The iCONIC Tour, presented by Inc. and CNBC, was a one-day conference that took place on June 7th in New York City at the New World Stages.
Becoming a successful entrepreneur is a difficult venture, and it’s one that iCONIC appropriately nurtures and refrains from sugar-coating. The day was jam-packed with successful speakers, some giving fiery speeches, others casually interviewed by CNBC hosts. One of the major through-lines to all of these talks was that it is inevitable to struggle for years before finding your entrepreneurial groove, and that’s not only okay — it’s encouraged.
The Struggle Is Real, Embrace It
Daymond John, creator of FUBU and famed investor on Shark Tank, once worked at Red Lobster for five years while trying to get his first business off the ground. “Don’t quit your day job,” he warns, detailing how over time he phased out his shifts at the restaurant, but only as his side project picked up.
Sarah Robb O’Hagan, CEO of Flywheel Sports, was once unceremoniously fired and almost sent back to her native New Zealand. “You can’t Google search your passion, you have to do stuff,” O’Hagan said, after discussing the pressure young people face to find their dream jobs right out of college. After being let go from a job she admits she wasn’t right for at Atari (“I don’t even like video games!” she exclaimed), serendipity stepped in and O’Hagan found herself working at Nike. “I was a train wreck and then suddenly I was in the right environment.”
Like Profit, Age Is Just A Number
It’s a sentiment Ariana Huffington, now the CEO of Thrive, a health and wellness site, knows well, “The older you get, the less you need validation from others,” she expressed, citing age as an incredible advantage when it comes to launching new businesses. In her estimation, you are less risk-averse as you get older and more knowledgeable about the market and what you bring to the table.
Huffington herself is 66 years old, and doesn’t anticipate slowing down in her future, “I don’t think there’s any age limit to entrepreneurship.” Her main piece of advice is to fall in love with the process of transformation, and learn to enjoy the restlessness that accompanies an entrepreneurial mindset.
Echoing this idea, Bobbi Brown the cosmetic guru turned hotel owner, lifestyle brand curator of JustBobbi, author of eight books, and head of a multitude of other creative projects, said “I don’t act 60. I don’t think my kids think I act 60.” Brown sat cross-legged in the chair, her signature white sneakers bright under the stage lights.
In the ‘90s, Brown was told by fellow makeup artists that if she didn’t go “bold”, she may never go anywhere. Brown stayed true to herself- she was convinced that because she wanted subtle makeup, other women did too. “I wanted people to compliment my beauty without knowing I was wearing makeup,” she said of her inspiration.
Sarah Kauss, the creator and founder of S’Well bottles, also touched on this idea, “I thought of myself as the consumer,” she said, explaining how she had always wanted to come up with a mind-blowing idea. “I kept thinking I had to get this big idea, this ‘aha’ moment. I didn’t think it was going to be getting thirsty while hiking.” Before she knew it, the fashionable bottle company she had founded in her living room had gone from $10 million to $100 million in two years.
These numbers seemed to shock equally successful CEO of MailChimp Ben Chestnut, who turned to her in surprise. Sarah laughed knowingly, “I called it ‘Painting the plane before we took off.’”
It’s a metaphor that could also easily be applied to Boxed CEO Chieh Huang’s fast-tracked journey. His family struggled in poverty and as a child he thought to himself, “‘The Man’ is really sticking it to the Huangs.”
And so when he moved into a position of authority with his company, ostensibly becoming ‘The Man’ himself, he wanted to be different. Boxed is not only famous for its start in cornering the market on delivering bulk toilet paper (“Everyone in this country uses toilet paper. Or you hope so.”) but it’s generosity to its own employees. Boxed has offered to pay for worker’s weddings and children’s college tuition. To Huang, it’s a matter of principle.
“You can sense it,” he said, discussing the warm feeling you get when you walk into places like Starbucks or Trader Joe’s, and noting how well they treat their workers. Providing generous benefits has not only resulted in a stellar reputation, but in amazing retention rates, not to mention a greater talent pool to pull from. Huang even recommends that entrepreneurs not get over-eager when money starts first rolling in. When things began to take off for Huang, he held off on taking higher salaries for himself and partners, and they were able to put more money back into the business and hire great employees. “More important than the money, was what we learned to do and what not to do,” he added.
Success Comes With Its Own Set Of Rules
Steve Hindy, the founder of Brooklyn Brewery, also noted the potential dangers in the beginning success of entrepreneurship. “It’s very exciting to start a business, I felt like I was 6 inches taller,” he said, warning that all new business owners should be wary of succumbing to flattery. Once you tell people you’re an entrepreneur, he explained, suddenly everyone is bringing you ideas. “It’s really important to stay focused on your mission and your plan.”
Hindy was hyper-focused on making Brooklyn Brewery work, even moving past multiple robbery attempts and a few bungled marketing ideas. Hindy started the Brooklyn Brewery long before ‘craft beer’ became the magic millennial label that it is today. The greatest piece of advice he said he ever received was “If you work really hard, in ten years you’ll be an overnight success.”
“A part of leadership is building great teams.” — Ariana Huffington
Another common thread throughout all the speakers’ advice was how they recruit talent. For Ariana Huffington, the trick to a dream team is simple: “I have this one rule,” she said, “Which is ‘No brilliant jerks allowed.’” Toxic people are not worth their talent, she explained, and there can be no room for passive-aggressive behavior in a transparent work culture.
For Bobbi Brown, her philosophy is equally straightforward: “Be nice to people — it’s common sense.” Much of Brown’s success can be traced back to her people skills; while shopping she happened to chat with a chemist who ended up creating her first lipstick, not to mention the countless times she started conversations in elevators or at parties that ended with a partnership. “Get people around you who are good at what you are not, then tell them what to do.”
Daymond John said he invests in people more than products. Citing one of his heads of sales as an example, a man who once came to him as an entrepreneur with a less than marketable product. While John knew that the product—a menorah Christmas tree topper — might not become a best-seller, he had belief in the man himself. “Mentors are the main reason people are successful,” he commented, understanding his role as a leader is more than driving profits.
Overall, Inc. and CNBC’s iCONIC tour had buzzworthy names with plenty to back it up. The speakers offered pragmatic approaches to realizing entrepreneurial dreams. But don’t expect a lot of hand holding and foolproof plans. As Daymond John put it: “You want to know the big secret? Work. That’s it.”
The iCONIC Tour continues on to Los Angeles on September 27th and features interviews with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and numerous business leaders.
