M.Gemi, the e-commerce luxury footwear company, brought the Italian model of shoemaking to American shoppers. The cofounders, Maria Gangemi, Cheryl Kaplan and Ben Fischman, met during their tenure at Fischman’s first company, Rue La La, and launched M.Gemi in 2015. The idea for M.Gemi started when Gangemi would return from trips to her native country, Italy, with shoes that were handcrafted in limited editions throughout Tuscany and often only sold in the local boutiques.
“From that experience, we realized there was an incredible opportunity to bring the specialness of these styles and the craft of Italian shoemaking to American shoppers in a wholly modern way,” recalls Cheryl Kaplan, M.Gemi’s cofounder and president. “By working directly with Italy’s small family-owned workshops, we are able to deliver beautiful, luxury shoes at a cadence that has never been seen before, new drops every single Monday, and at prices that were historically impossible in the space,” she adds. I spoke to Kaplan to find out how they built the company and what she has learned throughout her career.
What advice do you have for other women who hope to start their own businesses?
Find other women to help mentor you, both inside and outside of the workplace. Find your own style. Know that what works for one person is not necessarily what will work for others. Hone all of your skills and make sure you are well-rounded.
You release new shoes every Monday. How do you ensure that there are constantly new designs?
Releasing new shoes each and every Monday was always an important priority for us when conceptualizing M.Gemi. We create styles that are buy now wear now, so it is incredibly important that the site is constantly refreshed with new styles people will want to buy on Monday and wear that weekend!
Our cofounder [Gangemi] and her design team are constantly looking for inspiration as they work on new products. Our weekly drops actually give them a lot of creative freedom because instead of designing a full season’s worth of shoes at once, they are instead able to build mini collections with each weekly launch, focusing on the specific shapes, materials or colors that most interest them at a given time. This fluid design process also gives our team the chance to be much more nimble. With a traditional calendar, they would already be locked into designs at least a year out and wouldn’t have the capability to make quick adjustments and additions.
What are the most important characteristics someone needs to have to be successful in your role?
A mix of pragmatism and creativity is essential for this role. It requires finding the balance between dreaming up the big ideas that will move the business forward, while never losing sight of the tactile details that go into executing these concepts.
What are three characteristics you look for when you’re hiring a new team member?
We have a few workplace tenets at M.Gemi: ask, decide, own, push and share. Share has always resonated the most with me, and it is a huge factor in how I select candidates. Ultimately a team that is always sharing — sharing ideas, sharing feedback, and sharing questions — is one that is engaged and passionate.
Beyond the desire to work collaboratively, I think kindness and an entrepreneurial spirit are keys to candidates standing out. When building a company, fostering a culture that is rooted in kindness is incredibly important to me. It sounds simple, but a commitment to treating one another well goes a long way in creating a brand that employees want to grow with and be a part of long-term. Finally, at a startup especially, an entrepreneurial spirit is essential. Having the confidence to push new ideas forward and the scrappiness to execute them is invaluable to a rapidly growing company.
What’s the biggest lesson you learned at work, and how did you learn it?
It is important to have a strategy and to communicate that strategy for all to understand. It is also okay (and critical) to adjust early and swiftly as needed by the business. Make sure your team is involved with coming up with the strategy. Not only is it essential to welcome ideas from all perspectives as no one person has all the answers, but contributing to the vision will make the team more dedicated to its execution.
What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?
One thing that I’ve realized throughout my career is that the key to success is finding a place, position, and peers who keep you learning. There was a period in my professional life where I was changing jobs every two years as I kept landing in places where the landscape didn’t allow for a lot of cross-pollination between teams which left me wanting to learn more. But that all changed when I met [Fischman] in 2000 and joined the team. I can safely say I’ve been learning something every day — both from [Fischman] as well as the entire team we built together at SmartBargains, Rue La La and M.Gemi — for more than 15 years straight! And that’s in large part due to the collaborative culture we try to foster.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
There are lessons that I have learned from each of the different roles I have had throughout my career. I have learned both what to do and what not to do along the way but, in the end, it’s those timeless truisms that lead to both individual and collective success. Making mistakes is fine, but it is the recovery that matters most. Never be or think you are the smartest person in the room: learn and surround yourself with smart, talented people who have wildly different skillsets. Abide by the critical Golden Rule — treat others as you would want to be treated and regrets will be nominal, successes plentiful.
What is your business advice for other young professional women?
My advice is to keep the future in mind, not just the present. Many years ago, I took what some might think of as a step back in my career by taking a less defined role to work with a team I truly believed in. It was the best thing I could have done. It allowed me to broaden my experience, which long-term allowed me to have a broader role. It taught me to always balance short-term and long-term goals. What seems like a step back in the moment, might actually end up proving to be better in the long run. If I hadn’t taken that leap of faith earlier in my career, I would have never built the relationships with my cofounders that ultimately led to us launching M.Gemi.
