Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / How to build a fashionable footwear brand with Harvard Grads Alexa and Sarah, Co-Founders of Margaux

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How to build a fashionable footwear brand with Harvard Grads Alexa and Sarah, Co-Founders of Margaux · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Alexa and Sarah for Female Startup Club.
• 0:12
  Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. I'm your host, Doona Roisin, and joining me on the show today is Alexa Buckley and Sarah Pearson, co-founders of the wildly popular footwear label, Margo. Margo is on a mission to democratize luxury footwear. Inspired by the spirit of American style and informed by smart design, Margo's classic styles have been re-engineered with best-in-class technical design, allowing for shoes that are as beautiful as they are comfortable.
• 0:42
  And because they know that one size does not in fact fit all, their shoes come in an extended range of sizes and widths, meaning there's a perfect fit for everyone. In this episode, we're covering the moment Sheryl Sandberg inspired them to change directions and leave their corporate job offers to pursue entrepreneurship and...
• 1:01
  how they grew their brand through mega influencer collabs, and the insights learned along the way in creating a successful footwear label. If you love this episode, please subscribe and rate and review the podcast. This is Alexa and Sarah for Female Startup Club. Alexa and Sarah, hi, welcome to Female Startup Club podcast.
• 1:22
  Hi, thank you for having us. We are so excited to be here. Me too. I'm so excited to dig into everything about your brand and how you've been building it. And I always love to start by getting you to introduce yourselves and tell us what your brand is. Absolutely. Well, I'm Sarah and I'm one of the co-founders of Margo. And I'm Alexa, the other co-founder of Margo. Margo.
• 1:49
  And we are building a direct-to-consumer women's footwear brand based here in New York on a mission to create shoes that are as beautiful as they are comfortable, that elevate the everyday, and that kind of solve this notion of this trade-off of style and comfort that so many women deal with on an everyday basis.
• 2:11
  Brandon really born from an experience that Alexa and I had working and dabbling in the corporate world when we were first coming out of college, having to do that shoe shuffle that so many women had to do have to do today, where you have your comfortable shoes to get you where you're going, that you can wear on the subway, on the sidewalk, etc.
• 2:32
  And then the shoes that you want to wear when you arrive. And obviously, you know, with the way that we're all living right now, maybe makes that a little bit of a different experience, but something that is very much, you know, an aspect of, you know, in quotes, normal life. And we were frustrated by the fact that we didn't have that pair of wear everywhere shoes that we could, you know, have carry us throughout our day without.
• 2:54
  having to have that second pair always in our bag or in the drawer of our desk. And so that's really what we set out to do is create that wear everywhere shoe and started with a single flat and then expanded the collection silhouette by silhouette to include everything from flats to loafers to boots and heels.
• 3:14
  Sounds so amazing. And I think especially now, given, you know, everyone's been working from home and living in a more kind of comfortable uniform, I would say when people are going back to the office, people aren't looking necessarily to going back to the stiletto.
• 3:30
  And that, you know, less than comfortable footwear. I always love to start by going back to the very beginning before you had started the brand to talk about what was actually going in your lives around that time when you were sort of seeing women wanting to, you know, have a second pair of shoes in their bags and what the kind of realization moment was that you were going to start a business.
• 3:53
  Yes. So Sarah and I were, we met our freshman year of college really serendipitously at a cab stand. We were both hailing the same cab. We ended up becoming friends and eventually roommates. And sort of the rest of college was spent doing, you know, like Sarah said, internships in the corporate world. And I think it was during those moments and kind of like in that
• 4:14
  urban environment in which we recognize this very obvious trade-off that women have to make in so many different parts of their life between things that are comfortable and things that are stylish. And it really got us thinking about this paradigm that needed to be challenged in fashion, which is that in order to feel dressed and feel beautiful...
• 4:35
  There was this level of discomfort expected or accepted. And especially in footwear, like when Sarah said, we would see women who actually, you know, many women had to bring another pair of shoes in their bag to change into or before they arrived somewhere. And we started thinking about like, what would it feel like to have a pair of shoes that made you feel beautiful and dressed, but also felt really comfortable. And then you could run 10 blocks in or 15 blocks, or you could run from the subway to work, to dinner, to drinks and home.
• 5:04
  And, you know, how empowering would that be to build a brand around this about celebrating women and truly empowering them through their everyday lives? And as we started thinking about this, we realized that there was as much of an opportunity from our product perspective as there was before.
• 5:20
  a brand building opportunity to really build something that challenged this notion and that celebrated a new kind of nexus of comfort and style and fashion. And so that got us so excited. We decided to not take our corporate jobs and not return to the internships that we had started doing.
• 5:40
  before our junior year and instead graduated from college in the spring of 2014, moved to New York City, got a two-person office in Soho, and got to work on building the vision for this brand and helping assemble a team of advisors and mentors to kind of also help us realize the vision for the product because we had absolutely no business getting into this business or really any business given that we were completely fresh from college.
• 6:10
  I think we might probably both say it was the best decision we've ever made. Yeah. I read that Sheryl Sandberg was the reason that you changed your mind and decided to, you know, not go for those corporate jobs. And I'm wondering what it was that she said in that moment that inspired you.
• 6:28
  That is a great little tidbit of the story that we didn't include. But Sheryl Sandberg was our graduation day speaker that senior year. And that speech happened at a moment when Alexa and I were truly kind of in the throes of do we do this? Do we not do this?
• 6:48
  you know, which way do we go? And she was giving a speech kind of in the aftermath of releasing her book, Lean In, which was a huge topic of conversation at the time. And she just posed this very simple question to the crowd, which was, what would you do if you weren't afraid?
• 7:08
  And it was so powerful for Alexa and I because we had been grappling with the choice of, you know, taking the path that was more traveled, which was comfortable job offers and kind of the assurance of what that would look like. But then also feeling that we were so in love with the vision and the concept for this brand and did truly feel that it was a brand that needed to be created. And that just gave us that little guidance.
• 7:34
  boost of confidence that we needed to say, yes, you know, we can do this. Let's go after this. And if we fail, then we fail and we start over again. But, you know, if not, it could be a wonderful ride. And that's what it has been. Wow. That's so powerful. How inspiring. So you get the office in Soho, you assemble your advisors. How does one go about actually starting a footwear label? Where do you start? What are the first steps?
• 8:05
  Gosh, there are so many places to start, but I think we had the advantage of having a super clear focus at the beginning, which was we want to create this wear everywhere shoe. And specifically at that time, we were focused on really creating a perfect wear everywhere flat. So it wasn't that we set out to design an entire collection. We set out to design.
• 8:29
  design and engineer, you know, the singular perfect shoe. And so in a lot of ways, that level of focus really benefited us in the early days because we knew exactly where we wanted to go with this, exactly what we wanted it to look like. And then from there is a question of execution on a few different points. You know, how do we bring the brand to life through branding and aesthetic and,
• 8:54
  How do we then translate the brand to the internet where we were planning to launch the brand, you know, as an e-com only brand through the website and that user experience. And then most importantly, in the design, the technical production and the manufacturing of the product, kind of realizing our vision for what that shoe would look and feel like. And certainly the product development then and continues to be the area where we spend
• 9:20
  so much time and energy. We have a really high standard for the points of comfort that a shoe needs to fit and quality before we take it live and release it to our customers. And then, you know, even after we launch something, nothing is ever sacred when it comes to products. So we're constantly redesigning, re-engineering and testing new things when it comes to construction, comfort, fit.
• 9:44
  And so then we launched in May of 2015. So I guess a little bit over five years ago now, which is hard to believe with that singular shoe entirely online and used it as a way to get to know who our customer was, what she was looking for from us and and what else we needed to make to really start to build out her footwear wardrobe with Margo.
• 10:07
  Sounds super exciting. I'm curious to go back to the bit where you're talking about technical production and your manufacturing. How did you, what did you need to look for when you were finding a factory and how did you then find that person or people or company rather? Yeah, we, you know, we really were looking for someone who was willing to do things differently.
• 10:30
  And in the world of manufacturing, where there is so much process and it is so kind of ingrained in tradition, it's a really difficult thing to find. And we heard no so many times before we found no.
• 10:45
  the incredible team of product technicians and also factory that we are still with today. And that process was about pitching them on the dream of what we were trying and hoping to build and pitching them on the idea of building it together. And we were...
• 11:05
  unbelievably lucky in finding two people who had built their careers in the footwear industry. They'd done everything from apprentice in very unbelievable factories in their 20s to building brands, launching brands, running factories, working in factories. And so they knew the ins and outs of the sort of technical side of footwear design and production.
• 11:26
  With them, we found our factory in Spain. And Sarah and I flew to the factory and spent a week with the owner. It was an unbelievable person and an entrepreneur in his own way. And pitched him on the vision of the brand and the business. And at the end of the visit, we were in a tannery. And we remember walking over to him and saying, so will you do it?
• 11:47
  And he looked at us and he said, let's try. And he took a chance on us in a way that, you know, we will always be indebted and grateful to him. And we've grown our business with him. We're now the second largest client of the factory. And he produces for some of the most incredible brands in Europe. And so it's been a really interesting and exciting ride with him. But it was finding people who are willing to take a risk and take a bet on us.
• 12:14
  When you say you wanted to find someone who would do things differently and, you know, change the way that I imagine the shoe is made, what do you mean by that? What was it that needed to be done differently? Yeah.
• 12:28
  So many things. You know, a shoe for us really starts kind of from the ground up in, you know, designing for both comfort and style. You know, traditionally footwear has really been designed for the look and less so the fit. Fit is secondary to the look. And so many brands actually...
• 12:50
  you know, don't even make kind of their own mold or laths, which are what molds are called in the shoe business. They use laths that are pre-existing, which means kind of fits and shapes that are pre-existing.
• 13:06
  We kind of develop everything that we released from scratch to kind of hit that standard of style and comfort that we really wanted to deliver on. And so, you know, it starts with kind of the shape of that mold for the look and the feel that you want. But then it's all of these micro decisions from there. You know, what kind of insole do you put in? And we used an insole that was a lot more supportive than you usually find, like in a dress shoe or in a ballet flat, particular fashion.
• 13:35
  Then we design kind of a special like foam layer that goes on top of that insole. So you get the feeling of a really comfortable shoe kind of in the package of a dress footwear. And then from there, it's, you know, weeks and sometimes months of tweaking the fit by a millimeter here, a millimeter there.
• 13:54
  you know, making it perfect in terms of look and then again, feel. And so it's a really thorough and sometimes lengthy process where we've developed silhouettes for upwards of a year and a half, sometimes just really trying to perfect that fit and that feel.
• 14:11
  Wow, goodness. Crazy. I'm interested to know, based on all of that, long time to develop. It sounds really, you know, technical. It sounds really in depth. It sounds like you need a lot of funding to get started if you're building a footwear brand. How were you funding the brand in the beginning, you know, up until placing that first order and launching your go-to-market strategy?
• 14:37
  We were operating as leanly as humanly possible. We continue to do that, but especially in that first year. And then once we had enough of proof of concept, we raised a round of equity from individuals and angels. Say the common thread between that group was almost all of them were entrepreneurs. And so they kind of understood what those early days looked like and they understood the entrepreneurial journey.
• 15:04
  And that has been one of the greatest things to ever happen to us because we have a network of people who across the board and across industries understand the roller coaster that is building a business and have become such fabulous founding boards in the moments of difficulty and the highs and the lows that come with it.
• 15:29
  Yeah, I can imagine it's amazing having that kind of community around you and really invested in what you're doing and invested in your success. Let's fast forward to when you launch and you go to market and how you start finding your first customers. I love to dig into the marketing and the how around how you find people.
• 15:50
  Yes. So stepping back to those early days, our marketing strategy was very different than it is today, but it's a process of evolution as the brand grows and scales. And as our customer base grows and scales too. But in those early days...
• 16:07
  we were really focused on organic growth and making all of the right decisions from an imagery, a user experience, a kind of marketing standpoint that really set the brand up for success over time, made the brand feel successful.
• 16:24
  thoughtful and elevated. And so we really focused in those early days on press and securing press. And that was one of the major investments that we made in the first few months, pre and post launch in kind of investing in a PR firm, someone who could help us shape our story and tell our story to the larger world. And we were really fortunate
• 16:48
  to have a few great launch stories launched with an exclusive on Vogue.com and then followed up with pieces and several other publications. But that really set us on the right track in terms of organic growth and awareness. And then, you know, on a more grassroots level, we were supplementing that with going out and finding customers through events anywhere and everywhere you could have them. And so we did...
• 17:14
  you know, several months of events around the country, whether it was pop-ups in other stores or with other brands to hosting our own events in, you know, markets where we had a stronger customer base from our personal networks. And that was a really successful way of us kind of getting that first layer of super fans and Margo loyalists. And then we've built on that and supplemented that with paid marketing only as we got bigger and as we added to our selection of
• 17:44
  Wow. Sounds amazing. The pop-ups sound really cool. I want to talk about your collaborations that you do as well. I read that you've done some really successful collabs with big name influencers, in particular Gal Meets Glam. Can you tell us a little bit about the collab, how it actually came about, you know, if it was just a cold outreach or if you got connected and then what was the impact of that collaboration? Yeah.
• 18:12
  Yes, the collaborations are a big part of our strategy, not only from a marketing perspective, but also customer acquisition. They're also one of our favorite things to do because to get to work with other women, other creators, other designers is one of the highlights of our jobs.
• 18:29
  So Julia, who founded Gal Meets Glam, first, I think, posted about our product nearly a year before or almost two years before we worked together. And she posted without us having ever connected before. And we were blown away.
• 18:45
  by what happened from her community and the reality that she was able to create. And from there, we became sort of digital friends. And so she was a wonderful supporter. And, you know, we loved sending her product and getting her thoughts on the things that we were working on.
• 19:03
  And then one day we sent her a note and said, you know, we'd love to talk about other ways of being able to work together. Let us know if you want to hop on the phone. And she said, you know, I happen to be in New York next week. Let's grab breakfast. So Sarah and I went to breakfast with Julia and her husband, Thomas, and we started talking about what we could do together. And by the end of breakfast, we had designed and basically drummed up the entire collaboration, which was an exclusive capsule of product co-designed between Sarah and I and Julia.
• 19:33
  And it was one of the most unbelievable collaborations and projects that we've ever worked on. It was incredible to learn from Julia and how she's really perfected the drop model.
• 19:48
  and understand what it's like to kind of bring two communities together that share a lot of synergy and see what happens when we can create a product that serves both. And so the collaboration was such a success that we did a second round for the following spring.
• 20:05
  And that was even better than the first. It was a huge opportunity for us as a brand to test into new things like novelty and new silhouettes. For her, it was an interesting opportunity to test as well into new categories, which was footwear. So there was a lot of learnings that came from it for both sides. And I think for us, you know, a great moment to understand.
• 20:25
  the power of collaboration when it's secret and when it's special at the right moments with people who can kind of expand the reach and people's understanding of our brand. When you say, you know, the secret and like the special and having a drop, what do you mean by that? Those kind of terms?
• 20:46
  So basically what Julia taught us is how to create sort of this pent-up excitement for the drop of a product in a way that we hadn't yet totally learned. And so what she does that's really interesting and what we've started testing on our own end is she actually shows her community –
• 21:10
  the entire capsule or collection sort of far before she launches it. And it's really, it sort of sounds simple, but it's something that we hadn't necessarily ever done. We would tell our community that something was coming, but by actually showing people exactly what it is, giving them time to explore the colors and the fabrications and understand the different styles and how they fit and the different personalities of each of them, people can kind of join in and the excitement of the launch and,
• 21:39
  and really spend time thinking about what color they might like or what fabrication would be best for them. They might actually mentally budget for the product and think about how it fits into what they're shopping for the season. And by the time that you actually get around to launching a product, people are so kind of like,
• 21:56
  Intimally aware of the collection that they're ready to shop the second that it drops and the first hour of both drops of the collection Julia were like gangbusters and I think it had so much to do with the fact that we had shared so much in terms of imagery and details and storytelling about the collection that people were really ready for it when it dropped.
• 22:19
  Yeah, that's so interesting, isn't it? And in hindsight, it kind of does make sense because I think they say, you know, someone needs to see something six times before they're ready to buy. And then in that sense, you're like, oh, yeah, OK, well, now they've bought into what we're doing. They're not seeing it for that first time on the day that it drops. Yeah, that's a really interesting insight. Do you think if you had one learning that you took away from, you know, your two collaborations with her, it would be that or is there something else that was a big key takeaway? Yeah.
• 22:49
  I would say that was definitely a key learning, but perhaps the biggest key learning for us was proving the appetite for demand for more novelty from our own customers. So Julia's designs and the designs that we created with Julia featured a lot of prints or special fabrics that she was using in her collection for Yao Ming's Glam.
• 23:13
  And it was our first foray into really building kind of print based collections, collections with kind of special, fun, super unique details. Because previously we had been focused on kind of building out all of the wardrobe staples, which often meant kind of more simple or pared back designs.
• 23:34
  And we had reached a point when we launched these collaborations with Julia where we had all the basics covered. We just needed the confidence then to be able to move into novelty. And what these collaborations allowed us to prove is that there was not just huge appetite for novelty from her customer,
• 23:53
  there is equally as much appetite for novelty from our customer. And so we saw lots of new customers come in with this collaboration, but perhaps most shocking to us was the number of our existing Margo customers who re-upped in silhouettes that they loved with these new fun, print-heavy, colorful collaboration styles that we released with Julia.
• 24:19
  Wow, that's so interesting and such a great learning to have, you know, moving forward, which is a great segue for me. What are you looking to do in the future? Where is the brand like currently and what's coming next? You know, we...
• 24:36
  want to continue to deliver on this promise of making women feel as beautiful as they do comfortable in their everyday lives. And that starts and continues with her footwear wardrobe and creating staples that she can come back to again and again, that she can wear every day and that she can count on to deliver both for her.
• 24:54
  We feel like we have several exciting staples in the pipeline right now. We're probably more excited about our product than ever before that hopefully will come in the course of this spring and next fall. And from there, I think we want to continue to expand our understanding of how we can deliver on this value proposition in other ways. Today, we're launching Socks, which feels like a very small but exciting step for us and a new way to deliver on that promise.
• 25:23
  And I think we'll continue to be in conversation with our community to figure out how we can push the boundaries of what it means. The greatest silver lining to what has been a very difficult six months in this pandemic has been
• 25:37
  the opportunity to be in such kind of a more intimate conversation with our community. As we're all living in these digital spaces, we've really taken the time to build out the world of Marco and be a little bit more open and vulnerable and, and communicative with our customers. And that has been an incredible exercise of learning from them and hearing from them and feeling like they're so, you know,
• 26:03
  intimately a part of this process. And through that, we have such clear direction what they want from us. And so now we get to really work on delivering. Sounds so exciting. And I saw the socks. They're absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Now I have a question for both of you. I'd love to know, what is your advice for women who have a big idea and want to launch their own business?
• 26:30
  Oh, that's a great question. If we were to distill it down, I think there are two things that stand out for me is you're never underestimate the power of focus and really being clear and decisive about your value add to whatever product or community or platform you're building is.
• 26:55
  understand the why of why you exist and never forget that and keep that central to everything that you do and how you speak to your community because that's what will set you apart. It is a noisy time in the e-commerce space. It's a noisy time in the e-commerce space.
• 27:14
  you know, in so many industries in the consumer sector. But the brands that will really succeed are the ones who have a point of view and have something to say and are consistent in kind of delivering on that point of view. And then the second thing is to, you know, I think Alexa and I, one of the,
• 27:33
  most wonderful parts of building this business over the last five years is the partnership that we have. And our partnership started as a friendship, but, and we were very fortunate to have kind of that foundation of friendship to build on. I truly can't imagine going through this roller coaster that is building your own business, you know, on my own, I would never want to, and it's made all the more special and fun and enjoyable and dynamic work.
• 27:59
  by having, you know, a partner that I learned so much from. So I would highly encourage someone, if they're thinking about, do I work on something, build a business with someone else that, you know, a partnership can be a really incredible thing and a really powerful thing kind of in building your business and scaling your brand. Oh, guys, cute. I cannot agree more. That was so sweet.
• 28:27
  I could not agree more. I think one thing I would add, if we've learned anything this year, especially, is the importance of remembering to fail fast and pivot faster. Building a business, no matter the stage, is just an unbelievable exercise in agility and
• 28:46
  The understanding that there is no steady state and constantly a process of testing, learning, reacting and improving is...
• 28:59
  I think helpful in remembering that there is comfort in the flexibility of change and constant change. And the last six months has been a huge reminder that, you know, when plans go out the window, which they inevitably always will, the success of business really lies in your ability to react and find the opportunity in the shakeup. Totally. Ain't that the truth?
• 29:27
  We are up to the six quick questions, part of the episode. So again, I'll, I'll go through, um, maybe I'll start with you, Alexa, and then we'll go to you, Sarah, um, so that we can go through each question. Number one is what's your why? What's my why? Yep. Open to interpretation. It can be your why personally for building a business. It can be what you're, you want your impact to be on the world, you know, up to you open for interpretation. Yeah.
• 29:55
  Wow, that's a great question. And I think my why as a person is to bring light into other people's lives in any way that I can. And through work, it's through celebrating and amplifying other women and other entrepreneurs. In life, it's showing up as a sister and a daughter and a friend and a co-founder
• 30:25
  in the best way that I can. And knowing that at the end of the day, that's sort of what matters most. Totally. Question number two is what's been the number one marketing moment that's made your business pop?
• 30:42
  The number one marketing exercise that has made our business pop has been the collaborations that we've done because it's brought our brand to audiences that we felt are fit and right for the product that haven't yet experienced Margo. And that has been such an exciting opportunity to stretch things.
• 31:04
  um you know what we do and who we are by working with other creators and designers but still within the realm of who and what our brand stands for and that has been um also the most fun projects to work on as well ah so exciting question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter what books are you reading what do you listen to what newsletters do you subscribe to
• 31:31
  I think the first place that I hang out to get smarter is with other entrepreneurs and other people. I think there's no substitute for spending time with people who are not necessarily working in your industry, but who are building things or who have built things. It can poke holes at the ideas or ask questions and kind of pull you out of the weeds and from what you're working on and help you think critically.
• 31:57
  or differently about what you're spending time with. So I think that's, you know, first and foremost, what I do to get smarter. I read every morning before I start my day, and then I goal set after that, and set goals for the day, the week, and the month. And that has been a habit that's come out of quarantine and something that I think will definitely be here to stay. It's really helped me prioritize things.
• 32:24
  you know, digesting the news and the state of the world and then how that might reflect on my day, month, year. And so I think those two habits have been what helps me on a day-to-day basis the most. Amazing. Question number four, and this might bleed into the last question a little bit. How do you win the day? What are your AM and PM rituals that keep you feeling happy and motivated and successful?
• 32:51
  I would love to say it's perfect every day, but it's definitely in the world of a startup not. That said, there are a few things that I like to do every day because I am a bit of a creature of habit that at least kind of ground me in the day. I think that's I'm a morning person. So first and foremost, I love to wake up early. That is like my time. And I get a hot cup of coffee and I sit almost in the same spot every day.
• 33:18
  And I read a few different things. I read the news, some newsletters, and a few other places that I love to read articles. After that, I move on to breakfast because I'm a big breakfast girl. And during my breakfast is when I do all the goal setting, reflections, and three pieces of gratitude every day. It is a simple thing, but it does make such a difference in kind of pulling you out of
• 33:46
  the immediate rush of emotion, anxiety, or stress that a day can begin with. And at the end of the day, and then if I have time, exercise before work. At the end of the day, the few things that have become so important have been a great walk, dinner with people that I love. Most of the quarantine has been family. And then...
• 34:15
  a little bit of time without my device before bed. Recently, I've gotten into the habit of reading just a few pages and it's had a dramatic impact on my sleep. So that has been a really nice shake up to my evening ritual.
• 34:32
  Oh, totally. I'm so glad to be getting off my phone more at the end of the day. Seriously. It's a tough one, isn't it? Question number five is if you only had a thousand dollars left in your business bank account, where would you spend it? If we had a thousand dollars left in the account, I would spend it on new product. Yeah.
• 34:59
  I think what we're recognizing at the end of the day is there's absolutely no substitute for phenomenal products. And then that is, you know, what we set out to create the beginning and what we need to always stay laser focused on, which sounds so simple. But in a startup, you can be pulled in so many directions and your focus can be taken to so many other things that it's easy to leave product behind. And I think coming back to the why of the business is usually always coming back to product first.
• 35:28
  Amazing. And last question is, how do you deal with failure? And it can be around a personal experience or just your general mindset and approach. Failure comes so often in building a business that you do get a little tougher and more used to it. I think what we've learned and what I've learned in failure is that it's
• 35:52
  without question, the place where like the greatest learning comes from. It is par for the course in building a business. So learning to not take it personally and recognize it as an opportunity for learning and growth is really important. And I think also a lot of my confidence as a human being in this world has come from like picking myself up after failure and like whatever that form of failure takes. I don't necessarily think,
• 36:21
  I derive much confidence in the moments when things go so really well, because you're very aware of all the other things going on in the world. But those moments when you're knocked down and you know how to pick yourself back up is where I think so much pride and confidence comes from. So, you know, as difficult as it is, every time it hits, there has been so much growth and so much learning and a little bit more grit and confidence that comes with it. So I just try to remind myself of those things.
• 36:47
  Amazing. Thank you so much. Sarah, your turn. Are you ready over there? I don't know how I follow that. Yeah, some really great answers in there. Holy moly. Alrighty. Question number one is what's your why? To leave the world a better place. Amazing. Question number two is in your opinion, what's been the number one marketing moment that's made your business pop?
• 37:18
  I am so torn about this one, but I have to say it may be our foray into retail in the form of our Bleecker Street store. I totally agree with Alexa that the collaborations are another turning moment, but I think that that Bleecker Street store, which is our flagship and it's our home away from home, was such a beautiful realization of the brand. And...
• 37:44
  exactly what Alexa and I had always imagined in what a Margo flagship would look like, that it has become sort of this iconic aspect of the brand for a lot of our New York customers in its location, in the little striped awning that's reminiscent of a European boutique, in the wallpaper and the colors and just how it feels when you step inside. And
• 38:10
  Maybe that's the most important part is how you feel when you walk inside of that store. And it just feels like a toolbox and a breath of fresh air. And it's so fitting for how we want people to experience our brand. It's a really special place for me.
• 38:26
  I can't wait to visit next time I am in New York. I will definitely pop in and check it out. Sounds amazing. Question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? What are you reading? What do you listen to? What are you subscribing to?
• 38:42
  I am a big podcast girl. And so I have made a routine, especially in quarantine, of when I need a moment away from my screens, whether it's in the morning, sometimes a cup of coffee or in the evening to wind down my day.
• 38:59
  heading out with my phone and tuning into a podcast. And it can be everything from news, which I love the New York Times, the daily for that kind of daily hit of news and what's relevant to something that's a little bit more out there and touchy feely. Like I love the On Being podcast with Krista Tippett. And that really makes me feel like I'm kind of expanding my horizons and not just what I'm thinking about, but also how I understand information
• 39:28
  you know, myself and the world. And then for some fun, I also love Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. He has some really wonderful people who come on his podcast and I highly recommend the Bill Gates episode for anyone who hasn't heard it. So that's another one of my favorites too. Oh, I'm going to check out that episode after this. Thank you so much. Question number four is how do you win the day? And that's around your AM and your PM rituals.
• 39:57
  I am learning to win the day by being more disciplined about sleep. That's something that I have struggled with ever since I was a teenager and being disciplined about keeping a regular sleep schedule and also being respectful of sleep. And that's my number one learning, I think, from this quarantine work from home time is that
• 40:21
  we all need to prioritize ourselves just as much as we prioritize our work because how you show up as a person and as an individual impacts your work and it impacts, you know, the other people that you're working with. And so I've tried to be more conscious of what I need. And that for me is a good night's sleep. That like Alexa involves putting away my device, you know, earlier in the evening.
• 40:49
  I've been trying to practice my Spanish. So I do a little Spanish lesson every night before bed, which is a fun brain break and helps me feel like I'm staying curious and like I'm continuing to learn. And then a really important part of my day, which isn't necessarily always in the AM or always in the PM, sometimes it's in the middle of the day, is I've started running again.
• 41:13
  which I am not a runner. You know, it's probably like a fast walk for most people, but it is something that I really come to like love and appreciate as the way that I clear my head. So I put in music and I go out for a quick run or sometimes it's a longer run. And that's sort of the hit of adrenaline and energy and headspace that I need to tackle something big, whether it's a big project or a hard conversation.
• 41:41
  or just feeling worn out from the news of the week.
• 41:46
  Totally. I think running is such a nice way to clear the head and just get like that full on fresh air in your lungs and, you know, a revived sense of energy. Totally. Being outside is like such a simple thing, but it is so important. So important. I totally agree. I've started walking along the river, um, in London and I go past like the big Ben and it is just so lovely. Yeah.
• 42:11
  Every day. Okay. Question number five is if you only had a thousand dollars left in your business bank account, where would you spend it? I have to agree with Alexa on this one. I would a hundred percent spend it on product. Fab. And last question, question number six is how do you deal with failure? I've learned to be comfortable with failure. Like Alexa was saying, because you
• 42:42
  So frequently as an entrepreneur and failure becomes almost part of your everyday routine and you learn to be resilient in that. But just kind of referring to something that Alexa and I talk a lot about or have talked a lot about in terms of, you know, why we have been successful as entrepreneurs is that we were both college athletes.
• 43:04
  And we had that experience being college athletes. And that is sort of a lesson in failure in its own right, where you show up for practice every day and you have good days and you have bad days and you get knocked down to the ground literally quite a bit.
• 43:23
  And you learn to be pretty resilient in kind of your mindset and resilient physically when it comes to failure or adversity. And so that's been something that I think has been super formative in our early years in terms of how we kind of approach failure and just getting right back in the saddle and going at it again. Wow, that's an interesting insight. Love that.
• 43:48
  Gosh, thank you so much for taking the time to be on Female Startup Club today. I've loved listening about your brand and how you've been growing it so far. And I'm super excited to see what comes next and for the day that I can come and visit in New York.
• 44:03
  Well, we are so excited to meet you in person. We appreciate you taking the time to chat with us today. And we will look forward to the day you can come and meet us at the Margo store for the full experience. We can't wait. Totally. Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much.
• 44:25
  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.
• 44:50
  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.
• 45:12
  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. Thank you.
• 45:29
  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.
• 45:53
  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.
• 46:16
  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.