Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / 6 Quick Questions with GOVERRE's Regan Kelaher and Shannon Zappala (Part 2)

Transcript

6 Quick Questions with GOVERRE's Regan Kelaher and Shannon Zappala (Part 2) · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  Hello, it's Dune here, your host and hype girl. I am so excited to bring you this special mini series on the pod that is centered around failure. The next three weeks that we're going to be diving in and reflecting on some of our favorite episodes that are all about embracing failure and turning it into your greatest asset, which
• 0:22
  Because we've all been there or we all will be there. Failing is literally just part of the journey, whether we like it or not. I remember for me when I was building Kinks, my D2C jewellery brand, you know, it didn't go as planned. We closed it down and that could have been viewed as a failure for sure.
• 0:42
  But for me, it turned out to be this critical learning and this critical experience that really shaped where I am now. And it actually got me to figure out what I actually wanted to do. It led me to Female Startup Club. So this miniseries is really about highlighting similar journeys from other founders who have faced their own challenges and emerged stronger than ever.
• 1:07
  Tune in over the next few weeks to hear these gritty stories and the valuable lessons that come from failure. Whether you're navigating a tough phase or you simply want to know that you're not alone, these episodes are going to remind you that every setback is a setup for a comeback and we all have it in us to fail forward.
• 1:27
  And if you have a story to share all about failure, we would love to hear it in the Facebook group. Come in, join us and be part of the conversation. Alrighty, let's dive in. Welcome back. Here are the six quick questions.
• 1:53
  So we'll run through both of you separately, individually rather. So we'll go back to you, Shannon. Question number one. What's your why? Why do you do what you do?
• 2:05
  I would say my why is, you know, the freedom and the life balance. I, you know, like I came from corporate America where it was pretty intense and I feel like having your own thing, you're able to make your own rules, you're able to make your own schedule. And then second, I think is just, I have a 14 year old daughter just showing her that, you know, women can do anything and anything is possible if you put your heart and your mind to it. Gosh, ain't that the truth.
• 2:35
  Question number two is what do you think has been the number one marketing moment that made your business pop? Might be an obvious one. Yes, definitely. Shark Tank was our number one marketing moment that really put our business on the map and gave it that, you know, that stamp of approval that we absolutely needed.
• 2:59
  You know, I wanted to ask you before I actually forgot to say it. You said that you were waiting before you contacted Shark Tank to, you know, reach a certain level or get to a certain place of being established. Are you able to share kind of where your business was, perhaps revenue wise and like the size of your business or your team and that kind of thing before you reached out?
• 3:19
  Yeah. So when we first launched in 2015, because of Kickstarter, we had like $135,000 in sales that year, 2015. That was just our website and Shannon and I going to local stores. And then the next year, we started doing trade shows and we had, I think...
• 3:39
  500,000 in sales, something like that. And so we were, you know, we had a great pace going and then Shark Tank hit. And that year, I believe we did. I think it was like close to two, 2 million in sales. And then it just kept growing from there.
• 3:57
  Wowza. That's some pretty serious, pretty serious growth right there. Love that for you. Thank you. Okay. Back to question number three, Shannon, where do you hang out to get smarter? What are you reading or listening to or subscribing to that others would benefit from hearing as well?
• 4:17
  Yes. I, other than this podcast, obviously we love listening to this podcast. Oh, yay. Thanks. Yay. The other podcast that I like to listen to is How I Built This by Guy Raz. That one is really inspirational. So I love listening to that one. And then just following also other female founders,
• 4:39
  I'm a big fan of Sarah Blakely from Spanx. So I'm constantly watching what she does and just, you know, just trying to gather inspiration from her as well. And then just talking with other female founders at trade shows. We meet a lot of people at our trade shows and it's just great to get inspiration from them as well. Again, of course, what are the key trade shows for your industry that you go to?
• 5:07
  Yes, there are three trade shows that we go to typically. One of them is called New York Now. And the other one is America's Mart, which is in Atlanta. And then the IHA show, which is in Chicago. So the first two, Atlanta and New York, are big gifting type trade shows. And then IHA is like a housewares type show.
• 5:30
  So those are like the three big ones in the industry. So they happen twice a year. Reagan and I try to go to each one at least, you know, once a year, but we're going to start ramping more of that up. We actually miss them so much because obviously with COVID, we can't attend these shows and they're trying to do digital ones and whatnot to make up for the in-person, but the in-person ones are just, I mean, you can't, you can't beat it. That connection for sure. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
• 5:56
  Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM or PM rituals that keep you feeling happy and motivated and successful?
• 6:06
  Yeah, I would say, well, my AM routine, I start my day off with a London fog tea from Starbucks every morning. Love that. It's my favorite drink. So I've stopped by there every day on the way to work. I would say to exercise, just getting outdoors is huge for me. We actually have a trainer come to Gover's office twice a week. So we work out before work.
• 6:32
  So that is just so important mentally and physically. So and then just going on walks and listening to podcasts and whatnot. So being outdoors is huge for me. I'm looking forward to London's weather changing so I can spend more time outside in this lockdown that is seemingly never ending. Question number five is if you only had a thousand dollars left in your business bank account, where would you spend it?
• 7:02
  Well, we have with some of our failures, we have less than that in the bank at times, to be honest. But if we only had $1,000 left, I think we would definitely put it towards social media posts and content just to, you know, remain visible and relevant. Mm hmm. And question number six, last question is, how do you deal with failure? What's your mindset and approach? Mm hmm.
• 7:30
  We, with failure, we just keep on going. You know, you just got to get up and brush it off. And it's, it's hard. It's, it's easier said than done, but that's the only way you can do it is you just, you have to keep on going. You have to swallow your pride. You have to wipe your tears away. You have to just keep doing that in business and in life. So you got to just keep moving forward. Love it. Thank you so much, Shannon. Yes. Reagan, your turn. Here we go.
• 7:59
  Question number one, what's your why? Why do you do what you do? Definitely independence. I've always, you know, I come from my mom and grandmother are both really strong, hardworking women, and I've always wanted to be independent and to be able to take care of myself and my family. That's so nice to mention your mom and your grandma. Love that. Question number two is what do you think's been the number one marketing moment that made your business pop?
• 8:28
  I would have to say New York now, our very first trade show. We went in there really uncertain and we came out feeling really confident. I think for us, a huge show, we I think did $20,000, which is not that much. But looking back, it was a pivotal moment for us. Yeah, I imagine like doing your first trade show like that and getting that vote of confidence from retailers and wholesalers and things like that would have just been
• 8:56
  so profound, a crazy feeling. Yes. Yeah. Question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? What are you reading or listening to? I love to read. I love Guy Kawasaki's Art of the Start. I constantly go back to that, use that as a reference book. And to get, I love the masterclass with Sarah Blakely on entrepreneurship. That's, I love all of those masterclasses.
• 9:22
  Yeah, I love that one too. It's really good. I've just been watching actually the Jeff Koons series, you know, just to enjoy something a bit different outside of the typical, you know, day-to-day business focused content that we can find ourselves consuming a lot of these days. Yes. Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM or PM rituals?
• 9:48
  Well, I'm still working on trying to win the day. I feel like my morning rituals are off because I have two teenagers and with COVID and distance learning, but I'm getting better. And evenings, I am a little bit better. I'd like to cook a nice dinner and have a glass of wine. Ditto. Very much so. In your cup, in your Govair cup. Yeah. Question number five is if you only had $1,000 left in your business bank account, where would you spend it?
• 10:17
  Oh, that's such a tough one. We, I think may do a, or I would do a Kickstarter or a, some sort of campaign to where we could raise a little bit, you know, use what we have and raise a little bit more money. Nice. Love that. Yeah. And last question, question number six is how do you deal with failure?
• 10:37
  Well, we're actually really good at that because we've had quite a bit of failures. And it really helps if you could all have a partner because when Shannon's feeling down, you know, I can kind of carry the load and say, and when I'm feeling, you know, really upset, like there's no way out of this, she reminds me that we've always gotten out of it. So I think just keep going and having a business partner really helps.
• 10:58
  Oh, love that. How nice. Thank you so much for taking the time to be on the show today and share the Gauvert story and what you've been building and creating. I've absolutely loved chatting with you. Thank you so much.
• 11:17
  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.
• 11:41
  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.
• 12:04
  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.