Today the RewardStyle team says they work with more than one million brands and 45,000 influencers in more than 100 countries and drive more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Although the couple started out of a studio apartment, they now have seven offices worldwide and manage a 250-person team. In 2017, they launched LIKEtoKNOW.it, a shopping app that lets influencers monetize their social media channels by linking to products. I spoke to the Box, a 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 alumna, about the business of being an influencer.

RewardStyle works with more than one million brands and 45,000 influencers, according to your site. Was it initially difficult to get brands and influencers to sign up? How did RewardStyle grow so quickly?

In 2011, blogging was not yet a common social activity, and most people did not know what blogs were. When we launched RewardStyle, I invited a handful of my new blogger friends to use it. One by one, we recruited retailers to RewardStyle and in 2011, only a handful were willing to honor the traditional model of commission on sales in a digital capacity. I joke that I would throw my body at cars to get in front of brands.

We grew so quickly because we created simple-to-use products that solved a real problem for all of our audiences — influencers, brands and consumers. For brands, it was low-risk with high-reward and our model works for marketers. We have continued to innovate and invest in tools, and today influencer marketing is no longer a marketing black box. Influencer marketing is no longer a tactic, it is a strategy. In 2018, brands invested nearly $150 million with RewardStyle.

With LIKEtoKNOW.it, you allowed influencers to monetize their Instagram content before there were ways to shop directly from posts. How did you come up with that idea and build the tech?

In 2013, Instagram became the new preferred publishing platform. Our influencers began to create more content there than on their primary web domain. Their followers were dramatically more engaged on Instagram and the platform provided their fastest growing, most visible audience.

At that time, we provided monetization tools on every platform except for Instagram. We needed to create a tool that empowered our influencers to provide the same high level of service on Instagram that they were able to provide on their primary domain and other social platforms: linked product information that made their content actionable and therefore more valuable to readers and followers.

In early 2017, LIKEtoKNOW.it expanded beyond Instagram and is now a platform-agnostic tool and also a channel of its own. LIKEtoKNOW.it is a shopping app and in November we released product search, allowing users to search for products and get results in the context of real, influential people’s lives. Last year, 9.9 million people shopped LIKEtoKNOW.it.

RewardStyle generates more than $1 billion in annual sales, according to your site. What are your top three pieces of advice for a new influencer who wants to monetize?

Influencer is a career choice and like any career, it takes time to build, it takes relationships and partnerships and it takes a real plan and strategy. Influencer success is not found, it is earned. Know your niche. Create compelling, authentic content that provides real value to an audience. Lean into your business partners, build relationships and always listen.

You founded RewardStyle with your then-boyfriend, now-husband. I read that working together originally caused strain in your relationship. What advice do you have for other people who start a business with a significant other?

Set boundaries! It took years, but Baxter and I have set boundaries around our work time and family time and once we get home, we stop working (and talking about working) and we focus our energy and attention on the kids. If we need to talk about work, we email each other or set up a time during office hours to talk about it. We also limit our evenings away from home. Internal events and partner events and travel add up quickly, and we are more intentional than ever about time away.

What’s the biggest lesson you learned at work, and how did you learn it?

Having a bad plan is better than not having a plan at all. Create a plan, assign quantifiable success metrics and execute against the plan. This will help you sleep at night.

As our team grew to 250, it became increasingly difficult to hold people accountable with quantifiable goals. Also, with so many people, it is critical that you all share the same set of priorities and are running together, and that requires an agreed-upon plan from the executive and senior leadership and a commitment to goals.

What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?

Make the more expensive, experienced hire. Don’t rake pebbles, move boulders.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Listen more than you speak.

What is your business advice for other young professional women?

The most valuable education is gained outside of the classroom. Once you choose your industry, work on all sides of it and work for the best. Work is the only thing that will get you ahead—relationships, money and social status do not guarantee you professional success; experience and work ethic do.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The post Career Profile: Amber Venz Box, RewardStyle appeared first on Elana Lyn Gross.

“The challenge is getting the industry to see that it’s not just a trend, it’s the future of business. This movement can feel superficial because not all retailers will put their money where their mouth is,” says Grede, “In the beginning, retailers would want to carry our product, but only a few sizes rather than the complete range of 00 to 24. There are a lot of costs associated like that bigger sizes take extra fabric. So it’s all about getting more and more partners and people to shift their mindset and, in turn, shift their behavior.” I spoke with Grede to learn about her career advice and goals for Good American.

What inspired you to start Good American?

Good American was ultimately born out of a conversation with Khloe about what it means for women to be confident. I knew I could get the basics down and we could ultimately service the market in a way that was more than just denim. Rather than categorize as, “plus-size” or what they call, “missy” sizing in the industry, we just wanted to create clothes in all sizes. I thought, why should there be any stigma associated with what size or what category of size you are and why should you have to shop that way? I just wanted to make something that was for all women.

What has been the biggest reward of starting Good American?

The biggest reward is being able to build something that’s more than just a brand, but a platform that portrays strong values for all women, and especially my kids. I actually started Good American when I was pregnant with my daughter, wanting to create something that she would be proud of. Now, getting to see the kind words from our customers and the emails and the letters they send with personal stories and praising what we stand for is indescribable! I’m so happy to see that what we’ve started has inspired other brands and so many are joining the inclusivity and body positivity movement.

Your cofounder is Khloe. What has been the biggest challenge and, on the flip side, the biggest reward of founding a company with a celebrity?

Working with Khloe is amazing. She works hard and she’s hands-on. I think one of her best qualities is that she has a great understanding of what customers will respond to, and she is also very driven. It’s nice to work with someone who knows what they want and is determined to make things happen. We both care so deeply about the product and together are very hands-on with the pieces to make sure they are something we would wear ourselves. She, of course, has a massive audience, but that doesn’t do it on its own. There is a lot weighing on her and the brand by putting a message out to millions of people like that. You’ve got to do it the right way that’s authentic and will resonate with those people so they don’t dismiss Good American as just another celebrity fashion label.

What are the most important characteristics that someone needs to have to be successful in your role?

At the end of the day, you have to have an unwavering belief in what you do. I can have many setbacks on a daily basis, and many times people don’t really talk to me unless something is going wrong! So a real belief in the bigger picture of what I am trying to achieve through Good American is key. Then you need passion, drive, and thick skin. I love what I do and am so lucky to be surrounded by such an amazing team, that’s so important to me.

What’s the biggest lesson you learned at work and how did you learn it?

Oh, I’m learning every day. But I started my first business at 24, back then I didn’t know how to listen. I thought I did, but it turns out I didn’t. Now I listen more than I speak, and I constantly solicit advice. I don’t always take it, but I like to ask around about pretty much everything. It’s amazing what knowledge and learnings other founders and CEOs are willing to pass on if you just ask.

What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?

Time is really, really precious. Don’t waste a second in a job where you aren’t either learning, surrounded by someone who inspires you, loving what you do, or loving the company. And if you really have no choice, you better make the evenings and weekends count because you don’t get time back.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

My husband once told me, “Make a decision and move on.” My job is all about making decisions and you’re going to make good ones and bad ones, but it is better to make a decision and move on than to procrastinate. That’s the most relevant advice I incorporate into how I approach my business on a day-to-day basis and it works.

What is your business advice for other young professional women?

Use your voice. Ask for pay raises. State your worth. Don’t be paid less than a guy, or another gal, doing the same job. Ask for help. Solicit advice. Make the tough choices. Be willing to sacrifice something. No one has or does it all, so above everything else, believe in yourself. And if all fails, listen to Oprah: Intentions rule every outcome.

The post Career Profile: Emma Grede, Good American appeared first on Elana Lyn Gross.

“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.

The post Career Profile: Cheryl Kaplan, M.Gemi appeared first on Elana Lyn Gross.

Williams wondered if other people would like the granola as much as she and her husband did and gave herself three months to launch her product at a local farmers market. After selling more than 30 bags on her first day, she signed up for more. Williams officially launched her company, Gr8nola, while working in tech full-time in June 2013.

Williams got her first big break in 2014 when a friend at Google introduced her to their food team and she landed a spot at their annual Micro Kitchen fair. Google employees voted for Gr8nola as a snack they wanted stocked in their company kitchens. Her first purchase order from Google was for 1,400 pounds of granola! Even though Williams quit working in tech to focus on Gr8nola full-time in 2017, her business is still connected to the tech world. Gr8nola is offered as an office snack at Google, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Twitter, Uber and Slack.

You sell Gr8nola to tech companies. What made you decide on that strategy?

In the beginning, selling to tech companies was by chance. There was no intentional strategy when I started the business. But winning Google as my first big customer enabled me to build out the corporate channel first, which is less common in the industry since most food brands typically start in retail. Fortunately, supplying tech companies has its advantages. It’s less crowded, brings more volume and my product gets consumed quickly because employees get to eat Gr8nola for free.

On the flipside, the retail space—particularly grocery—is incredibly competitive and expensive. When you’re a small, unknown brand, it’s hard to fight for shelf space and sell-through your product when you’re up against more established brands with bigger marketing budgets and cheaper pricing. However, I’ve recently been getting “pulled” into the retail space because a few local retailers have proactively brought Gr8nola into their markets. I’m currently in a handful of grocery stores today, but I’ve made a deliberate choice not to actively pursue too many grocery stores as long as I can sustain strong growth in my other channels.

What are the most important characteristics someone needs to have to be successful in your role?

I’ve got three! First, you need passion. You just can’t go through everything you deal with as an entrepreneur if you don’t have an incredible love for you what you do and if you’re not fueled by purpose.

Second, you need persistence. You’ll get so many nos and non-responses in this industry. You just have to be relentless when it comes to following up. So many customers rejected me initially, but I was able to eventually win their business—even years later—because I always checked in and stayed top of mind.

Lastly, the ability to execute. People often get hung up on planning, strategy and vision. This can paralyze you—especially in the beginning. I’m constantly trying to move the needle forward and no progress is too small. Remember, building a business is a series of micro moments, not one cataclysmic event.

What’s the biggest lesson you learned at work and how did you learn it?

Start lean and validate your product quickly. I took the lean startup mentality I learned during my tech career and first proved I had an exceptional product with the fewest resources possible. A lot of people over-invest in an unproven concept when they start. Instead, find the scrappiest, fastest way to test demand for your product and prove people are willing to pay for it.

What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?

It’s okay to take a complete leap of faith and try something new that you have no experience with. I spent nearly a decade of my life competitively swimming. I was on a scholarship at Stanford University and competed at the Olympic Trials twice! I quit my sophomore year after being so unhappy in the sport for so long.

The sudden increase in free time gave me an opportunity to get my foot in the door of an industry I had no experience in, tech. Looking back, I could have easily ended up in a different industry altogether if I didn’t leave my swimming career at that time. Without my successful run in tech and the strong network I’ve built from it, there’s no way I would have been able to scale Gr8nola into what it’s become today through my corporate channel.

Similarly, I’m obviously so glad I took that same leap with starting Gr8nola despite never working in the food industry. Remember, everyone’s new to a field or skill set at some point, and it’s never too late to leave something behind in order to start something new!

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

“Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.” In other words, dream big and chase after those dreams, but also be prepared for if the worst happens, as it sometimes does. Often things aren’t in your control, and I’ve found that the people who fare the best in any situation are those who are ready for Plan A to work out, but also have Plans B, C, D, E, F and G ready to go.

What is your business advice for other young professional women?

Don’t underestimate the power of networking! When I started Gr8nola, I had no choice but to network in order to figure out the basics of how to sell a food product, find vendors and manufacturers and learn about the industry and its regulations. I had to build my network from scratch, initially out of necessity, simply to survive as a business.

It’s also important to network when you don’t actively need something because you never know what can come from it or how people can help and vice versa. One person will lead you to another person who will lead you to the next person. That person could be your next big break, lead you to your dream job or completely alter your path for the better!

The post Career Profile: Erica Liu Williams, Gr8nola appeared first on Elana Lyn Gross.

“As a venture capitalist investing in startups for over a decade now, one gets quite a bit of exposure to the twists and turns in the journey of building a company. Yet, that’s nothing compared to the experience of having cofounded and built a startup of one’s own, as in the case of Glasswing Ventures,” she says, “I now have a much deeper ability to relate to the joys and tribulations that founders and entrepreneurs face along the way in a company’s journey to growth.” We spoke about her career path and advice.

The post Career Profile: Rudina Seseri, Glasswing Ventures appeared first on Elana Lyn Gross.

What inspired you to write Dig Your Heels In? What was your career path?

I grew up in Pennsylvania, and for a chunk of my childhood it was just my mom and I.  That clearly had an influence on both of our lives. Here are two things I learned that connect to my work today.

I watched my mom take some risks in order to develop herself…for her it was to get better jobs so we could have a brighter future. Going from being an inner city Philadelphia teacher to being a secretary with multiple jobs, including one at Temple University so she could further her education, then even logging miles for her pilot’s license with me on a stack of telephone books next to her in the co-pilot seat so she could open the door to becoming an air traffic controller…a completely traditional male dominated field but it tripled her income. So she was able to build enough savings to move us out of my grandparents’ home and buy an apartment. But, guess what? The bank added 2.5 percent points onto her loan. When I think about the wage gap that still exists today for women, it frustrates me that all these other experiences we have as  women, as consumers and as talent in the workforce, are plagued with gender bias.

When people asked me what I wanted to be as I grew up, I would say “ I want to wear a business suit and work in New York City!” Bold, but no more specific than that. But my mom didn’t know anyone who wore a suit or anyone who worked and lived in NYC. So she enrolled me in youth leadership programs where I could have access to mentors, the professionals that volunteered, who most likely did wear suits and could possibly have worked  in NYC.  This why I’ve been long-time volunteer and board member of organizations that support girls like Girls Hope of Pittsburgh, Girl Scouts, Step Up for Women, Girls on the Run, and Girls Inc. of New York City. Mentorship and relationships that give encouragement and support to rising leaders is critical.

I launched my corporate career in the pharmaceutical industry and continued to stay involved on campus as a mentor and speaker for over 13 years until I launched Why Millennials Matter full time in later 2014. The mission was to help  companies understand, engage and retain the next generation of global workers and consumers.

That year of launch, I also traveled the world from Argentina to South Africa with Cosmopolitan. I became the career expert for Barnes & Noble College who manages 750 college campus bookstores with over 5 million students in their network. I led on campus and digital workshops and created a toolkit for faculty to advise students on their career and a playbook for students.

Then in 2015, I was subcontracted as the project manager for a research initiative with the Center for Talent Innovation to work with Eli Lilly and Company, who happened to be my first employer. I had strong relationships and a lot of intel.  The Women’s Employee Journey opened my eyes to the dire need to more actively support women in the workplace.

The Women’s Employee Journey explored the factors contributing to the decline in representation of women at senior levels of leadership. In addition to this project, I launched several research initiatives inside large corporations and inside top 20 business schools. As I interviewed women at various career stages including women executives who had chosen to stay with their company for the long haul, I heard stories of struggle and sacrifice. I looked up to these women but their stories blew me away me. They were far from thriving, they were barely surviving.

The thread through all this work is the clear need to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace for women at all levels. Honestly what Millennials Want is what women deserve! So if we help today’s working women thrive, then we open the door for a more attractive, engaging workplace for the next generation. I am the mother of two daughters so I believe their generation deserves a brighter future as much as I do, you do…all of us.

What has been the biggest challenge and, on the flip side, the biggest reward of starting Why Millennials Matter?

When you see something so clearly, a gap, an opportunity, it is quite jarring when you constantly have to prove it over and over again. In my situation, the first quest I was on revolved around helping leaders and organizations see the power and potential of rising professionals and the extraordinary way they approached work and life to build stronger relationships at work. The current mission of advocating for women in the workplace and girls leadership has even more research to support it as a critical and urgent opportunity. Yet over and over again, I am confronted with the biased beliefs that this is just a “nice thing to do” not the absolute smartest thing for everyone. The rewarding side for me is when I see men and women side by side acknowledging the real everyday challenges and expressing the determination to disrupt it together. And when I see women hold their ground and go after what they deserve while telling the world around them what it feels like to take those risks and inspire others to stand up and speak out too.

What are your responsibilities as president and founder of Why Millennials Matter?

There is not enough time and space to list out the infinite responsibilities you take on when you become a founder and pursue a business that is based around your own perspective of what the world needs from your talents. Every day for me is different. I work crazy, unpredictable hours because I also strive to be present for my two daughters and the demands of their schedule and my husband’s. It is a hamster wheel, but I am not someone who ever liked sitting still. I want a full life at home and at work so this is the path I chose for myself. Hustling and using my grit to strategize, sell, and drive an impact through my work never gets easier and I always wonder if everyone else has it figured out. Until…I make the time to get together with other working moms through organizations like #HeyMama, @TheWing, @BeALuminary, @TheRiveter, @ForbesWomen, Book Clubs, @TheSpaghettiProject…the list goes on of new communities built by women for women. When I make the time for these gatherings or to spend time in these spaces, wow, it does wonder for my energy and empathy toward myself. It refuels me and reminds me that no one has it figured out and everyone is doing their best to make this one life we are given something to remember and be proud of. I’m so proud of the work I am leading now and really ready to roll up my sleeves to help women navigate their big decisions at work to help us make the progress we need in our culture so we can thrive.

What are the most important characteristics someone needs to have to be successful in your role?

It is absolutely critical to, “Lift as you climb.” This is a core value for my leadership style and I’m intentional about making time for women at earlier stages of their life and career even while I am still struggling to figure out my own. They need to see, feel, and hear what you are going through and what you are learning to empower them to build the endurance to keep pushing for what they want too. Don’t let other women pursue their dreams with rose colored glasses. It is much more rewarding to have your eyes wide open and be given the time to build up the courage and skills to be ready for the barriers we all will undoubtedly face in our professional careers and personal lives.

Congratulations on your new book, “Dig Your Heels In”! How did you choose the topic?

Once I realized that we needed to go beyond empowering women and start to really break apart the systems to shake out the bias and evolve to be what she needs, I began to lean in to my Courage To Stay brand. More than ever, today’s businesses are primed for disruption and progress. It’s important for women to take hold of the momentum created by the #MeToo movement that has opened everyone’s eyes to the discrimination and bias women face at all levels and industries.

Women everywhere are raising their voices individually against inequality. Imagine what we could do if we collectively dug our heels in and used our influence and enterprise knowledge to begin creating change within our organizations? It’s pretty obvious that the business world is unfair to women—the pay gap alone speaks very clearly to that fact as do the lack of national policies around paid parental leave. We’re past the stage of awareness; now it is time to do the work to create the companies we deserve and that deserve us.

What are the top three takeaways you want people to have after reading “Dig Your Heels In”?

How each woman can create a vision for her career and their company that breaks barriers (both in their mind and systemic) with exercises, action lists, scripted responses, and relevant case studies with stories from the women digging their heels in to get the career they desire and build the company they deserve.

How to change your workplace culture from within, rather than career hopping, for the betterment of all women in the workplace with testimonials from female trailblazers offering actionable advice for those who aren’t sure where to start.

How to overcome self-limiting behaviors like imposter syndrome and good girl thinking that hold women back.

What’s the biggest lesson you learned at work and how did you learn it?

After a series of disappointing exchanges with one of my senior leaders back in the days of my corporate career, I was ready to walk right out the door forever. Two months earlier, I had been asked to develop and facilitate a two-day training program on cystic fibrosis, a disease state that had actually killed two members of my family before they both turned thirty-five years old. Had I been tapped intentionally as an opportunity to invite my personal experiences into the learnings and help the company leverage my insights to better serve patients and our colleagues who would be working on a drug to treat it? Nope, it was purely a coincidence. But, nonetheless, I still approached senior leaders suggesting that during the training sessions we open up the dialogue to include the journey of families who had also encountered this disease and share its impact. Regrettably, I was told to stick to the “science” and not involve my experience. This was all about “execution, not inspiration.” I felt a really strong disconnect between my personal experiences and how it was leveraged to influence the work or services of my company. I think this is a pretty common scenario for most women who want to bring their perspective into the business and use it for innovation and a closer connection to the people they serve through that business’s products and services.

When I met Amanda Apodaca who shares her story in “Dig Your Heels In” it became so obvious that this is not an isolated experience. This is collectively what women are facing when they can’t bring their whole self to work and continue their perspective at all levels of decision making. Check out Amanda Apodaca’s story in chapter four to learn how to build an internal network of advocates based around the mission of disrupting bias and embedding diversity and inclusion into every aspect of your company.

What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?

I wish I had been more aware of the power of storytelling and been more vulnerable about sharing my own. Our stories and our visibility shape perceptions beyond those of men and women currently in the workforce. They have the power to influence our communities and our children. When your story is one of breaking down old structures and gender biases to create a more equitable playing field, you empower other women to do the same. What is more, you lift up the next generation of girls and women to achieve more under even better working conditions.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Take control of your own growth and development! Did you know that businesses invest only about $1,200 per person in developing their youngest employees? That means in many cases companies are spending more money on an employee’s computer than on their growth and development! That means it is up to you  from day one to seek out opportunities to advance your knowledge and skill acquisition.

For women in the first decade of their career, I see a critical opportunity to pursue opportunities that will stretch their skills, increase their knowledge, and expand their context so they can thrive in the next decade when life priorities start to play a bigger role. I recommend they learn as much as they can about how their companies invest in leadership development then set up meetings with human resources to express their interest and dedication to grow as a leader within the organization. I tell them to come prepared for those meetings to discuss options like conferences, local training programs or participating in external professional groups, focusing on the “what’s in it for the company” angle.

The single greatest development opportunity I see for young women is volunteering and devoting time on non-profit boards. Why? Because it gives them the chance to take on much higher-level responsibilities than are typically available to early career professionals at organizations that desperately need the help.

What is your business advice for other young professional women?

You deserve to be paid more, and that goes beyond salary. You need to evaluate and understand your full compensation details. Ask for help. Reach out to other women who can help you better understand the information and get a stronger grip on your situation.  We have to, “get pay straight” beginning with being really clear on what we have and what we deserve. Here are the first two steps I offer in “Dig Your Heels In” for taking on this process:

1. Begin with assessing your true worth and market value. Please know that this is not the salary.com way, which you can use as a starting point but which will not give you a thorough assessment of your breadth of experience, education, and role responsibilities. You must map out all these pieces yourself and list out your pay along with benefits to be firm in preparing to negotiate tactfully and effectively.
2. You need to do some legwork to understand how financial rewards are calculated and distributed in your company. This requires reading anything made available to you at your current level, scheduling an appointment with HR, and engaging in open discussions with your manager. You may find the thought of such efforts stressful or frightening, but you have to break the cycle and initiate these conversations. If it makes you feel more comfortable, think about these initial discussions as regarding company compensation processes and not your specific situation. To gain a stronger understanding of how your chosen career path will affect your pay, you want to learn as much as you can about the impact of level, department, and tenure on pay and benefits. Putting together all the facts about your own compensation (what you are paid and what you believe the compensation should be for your level and productivity, given your company’s policies) will put you in the driver’s seat for a direct conversation about pursuing an increase.

The post Career Profile: Joan Kuhl, Why Millennials Matter appeared first on Elana Lyn Gross.

She made a career transition, shifting into the health care industry shortly after, where she worked at Johnson & Johnson followed by Novare, ElectroCore and Apollo. Throughout her career path, Cohen specialized in development, implementation, growth and marketing for new medical procedures with a focus on non-invasive weight loss before founding her own company. In 2015, Cohen launched Virtual Health Partners to create a platform that gives people access to live, digital weight loss and wellness coaching around the clock. They offer private nutrition coaching, virtual fitness classes and workout plans and lifestyle modification courses that are accessible on their app and website. We discussed her career path and advice.

What has been the biggest reward of starting Virtual Health Partners?

There is no better reward in life than knowing that your vision has helped to make lives better. Additionally, watching the Virtual Health Partners platform evolve to eight different verticals including fitness, wellness, weight loss, oncology and women’s health has been very rewarding.

What advice do you have for other women who hope to start their own businesses?

Learn from as many people as possible. It is as important to learn what to do as what not to do. Do not let gender guide you. Yes, as a woman there are more challenges, but do not let that be your defining force. Be defined by your ideas, hard work and perseverance.

Congratulations on closing your next round of financing. What are three pieces of advice you’d give to other founders who are raising funding?

Thank you! It will always take longer than you anticipate and want. Stay the course. It will sometimes feel like people are calling your baby “ugly” and that most investors will not invest in your company. Keep an open mind, embrace criticism and cherry pick sound feedback and advice that an investor gives you, even if they don’t invest in your company. It is important to remember that you have customers, other investors and that not every product is a fit for every consumer. Think about the number of sneakers Nike offers and the variety of customers they have for each shoe type.

Make sure your messaging, value proposition and business model are clear and concise. Being able to clearly communicate all of these items in just a few sentences will engage the investor and show that the model is well thought out.

What are the most important characteristics someone needs to have to be successful in your role?

The ability to not give up. You are going to have great days, and you are going to have bad days. The key is knowing that the great days will always prevail if you do not give up and you follow through. The second is thoughtfulness. Life at a startup moves very quickly. It is key to be thoughtful while moving at a warp speed. This includes ensuring that your employees feel their voices are heard, that customers’ voices are heard and that you are making smart decisions, not rash ones.

What are three characteristics you look for when you’re hiring a new team member?

Dedication, experience and a willingness to advance are the three most important characteristics. Building a team, especially when it is your own company, is a science and an art. I have found it important to keep in mind that you can be a solo rockstar CEO, but without the band, or your team, behind you, the company will not grow and flourish.

What’s the biggest lesson you learned at work and how did you learn it?

I’ll never forget a sales call I was on with an interim vice president at Johnson & Johnson, whom I admired. It was a tough day all around. We were working with a trauma surgeon, new products were being trialed, and the patients’ wounds we were seeing were pretty severe. He said to me, “Always control your controllables in life because you cannot control the uncontrollables.”

Every time a new feature has bugs, an employee unexpectedly leaves or I am waiting tirelessly for a big contract to close, I think of his words and spend 30 minutes replaying all of the pieces of the puzzle. I reflect, I figure out what I could have controlled or done better and I decide what steps can be taken to make things better. I then determine everything that is “uncontrollable,” which helps lead to a clearer and more effective path forward.

What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?

I wish I learned earlier in life the importance of taking more time away from work and focusing on family. Having lost my dad in September, I am constantly reflecting on how I was always running out of his office to get to a work meeting when I would stop by for a quick hello or how I was “too busy” flying out for work on a Sunday night to make it to his house to watch the Giants game. Time is precious. Having fun and working hard is important, but you only get one dad – make time for everything! Balance is key.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

My dad said, “We all put our pants on one leg at a time.” Treat everyone, no matter what their role is or what they do, with respect. Saying thank you costs you nothing.

What is your business advice for other young professional women?

I felt as if I was most often fighting my age and not my gender. Because I became a director of sales before I was 30, I was definitely a book judged by my cover and age. I had to fight even harder for people to listen to me, believe in me and follow me.

Do not let age, gender or anything else get in the way of your dreams or goals. It is key to have friends who are in the same position as you are because you can use them as sounding boards without being judged. Lastly, ask for feedback before it is offered. It will not be expected, and catching someone off guard can definitely help to gain respect quickly.

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Whye leads Intel’s $300 million Diversity in Technology initiative to increase the representation of women and underrepresented minorities and improve employee inclusion and retention. The goal is for Intel to reach full representation of women and underrepresented minorities in its U.S. workforce. “Someone in this role should have a willingness to listen, to learn and to be uncomfortable sometimes,” she says, “We should work to create inclusive spaces where different voices can be heard, because at the heart of engineering, designing great products and making sure that you connect with your customers, is diversity of thought. This change is extremely important to the company, to its revenue and to our nation.” We spoke about her career path and advice and the importance of creating inclusive companies.

How do you think we can encourage more women to pursue STEM fields and advance to leadership roles?

We should talk more about what is possible versus focusing on the barriers. Persistence and optimism will always yield successful outcomes. We should spend more time focusing on implementing real solutions that will yield tangible results. We should develop multiple innovative pathways for women to enter STEM careers and ensure there are plenty of opportunities for women to progress. I’m an optimistic person and believe strongly that STEM careers provide amazing growth, reduce pay gaps and, frankly, are a lot of fun. Everyone should have access to a STEM career.

It’s also important to seek out mentors and role models who can support you along the way. Diverse people are needed in all areas of technology and by bringing together people with a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences and also encouraging a community of inclusion, we will innovate and drive future growth in the technology industry.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a Diversity and Inclusion initiative at their workplace?

Begin your strategy development work with inclusion at the center of the work. Inclusion transforms individual and group performance, has a strong link to employee engagement and talent retention and leads to better business results. To successfully sustain diversity and inclusion results, in addition to delivering to diversity representation goals, organizations must also prioritize the importance of inclusive leadership. It will empower employees to bring their best, and it also creates a sense of belonging and a community where employees can thrive.

 What’s the biggest lesson you learned at work and how did you learn it?

Through our diversity and inclusion journey, I’ve learned to never underestimate the power of sharing. We will only drive industry transformation by being open and honest about our achievements, challenges and opportunities. We can’t learn or grow without putting our heads together to share our successes, our challenges and our failures – and putting those learnings to work.

What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?

The one thing that I wish I had known when starting out my career was that it’s okay to ask for help. Asking for help is a strength not a weakness. I also learned quickly that it’s essential to find sponsors. This is key to retention and growth, because they end up being the bridge between the job that you have and the job that you aspire to have.

In times when you feel stuck or uncertain, know there are always others you can reach out to. I have had a host of wonderful mentors, sponsors and role models who have supported and encouraged me along the way.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received? 

I’ve been fortunate to receive a lot of great advice from various mentors. It truly does “take a village.” One of my favorite quotes is: “Leadership is about making others better in your presence so that the impact is felt in your absence.” I think it’s important to continue to inspire those around you and make sure that the work you are leading is sustained.

I would also add that my family has had the biggest and most consistent impact on my professional DNA —especially my mother. She is fearless, resilient and always full of faith and optimism. I model these traits daily and, in doing so, it accelerates my ability to lead, learn and unlearn.

What is your career advice for other young professional women?

Speak up, speak out and stay true to your dreams and authenticity.  Choosing to be uniquely you is a freeing and powerful choice. I also firmly believe that optimism is an important leadership characteristic and is linked to yielding successful outcomes. This is an exciting time for women to enter the tech industry and they are needed!

There are more women in technology than when I entered the technical field and it will continue to increase because it is our collective goal to drive more programs that result in more women and underrepresented minorities entering and staying in tech. Women currently represent more than half of college graduates so the future of the technology industry is truly in our hands.

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What inspired you to start Ammara? What was your career path?

After graduating from Smith College, I worked in investment banking prior to getting my MBA at Harvard Business School. During business school, I happened to get involved in a project for Neiman Marcus to assess the impact of their newly launched website business on store sales. Up until this point, I had anticipated returning to finance after Harvard Business School but getting involved in this project was a turning point. When I completed my MBA, I transitioned into fashion by becoming a wholesale sales manager at Zac Posen. Subsequently, I spent many years at Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue merchandising and buying various product categories and then I decided to start my own business. I wanted to take my creative energy and use my business background, which I believed gave me a competitive advantage, to create a company where the customer always comes first, quality is a given and no decision (and no shirt) is made without a purpose.

You previously spent ten years working in luxury fashion at Zac Posen, Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue. What were your roles in those organizations and how did they prepare you for your current role?

I had the privilege of working at various top Wall Street firms before making the transition into fashion. I started my career in fashion at Zac Posen in 2005 and working at a relatively small company where I was exposed to every aspect of the business such as design, marketing, sales, production, shipping and more was very helpful when I started my own business. My most valuable lessons came from my tenure at Louis Vuitton where I was an accessory buyer. LVMH is an incredibly well-run company where the integrity of the product is unmatched. According to Bernard Arnault, “a good product can last forever.” When I was working in wholesale at department stores and boutiques, I was unable to create a product that was the right quality at the right price. As I am now direct-to-consumer, I have the luxury to create products that are the quality I always wanted to achieve. I use the highest quality fabrics, Sea Island Cotton and 4 Ply Crepe Silk, and produce the shirts in the best factories in New York. These are designer quality products sold at contemporary price points thus providing the customer true value. At Louis Vuitton, I also learned the importance of controlling your distribution. I get countless calls from boutiques to wholesale my shirts to them and it is very tempting at times to take on a lucrative order. However, Ammara is built on the premise of not charging a wholesale margin and thus providing customers superior quality but even beyond that, by distributing through my website, I control the customer experience from beginning to end which is very important to me. The fashion calendar is broken – furs ship in August and chiffons ship in January and the customer has become trained to wait for sales. I believe in providing customers the best quality at the best price and ship styles when they are relevant to the weather. By being direct-to-consumer and controlling my distribution, I am able to do just that.

What has been the biggest challenge and, on the flip side, the biggest reward of starting Ammara?

The biggest challenge for me has been the dual focus on design and business. I design all the shirts and I am intimately involved in fabric selection, perfecting the fit and production. I also spend a lot of time on marketing initiatives, website improvements and customer research, not to mention the nitty gritty of running a business. While I delegate where I can, at this young stage of the business, it is incredibly important for me to understand every aspect of the business and there just aren’t enough hours in the day!

On the other hand, there is nothing more rewarding than randomly seeing someone wearing one of my shirts or hearing from a customer that she is wearing her Ammara shirt over and over again!

How did you choose to focus exclusively on tops?

The focus on shirts was an easy decision for me. I rarely wear dresses and I was always looking for fashionable high-quality shirts to wear with my favorite jeans or trousers and I could never find them. I also believe that by focusing on one category and really mastering it, I can provide the customer true value and really stand out in a very saturated market.

I love that you name each woman after an ambitious woman such as Joan Didion. What are some past and present role models you admire?

There is no woman I admire more than my mother. She was the first person of her generation in our family to get a Ph.D. She was a professor at a top university but she also managed our home seamlessly. She encouraged us to perform academically and had very high standards for us but she did it with so much love that, looking back, I’m amazed by her capability as a mother. I still ask her advice on many topics, especially raising children. I am unable to manage it all with the grace that my mother did (and still does) but I’m grateful to have her as my voice of reason!

I also greatly admire Gloria Steinem. I had the honor of sitting on the board of trustees at Smith College with her and I have rarely met someone who is as inspirational and strong as she is while being so poised. Her brand of feminism is particularly relevant in our current environment and I continue to be inspired by her every day. I have named not one but two shirts after her!

You’ve been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Man Repeller, InStyle and more. What is your advice for founders who want their businesses featured in the press?

I believe that nothing resonates with customers more than authenticity. The market is more transparent than ever, social media has provided the consumer a direct connection to brands and businesses and as a founder, it is more important than ever to be true to oneself. I don’t put anything out into the world that I don’t absolutely I love – if I am not dying to wear it, why should someone else?

What advice do you have for other women who hope to start their own businesses?

Fashion is not an easy industry – the pace is relentless and it takes years of hard work to reach the “glamour” young people seek when they enter fashion. Do it if you truly love what you do, otherwise, it isn’t worth it. Work hard and don’t have an attitude around what you are asked to do. In my first job in fashion, fresh out of Harvard with an MBA, I packed countless reorders into FedEx boxes for a local department store. To this day I consider those moments to be a real exercise in character building!

What is a workday at Ammara like? Please walk me through a day.

I am typically up at 7:30 a.m. to say goodbye to my children as they head off to school. I then spend 30 minutes checking emails and social media. A trip to SoulCycle comes right after this and then I head off to the Garment District. While production is underway, I like to visit the factories in the morning and address any concerns they might have right away. After that, the day can go a few different ways. Sometimes I will return to my studio to spend the day sketching, other days it might be design meetings, marketing meetings and fittings. A fitting can be anywhere between an hour to three hours – I am a stickler when it comes to fit – on the Angelou shirt I did 11 fittings before I was finally satisfied that it was ready to go out in the world! I typically try to wrap up this part of my day by about 5 p.m. so I can come home and spend some time with my children. After the children go to bed, I deal with all my emails and other projects such as sales projections, market research and more as I cannot go to bed without every loose end tied!

What are your responsibilities as CEO and founder of Ammara?

The good and bad of being a young company is that I am involved in everything. While I have had to relinquish control of some aspects of the production process (not easy for me) and give up the day-to-day profit and loss management, I stay very involved in these aspects. I design the shirts, oversee all fittings and, as the face of the brand, do press and marketing for the brand. I am also constantly reviewing the site, our customer research and our social media to figure out ways to improve every aspect of the business. As a creative person who has a strong business background, I feel I am uniquely positioned to use these two aspects that are often at odds with each other in the fashion industry to my advantage. I don’t design in isolation – if I get customer feedback that a particular sleeve is not comfortable or I see statistics that customers are buying cotton in white but silk in black, I use this information in the design process so we can truly anticipate the needs of the customer while staying true to the brand.

What are the most important characteristics someone needs to have to be successful in your role?

In running a business, it is important to be fearless and be able to take calculated risks. Getting advice from your mentors and your team is invaluable, but believing in yourself is equally important and trusting your instincts is key.

I often have to shift focus from creative to strategic to financial on a moment’s notice and I have to compartmentalize and focus on the most important issue at hand. Prioritizing and focusing is incredibly important.

Most importantly, I think it is important to be resilient and persevere – achieving success out the gate is sometimes easier than sustaining that success over a long period of time and some failure is inevitable. It is important to view failure as a hiccup and not an endpoint.

What are three characteristics you look for when you are hiring a new team member?

I look for people with vision. I need every new employee to be able to envision the company I am creating in the future and not what it is now.

I need self-starters who are flexible in their approach to the job – the job, the trends and the industry are changing every day and I look for people who can carve their own path and seamlessly shift into new roles when needed.

More than anything, I look for real passion – fashion is a tough industry and without real passion, it’s hard to excel in the long run.

What are the most important skills for doing your job and how did you develop them?

One of my favorite childhood memories is buying fabrics for bespoke dresses when I was growing up in Pakistan. As a child, I taught myself to sew clothes for my dolls from the scraps I found around the house. I live and breathe clothes and thoroughly enjoy the process of curating fabric, sketching, developing new styles and nothing gives me more joy than seeing an idea come to fruition in a fitting. I believe that it is impossible to succeed in the fashion industry without having a real love for fashion.

It’s also important to know when to stop investing in something, whether it’s a new style that is being developed or a business strategy. I have recently pivoted the business from being a wholesale business to a direct-to-consumer business (best decision I ever made) and it would not have been possible had I not been open-minded about new ideas and strategies. It is easy to get attached to certain ideas or become comfortable, but it is extremely important to constantly evaluate and improve every aspect of the business. I believe that having had a liberal arts education at a progressive institution like Smith College has ingrained in me the importance of being open to new ideas and never becoming complacent.

Another key skill is being able to prioritize limited resources like time and money. Being the CEO of a small company, I am always being pulled in a million directions and it is essential that I am able to decide what requires my attention the most at any given moment and tackle that first. Money is also a scarce resource and needs to be allocated with great care. While fabric and production costs might be the focus in January and marketing might be a bigger spend in February, none of this is set in stone and it is important to be able to deploy resources in the smartest way possible.

Successful people like former president Obama and Mark Zuckerberg have daily uniforms. What advice do you have for creating a daily uniform for work?

I’m a big believer in uniforms. I have two little kids who need to get ready for school in the morning and I don’t have time to pull together a full outfit every morning and it’s not my style. My style is very clean, stylish and elegant – nothing too affected. I love a nice pair of grey jeans or a sharp trouser with one of my own shirts and possibly a blazer or a leather motorcycle jacket.

What’s the biggest lesson learned at work and how did you learn it?

Ammara is hinged on providing a quantifiable value proposition beyond just beautiful clothes. At the core of the brand is the quality of the clothes – I use the highest quality fabrics and craftsmanship and the product is truly superior to products available at comparable price points through traditional wholesale channels. I then infuse a refined, au courant design aesthetic that is modern but timeless as my goal for these pieces is that they should endure in my customers’ wardrobe for years to come.

I have learned to never compromise on quality. While aesthetics or good marketing can make a customer buy a shirt once, only a great quality garment will endure in her wardrobe for years and make her come back for more.

What is the one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting your career?

I wish I had known to not take everything so seriously and enjoy the ride. Challenges are part of the fun – if I never had any hiccups I wouldn’t appreciate the victories. Having children has given me a lot of perspective both in my personal and professional life. I try to enjoy the moment I’m in and I try not to worry too much!

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

I had the honor of sitting on the Smith College board of trustees with Shelly Lazarus who was at that time the CEO of the advertising behemoth, Ogilvy and Mather. What really stood out about [Lazarus] was that not only was she incredibly successful, she had raised three accomplished children. I asked her how she does it and her answer, while very simple, became my mantra once I had children and was juggling an impossible number of tasks. She said that at any given moment she prioritizes what is most important to her at that moment or on that day. So one day she might need to be a recital for her son while another day she might have a board meeting and might miss something at her children’s school. I use that advice on an ongoing basis to determine what needs to be prioritized on any given day. I also try not to feel guilty – I am one person and I can’t be everywhere at the same time. I do the best I can and I remind myself of that as often as needed!

What is your business advice for other young professional women?

Do what you really love to do, be prepared to make some tough choices (work-life balance is much trickier for women than men) and don’t let the fear of failure hold you back.

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