Posts tagged: The Mentor Files

We’re getting personal on the podcast today! Monica sits down with the CEO and Founder of Interior Define, Rob Royer, who just happens to also be her husband. After struggling to find high quality and well designed furniture at an affordable price, Rob decided to make it himself. Interior Define was launched in 2014 and offers a new concept in custom furniture: edited, thoughtfully designed and well-crafted pieces that are fairly priced and complete customization as each piece is made-to-order. In this episode, Rob talks about launching the brand and...

In 2014, Maggie Winter and her co-founder Jac Cameron set out to create a line they felt was missing in the marketplace: affordable, high-quality seasonless fashion basics. Fast forward to today, AYR (All Year Round)does just that.The digitally native brand has developed a cult following, found success with pop-up shops in New York, and is constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to non-traditional retail.In this episode, Maggie chats about the future of retail, her plans for additional stores, what makes the culture at AYR so different, and the key...

In just three years, Alyce Tran has turned The Daily Edited, an affordable luxury accessories line, into a global company with stores in the U.S., Singapore and Australia.On today's show, Alyce talks about the expansion of the company — including the recent sale of a 30% stake in her company for $4.5 million - and the growing pains that come with that kind of growth. Monica and Alyce also discuss how to maintain company culture across an international company, the personal cost of running a business and TDE’s social media...

Today's guest is one of the most sought after e-commerce investors in the country: Kirsten Green. Kirsten is the founder of Forerunner Ventures, and made early investments in companies like Birchbox, Glossier, Outdoor Voices and Bonobos. Plus, she was the only one to invest in two of the biggest e-commerce sites of the past few years: Jet.com and Dollar Shave Club.This year Kirsten was named as one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World, and one of the Most Powerful Women in Tech by Forbes. On this episode,...

Christine Hunsicker, CEO and Founder of Gwynnie Bee — an online subscription rental clothing service for women sizes 10-32 — launched her business from her Manhattan apartment in 2013. Fast forward to today, the company has more than 400 employees across the world, offers over 3,000 styles from 120 brands and to date have shipped over 4 million boxes.In today’s episode, Monica and Christine discuss growth, the biggest challenges of being CEO, building an open and honest culture and why it has been so critical to the company’s success.You can...

As an advisor, investor, and entrepreneur, Sari Azout wears many hats. Early on in her career she worked as an investment banker in the consumer and retail division of Lehman Brothers. From there, she took the leap to start her own company, Bib + Tuck — a peer-to-peer apparel marketplace — which was acquired by Crossroad Trading in 2015.Now, as a Partner at Level Ventures and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Rokk3r Labs, Sari advises dozens of early stage companies. In this episode, Sari talks about what she looks for when choosing companies...

If there is a female millennial entrepreneur that is shaking up their industry, chances are Vivienne Decker has covered them for Forbes.com. She has interviewed some of the country’s most successful female entrepreneurs and has some fascinating insight into the similarities between these powerhouse women.On today’s episode, Vivienne gives valuable and candid insider advice on how to get press coverage from the top business outlets (hint: the right subject lines matter BIG TIME!).You can Subscribe and Listen to The Mentor Files on Apple Podcasts.(And please be sure to leave me...

When Heidi Zak couldn’t find a quality bra that fit her right and looked great, she realized there was a hole in the market and ThirdLove was born. The data-driven bra company now offers 15 styles in 59 different sizes (they’re the only company to offer half cup sizes!) and provides a “try before you buy” model that encourages women to try the product on in the comfort of their own homes.On this episode, Heidi discusses product-market fit, exactly how her company collects and uses data to target sales, how...

In 2011, bloggers Danielle Moss and Alaina Kaczmarski teamed up to launch a website with a budget of less than $6k. Since then, The Everygirl has become a household name and the ultimate online resource for creative, career-driven women with more than 1 million unique visitors each month and 660k+ Instagram followers. Just a few months after launching, The Everygirl was named by Forbes as one of the “Top 10 websites for Millennial Women” and as one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women.”In this episode, Danielle explains how she...

Jessica Herrin was on a mission when she set out to create the direct sales accessory company, Stella & Dot. For her, it wasn’t as much about the product she wanted to create, but rather a movement. At the time, Herrin had already launched a wedding gift registry site which sold to The Knot for $78 million. She balanced being a mom of two daughters as she worked tirelessly to build her second company. From there, it was clear to her that she wanted to create a company that would...