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It was Eataly’s Nutella Bar where I first met Samantha Rose, the Founder of GIR. Amidst the crowds, we stood at a counter and chatted over coffee and warm crepes. She told me about her experience raising money on Kickstarter twice for her line of kitchen utensils. One of our mutual contacts had introduced us, because I was getting ready at the time to launch my company’s first Kickstarter campaign. I was nervous about the project and wondered, “What is it that propels some campaigns to be super successful?”
That afternoon, Rose walked me through her crowdfunding strategy and gave specific recommendations on how to structure rewards, add-on items and follow up surveys. I followed her advice and made at least four emergency phone calls to her during the course of our campaign. By the end of the campaign, we exceeded our goal by almost 1,000%.
We’ve all heard how important it is to have a reputable advisory board and to get advice from experienced business people. I founded an underwear and yoga wear company, Dear Kate, and grew it for six and a half years before moving on this past January. In the beginning, I drank in every single suggestion that my investors and advisors shared. Much of their advice proved useful, however what I didn’t expect is that some of the most valuable advice would come from other founders, like Rose from GIR. In my experience, these were the conversations that consistently produced practical suggestions, helpful connections and a shared understanding.
A mocha latte from one of my favorite spots, Ralph's coffee shop hidden inside the Ralph Lauren... [+]
That's what inspired me to create my Forbes column, “Coffee With...” It will be a place where you, the reader, can eavesdrop on the conversations that I have with inspiring female founders. I’ll be interviewing women who have succeeded and yet are still in it, every single day, building their businesses, and who are generous enough to share their experience and tips with you and with me.
Meetings with potential investors or advisors early in my career routinely left me feeling elated or crushed. The difference between conversations that left me feeling energized versus depressed was in the delivery and actionability of their feedback. Over time I realized that meetings with other female entrepreneurs were often more helpful because they shared practical, concrete suggestions in a positive tone. I decided to only take second meetings with people who left me feeling jazzed about the business and excited to implement one or two new suggestions. I hope this column will share that feeling with you. My goal is to elicit good vibes and practical advice from female founders gained through growing their businesses so you can grow yours too.
There’s something special about swapping advice with someone who is also growing a business or has very recently been in your shoes. It’s an opportunity for a two-way conversation rather than a one-way interaction between an advice giver and an advice seeker.
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At the end of the day, when there’s a challenge in business, I’m the first one to say, “Just tell me the answer.” But as time went on I realized that there usually isn’t one right answer. There are many different approaches to solving problems, creating sales excitement and finding the magic in a brand. While super smart advisors and investors may have started a business that is similar to yours, no one has actually run your exact business. So it’s up to you to feel it out, to try things, to iterate and adjust as you grow.
Whether you own your own brick and mortar store or you’re thinking of starting an e-commerce shop, I cannot recommend highly enough connecting in person with female founders who are at a similar stage in their business. In the meantime, read on in future weeks to join my coffee dates with remarkable entrepreneurs. I’ll transcribe the best parts of our conversations and post them here.
The first post is with Jen Gotch, the founder of girly accessories company Ban.do. We talk about being authentic, where she got the confidence to run a company, and why she sold the business four years ago.
If you have suggestions for female founders I should interview, please leave a note in the comments.
Disclosure: Samantha Rose’s business, GIR, is a consulting client of mine where I am advising on their newsletter and blogger outreach strategy.
