Entreprenista

Latest Episodes:

Sarah Kugelman of skyn ICELAND â From Stress to Success Jan 21, 2019

Show notes

Some of the greatest ideas for a business come from solving a problem the founder has personally experienced. Sarah Kugelman is such a founder, whose personal experiences with anxiety, and the impact of stress on her skin, led her to build a successful businessâ¦

Sarah Kugelman, Founder/CEO of skyn ICELAND (a Vegan, Cruelty-free, natural skincare line) joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How Sarahâs personal dealings with anxiety led to her founding skyn ICELAND, and the connection between stress and skin health
Sarahâs entrepreneurial spirit, and how she combined her working experience and her passion to forge a new career path for herself
The vacation that led to the name of the line, and what makes it more than just a name
The challenges of importing ingredients overseas, and finding a chemist who shared Sarahâs vision for the line
How Sarah approaches bringing new products into the line, and know when some products have run their course
The tentpole moments in skyn ICELANDâs history where Sarah knew she had made it
How Sarah manages stress now, and how that has evolved over time
Sarah shares some of the biggest scares sheâs had while running skyn ICELAND, and the lessons sheâs learned along the way
What Sarah did to keep the business alive when one of their biggest retailers decided to phase the line off the shelves
Some of Sarahâs most out=of-the-box marketing ideas from the pre-social media age and what she did to adapt to the current marketing climate
What Sarah sees as the future of the beauty industry, and for skyn ICELAND What having more educated consumers means for the industry
âSarah shares what being an entreprenista means to her, and gives some advice for people who are starting their own businesses
Plus, a one minute brainstorm on how Sarah can boost her engagement on Instagram

Polly Rodriguez of Unbound â Sexuality, Business, and Hustle Jan 14, 2019

Show notes

Social media is powerful, but what if you canât use big platforms to advertise your business and initiate products, such as sex toys? Plus, hiring the right people, having hustle, how health challenges can inspire an entrepreneurial mission, the challenge of raising money in a boysâ club, and never giving up.

Polly Rodriguez, CEO and Co-Founder of Unbound (a leader in changing how feminists explore and enjoy their sex lives., through a quarterly box, online shop and Unbound Magazine), joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How Polly went from working as a consultant to finding a business parter and starting Unbound
The difficulties in finding steady income while trying to commit to growing your business, and why itâs better not to feel embarrassed by doing whatever it takes to set off down your own career path
The growing pains unique to Unbound as a sexual wellness brand
How through self motivated research and practice Polly helped Unbound tackle advertising hurdles by utilizing SEO and content marketing
How Unbound grew from a subscription box only to a broader wellness product company that produces its own goods
The process of finding investors, and why timing is crucial
How Polly and her co-founder Sarah split their workloads
The importance of finding motivated employees and structured hiring processes
Pollyâs experiences with cancer and how that led to her career change
The importance of support systems outside of the company you work at
A one minute brainstorm about white-listing ads and the future of social media

Alexandra Wilkis Wilson â From Lemonade to Fashion and Beauty Jan 07, 2019

Show notes

If you have any connection to the fashion or beauty industries youâve most likely heard of Alexandra Wilkis Wilson at least of The GILT Group and Glamsquad. Her latest entrepreneurial success is Allerganâs Spotlyte, educating millions on beauty and medical aesthetics. Alexandra shares her remarkable entrepreneurial journeyâfrom a childhood lemonade stand to leading 1,000 employees, how startups are romanticized, and teams are everything, the importance of a two-way street and how becoming a mother impacted her professional life, finding the right people to hire, launching a company in the biggest way, how culture has been a focus for her new company, and how sheâs learned to say no (but sometimes yes). Plus, a surprise, and a brainstorm for a social media strategy.

Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Entrepreneur, Executive, Board Director, Investor, Advisor, Mentor, Author, Public Speaker, and SVP, Consumer Strategy and Innovation for Allergan, joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

Coming from a lemonade stand as a child to launching GILT as her first entrepreneurial effort as a professional person
Being bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, a major turning point for her â seeing tech, fashion, commerce, all really changing
Why Alexandra is a big believer in teams
The unexpected level of difficulty, and how startups are romanticized
The process from idea to raising money and figuring out a business
How Alexandra is involved in many startups in various ways
Always seeking the perfect market fit â a perfect storm of a good idea and amazing people, timing and funding
What the co-founders focused on in their roles
The importance of a two-way street, LinkedIn, helping others, what goes around comes around
The timing of becoming a mother, how it brought a change
Getting involved in Glamsquad because she bumped into cofounders who had a great idea
What Alexandra is doing now is scarier than anything before
Someone from Socialfly was the 500k Glamsquad customer
When she was looking for board roles, a big client is Allergan owned Botox, doing something innovative
Spotlyte â a great place to learn about beauty and skincare
Alexandra is an expert in understanding consumer behavior, consumer strategy and innovation into an industry heavily regulated, that wasnât focused enough on customer
A billboard in Times Square and a food truck for a launch
Educating millions of consumers on beauty and medical aesthetics, unbranded
Why Alexandra is surprised that a big, global company is so entrepreneurial
Keep meeting people, keep track of people
Hiring 50 new people in a year
Leading over a 1,000 people at one time
The culture at Alexandraâs current office â transparent, communicative, respectful, agile, teamwork, fun, passionate, and more â consistency
Whether being an entrepreneur gets easier? The good days and bad days phase her less
Learning to say ânoâ

Rachel Katzman of Cuvee Beauty â From Happy Accident to Beautiful Business Dec 31, 2018

Show notes

A happy accident on a 21st birthday and an old Hollywood secret inspired a booming beauty business, the importance of a balanced team and open dialogue, why it is crucial to learn from customer feedback, and the challenges and rewards of running a business with your life partner.

Rachel Katzman, Founder/CEO of Cuvée Beauty (champagne-inspired/infused haircare line), joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How a happy accident on Rachelâs 21st Birthday and old Hollywood secrets led to a booming business
Starting a beauty product band from scratch
Learning on the job while building a business
Differentiating a product in a well established industry by focusing on the consumer
Finding business partners as a small upcoming brand
Growing up in an entrepreneurial family and starting a business without a formal education
Working through discouragement and insecurity to find success
Learning on the job while building a business
The importance of building a balanced team
Why this is the time of the indie beauty brand
How personal experiences shaped Rachelâs focus on hair health and investments in clinical trials
Prioritizing the product before focusing on marketing and social presence
The importance of having an open dialogue and learning from customer feedback
Managing two business, one on your own and one with your partner
The good and bad of running a business with your life partner
The challenge of keeping your personal and private lives separate
How being a problem solver helps push your business and products to the next level
And a 1 Minute Brainstorm for Cuvéeâs next marketing plan and products!

The Socialfly Story Dec 24, 2018

Show notes

How it all startedâ¦

Socialfly founders Stephane Cartin and Courtney Spritzer take a break from sharing the journeys of other female foundersâand to share there own. Hear how they met, there first days as co-founders seven years ago, how and why things took off, the challenges and victories, how theyâve changed and grown, and biggest sources of pride.

Happy holidays!

Dani Beckerman of Jars by Dani â From Sharing to Selling Dec 17, 2018

Show notes

A desserts-in-a-jar business so successful that major fashion events have made them a must, and actually started on Instagram by a 22 year-old founder without a formal business education who just wanted to share her love for bakingâ¦

Dani Beckerman, Founder/CEO of Jars by Dani (layers of decadent desserts delivered in a simple fashion: a Mason jar), joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How Dani started her company via her personal Instagram account
Starting a business on your own with no formal education
How Daniâs recipes and presentation have evolved since the beginning
The importance of collaboration and keeping ideas fresh
The way quickly escalating demand for Daniâs baking forced her to learn to scale her business up
Using Instagram as a way to network and find early employees
The process of developing a way to sell to customers, from hand delivering to selling via a dedicated web store nationwide
Turning a chance meeting into a relationship with the fashion industry
The importance of personal-based branding
Developing sales and the decision to focus on DTC instead of brick and mortar sales
Doing PR without an agency
Learning to handle the holiday season rush
Daniâs transition from being a sole proprietor to building and managing a growing business
Keeping employees and collaborators close and nurturing a family environment
Navigating the process of acquiring investors
And, a One Minute Brainstorm for the next big idea for Jars by Dani!

Gina Bartasi of Kindbody â Putting the âWomenâ in Womenâs Health Dec 10, 2018

Show notes

Acting on the vision of building a solution thatâs about making womenâs lives easierâ¦

Women need to be treated as first-class citizens in health care and the primary decision makers. Thanks to the power of social media platforms like Instagram, women are really pushing each other forward and empowering one another to learn more and take action for their own health. Knowledge truly is power, Kindbody will be passionately leaning into their strong growth in a big way, and Kindbody has personal meaning to one of the Socialfly team .

Gina Bartasi, Founder/CEO of Kindbody (a full service womenâs health and fertility platform, reinvented for the women of today), joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about building her company and her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

From former patient to disruptor in the space, having passion for change
From building Fertility Authority 10 years ago, to recently launching Kindbody, what has changed in the healthcare space? The answer, not muchâ¦
Seeking transparency and truth with Kindbody; only 3 things matter in healthcare â patient outcome, patient experience, and cost
Shifting into services to positively affect change with the womenâs health and fertility space
Ginaâs first business in Atlanta; the Leader Publishing Group â knowing when to pivot and moving to NYC
Finding ways to listen to your audience and meet their needs and wants
Not fearing change and getting ahead of it
Finding ways to remove costs from the system, not adding costs to the system â bringing reproductive endocrinologists and OBGYNs on staff at Kindbody
The genesis of Kindbody; creating better health for women, all services under one roof
The broken healthcare system and the roadblocks in place by insurance companies like Aetna
IVF vs IUI
Finding ways to speak to women in their 20s to educate them about the issues they may face in their 30s
How to create parody in space, the disadvantages women face in the work force
Creating options for women, âI wish I knew then what I know today.â
The reality of costs for egg freezing, how can we make it affordable and available for everyone
When are you the most fertile and when can you expect to see declines?
Testing women with their new pop up mobile experience: 20% of women tested have diminishing ovarian reserve â they key is education, not fear, and empowering women with knowledge
80% of the time women prefer female doctors, and Kindbodyâs efforts to accommodate that.
The launch of Kindbody; early business success is a product of a strong team
Seeing the success of mobile pop ups in other industries and bringing it to the womenâs health space; bringing the vanâs success to the west coast
Spreading the word on social media and women supporting women
How to build a strong brand, looking for adjacent brands to partner with and associate with
Removing the stigma associated with fertility and bringing it to the retail level.
Sharing a surprise with Gina
Dealing with criticism and stress in the spotlight; avoiding mistakes and learning from the past
How to be more patient, learning from people around you
Twins marrying twins
60 second brainstorming session with Gina
Understanding the needs of Kindbody as it continues to grow
What has surprised Gina most about the launch of Kindbody
Stephanie sharing her fertility journey on social media
Whatâs next for Kindbody?
The lessons learned from the raising capital
A special offer from Kindbody

Designer Hayley Paige â From Side Hustle to Career and TV Show Dec 03, 2018

Show notes

Turning a childhood dream and resulting side hustle into a full-fledged career as a sought-after wedding dress designer with a large following and celebrities wearing her creations, and even a TV show, and how early adoption of Instagram gave her momentumâ¦

Hayley Paige, Head Designer for Hayley Paige at JLM Couture, Blush by Hayley Paige, and Jim Hjelm by Hayley Paige bridal collections and for Hayley Paige Occasions bridesmaids collection, joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

How Hayley made a shift from focusing on gymnastics to using skills she learned at home and at school to bridge her work and her lifelong passion
The ways studying at Cornellâs Fiber Science department helped Hayley develop her skills and influenced her approach to design
How a friendship in college led to an early entrepreneurial venture, and how that experience shaped Hayleyâs own ventures
How Hayley became an early adopter on Instagram and developed a strong following
The moment Hayley realized she could turn her side hustle into a full-fledged career
Hayleyâs determination to work with JLM Couture and how she made it happen
The moment Hayley knew she had her own collection
How Hayleyâs line have evolved over time and whatâs in store for the future of the brand
The TV show âWeddings to Watchâ
Plus, a One Minute Brainstorm for Hayley Paigeâs next big product line

Samantha Wasser of by CHLOE â Because of Passion Nov 26, 2018

Show notes

Delivering on a social media strategy and a thoughtful marketing plan as part of the DNA of launching a business from the beginning, finding people who roll with punches matters, the art of winning with a small team, the impact of making yourself valuable, and persevering in spite of tough personal challengesâ¦

Samantha Wasser, Restaurateur and Founder of by CHLOE, & Co-Founder of DEZ and The Sosta, joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about her journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

Getting into the food world
Spending a lot of free time in restarants with friends, inspiring to go into the business
Building by CHLOE for 3+ years
Studied sociology/psychology in college
The 2009 job market was tough, Samantha worked for a year wthout pay to get her foot in the door
Samantha on how she only wanted to work with her father in restaurants if she could create her own brands
How she has created an âInstagram dreamâ, everything so thought-out in appearance and function
How Samantha was excited for vegan restaurants because of her impending wedding then she decided to create a vegan restaurant that was approachable and felt like you really belong
Instagram feed vs. stories
Using stories to connect with customers and engage users
Cookies and pastries are so instagrammable
CBD-infused by CHLOE sweets
Sourcing CBD oil
A kind of traveling pop-up plus a dozen locations
Managing so many business priorities
Finding the right partners
You figure it out, all encompassing, you will find the tme when something is meaningful for you
How the business recently took on outside funding for first time
Growing the team, identifying the right employees, building culture with experiences, being a fun boss
A typical day for Samantha
How Samantha doesnât want to be a boss that is unavailable or at a distance
The importance of an open office environment
Focusing on best skills with the immediate team
Mistakes that have been made
Kombucha
Samanthaâs fertility journey while running business, putting yourself first when it matters so much
The emotional impact of miscarriages and how it created a lack of openness, how that changed with IVF
Pilates and yoga a part of game-changing routine
Maternity leave for an entreprenista?
A brainstorm for a new restaurant idea

Dana Pollack of Danaâs Bakery â Sweet Success Nov 19, 2018

Show notes

What if your job was making people happy at the most special moments of their life? Can someone make a career change at 30, follow their passion to build a very successful business with dozens of employees, and win major accolades as a business leader âall without a business degree?

Dana Pollack, CEO and Founder of Danaâs Bakery (which revolutionizes the traditional French macaron with an authentic American twist), joins Socialfly founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about her journey to success, a surprise, and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

Danaâs former career at Muscle and Fitness magazine
Her light bulb moment â when she asked for a raise and was declined
Faced with screen of oily men working outâasking will she really do this the rest of my life
Photo industry in transition, switching digital wanted to do something different after 10 years=âwhat would she want to do
Realizing she loved baking and entertaining
Dana realized she should get formal training, and within a week enrolled in culinary education and quit job, and broke up with boyfriend
Everyone except for her mom thought she was crazy to do this at 30 years old
Never anticipating what it the bakery became
How she knew could always pick up work in editorial world, but never had to
Found a job as pastry cook while going to school to get experience as fast as possible
Never went to business school, learned largely online basics of starting a business
How her mom helped her, no investors or partners, bootstrapping
When she photographed macaroons like sexy perfume, people were drawn to them
Using American flavors instead of traditional macaroon flavors
Social media as marketing helped people find out about them all over the country, then Dana hand-delivered and was not making a lot of money because the cost of delivering
Collaboration with Drake for Valentines Day
Favorite flavor is the âMallomacâ â a Mallomar bar without gluten
Biggest mistake made in packaging â $60k of unusable branded inventory
Making a formal business plan vs. getting things done
A surprise for Dana and idea for a new flavor!
The challenge of hiring the best talent
Why she has no partner to date
Why it is best to hire people who are better than you are at skills
Being at 35 employees
Typing and email answering assignments with new employees
Expanding the operating and offerings
Why showing up is such a major thing
Marketing strategy
Partnership with Dylanâs Candy Bar
The Mookie â a macaroon inside a cookie
How an Instagram contest created a new product
The rainbow black and white cookie
Looking at ROI of every dollar spent
Organic social media posts have always worked, preferring marketing dollars for ad words and FB ads
Sharing her entire days on Instagram
Planning days, every day is different, the importance of the calendar in phone
How Dana doesnât have a set schedule every day
Running personal and business Instagram accounts, and how running a business account like a personal account speaks to the brand
Danaâs most used apps
How helpful people are, and why being willing to ask for help is huge
Being able to recover by recognizing when something goes wrong in the business
A brainstorm for a new flavor idea for the holidays
And, a big accolade as a business leader without a business degree is a credit to her team

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