeper story to tell with people through that process, which was really my background in media and storytelling. And so then our two other founders, Brian and Shabda, also came from Glossier and strategy and technology. And we thought,
• 7:48
  you know, let's give it a go. So I did meet them and then decide to leave Vice. But I had very much felt inside of me that there was the next era of sort of the creator economy happening. And that brands and, you know, and I say brand interchangeably within media or consumer or technology. To me, it's one in the same. It's a consumer, it's a person, and they're not an anonymized statistic.
• 8:11
  And we're at a moment where if you want to treat someone as if they are a conglomerate, then you're missing the point. And so that was what excited me so much about kind of taking that leap of faith. Got it. Wow. So interesting. For this kind of business model, did you need to raise capital, you know, right off the bat or were you just getting started really scrappy? How did it kind of work when it came to the finance side of things of building multiple brands at once? Yeah.
• 8:40
  Since we made the determination that ARFA would be a portfolio company, we did need to raise capital in the onset. Because, you know, for folks out there who are listening, who are in consumer, there are the people who are able to start it in their bedroom or their bathroom, and they kind of grow it up from there and figure it out along the way. We wanted to create multiple brands at once where we knew that we would have large MOQ orders, which is the amount of orders you have to make of an individual product at any given time. And in order to do that and fund inventory,
• 9:09
  it can actually be pretty expensive. So we wanted to have the ability to make those choices from the beginning and do it at a level where we could really, you know, knock things out at once. So we did make the determination to raise money at the start. And what year is all of this kind of beginning in?
• 9:27
  This was 2019. So in 2019, we sat down around a coffee table together and said, okay, what does it look like? Let's give it a go. And started to have those conversations and really say, you know, I think for any founder, there's kind of this moment where it's percolating in your stomach and you're not sure where, but you're starting to see the same thesis or idea bubble up in all
• 9:50
  to take that energy and direct it with like-minded individuals towards something. And you don't know what's going to happen, but all you can do is put your best foot forward. And now that I've been a founder, I always tell people, especially female founders that I know, you don't have to start a company to be a founder.
• 10:09
  anyone that is having a pivotal impact in their role in an organization is a founder. And so it's how do you direct that energy and that passion that you have towards your own values in the outcome of your work? It's just that in this case for us, it happened to be starting a company and making products and going through so many of the other experiences that most founders do have when they go through that entrepreneurial journey. That's a really cool way to think about it. I like that.
• 10:36
  So that's 2019. You've had the conversation. You've started doing all of these, you know, focus groups around the country with these women and men about sweat and smell and all these kinds of things. What then happens? How did you start actually building the brand and getting it to come to life in terms of what the name was, what the visual identity was, what the language was like?
• 11:02
  So when you start to have those conversations, you start to notice trends that emerge. So some of the biggest things that started to come up was that it wasn't actually about, you know, the things that you were putting under your armpit. It was actually everywhere else on the body. So, you know, stories that I would hear about boob sweat, about butt sweat, about chafing. I mean, these are things that are happening to most people. 82% of people experience chafing.
• 11:29
  having those conversations. So the brand actually emerged out of the fact that there was a need for the whole body around sweat, around destigmatization around it. And the fact that if you, if there is stigma around a topic, how do we make it fun and enjoyable to experience? So we immediately identified that we needed to have some educational content. We needed to create a
• 11:50
  a brand that had a lot of color and fun and joy. And we needed to make something that really worked because this is about like your everyday bodily needs. And so, you know, from there, we're like, okay, this is what we actually think the potential products could be based on that conversation. You know, we always say it as ARFA was kind of like the Willy Wonka factory. We get to take everyone's ideas and thoughts and try to make them a reality with them and for them. It's not their job to be the experts. It's their job to be honest with us.
• 12:17
  And so then I would go back to the collective and say, okay, this is what we're thinking. How do you feel about this? What do you think? Give us your feedback. We gave them product samples, we gave them different options on the brand and on the name. And we went back and forth. And, you know, Hickey, for example, is actually, you know, when you have a Hickey, you see the mark is very similar to the mark you get from chafing.
• 12:38
  And it also means sweat and finish. So it was just kind of fun, honestly. And they got to be a part of all of those pieces. But it is our job to take them through that process. And so we had to just kind of create checkpoints to do that. And it's funny because at that time, we actually used Zoom as a tool for follow-up collective meetings. So when we actually had to transition, when the pandemic started, we had already kind of created that cadence.
• 13:07
  to allow for that experience. How many people were in the collective and like, who were these people?
• 13:15
  I mean, incredibly kind, amazing people. I mean, the collective was, you know, hundreds of folks. We made a determination at the beginning that we really wanted it to be a small C community. We didn't want it to be so big from the beginning that I didn't have a relationship with these people or that we didn't know who the folks were that were commenting on Instagram. You know, you can say you have a big Instagram community, but if you don't know who, you know, beauty lover 714 is,
• 13:39
  is that a real community? And what are you actually gaining from that? So, you know, Holly in Gulfport, Mississippi, or Nina in Atlanta, who, you know, really was like my best kind of storyteller about her boob sweat date horror stories. And
• 13:55
  you know, using baby powder all over her body, but then having a good date and wanting to take your clothes off. But then you're like covered in this white baby powder and you just feel uncomfortable. So it's just honest, phenomenal people. And some of the folks were actually faces of the campaign. So Ashley in Detroit, Devin, who actually now has gone on to found her own company called Dion Libra with her partner, which is an adaptogenic
• 14:18
  brand. So which I'm really excited about. So we have founders and creators within it, but we also have people who, you know, work in medical care, or all different types of backgrounds. Oh, that is so cool. I love that true, meaningful community vibe of what you're building and having those conversations and then pulling out those words to build the brand that is so phenomenal. I love it. Amazing.
• 14:45
  So I want to then think about, you know, there was about a year until you launched, I guess, from 2019 till 2020, which is when you launched Hickey, for example. You had a really memorable launch. Can you tell us about that and kind of how it came about and a bit of a breakdown on the strategy?
• 15:07
  I mean, we had once in a lifetime launch because our launch coincided unintentionally with the pandemic. So it was all about being nimble and evolving with the world events at the time. And we had planned to launch Hickey around this time last year. So March 2020, we launched ARFA on March 10th, 2020, which was the overall company, which was all around making it clear that the things that we're experiencing, you're not alone in.
• 15:33
  But it might not be talked about as much as other people are doing for other topics. And so anyway, so we'd launched ARFA. We thought we were going to launch HICCI. And then all of a sudden, the COVID pandemic starts to overtake the country. And we're looking around at each other and thinking, are we even going to...
• 15:48
  going to be in the office together next week? What is this going to look like? And so as things started to evolve, you know, we felt like we couldn't launch Hickey as if the world had it changed. And so we wanted to use the resources that we had to try and do something for good. So we realized that because we had sweat products, we had chafing products, we had, you know, an anti-sweat wipe, we had the body powder. We're like, these are actually goods that could help essential workers, make them feel a little bit more comfortable during their day.
• 16:17
  away products to first responders around the country. And that meant people that were doctors and nurses all the way to folks who worked in custodial in the facilities. And we also gave away products to people who shared a message of kindness on social because we wanted to increase, you know, the feeling and sentiment that people weren't alone and that they could be vulnerable in their experiences, which is what ARFA is all about. And so it was really, you know, I
• 16:45
  We didn't know how it was going to go. We decided to go ahead with the launch kind of ahead of other companies giving away a lot of products, which was really, you know, what we saw a lot spring of last year. And the reception was incredibly positive. But more than that, the body powder actually did help, you know, essential workers that were wearing those gloves all day long because it absorbed sweat and comfort. And the chafe stick made it so that, you know, certain things that you were wearing on your body all day long didn't have...
• 17:12
  you know, the same amount of like rubbing that you might experience otherwise. And so we were really proud of that and proud that the product stood up and that there was a really positive reception around them, but more just proud of the team for kind of coming together. And I, I believe that it really fueled them during a time of so much unknown. Absolutely. How many products, I'm not sure if you're able to share, but if you are, how many products did you give away in that time? I think it ended up being like a couple hundred
• 17:42
  products that we gave away. Yeah, we, I mean, we really went for it. No, I mean, we listen, we are a company or, you know, ARFA was a company that existed on the predication of interacting with real people around the country and responding to their wants and needs and understanding that if you're feeling something, there is a likelihood that someone else is too. And when the pandemic was overtaking the country and we didn't know what would happen, the least we could do was
• 18:10
  you know, keeping us all alive and safe. And that was what we felt was right. And I'm really proud that that's how we responded. Absolutely. And without sounding, you know, for lack of a better word, tacky, I also imagine that truly built your customer base in a, you know, a massive way. You were able to capture emails and build kind of your database overnight, essentially.
• 18:40
  Yes. I mean, it really made it so that our first reviews and our first feedback, all of those pieces were shared from, you know, first responders, which is kind of an incredible way to actually have your site be filled. You know, it's like from people who...
• 18:55
  They actually, they found out about it from a listserv or they found about it from, you know, a piece of press or etc. Or we reached out to a hospital. We also sent product to collective members that, you know, worked in hospitals or hospitals that they recommended or community centers that needed it for people without homes at that time. And so, you know, it did build from a strategy standpoint. There were things that happened around email capture or revenue gains that were incredible. Yeah.
• 19:23
  That wasn't what we were thinking at the time. But of course, our sentiment and our strategy was always that if you are creating products with people, it's much more likely that other people will be inclined to want to purchase because they'll see themselves in that experience.
• 19:39
  But the Hickey launch around COVID was not about that. But there were incredible learnings and it did give us an opportunity to fix certain things on site that we hadn't realized at the time. You know, everything for us is experimentation and growth. And I would say as direct to consumer, which accelerated during the pandemic, continues to become a bigger portion of wallet share. You should constantly be.
• 20:00
  be feeling like you're evolving your work, your products, your site, same way that we get technology updates on our phone all the time. Your company, your experience is not a stagnant thing. And so we really, you know, have always wanted to kind of build on that.
• 20:14
  I remember feeling really wowed when it came out and when I saw it. And, you know, obviously I saw all of the press. I saw I also really love the brand. You know, it was so fresh. It was different. I felt the realness as well, you know, with the with the campaign imagery and things like that. I remember being just really, really wowed. I love it.
• 20:31
  To talk more about the sort of the strategy side of things, what was the retention campaign coming off the back of that kind of like? And how did your marketing evolve to continue driving that growth after that initial momentum?
• 20:48
  Well, quickly, we also developed a wipe that was also for hand sanitizing. So we evolved and we made an additional product after Hickey launched because of what was going on in the pandemic. And we got feedback from our collective that that was what they wanted and needed. So that was one thing that we were able to launch afterwards, which we were proud of as well, and also donated many of those products. As the pandemic evolved, one thing that became clear was you don't stop sweating.
• 21:13
  So even if you were stuck in your home, you were working out, you were living your daily life, you wanted to feel like you could be pampered or take care of yourself at home. And so, you know, the Hickey products continued to be viable as a customer base during it versus.
• 21:34
  honing in on, okay, you might be working out from home and you're running in between Zoom meetings and you don't have time to shower. So you can still use our wipe, our body wipe, which is a phenomenal wipe. And it's actually the full size that your body really needs, not some tiny little like dainty wipe that's pretending it's for a body that it's not. So we were really able to continue to lean into the findings that we'd originally found about why the products would be viable in the first place.
• 22:01
  and just share folks' stories. And, you know, we wanted to evolve as well. Like we worked with Sad Girls Club, which was a nonprofit organization that I'm also on the board of that provides opportunities for people online to share their feelings and speak with licensed therapists.
• 22:17
  So we launched a program called Soul Sessions where we just gave money and said, you know, you guys host more of these. And so we were cognizant that our customers, our collective, our community, our employees were going through a lot. It was sort of an insurmountable mental time. And we wanted to create viable paths for people to have different types of conversations around their bodies and minds. So, you know.
• 22:38
  I would argue that the first five months of the pandemic was just reaction because nobody knew what was happening. So we were launching, we were responding, and we were trying to sustain the business. And then after that, I would say midsummer is really when we were able to say, okay, who's the customer that's actually most purchasing right now? What are the products that are doing the best? How do we lean into the chafe stick? How do we lean into the body powder? How do we lean into the body wipe? Which really also showed that the differentiation of the brand was around the full body sweat.
• 23:08
  which was our thesis going into it. So that was really nice. But I would argue the first few months were really like, oh my God, we're alive during a pandemic. And we did that. Great. Totally. You managed to pull it off and keep there for the people that needed you most, really. What does the brand look like today? Where is Hickey now? What's going on in 2021, a year after the launch?
• 23:35
  I can't believe it's been a year. I was just looking at photos on my phone today of the launch last year, and it just feels like forever ago. Well, we're so proud that Hickey is now in Urban Outfitters.
• 23:45
  And that's incredible. That was something that we talked about at the very beginning. And there are partners now that are making Hickey grow and just be incredibly exciting as a brand. We still offer Hickey as a bundle. And if you go to the Hickey site, the way that the site allows you to explore it is also by learning about what products you can use in different parts of your body. The natural deodorant, the chafe stick,
• 24:10
  and the body powder do incredibly well. And we couldn't be more proud of it as a brand and for what it stands for. You know, we also, when it launched, got a lot of positive feedback around the fact that it's a genderless sweat brand. If you go into the aisle, it's a very outdated notion. You look to the right and you've got these pink, smaller, you know, floral scented deodorants. And you look to the left and it's these big mountain man sticks that's, you know,
• 24:38
  The truth is, is that's not necessary. A body is just a body and we should give it, you know, the care it deserves. So we're very happy with the reception of Hickey and how it's grown. Amazing. That's so true about the, about the aisles. Oh gosh, my goodness. Early on, I touched on you having been an advisor now for Liontree. Can you talk about the move and the transition to what you're doing now? Yeah.
• 25:06
  Well, Liontree is amazing because they're a media, telecom and tech advisory firm and bank. And what they do is really, they're at the intersection of seeing all the future trends that are happening and understand that these companies have always actually been a pipeline to allow a brand or an individual to reach a creator in the best way possible. So I've always seen them as being a really future forward way of allowing businesses to interact and grow and not
• 25:32
  in the United States, but around the world. So I was fortunate last year to start as an executive in residence with them. And now that's sort of grown into being a senior advisor for their Kindred Media business, which is a media company and investment company that really focuses on kind of the future of best in class career.
• 25:49
  collaborators and creators. And what I love about them and why I'm excited by doing that work is, of course, in my mind, when I was at ARFA, it was like, well, what's the best way to connect with people? And going through the process of fundraising and being a part of the startup world, which I would argue, you know, Vice was in its own way, but this is a whole different beast.
• 26:10
  There is still an incredible amount of work to be done for female, you know, startup founders, for young startup founders, for BIPOC startup founders. And I really want to be a part of the next phase of how do we make sure that we're not missing incredible opportunities and individuals that might not still have a seat at the table.
• 26:30
  And Liontree really is committed to that process and has made some incredible investments for people that, you know, maybe a thesis might not have been recognized by someone else. They saw the value of the person in the process. So I'm excited to, you know, allow that next phase of the journey of, OK, this is a piece where we can do more connectivity between the individual and the outcome. And that's what made me want to kind of inhibit that leak.
• 26:57
  Wow, that sounds so exciting and very interesting. What's an example of what you're doing project-wise within Kindred? Are you looking for those opportunities and going out and speaking to people, or how does it work specifically?
• 27:12
  Yeah, it's kind of a two-way street. You get connected to people and then you also say, you know, who are the folks that we're not being connected with that we're not talking to yet? I would say for anyone that, you know, wants to talk, my email is just awengroff at liontree.com and they can reach out to me there. But, you know, for example, recently, Kindred made an investment in Punchbowl News, which was started by Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer, who actually ran Politico Playbook. It's all about just covering the U.S. Capitol as a newsletter function,
• 27:42
  tools that bring the journalists closer to the consumer. And that's been incredibly successful since launch. They've done work with Naomi's No Filter, which she started during pandemic, where she actually has her YouTube channel, where she has really intimate conversations with folks that normally wouldn't be sharing information materials. And Naomi's obviously doing a lot of work in the media and business space as well. And so we like to think, who is sort of best in class at what they do? How can we help support them?
• 28:09
  And then how can we use those cross-functional conversations as a way for people to find other talent or information, kind of like a new newspaper that's going on. And so some of it's a little bit proprietary and I can't talk about, but those are a few recent things that we have seen. And then I also have a production company called Culture's Last Stand. And within that, we will be giving a percentage of every revenue that comes in to that company on each project.
• 28:37
  to support a project that they're working on. So I'm really about the like upcycle aspect of the economy. I think there's enough to go around. I don't think we all have to hold it in at once. And I do think sometimes when founders are starting, especially female founders, they really feel like this is their only shot. And I just want to say that most men don't feel that way. They're like, this is my first shot. This is my second shot. This is my 15th shot.
• 29:03
  And the next one, I'll get it right or I'll evolve and I'll learn. So I do hope anyone that's listening does take away this is not your only chance. If your business is evolving or changing or if you need to take a different action, there's a million opportunities to keep learning and growing. And there's a lot of money out there to get. Love that. Love the money to get for sure.
• 29:26
  On the back of that, what is your key piece of advice for women who have a big idea and want to start their own business? Well, to women that want to start their own business or have an idea they're sitting on, I would say nothing starts with no. So don't tell yourself no. Or if you hear a few no's, they're not the only thinkers out there. So keep going. And then I would really sit with yourself and say, why is this exciting me?
• 29:56
  Like, what is the most exciting value proposition out of this? And hold on to that. And remember that you are going to have to say your idea a million times.
• 30:09
  It's the same thing if you have a pet that you've named or a partner and you hear their stories over and over again. This is something that becomes a part of the fabric of your life. And if telling that story a million times doesn't inspire you or excite you every time, I would think about if you actually want to do it. And then I would be vulnerable and cold email, cold call, reach out to people. They will respond. They might take a minute. It might lead you down a different path than you expected. So it's really important.
• 30:36
  about harnessing your why and then saying like, what is my comfort level of vulnerability? And then I would say second, what are your strengths and what are the areas of growth you have? Because no one should be good at everything. You just need to know what you're best at and then figure out how to fill the things that you need support around. And I think that that's actually something that sometimes can be harder for women or different genders because you already feel like you have less of a shot.
• 31:02
  But that is something that's really critical. Like I know for myself, I'm not as strong around operations and finance. I can turn on that brain, but it's not my number one brain and that's okay. And so in all the projects that I do, I work with people who are number one in that brain and they help support me and I support them. And that allows for a better outcome and chance of success because I can be vulnerable and say that. Yeah, that's amazing. Thank you so much. I love that.
• 31:32
  At the end of every episode, I ask women the same six quick questions to, you know, be able to look back over time and see if there are any trends or anything, any interesting, you know, insights that come out of it. So some of this we may have covered, but we'll go through it again. Question number one is what's your why? Why do you do what you do? I do what I do because I believe that people don't get enough of a fair shake and I want to share the stories that give them a chance to shine.
• 32:03
  Amazing. Question number two is what do you think was the number one marketing moment that made the business pop with Hickey?
• 32:12
  I would argue that Hickey's thesis that responded so well in the marketplace was that we worked with people to actually build and make the products. And we believed in the notion of a collective before a lot of people were harping on the idea of community or understanding how much individual identity, you know, was representative and necessary today in marketing, but also actually in your core values as a business. So true. True.
• 32:37
  Question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? What are you reading or listening to that is really great right now?
• 32:47
  Well, I'm a big podcast fan. I love still processing. I listen to Up First every morning. I'm always trying to listen to different things like Radiolab or my partner. She's like a podcast freak. So big there. I'm on Clubhouse a lot right now, which I probably sound like a trope thing, but I am. And I'm reading a book right now actually called It Didn't Start With You.
• 33:09
  which is actually all about inherited family trauma. And I think that it's really important for all of us. You know, there are so many conversations going on right now, whether it's the incredible violence and racism that's happening with the Asian community or some of the things that we've seen around George Floyd.
• 33:24
  Floyd over the last year, like this is a moment of change and transparency for us as a country and as a world. And as we even think about our own individual growth, there's just so much that came before us. So I really enjoy reading about that and continuing to learn in that space as well. I'm going to link that in the show notes for anyone who wants to check it out. I certainly do. Really good.
• 33:47
  Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM or PM rituals that keep you feeling happy or motivated and successful? Well, I actually try to do monthly goals and my best friend Estee is the person that I share them with. And we actually try to motivate each other, which is really nice to have a buddy, even if sometimes it's not your partner that's trying to help you achieve those things. Every morning I wake up, I wake up,
• 34:12
  make tea, I go on a walk, and then I either make coffee or I buy it. And I write down a really intense list of all the things that I need to do that day. I see those types of like worry moments or, you know, when you're getting in your head as actually it can be fuel to get a lot done is just get it out of your head and put it on paper. So I do that. And then I just kind of sit down and I plow. I'm definitely a morning thinker. So I really prefer to have morning time where I'm
• 34:40
  My midday and afternoons are much better for phone calls and meetings. I love the accountability, buddy. That's great. I need one of those. Need it. Yeah, everybody does. Question number five is if you only had $1,000 left in your business bank account, where would you spend it? My God. Well, I think that should be the same question of if you only had $1,000 in your life bank account, probably on my team. You're never as strong as if you're not taking care of your team. For sure.
• 35:11
  And last question, question number six is how do you deal with failure? What's your mindset and approach? I have thought a lot about failure over the last few years, mainly because I think I've also always thought about imposter syndrome. And I think it's really important to reorient in the same way that you think about what does it mean to be a founder in your own role? If you replaced the word failure with like comfort or growth or
• 35:39
  change, I think it's actually a really important mindset reframing because if something didn't work,
• 35:46
  It doesn't mean that it's a failure. It's actually like, what can you take out of it that turns into something else? Even if you look at, you know, recent successes that are the big successes we see, that wasn't that person's first try. It's usually their sixth try or their 10th try. And I can tell you very much on a content creation side, your first cut, your first take, your first line of copy is never your best outcome. So was that first line a failure?
• 36:13
  No, it was a creative brainstorm. It was the work you were doing. It's everybody gets a shot and more than one shot at life and deserves that or they deserve that shot. So my take on failure, which is evolving, like I'm not perfect is, yeah, okay, get up again tomorrow. Like, let's see what you got, you know. Keep on learning. Keep on growing. I love it. Yes.
• 36:36
  Love it. Thank you so much for taking the time to be on Female Startup Club today. I have loved chatting with you and learning all about your incredible life and all these fun things you've got going on. I'm super excited to keep watching what's next. Oh my gosh, thank you so much for having me and for creating the space for so many founders and curious people to be able to grow their practice. Thanks.
• 37:04
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 37:29
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 37:51
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 38:08
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 38:33
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 38:55
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.