Podcasts about limited brands

For New Yorkers, C.O. Bigelow is an institution.  “There's something about the [Bigelow] apothecary that emotionally appeals to people,” Ian Ginsberg, president, pharmacist and third generation owner of C.O. Bigelow, told Glossy. “Everybody, no matter how young or old you are, has some memory about going to the apothecary and the pharmacist telling you what to do. That's where I started [when I joined the family business four decades ago]. I started focusing on what happens when you walk in the door.” Opened in 1838, C.O. Bigelow is a mainstay in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City and touted as the city's oldest apothecary. To wit: The original Kiehl's apothecary opened 14 years later in 1851.  C.O. Bigelow is known as a go-to for well-heeled New Yorkers, NYU students, tourists and neighborhood locals. Its lore includes customers like Sarah Jessica Parker and the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, who purchased her iconic headbands in the shop, according to C.O. Bigelow.  “It's not always about what you buy, it's about how you feel when you're there,” said Ginsberg. “I always say we have to be in the want business, not the need business. The minute we're in the need business, we're dead.”  His family has built more than a pharmacy and retail. The company also has an eponymous beauty brand made in partnership with Bath & Body Works, formerly Limited Brands. The products range from makeup to body care and currently sell in the Greenwich store as well as through Bath & Body Works, Bloomingdale's and Revolve, among other retailers.  The company also sells its wares direct to consumers. They include the namesake beauty line and the diverse curation found in store. Its stores offers luxury brands like Westman Atelier and Augustinus Bader, prestige offerings from RMS Beauty and Caudalie, and masstige products like Avene and Bioderma.  “You can't just put stuff on shelves anymore,” Ginsberg said. “Anybody can find unique things and put them on shelves, but it's about making people feel good -- that's more important now than ever before. People talk about experiential retail, but our experimental retail is just person-to-person communication, helping people, explaining things to them and answering questions and showing them how to use things in whatever category it is. That's the secret sauce.” The company also owns a distribution company called Bigelow Trading that imports and distributes small brands into the U.S., for its own retail and others. Marvis toothpaste is among those brands. In addition, Bigelow Trading has a thriving hotel amenities business that works across hospitality brands like Aman, Nobu Hotel and Soho Grand Hotel, among others.  But perhaps the most surprising thing about C.O. Bigelow is the role of the pharmacy in the overall business.  “People sometimes say to me, ‘You have this great beauty business because you have this strong pharmacy business,” Ginsberg said. “But they have it all wrong. [The pharmacy business is supported by the beauty business].”  As previously reported by Glossy, 2024 was a bad year for American drugstores, and 2025 could end up even worse. Just last year, CVS closed 586 locations, Rite Aid closed 408 stores, and Walgreens closed 259 locations, which has created “drugstore deserts” across the U.S. As a pharmacist and third-generation pharmacy owner, Ginsberg also shared his perspective on a buzzy topic in the industry: pharmacy benefit managers, which act as middlemen between drug companies and consumers. PBMs are currently under investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for alleged pricing abuse, according to reporting by Reuters in January,  Paired with razor-sharp drug margins, pharmacist staffing shortages and more issues native to pharmacies, the industry is struggling. Ginsberg joined the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss the company's secret sauce behind its thriving brick-and-mortar business and the role beauty retails plays in it. 

The Pohlad family announced last month that they were looking to sell the Minnesota Twins after owning the team for 40 years. Well, for almost that long, the Pohlads also have had a private family foundation. It gives away millions of dollars every year to nonprofit organizations around the Twin Cities. In recent years the foundation has focused on two priorities — giving money to ease the housing crisis and address racial inequality. One of the foundation's goals is to increase the number of Black homeowners. Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the president of the Pohlad Family Foundation, Susan Bass Roberts, about how and where the Pohlads give away their money and about her own career in corporate and community philanthropy, We want to hear from you, too. What questions do you have about the Pohlad Family Foundation or about how foundations give away their money? Call us during the 9 a.m. hour at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.Guest: Susan Bass Roberts was named president of the Pohlad Family Foundation in 2024, after joining the foundation in 2016 and serving as its vice president and executive director. She previously served as executive director of the Best Buy Foundation, vice president of communications and community relations for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and director of community affairs and philanthropy for Limited Brands, Inc.

The Pohlad family announced last month that they were looking to sell the Minnesota Twins after owning the team for 40 years. Well, for almost that long, the Pohlads also have had a private family foundation. It gives away millions of dollars every year to nonprofit organizations around the Twin Cities. In recent years the foundation has focused on two priorities — giving money to ease the housing crisis and address racial inequality. One of the foundation's goals is to increase the number of Black homeowners. Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the president of the Pohlad Family Foundation, Susan Bass Roberts, about how and where the Pohlads give away their money and about her own career in corporate and community philanthropy, We want to hear from you, too. What questions do you have about the Pohlad Family Foundation or about how foundations give away their money? Call us during the 9 a.m. hour at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.Guest: Susan Bass Roberts was named president of the Pohlad Family Foundation in 2024, after joining the foundation in 2016 and serving as its vice president and executive director. She previously served as executive director of the Best Buy Foundation, vice president of communications and community relations for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and director of community affairs and philanthropy for Limited Brands, Inc.

When David's Bridal, a New York City staple, filed for bankruptcy in 2018, Joan Hilson was at the helm as CFO. The experience was a crucible, teaching her invaluable lessons about crisis management and strategic pivoting. "Navigating the bankruptcy of David's Bridal forced me to re-evaluate our strategies and become more resilient," Hilson recalls. This challenging period honed her ability to steer a company through turbulent times, a skill that she would carry forward into her role at Signet Jewelers. Hilson's journey toward becoming a strategic leader was shaped by a series of diverse roles across the retail sector. Starting her career at Sterling Jewelers in the mid-1980s, she climbed through the ranks to become the company's first female vice president. Her subsequent tenures at Limited Brands and American Eagle Outfitters provided her with a broad perspective on retail operations and financial management​. At Signet, Hilson's strategic mindset has become evident in her emphasis on innovation and digital transformation. Along the way, she has helped the company to navigate the pandemic and championed significant investments in digital capabilities, ensuring that the company remains competitive in an increasingly online world. "Our goal is to offer connected commerce, allowing customers to interact with us whenever and wherever they choose," she explains​. Hilson's focus on team development has proved to be another cornerstone of her leadership philosophy. She believes in nurturing talent and creating opportunities for growth, both professionally and personally. "Growing my team and helping them to evolve is as important as achieving our financial targets," she is quick to observe.​ Joan Hilson's journey reflects a blend of resilience, strategic foresight, and commitment to innovation—qualities that continue to drive Signet Jewelers forward in a very competitive market.

Art Eldred is a seasoned Supply Chain Executive with over 20 years of expertise, specializing in eCommerce fulfillment solutions. He adeptly leads cross-functional teams, including consultants, mechanical, controls, and software engineers. Art's early career with a startup electromechanical software company provided invaluable insights into highly successful software organizations. His management approach emphasizes creativity while delivering robust solutions. His extensive knowledge of material handling technologies, coupled with software integration, leads to innovative, replicable solutions. Art serves as a trusted advisor to numerous supply chain C-level executives, offering insights on best practices, new technologies, and software integration. His designs are constantly recognized for their impact, often featured in industry publications and conferences, delivering speed, efficiency, and simplicity to his clients.SHOW SUMMARYIn this episode of eCom Logistics Podcast, Art Eldred, Vice President and Growth Officer at Vargo, discusses warehouse execution systems (WES). He explains that a WES is a system that executes tasks and flows within a fulfillment operation, managing the workflow and synchronizing and sequencing work tasks. Art emphasizes the importance of decoupling processes and leveraging technology to optimize workflows. He also highlights the need for clear definitions and understanding of WES, as many companies market solutions that are simply dashboarding systems. Art, Dan, and Ninaad discuss the evolution of automation in the industry, including the accessibility of technology and the emergence of robotic solutions. They stress the importance of aligning different departments within an organization and the value of integrating various technologies to achieve efficiency and productivity.HIGHLIGHTS[00:01:17] Art's background and professional journey in e-commerce fulfillment[00:03:11] Art's passion for bringing together software and hardware in logistics[00:08:55] Definition of a warehouse execution system (WES)[00:15:16] Successful implementation of a WES project[00:20:25] The trade-off between expediency and efficiency[00:25:06] When to consider implementing a warehouse execution system[00:30:01] The evolving role of automation in warehousing[00:34:07] Importance of integrating different capabilities and not leaving them in silos[00:36:06] Excitement about the accessibility of automation technology[00:40:13] The difference between a warehouse execution system (WES) and a warehouse management system (WMS)QUOTES[00:03:12] "My passion isn't one or the other, it's bringing it all together." - Art Eldred[00:04:51] "The warehouse execution system sits below the warehouse management system and it's managing the workflow." - Art Eldred[00:14:10] "The warehouse execution system can really unleash the capabilities of both the software element and the hardware and technology world." - Art EldredFind out more about Art Eldred in the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arteldred/

LEN'S BIO Leonard (Len) Schlesinger is one of the few people in the world that has been at the top of the game in two worlds, academia and business. He is one of the most prolific business thinkers and doers at Harvard where he is in equal parts beloved and respected and has had a decades long career at the top echelons of where leadership and influence are taught and exerted. Len is Baker Foundation Professor at the Harvard Business School where he serves as Chair of the School's Practice based faculty and faculty Chair of the MBA Field Global Immersion program. He served as a member of the HBS faculty from 1978 to 1985, 1988 to 1998 and from 2013 to the present. During his career at the School he has taught MBA and Executive Education courses in Organizational Behavior, Organization Design, Human Resources Management, General Management, Neighborhood Business, Entrepreneurial Management, Global Intelligence, Leadership and Service Management in MBA and Executive Education programs.   Throughout his career Professor Schlesinger has transitioned between academic and managerial roles in education and business settings.  He served as President of Babson College from 2008-2013, held a number of key executive and operating positions (ending as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer) at Limited Brands (later L Brands) from 1999-2007, was a Professor of Sociology and Public Policy and Senior Vice President and Counselor to the President at Brown University from 1998-1999, and was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Au Bon Pain from 1985-1988. Len  currently serves on the board of directors of RH, Inc. (Chair of Compensation Committee) and DP Acquisition Corporation. He also serves as an advisory council member of Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative, and as a member of both the Council on Competitiveness and the Council on Foreign Relations. “Teaching is my primary learning opportunity.” EPISODE OUTLINE (00:00) - Introduction (00:38) - Bio (01:40) - Brooklyn tough, holocaust survivor progeny (02:28) - In and out, seamless transitions; $19 (06:05) - Questions > answers; teaching = learning (08:54) - Running Babson; an ecosystem of stakeholders (11:10) - HBS & AI; growth mindsets for the win (13:47) - Lightning round (14:28) Outro LEN RELATED LINKS Len's HBS Profile Interview: Purpose and Happiness Books and Full CV, Publications Len's Last Lecture as Babson President Restoration Hardware (RH) Board Len's Wikipedia GENERAL INFO| TOP OF THE GAME: Official website: https://topofthegame-thepod.com/ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/topofthegame-thepod/feed.xml Hosting service show website: https://topofthegame-thepod.podbean.com/ Javier's LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/javiersaade & Bio: https://tinyurl.com/36ufz6cs  SUPPORT & CONNECT: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/96934564 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551086203755 Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOPOFGAMEpod Subscribe on Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/vLKLE1SKjf6G Email us: info@topofthegame-thepod.com    THANK YOU FOR LISTENING – AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PLATFORMS   

Doug Farren is the quintessential thought leader on the middle market, having founded the National Center for the Middle Market: a research institute helmed by Visa, Chubb, and the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University. Following a lengthy stint as senior supply chain manager of Limited Brands, Farren helped found the Center in 2011 to provide data analysis and insights concerning middle market companies. Ohio State has defined middle market businesses as those making between $10 million and $1 billion annually. In his role as managing director, Farren controls budgeting, supervises staff and personnel responsibilities, and corresponds with the Center's corporate sponsors. He is also a Penn State University graduate like Bob Buday, whom Farren has joined on Everything Thought Leadership to discuss the Center's rise in stature as the premiere voice on the middle market economy.

When Harry Slatkin and his wife, Laura, built Slatkin & Co., they disrupted the fragrance industry by making home fragrances accessible to a wider demographic. Slatkin sold Slatkin & Co. to Limited Brands, which owns Bath & Body Works, in 2005. But he kept his role as executive chairman and president of the company, and eventually took over the entire home fragrance division. After growing the business to $1.3 billion, Slatkin stepped down from his role in 2012. Today, the company does $2.3 billion in home fragrance sales, according to Slatkin. 'When I started, I was entrepreneurial at Limited Brands. [Lex Wexner] let me set up offices in New York, and I had my own team," Slatkin said on the latest episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast. "As soon as we started hitting $400 million and $500 million [in sales], I was becoming a part of these big teams, and the entrepreneur and the excitement of it starts to leave. … It was no longer what I could call hands-on, for me. I decided, after getting to a billion dollars [in revenue], that it was time for me to step down." Slatkin consulted for Bath & Body Works for three years after selling his company, but at the same time, he pivoted into fashion through a partnership with Tommy Hilfiger. The duo went on to acquire apparel brand Belstaff in 2011. Slatkin is now focused on growing the company's distribution for its current offerings, with no plans to expand to more categories in the near future.

Amy Swift Crosby is a brand strategist and copywriter. She has positioned or voiced messaging across the commercial spectrum, from iconic brands like Mandarin Oriental, PepsiCo, Guess Brands, Limited Brands, Pottery Barn, and BVLGARI to boutique brands like B&H Photo and Video, Sur La Table, The Wild Unknown, The Class by Taryn Toomey, ErgoBaby, Barre3 and legendary metaphysical bookstore, Bodhi Tree. Outside of these industries, she has created strategic plans and messaging campaigns for hospitals, real estate campus projects, universities, the U. S. Government, and the State of California. Amy has also been active in the entrepreneurial space as a founder of SMARTY, a community for women-owned business leaders, and BDY SQD, a group of health and wellness studios in Boston and New York City. She now consults with brands, founders, and CEOs using brand strategy to drive growth and build relevance within a channel or industry.In this episode, Nada sits with Amy to discuss the decision to close BDY SQD's doors in 2022. This rare and much-needed conversation is missing from the entrepreneurial playbook, and we are grateful to Amy for sharing her story. Ending an entrepreneurial chapter is as important as launching one. The learning curve is steep and relentless, and in time can provide clarity that guides your next steps. Amy shares that she learned she would much rather be a CEO's wingman than a CEO. She also acknowledges her need for work to return to something sensuous--something you find interesting that utilizes your skills.Amy recommends the Huberman Lab podcast, cold outdoor showers, "Four Thousands Weeks" by Oliver Burkeman, and “Six Walks” by Ben Shattuck.Be sure to listen to Amy's website and her podcast, The Brand Smiths. Follow her on Instagram: @amyswiftcrosbyPlease follow us at @thisislibertyroad on Instagram--that's where we hang out the most. And please rate and review us —it helps to know if this podcast is inspiring and equipping you to launch and grow your ventures.

This episode features Claudio Gallardo, the Sales Director for Perrine's Wine Shop. Claudio is originally from Quito, Ecuador but has lived in the US since the age of 12. Although his academic studies are in engineering, he talks about why his passion has always been customer service. Claudio has worked in sales for over two decades, cutting his teeth first at Limited Brands where he started as a part time stock associate and worked his way up Management. After having accomplished his goal in fashion sales, Claudio switched paths and moved onto wine and spirits distribution where he found the joy and love for wine. Working collaboratively with his wife, Perrine, and their small but mighty family of employees, Claudio oversees all aspects of sales, marketing, and customer experience for their wine shop locations in Atlanta. We talk a lot about how working for a growing company is a really beautiful experience because he gets to touch so many different aspects of it and watch them flourish. We also reflect on all the advancements they have made as a business throughout the pandemic to adjust to their customers' needs and to expand their online presence. As part of Perrine's ever-growing educational program, Claudio is also currently working on his Burgundy Master Level taught by the Wine Scholar Guild and is hopeful to finish by the end of this year. You can follow @perrineswine on social media, visit www.perrineswine.com to browse their wine selection, and you can always call the shop at 770-265-9795 to ask for Claudio. Recorded August 28, 2022 This episode is sponsored by Diane Carpenter and Ross Knoll Vineyard: https://www.dianecarpenter.org/wines --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/acorkintheroad/support

Jump into this first episode with us as we chat a bit and spend some time getting to know the co-hosts Stephanie Keally and Mandy Learn. We'll talk about our “why” for this podcast and how we want to talk about women, leadership, careers, and life. We will also talk with Terina Matthews-Davis, a talent engagement expert at AMS, a global total workforce solutions firm, about CAREER SUCCESS and GAINING VISIBILITY, especially in this remote and hybrid environment. Terina is an authentic and collaborative leader with extensive experience and expertise in recruiting, talent acquisition leadership, leadership coaching across retail, academia, and financial services industry segments. With previous experience with big brands such as JPMorgan Chase, Yum! Brands, Limited Brands, S&P Global, and Ohio State University. Terina is currently serving as Americas Client Director – Early Careers & Campus for AMS. Key takeaways: Why you should define career success for yourself and throughout your career How to fast track your way to advanced leadership by using a lattice approach and career catapults The power of networking and bringing others to the table with you. And don't miss our ONE THING TO TRY and WHAT YOU GOT IN THAT BAG prompts at the end! Don't miss an episode of Women Who Work. Like and follow us on Apple Podcasts and on Instagram @soarlead. Links: SOAR - https://www.soarlead.com CEO Next Door research - https://ceonextdoorbook.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/womenwhowork/message

Why should hoteliers embrace technology? How can it help provide a better guest experience? And what are the most essential technologies for modern hoteliers to implement today?Sarah Eustis started out as a housekeeper in her family's hotel. Now, she is the CEO of Main Street Hospitality which operates over 10 fantastic independent hotels located in the North East. In between, Sarah held leadership roles in the fashion industry working on operations, marketing, design, and development for brands like Ralph Lauren, Gap, and Limited Brands. With that background she is very focused on design and how spaces are designed to foster connection with guests and between guests. We're excited to share this conversation with Sarah Eustis!In this episode you'll discover: Why it's important to surround yourself with people smarter than you How to foster connections Why you might need to look in the mirror if you're having a hard time finding and keeping staff How what you do impacts how guest feel The Modern Hotelier is presented by StayflexiProduced, edited, and published by Make More MediaFor full show notes head to: https://themodernhotelier.com/episode/7

Stella grew up in Ohio and studied Economics and Japanese at Princeton University. Stella made a career change at 30 from investment banking to fashion. She moved from San Francisco to New York where she worked her way up at iconic American brands Liz Claiborne, Limited Brands, Henri Bendel and Ralph Lauren.Stella always fantasized about moving to California. She vividly remembers the debut of Beverly Hills 90210 and wanting to have a life of pool parties. After 7 years in both San Francisco and New York, she felt she won the career lottery by getting a job as the Director of Retail at a private equity company that invests in the leisure space in the Palm Springs area. Stella spent 8 years as the Director of Retail at KSL Resorts, buying for 5 Star, 5 Diamond and resorts on the National Historical registry including The Hotel Del, La Quinta Resort, Arizona Biltmore, The Homestead, Grand Wailea, Miraval, The Grove Park Inn, La Costa, and Monarch Beach Resort.Catering to a guest on vacation is a passion for Stella. Her mission is to give that guest a physical manifestation of their time of leisure so they can keep that memory alive. Life presented a crossroads to Stella when her company relocated to Irvine. Stella had found her home in Rancho Mirage and needed to create her own way. This is when Rancho Relaxo was born.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ranchorelaxoca/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RanchoRelaxoCALIYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoqnA0XRjY9cUeW016NEVGgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/54284245/admin/Invest: https://ranchorelaxoca.com/invest-in-rr/Corporate Events: https://ranchorelaxoca.com/corporate-events/

It was Ben Bennett's first job working at Limited Brands that showed him the power of working on a portfolio of businesses. Early in his career, Bennett, the founder and CEO of beauty brand incubator The Center, worked on 14 different apparel businesses at Limited Brands, but it was his time helping to conceive Bath & Body Works that got him hooked on beauty. “I'd never considered developing fragrances or personal care products,” he said on this week's episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast. “I looked at Bath & Body Works like this was another specialty business that I was brought in to help influence seasonality and trend: What would that mean, season after season, to look at what was happening culturally in the world and how we could incorporate that into the things that we were developing?” At the time, body wash hadn't quite upended bar soap and consumers were shopping in drugstores. “Body wash was something that maybe wealthy people used when they went to a spa. It wasn't such a common item. Bath & Body Works opened up a whole new category of personal care for consumers and created almost a frenzy around coming in and experiencing the new fragrance,” he said. Since then, Bennett has been instrumental in creating the next guard of beauty brands, first at incubator Hatchbeauty and now at The Center, which he founded in 2020. At just over a year old, The Center has been busy, relaunching Make Beauty under new ownership and debuting Naturium with skin-care influencer Susan Yara. Bennett will bring Phlur's rebrand to market in fall and launch a fourth brand in the first quarter of 2022.

In this episode of "A Conversation With," my guest is K. Elle Jones. Getting your brand to stand out is one thing; getting it to stand out in a crowded marketplace is another. I'm so inspired by all the great advice K'Elle Jones offers on entrepreneurship, brand development, and digital storytelling. =============== K'Elle Jones Bio K. Elle Jones, the founder of ELLEvate NOW Creative Media, a personal branding & media production agency that specializes in brand development, digital storytelling, and branded entertainment, is an award-winning, 3-time L'Oreal Paris Women Of Worth nominee & #1 Amazon Best-Selling author, director, producer & filmmaker who is passionate about amplifying, producing & distributing diverse stories for Women of Color, GenXers, women-led brands, and companies. Featured in numerous media outlets including MarketWatch, VoyageLA, Digital Journal, CBS & The Tamron Hall show, Elle created & produced “Beauty Behind The Brand Live,” an innovative, original remotely produced live television docu-series, where she spotlights the incredible, untold stories of high-achieving, brilliant women leaders, experts, creatives, founders and entrepreneurs who are often overlooked and underrepresented. The live docuseries is globally distributed on her streaming TV Network, the K. Elle Jones Network (KEJN), on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV & Chromecast through her distribution partnership with KP Media TV. For more than 25 years with branding, marketing, advertising & entertainment industry experience with Fortune 500 brands and companies, including Limited Brands, Victoria's Secret, and a host of pharmaceutical & wellness brands, Elle has been a champion for ALL women, especially women of color, consistently pushing the envelope to shift & normalize the culture of WOC & GenXers being powerfully represented, seen, heard & valued for their brilliance, work and contributions globally; all while maintaining ownership of their intellectual property. Today, she consults leaders all over the world to position them as a trusted, stand-out authority in their industry, with a powerful personal & media brand driving their impact, influence, profitability & legacy. Submit Your Short Film: The Film Collective --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aconversationwithfm/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aconversationwithfm/support

William F. Noble Jr. (Bill) is the CEO & Founder of West Point Optical Group LLC, the largest Pearle Vision franchisee with 75 locations in Ohio (20), Michigan (15), Arizona (9), Pennsylvania (7), Kentucky (7), Indiana (6), Florida (5), Georgia (3) and Colorado (3). With over twenty years’ experience in Healthcare and Optical Retail Operations, Bill is a visionary leader with a diverse cross functional management background and a successful track record of delivering outstanding results. Bill began his career at McKinsey & Co. serving as an Associate where he worked on engagements supporting several large multi-national corporations. Leaving McKinsey in 1998 with a desire to apply his analytical and leadership skills in corporate America, Bill joined Caesars Entertainment where he served as SVP and General Manager for casino properties in Las Vegas, Missouri and Louisiana. From there, Bill started his retail career at Limited Brands and eventually worked Toys R Us, Lord & Taylor, Walmart and Caleres before ultimately landing at Luxottica Retail North America where he served as SVP of Retail Operations for the LensCrafters brand. In 2014, with a profound interest in building and owning his own business through franchising, Bill founded West Point Optical Group, LLC. His colleagues value Bill’s willingness to go to any length for the greater good of the company while maintaining a positive attitude coupled with a ‘no excuses’ commitment to results. A unique leader with a strong military background, Bill has created a competitively fun environment centered on patient focused values, teamwork and high achievement. Great success is achieved with discipline and a commitment to hard work. These have been central tenets of Bill’s academic, athletic and professional career. Bill graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 with a B.S. in Engineering Management where he was also a member of the Army Football team. Bill served in the U. S. Army for six years and attended a number of advanced training schools including airborne and the Rotary Wing Aviator Course, in which he qualified as a helicopter pilot. Bill served in Camp Casey, Korea flying utility helicopters and had the honor to serve at Fort Lewis, Washington where he was selected to command a helicopter support unit flying the UH-60A Blackhawk. After completing his military service, Bill attended the Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA in Finance and General Management. Bill grew up in Albany, GA where he went to Westover High School, home of the Patriots. Bill’s current interests include fitness, sports and coaching youth sports. He has a personal commitment to his faith, his family, his fitness and his healthy lifestyle. Bill and his wife Lauralee reside in Mason, OH and have 8 children. Do you want to live an incredible life? Get started now by reading my book: "Visualizing Happiness in Every Area of Your Life" https://amzn.to/2kvAuXU What is your biggest obstacle to creating an incredible life? You can book a free 15-minute mentoring session with Dr. Kimberley Linert. Click on this booking link: https://calendly.com/drkimberley/15min Please subscribe to the podcast and take a few minutes to review on iTunes, Thank you If you have an amazing story to tell about your life and how you are sharing your gifts and talents with the world, then I would love to have you as a guest on my podcast. Contact me via email: incrediblelifepodcast@gmail.com or private message me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/incrediblelifecreator www.DrKimberleyLinert.com

Jennifer Zuccarini is the Founder and CEO of the luxury lingerie and ready-to-wear brand, Fleur du Mal. Inspired by women who are powerful, chic, and celebrate their femininity & sexuality, Fleur du Mal explores the notion of desire and artful provocation, while maintaining style and wearability. In this episode, Tracy dives into Jennifer's journey of launching a fashion brand - beginning at just eight-years-old, when Jennifer knew that she wanted to be a designer and got her first sewing machine. From there, Jennifer deepened her experience of corporate business and the importance of having an exit strategy. Tracy also digs deep into the process of starting your own business with details on how Jennifer built Fleur du Mal from the ground up. In This Episode: [00:40] All about Jennifer Zuccarini and Fleur du Mal.  [05:40] At eight-years-old, Jennifer realized she wanted to be a designer. She speaks about her journey.   [13:50] What it's like to have an unraveling partnership arrangement. [17:30] Making the pivot from Victoria's Secret and creating Fleur du Mal.   [22:30] The process behind starting your own business.  [31:35] Jennifer walks us through the Fleur du Mal branding.  [36:25] Everyone gave Jennifer the advice to narrow her brand. Jennifer wishes she listened to that guidance earlier.  [44:45] Learn more about Jennifer Zuccarini.   Key Takeaways: When starting a business with a partner, invest in advice before making the deal.  Always moonlight when starting a business. In other words, have a day job, take a paycheck, and then do your work on nights and weekends. When launching a business, put in the work, build the models, and understand what you're really going to have to do to launch your company.  As entrepreneurs, you need to carve out time for vacations – it should not be optional.  Bio:  In November 2012, Jennifer Zuccarini founded the luxury lingerie and ready-to-wear brand Fleur du Mal. Feminine, chic and powerful, the brand embodies a woman's strength, confidence, and sexuality. Founded on extensive industry experience, exceptional design, and an untapped market opportunity, Zuccarini has built a high-growth, digitally driven brand unique in voice, value and product execution. Fleur du Mal inspires the art of dressing up and undressing.  In 2008, she joined Victoria's Secret as Design Director of Intimates. Her experience with Limited Brands established critical operating knowledge, while gaining important manufacturing and sourcing contacts worldwide. In 2005 Jennifer Zuccarini co-Founded Kiki de Montparnasse, the first luxury brand surrounding intimacy. As Creative Director, she oversaw all aspects of the branding, collection design, retail and online environments. Born and raised in Toronto, Zuccarini moved to New York in 2001 where she studied Fashion Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology. Prior to FIT, she studied Art History and graduated with a Fine Arts degree from Montreal's Concordia University. Links: Website: https://www.fleurdumal.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferzuccarini/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fleurdumalnyc CONNECTIONS: For more Jennifer Zuccarini,  follow her on Instagram. Also be sure to check out  Fleur du Mal. Check out our website, Potential to Powerhouse, for more details and to learn about past, present, and future guests. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and join our Facebook Community for a deeper connection with the P2P tribe. Grab your free copy of our guide, 4 Daily Habits Essential to Becoming a POWERHOUSE Entrepreneur, and don't forget to subscribe to our show and leave a rating and review. Do you know any other female powerhouses that could benefit from listening? If so, please let them know to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever they like to listen to valuable audio content. Until next time… High Five!

You’ve heard it time and time again on this podcast: That influencer marketing not only works, but could be the key to unlocking massive business potential for your eComm business. Influencers have the power to take a product – or an entire brand – from unknown to a trending topic product overnight. And sometimes, the community that they build is so valuable, it creates a jumping off point for a business of their own. That’s what Deepica Mutyala did when she launched LIVE TINTED. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Deepica takes us through how she progressed as an intrapreneur at BirchBox before she took the plunge and set out on her own journey. And it all started after one beauty video that she made went viral on YouTube. Deepica explains how she went about building a community based on a mission to bring more diversity to the industry, and how she’s been able to tap into that community to create content and launch a successful business with products designed specifically for her community. Plus, Deepica reveals some of the advice she got from her investors and mentors like Bobbi Brown and Andy Dunn. Enjoy this episode!Main Takeaways:Deprioritize the Big Channels: It’s okay to deprioritize big marketing channels such as Facebook in order to explore and engage with users elsewhere. Facebook will always be there, but you might catch lightning in a bottle if you are willing to adapt and explore new platforms. It’s Not a Dirty Word: Influencers tend to get a bad rap, but the truth is that anyone can be an influencer, and that influence can be nurtured for the good of a community and a business. By tapping into the power of a community, growth becomes much more attainable.Start Where You Are: Intrapreneurship is an avenue you hear about less often, but is a strategic way for anyone with bigger dreams to learn the ins and outs of business. By embedding yourself in a business that works, volunteering to help in every department, making connections, and taking all of your learnings to build an initiative internally or on the side, you can advance as a true entrepreneur much faster. More Than A Check: Fundraising isn’t just about filling your bank account, it’s also about adding to your knowledge bank. Deepica tapped into mentors and investors like Bobbi Brown, Andy Dunn, Payal Kadakiam, Hayley Barna and others to learn from their experiences and invite them to be a part of her own growth. Tune in to the episode to hear some of the advice they each gave to Deepica!For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---Transcript:Stephanie:Hey everyone, and welcome back to Up Next in Commerce, this is your host, Stephanie Postles, co-founder at mission.org. Today, we're talking to Deepica Mutyala.Deepica:There you go, you nailed it.Stephanie:The CEO of a beauty brand, LIVE TINTED. Deepica, welcome.Deepica:Thanks for having me.Stephanie:How many times do people pause when they're like, "I'm about to botch your name, I know it, I know it, ah, there it goes?"Deepica:I mean a lot, but I appreciate the pause and effort to get it right, versus just blatant lack of attempt to try and get it right. So, I appreciate you trying. Thank you.Stephanie:Good. Yeah, thanks. Stephanie:So, I was doing a bit of research, as I always do on my guests, and I'm fascinated by LIVE TINTED. I mean, you have such a great story, so much stuff [inaudible] want to dive into, but first, I think it'd be fun to kind of talk through how you got here, your background, What did you do before you founded LIVE TINTED?Deepica:Yeah. So, I actually started my career on the corporate side of the beauty industry. In college, my first internship was at L'Oreal in New York, and post-college I had a brief stint at Limited Brands, which is now L Brands at Victoria's Secret, which is no longer there because they went bankrupt. So, I was there for a brief stint, but the whole goal and end game was to one day create my own beauty brand. I was that 16 year old girl who grew up in Sugar Land, Texas who said that... I was going to change the narrative of what I saw when I was going down the beauty aisles.Deepica:When I was a kid, I shopped at Walmart predominantly, honestly, that's where I shopped for beauty because, going to shop for beauty wasn't really a thing in my family's life, so when we were just getting groceries at Walmart, I would divert to the aisles and go look at makeup. And I would find myself not reflected in the ads, and I would also not see any foundation shades that worked for my skin tone. And I literally, remember telling my family at 16 that I was going to change that narrative one day, and everything I've done for my career since that point was to get me to starting LIVE TINTED.Deepica:So, it's kind of crazy being now back in Texas, like I was telling you earlier, that it's just really full circle being here, and finding doodles of me writing out what I thought my brand name was going to be, and talking to family members who are like, "It's just crazy that you're actually doing it." Because this is what I wanted to do. So then, after nine months at Limited Brands, I quit my job to take a risk on a startup called Birchbox, which at the time was the hottest tech company... Not even just beauty, but I think overarching, they created a whole category of subscription model that really created a whole new category.Deepica:And so, that was really cool, incredible experience working for two bad-ass female founders who, in my parents' eyes, were really okay with me working there, and taking a pay cut, and going for my dream, because the two founders went to HBS.Stephanie:Oh my gosh.Deepica:And so, they were like-Stephanie:I also read the quote from your... You were saying, "Oh, my dad all growing up would hand me a stethoscope," and then you would instead grab lipstick or something, and I thought that was really funny.Deepica:[crosstalk]. Yeah. It's kind of an Indian tradition where... There's this ceremony that happens... I think it's after your first 100 days, and we just did it for my nephew, where they put things in front of you [inaudible] like a book versus different things to see what you would gravitate towards. And instead of me gravitating towards anything that was in front of me, I was grabbing my mom's lipstick in her [crosstalk].Stephanie:In the purse digging over there.Deepica:Yeah, yeah, which is so funny, and crazy, and full circle now, but yeah, this was always the dream, and it's wild for me to look back and reflect. But I worked at Birchbox, and in true startup culture, you can create opportunities for yourself at a startup. And so, I made it very clear to the founders that I wanted to one day create my own beauty brand, and they gave me opportunities in the company to do that. Then, I had to do it a lot of the times, in my free time, it wasn't like... I still had to do my day job, but if there was projects that I could work on in my free time, I did it, because I saw it as Birchbox was my business school.Deepica:And they always said it as founders, right? But I truly felt it. I really felt like working there was an incredible network of really smart people, and I got to... Literally, you have an idea, you can test it, and just go for it. And so, I got to work on product development at Birchbox. I got to work on influencer partnerships at Birchbox. And when I did that, was my first time being like, "What is going on in this influencer world? And how much are these girls getting paid? What is happening?" Some random girl at Iowa getting paid this insane amount of money to do a YouTube video, and I was just like, "This is wild."Deepica:So, as I was doing that, was when I realized there was nobody who looked like me on YouTube creating content, and I kind of just saw it as a fun hobby. I was like, "You know what, Deepica? At the end of the day, you're not quitting your job, just do it on your weekends. And at the end of the day, all the people in your life that text you questions about makeup and things like that, you can just say, 'Go to my channel, stop texting me.'" So, really, I didn't think much of it. And so, January of 2015, I picked up my iPhone... Because again, I didn't know what I was doing video content wise, I had no clue how to... Ad revenue wasn't even activated. I didn't know.Deepica:And I picked up my iPhone and held it vertically instead of horizontally. The production, it was like I knew IGTV was happening before IGTV was happening. I did it in a vertical mode, and I used red lipstick under my eyes to mask dark circles... And people who are hearing this are probably literally so confused, but-Stephanie:I read that too, I was like, "Well, it'd be funny if I showed up with red lipstick under my eyes."Deepica:Oh my God, that would have been awesome. Yeah, no, I used red lipstick under my eyes to hide dark circles, and I guess that was crazy to 10 million people, because that video went viral, and yeah, has millions and millions of views.Stephanie:And it worked. For anyone who's like, "What did that look like?" I looked at the pictures and the video, it actually works.Deepica:Yeah. So, here's the deal, I basically... That was my biggest beauty concern my whole life, how to hide my dark circles? And it wasn't talked about, people didn't talk about it because it's such a specific problem to specific communities of people. And so, I just did the video that I had learned when I was on set one day, where a makeup artist was using a color corrector under my eyes, an actual product made for under your eyes, and I was like, "What are you doing putting red lipstick under my eyes." And she was like, "Oh no, it's a color corrector, it cancels out the darkness, so when you put on your foundation, you really can mask your dark circles, because you have extra pigments that require kind of additional correction." And I was like, "Well, what's the difference?"Deepica:My brain is always thinking about hacks and simplifying things, and so that doesn't change with my beauty routine. I want to always simplify things. And so, she basically, said, "Not much." And so, I filmed this video and it went viral, and when the video was at 4 million views, I got a call from the Today Show to come on to do the segment on air, and I quit my job that day. I kind of just had this moment of, this could be a cool 15 minutes of fame, or I could turn it into my dream career. [crosstalk].Stephanie:That's amazing. What did the founders say? Because I'm guessing, you had a pretty close relationship with them. I mean, they were letting you essentially, be an intrapreneur within their organization, and test things, and learn, and try, how did they feel about that? Because I saw that they were some of your first investors along with Bobbi Brown, which I'm like, "What? How did you get in front of her?" So, what was that process like leaving and getting them to invest afterwards?Deepica:Yeah, it was really tough. There's two co-founders, and they just had different mindsets, right? One of them was more like, "You are all on a Birch tree, and you're all acorns that will fall into the world." I remember she said... And she's the one that's currently an investor in my company, "I want to see you grow and thrive." And the other one, it's not to say that she didn't want the same thing, but she was really excited about me growing within the company. And listen, she had every reason to feel that way. She helped me get so many opportunities within the company to be able to create what I have been able to do today, and she gave me those opportunities, but it was more like... I was really close to her too, I worked more with her directly. So, of course, it was like one of those bittersweet things, but they're both incredible and really supportive.Deepica:But it was really scary to... I remember when I got... The day I got the email from the Today Show was when I pulled her into a room that day at 6:00 PM, towards the end of the day, and I just was like, "I feel like I have to go for it." And she gave me a really big hug and said, "She's really happy for me." But you could tell it was like a bittersweet thing, which I appreciated, because at the end of the day, that means she felt that I made an impact at the company.Stephanie:That's great. So, what was the Today Show like? Did you go on there and do a tutorial? Tell me a bit about that.Deepica:Oh my gosh, it was wild. So, my sister came on and was my model on air. So, she flew in from Texas. My dad was backstage sitting next to Kid Rock, which was hilarious. Picture this immigrant Indian dad who's like, "What is even happening? My daughter is on national television. And who is this guy with a beard and long hair, what's going on?" It was the moment where I realized that I was meant to do exactly what I'm doing in that moment. I was not nervous, I felt like that was... I was just meant to be there, it just felt that way. You know that Eminem song... What is it? Lose Yourself? You get one shot, one opportunity. I was listening to that backstage, and I literally felt like I had four minutes on national television to show people that a brown girl can do this.Stephanie:Mm-hmm (affirmative) Oh, that's great.Deepica:Yeah. I felt like I could be the Indian Hoda, and just be the next news anchor on the Today Show. I still feel like... I love doing live television, I think it's like... There is a beauty in the imperfections that come with it. And it was surreal, is what the word is, and incredible. And I remember after it was over... The hustle and bustle of live television is very real. The second the segment is over, they're like, boom, boom, boom, moving onto the next thing. And I was like, "That was so fun, let's do it again." Most people were just like, "All right, lady, we're moving on." But then, there was this senior producer who came up to me and she was like, "You should do it again."Deepica:And I was [inaudible] around, and it's so cool because my dad is in the background recording it, so I have all this on camera. But she just was like, "We can't believe it was your first time doing national television, we'd love to have you back regularly." And that was really cool for me, because everyone told me that when you go on national television, it's a cool moment in your life and you move on, and I feel like I proved the exact opposite, that if you have what it takes, you can make things happen for yourself. So, I became a regular doing beauty segments on the Today Show, and was a full-time influencer, which is a thing.Stephanie:Yeah, I saw that. That was one of the first things when I was looking into your bio a bit, and it's like, "Oh, Deepica is an influencer, and I think she's just signed a deal with WME." I'm like, "Oh." So, tell me, now you've got the status, and you're super popular, how did you think about capitalizing on that, and to get out of just being an influencer, and then being like, "I'm going to create my own stuff?"Deepica:Yeah. Well, here's the deal [inaudible] I never grew up saying I wanted to be an influencer or even be famous, but I did grow up saying I wanted to be a CEO and run my own business. And so, when you fall into something like this, it's very weird. But I think what got me through the years where I was just an influencer and didn't have the business side of it was, the end goal was the same. I wanted to change the face of representation for people who look like me, period. So whether that's in the media, or through my own beauty brand, the net goal was the same, and it still is the same.Deepica:And so, what I realized was, I had this opportunity to create a brand around myself that was really once in a lifetime, honestly. And I was just like, "I want to focus in on this and really learn everything I can about the beauty industry." Which at this point, I knew a decent amount. I worked at Birchbox, I had a lot of beauty brand contacts. And really, what I did was, after I quit my job, I emailed all my contacts and I was pretending to be my own assistant, and I was like, "Hello, I'm the assistant to Deepica Mutyala, beauty influencer with 10 million views, Today Show beauty expert, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, if you want to work with her, whatever."Deepica:And for every 100 emails I sent, I got one reply, and that one reply led to my first job where they asked me my rate, and I had no idea what to say. And then, when they said, "Okay," I realized, damn it, I could have asked for triple. You just learn as you go, and you're your own assistant, producer, editor, manager, agent, sometimes lawyer, which I don't recommend.Stephanie:Nope.Deepica:I'm like, "Bad idea."Stephanie:Yeah.Deepica:But you just learn as you go. And so, I think for me, what got me through being the girl who was waking up and taking selfies, and posting it for literally a career, I got paid to do that, was that I really saw a narrative in the beauty industry that didn't exist when I was growing up. There was no token brown girl, there was always... And even then, there wasn't really a token black girl growing up, that was still in the... Now, I feel like we're finally... It still has so, so much work to do, but I do think that we now have representation happening more than I ever saw growing up, but there still is this tokenism that happens where... I felt like for three years, as grateful as I am, that I've been able to work with every beauty brand under the sun, like a L'Oreal commercial to a Samsung ad that aired during the Golden Globes, and just any beauty brand I could have dreamt of.Deepica:I also realized there's plenty of people out there that deserve the shot to also do that, and there shouldn't just be one of me. There is not just one white girl on the campaign, why shouldn't there be more brown girls in the campaign, more black girls in the campaign? That experience as an influencer is what led me to launching LIVE TINTED as a community platform prior to launching the actual product itself. I didn't plan for that, again, being a community brand wasn't a thing growing up either, but it was lived in experience that truly inspired the idea that, before this launches with a physical product, let's create this united community where they dictate our future decisions.Deepica:And really, for me, honestly, I was craving a home where people were talking about things in the beauty industry that was not a thing, heavy topics like colorism. But then, other topics like facial hair, and things that you just didn't say. And so, we created this almost like collective home where every day we were just posting about faces that I felt like you didn't traditionally see being shown in campaigns. And it just started to organically grow into this very, very engaged community, which then at a point, I was like, "Let's create products for them, it's time." And that's kind of what led to our first product launch in may of 2019.Stephanie:Yeah. We had a really cool company on... Food52, same thing, they build up a huge community first, and then, afterwards, she was like, "Oh, it was only right to then start creating products to service that community." But my biggest question is always like, how did you build that community? How did you transfer the audience from TV to then go into your community? Or from Instagram, or YouTube, or wherever you were, how did you pull them in and get them engaging in a way where you're like, "They're here for the long haul and now I can move on to phase two of a product?"Deepica:Yeah, no, it's a good question. I think for me, I feel very grateful that those three years as an influencer, I created a community of people who felt very connected to me, because again, there wasn't a lot of brown girls doing this. And so, I felt like they would be ride or die for anything I put out into the world. But that is, to me, a huge responsibility, and it was like, "Okay, so now, if I create this brand, I don't want it to be about me, I want it to be about something so much bigger than myself."Deepica:So, if I had just launched it, which a lot of investors in the beginning were saying to me like, "Why do you have to create this community first and spend money on creating content as a community platform and things? You already have a following, create a product, show proof of concept, and build it out." I just didn't listen, and I felt really strongly that LIVE TINTED was bigger than my own identity, it was about a larger multicultural group of individuals coming together and finding common ground in industry where I felt like people were so divisive.Deepica:And so, I really wanted to kind of bridge that gap and create a really powerful, I think, warm home for people. Which, I think, a lot of brands are saying they're doing now, and it's awesome, right? I'm not hating, I think it's all for the greater good. But people are smart, and they can understand when some people are being performative versus not. And I feel very grateful that since day one, we've had values and core beliefs that we've... Of course, they evolve, but the core belief around diversity and inclusion is the pillar that has stood strong since the beginning.Deepica:And so, for me, on an actual tactical level, the first 20,000 followers, I would say, came directly from my following, from... I remember before we even launched it, I was trying to find photos of deeper skin brown women online, and it was virtually impossible. I was just searching and the team was searching, and I was like, "You know what? Let's use the power of social media." And I just posted on my Instagram, "I'm working on a project on stories, if you see any deeper skin melanated brown women, use #livetinted." I'm not even kidding, within minutes, the #livetinted was flooded with just tags. It was just like this community of women who have been thriving to be seen. They are just craving for this industry, who has neglected them, to pay attention to them.Deepica:So, when you ask, how I did it, sure, my following definitely helped do it, but what really did it was that there was just a natural need. These people didn't have another home, and they were excited to finally have it. And so, I also think that it grew from just being a South Asian Brown collective to being much larger. Because again, I talked about topics that were very specific to me and my life. I didn't force it and try to speak to something that I didn't know personally. And with that, I recognized colorism is not an issue in just the South Asian community. To be honest, I'm learning so much as we build this brand that... I had no idea, this is something that so many different cultural backgrounds face around the world.Deepica:And that actually, excited me, because I realized that there is an opportunity to create a brand with pillars that, like I said, unite people from all different cultural backgrounds rather than divide. And so, it just organically grew from there, just by talking about things that I lived in and experienced in my life.Stephanie:Yeah. That's very cool. So, how many people are in your community now?Deepica:Well, it's a tricky number, because I say 600,000 because I include my community as well. Because quite honestly, my whole brand has shifted to just LIVE TINTED stuff, Which I love. Yeah, we're a little over 600,000.Stephanie:Cool. And how do you think about keeping them engaged on the different channels? What are you doing now that's maybe different than when you started out in what? 2015, 2017?Deepica:I mean, yeah, because my brand started in 2015, and then LIVE TINTED started in 2018. But you have to evolve with the times. Perfect example is, hello, TikTok.Stephanie:Yeah. Actually, my favorite influencer is an Indian girl on there with her dad.Deepica:Oh yeah, she's amazing. I love her.Stephanie:What's her name?Deepica:Sheena? Is it Sheena? It's starts with an S.Stephanie:Yeah. She's so funny. But you never see her dad, it's always just his responses to things that she's doing. I've never seen her dad anyways in any of her videos. But she's my favorite. She's hilarious.Deepica:I'm obsessed with her. And yeah, I feel like there's this understood brown community bond where you're rooting for each other, because it's like, so many of us were told to be doctors and go down this traditional path. Yeah. One of my goals for the brand is to spotlight not your traditional beauty influencers, but people like her who are just creative creators. I think there's this incredible creative community that I've come across just from building LIVE TINTED that deserves so much spotlight. We have big plans to only continue to spotlight them in a bigger way as the brand continues to grow, Which I'm excited about. What was your question, again?Stephanie:[inaudible] Yeah. Okay. So, [inaudible] I like to derail things every once in a while, but back to saying... You said you had to change with the times, from what you used to do to what you do now, and you said, of course, TikTok, what are you doing today to keep your audience engaged? And how do you think about treating the different platforms different, [crosstalk] people right now are connecting with them best?Deepica:Well, I think, first and foremost, I don't try to pretend like I know something that I don't know. And so, luckily, at this stage in the business, bringing in an intern that's in college that can do TikTok for us, because I'm like, "Wait, what is this dance move? What's going on?" So, I think hiring subject matter experts is something that I feel like, finally, oh my gosh, because I've been just doing everything for the longest time that now, it's like, let's hire for people to do what they're good at.Deepica:But of course, you have to have a pulse and know what to even hire for, right? It's like, am I looking for an email expert? You have an X amount of budget, if you're going to focus in on email versus... Social versus paid versus all these other marketing levers, you know what makes sense? For example, for us, influencer is such a critical part of the business, because a lot of them are my personal relationships, but we need to continue to grow that network to the people... Just like the girl you just mentioned, there's a whole community of people that are continuing to create and build every year, and so, for me, it's about staying on the pulse and making sure you feel comfortable evolving with the times.Deepica:Facebook is still a powerful, powerful sales channel, for sure. And so, we do need to be relevant on there. But if you're a small team, and you have to pick and choose your efforts, for us, it's been deprioritized, and eventually, we'll get back there. But I'm way excited about LIVE TINTED impacting the next generation and helping them be a more tinted future, where everyone sees beyond the hues of their skin.Deepica:And so, I get really excited about tapping into a younger audience because they are the future of this entire industry, than going towards maybe an older audience. So, these to me, are just the little things you have to keep your mind on, what is your goals? What is the audience you think that you can really tap into? And what are they doing? And then, you decide your marketing leverage based on that.Stephanie:Yup. So, how are you thinking about tapping into TikTok then? I mean, you're mentioning partnering with an influencer who isn't a beauty influencer, but could still probably drive results. And I know earlier you said influencers, and you kind of cringed too in thinking about that. So, tell me a bit about, how do you partner with them? Does it work? How do you make sure that it works? All the details behind them.Deepica:Yeah. I cringed because I feel like the word influencer has been so like... It's been created into this like comedic relief for people, and I think that's what makes me cringe. But one thing that I feel really, really strongly about, is the value of these creators. I think of them as creatives that are just really changing the landscape of marketing. And I think that it's just the word influencer used to really make me cringe because I felt like it wasn't respected. And as somebody who went through being an influencer, and I still am an influencer, at the end of the day, [inaudible]... By the way, something people forget is influencers have always existed, they were just called celebrities before.Deepica:The definition is evolving and changing, and it's going to continue to evolve and change. If you have a platform and an audience, you are an influencer, you have an influence of some sort. And I think it's actually a really powerful thing, if you think about it, because it makes you realize, anyone can be an influencer, and it makes people empowered to use their voice. But the part that I get really excited about, like I said earlier, was this creative community, and how we can work with them. The same way I told you, these girls were just wanting to be seen. These creatives are just wanting to be seen, and they've never been given the opportunity to be seen. So, how is it that LIVE TINTED as a brand can tap into these people, and really invest time and effort as an internal team to search for these people, and work with them, and not go against the grain, and go against who everyone else is wanting to work with?Deepica:Listen, we're still a small company, so paid partnerships is something that I can't wait to be able to do. It's like, are you kidding? I went through it, I want to be able to do it for other people. So, we're working on trying to grow those relationships now. So, when we have a full budget in place, we support these, I would say, underdogs, versus going towards the people that everyone else was going to, because that's no fun.Stephanie:Yeah. And I mean, that's a big theme that I'm hearing too, is finding more of the micro-influencers who have a very engaged following, but they might only have a few thousand followers, versus a million, but those few thousand are ready to convert and really buy the products, and do the things that you're doing. How do you go about finding those people? I mean, it seems hard to have to go through TikTok and Instagram, and find people that might not show up on your feed right away, if you are kind of searching through all that.Deepica:Well, there's a lot of cool tools now that we've actually just invested in, which... Honestly, for me, my plan was to do it the old school way, of just investing the time, finding people, and I think, that to me, was the way to go, but there's supplemental tools, like there's this new platform... I sure don't know if it's new, it's new for us, called GRIN. And it's a way to manage your influencer partnerships and relationships, so you can actually have data and analytics to back up why you're doing certain decisions. And it's like, traditionally, in PR, you send products out, you hope somebody posts about it, who knows if they do? Tracking that is really... It's just a lot, so you need to have the manpower to be able to do it.Deepica:And now there's these tools in place that make it a little bit more scalable, which is really great. But I don't think anything can beat the just human aspect of finding a gem of a person and saying, "This is who I want to grow with." And I now, luckily, now that there's a team in place, I can spend my time doing those things, because, first of all, I truly believe that is the special sauce that comes from a brand, is those little efforts you put in that take time, that really set you apart from the others out there. I don't want to be the person who partners with the biggest TikToker, and not just because of the financial reason, which I think... I don't want to speak for other people, but I think a lot of times, the theme is to go to micro or nano influencers because of budget reasons. And to me, it's really exciting that they're untapped, and have a voice, that they're... You just want to continue to empower that voice, I guess.Stephanie:Yep. Yeah. I love that. So, how do you think about strategic partnerships, or when it comes to when you're getting investors? I mean, I'm thinking, okay, you have Bobbi Brown who is very big in the makeup space, what did that look like? Did you have that in mind when you partnered with her, like, "Oh, maybe you can kind of showcase my line along with your brand?" How does that work? And how did you think about picking strategic investors instead of just going with the first person who might give you money?Deepica:Yeah. That's actually exactly what happened too. So, I learned so much through my fundraising process, so it was my first time doing it, and what I came out of it realizing was, nothing is more valuable than experience, and that includes a cheque. I think I was taking people's cheque, but really, what I was taking was their experience, that's what I wanted to learn from.Deepica:And so, I had a couple term sheets where it was like one large cheque from one VC... Which, by the way, that whole process is a whole thing in itself. But I feel grateful to say that... I actually don't feel like I had as much trouble being a woman of color getting investors on board as much as I think I've heard a lot of my other girlfriends who are women of color, specifically, black women, which is just all sorts of messed up in its own, that... I feel very, honestly, grateful that I didn't go through that, but I also think it's really messed up that I didn't go through that as much. But that process has taught me so much in what I want to do in my future of... There's so much I want LIVE TINTED to do to help other women who want to create their own brands. But when I went through that process, I was like, "Wow, I really don't want one person this early in my business to dictate my decision-making."Stephanie:Yup.Deepica:You're learning so much in the beginning, and the last thing you want is for someone who knows nothing about your business, who just gave you a cheque, to say, "You need to go into this retailer, or you need to do this partnership, or grow this, or hire this person." So, instead, what I did was tap into a network of people who I worked my off to build my entire career, and tell them, "I'm launching my own brand, and you've been somebody who has been a mentor in my life in some capacity." And really positioned it as an opportunity to be a part of the growth of what I'm building. And I feel very confident about that. I still feel that way. I know and I feel very competent about what I'm building, and what the impact it's going to have on the world.Deepica:And so, I went to all of these mentors or just advisors in my life, and they put in more angel cheques, strategic angel cheques, really, just to get their advice. I'm learning from their mistakes. Andy Dunn from Bonobos, the other day, I sent my annual investor update, and he was like, "Just continue to focus on profitability, don't overspend on marketing, learn from my mistakes." I'm learning from all of their mistakes. Payal Kadakia from ClassPass, she would say, "Focus on your why, don't ever get distracted from the why." And Bobbi Brown, she was the first to tell me, "Go on a motherfucking date." That's what she told me to do. She literally, told me to go on it, and she used that word. So, that's why I said that, I apologize [crosstalk].Stephanie:That's okay.Deepica:But that's Bobbi for you. She is such a dope woman. She is no BS. She told me, she was like, "At the end of the day, you will succeed because that's who you are, but you don't want to look back and wonder, what was it all for if you don't have someone to share it with?" And so, maybe that's a part of the reason I came back to Texas, and I'm kind of taking a step back and zooming in on things. But they all give me different advice for their own nuggets of what they went through. And Hayley Barna from Birchbox, is now a partner at First Round Capital, she put in a personal cheque, and I feel like I could always call her to ask her about fundraising advice, because they've obviously raised so much money.Deepica:It's just truly invaluable to be able to talk to people who've gone through the mistakes and the wringer to say, "I'm thinking about [inaudible]..." I'll give you an example right now. Food52, I love what they're doing. You mentioned them earlier, I love what they're doing. I love the idea of a collective ecommerce shop where you're creating content to commerce. I think it's really smart. And I've gotten distracted in the past of wanting LIVE TINTED to also be that as a collective home for inclusive beauty. I wanted to create the next sephora.com that truly zoomed in and focused in on, you won't be on our site unless you are caring about inclusivity. That doesn't mean you have to be a POC owned brand, we will absolutely prioritize it more than most people do, but I had this vision.Deepica:And at the end of the day, I think the biggest, hardest thing for founders to remember is to stay focused, eye on the prize, and I think... That doesn't mean I don't want to still do it one day, but we have way too much momentum happening as a singular brand that I think I just have to stay focused. And these kinds of founders in my life, if I called them, and I'm like, "But what if we, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." They will all pull me back and say, "All in good time, young grasshopper." [crosstalk].Stephanie:That's awesome. And I mean, that is the time when a lot of founders do kind of want to start seeing profit, want to go big, want to experiment a bunch of different areas, and I think that's really smart. And I also love Bobbi Brown's advice too. I mean, I love the personal aspect when you find people like that. Deepica:Another thing, on the Bobbi Brown thing, her specifically, we met through the DM.Stephanie:That's great.Deepica:Yeah. You can connect with anyone in the world, you have no clue what the power of social media... There's so much negative that comes with it, but there's so much positive. And I remember on my launch day, I was in New York City doing a ton of press, and I went to Jersey to meet with Bobbi Brown in person, and she was like, "Wait, your launch day is today, and you're here?" And I was like, "Yeah, you're Bobbi Brown." [crosstalk].Stephanie:I'm here.Deepica:Yes, of course, I'm here. Because to me, she was doing inclusive beauty before inclusive beauty was inclusive beauty. And as a Jewish woman who grew up in New York, I just find it to be so impressive that she recognized that... She sees it as like... Obviously, I care about making sure that everyone feels represented, that's how she sees it, and I feel like I wanted to learn from that person. I want to create my own Bobbi Brown cosmetics one day, and I feel like with her guidance, I'm well on my way.Stephanie:Yeah. That's cool. So, I mean, you have a lot of good mentors and investors. I mean, Andy Dunn is another good one. He actually was our first investor in our company too-Deepica:Oh, wow.Stephanie:[inaudible]. So, good people you got there. What is something that they're guiding you on right now for 2021? How are they kind of... I mean, Andy has Walmart, but he got to look at... He has a lot of things that he can see around ecommerce at Walmart. What are people like that saying right now? Like, "Hey, Deepica, you need to start preparing for this. Or we're seeing this shift at our company, so maybe you need to kind of pivot, or adjust, or do something different to be ready for this new world." Anything high level like that?Deepica:I think the biggest theme and general advice, is slow and steady growth for the win. And that's very different from what I was told when I was first fundraising in 2018, it was all about the next billion dollar unicorn company. And I have a couple of people who were unicorn companies, Payal Kadakia as an investor, and it's like, they are all also advising me like, "Just don't get caught up in the noise, don't get caught up in the quick turnaround story." And the more I'm seeing what's happening in this bubble, that's kind of bursting, it's like, "I'm so happy that we didn't take on a ton of funding, we're growing slow." And I'm going through the fundraising process right now for our Series A, and the reality is that we don't need to fundraise right now. It's this back and forth of like, we're doing really well and we can go really slow.Deepica:But at the same time, like you said, Andy is with Walmart, and one thing we're exploring right now is retail partnerships. And so, one thing that I think is very apparent now is, it's a very different ecommerce and D2C climate than it was five years ago, as we know. And I think the idea of being omni-channel, it's not an option. We have to be omni-channel to also beyond just like the business and the metrics, because myself being, again, that 16 year old girl who dreamt of having her own beauty brand, it's about impact too. And I want my physical products to be able to be touched and held by people who are in store. And again, go down those beauty aisles and actually see yourself represented. And I feel like we're the brand that needs to do that in a big way.Stephanie:Yes. Beauty feels hard to me though from ecommerce. I mean, I'm just thinking about... I went to Tarte, which is of course, a beauty website, and I was ordering things on there, and it still feels so hard to figure out what you need to buy based on your skin tone. And it's asking me all these crazy questions, which you're probably like, "Yeah, those are obvious ones." Like, do you have a pink with a yellow undertone there?Deepica:Undertone.Stephanie:I'm like, "I..." And it literally has 50 options, and I'm like, "I don't know, am I pink? Am I yellow? Am I green? I'm not really sure." So, beauty feels hard. I mean, I know obviously, being in retail, being in person is important, but during this time right now, where that's been a little bit harder, how did you think about adapting your ecommerce experience in a way that people could know what they wanted, or what was meant for their skin? It just feels so hard.Deepica:And it is really hard. That's totally true. We're actually going through a site revamp right now, and it's all going to focus on community, which I know is such a buzz word. But the best thing we can do is tap into all these people who, again, have been just dying to be seen and be featured. And they're not like the person with all this following, whatever, this massive following. And to me, what we can do is... The best marketing tool we have is them, and see them, the product, have them create the content, have them be the things we feature on our website, so people like you can go directly to the site and see themselves and say, "Oh, well, I look like her." It just helps.Deepica:I think Rent the Runway is the first example I saw of a company that... I remember shopping it and picking a dress, because I saw girls who had my body type, and I was like, "Oh, well, she..." All the reviews, I think it was [inaudible] that they used on their website that is really great customer review experience. And I remember when we created livetinted.com, I wanted to use [inaudible]. So, we do for our review system, because I wanted it to feel really real, a yelp kind of situation where you're truly feeling like you trust that person telling you which product works for you.Deepica:So, it's tough, but there's tools and ways to make it better. And I think just leaning into people and humans, and having them be a part of the experience, and creating a really strong customer service experience so they want to meet that review, is all important.Stephanie:Yeah, that's great. I also think that technology is evolving to a place now where... You should be able to have your face in front of your camera, and take a picture, and then be like, "Here's exactly what would go best with your skin tone or something."Deepica:It's getting there, and there's apps and stuff too where you can do that, but lighting is such a factor. We're getting there, but with beauty, it is tricky. And I think all the tools I've seen this far, none of them have worked for me. That was one of the business ideas I wanted to do in college, I was like, "It's just too hard to shop for beauty online." We'll get there though.Stephanie:Yep, I think so, too. All right. So, let's shift over to the lightning round. The lightning round is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. This is where I'm going to ask you a question, and you have a minute or less to answer. Are you ready?Deepica:Yeah, sure. Okay.Stephanie:All right. What one thing will have the biggest impact on ecommerce in the next year?Deepica:I would say new ways of leaning into people and community. Yeah. I just said that, but we're currently revamping our ecommerce site, and the biggest thing we're focusing it on is people and experience, and tapping into the human aspect of what people are looking for when they're buying something, which is as emotional as a color corrector to solve their dark circle issues. And so, I think if you continue to focus in on people, community, how they can drive purchase decisions, you'll thrive in the ecommerce world, especially in beauty where things are very... You want to see yourself reflected.Stephanie:Yep. I love that. What's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for you?Deepica:Wow. Is this personal or business? I mean-Stephanie:Whatever comes to mind, whatever you want.Deepica:This is the first thing that comes to mind, because we just talked about it. You should always value every person you meet in life, because you never know where it's going to lead, and come back, and connect, and help you in the future because... I didn't work directly with Hayley at Birchbox, but when I quit my job for her to... She introduced me to XFactor Ventures, which is our first VC that came on board, that gave us our first cheque, which then created a ripple effect that made other people think we were legit, that created another ripple effect. And I think that confidence in somebody who only... I worked with her but at a very bird's eye view and stuff, and so it's kind of like... I'm so grateful for that. And not just her, just generally, I think, when I think about the people who have taken the bet on me, I think it really makes me feel like I'm here for a reason, and I have shit to get done.Stephanie:Yep. That's great. What ecommerce tool are you most excited about right now?Deepica:Right now, it's GRIN, that's the one that we're literally doing trainings on right now. We're really trying to optimize. I think the influencer partnership space is something everyone's trying to figure out and find a way to scale, and I'm hoping and hopeful that GRIN can help us do that.Stephanie:Yeah. Wow, that's awesome. We will check that out also. If you were to have a podcast, what would it be about? And who would your first guest be?Deepica:Well, I'm working on getting this started, but it's going to be... It will be called Hue To Know, which was... Instead of [inaudible] To Know, Hue To Know.Stephanie:Yeah. I like that. That's cute.Deepica:And we had a whole video series for LIVE TINTED when we were just a community platform, where we interviewed people, they came on, and they talked about their identity and culture, and it was all these... To me, they were dope creatives, again, people that you should know about that you may not, like a black Muslim rapper, or a gender nonconforming South Asian artist. And these people who were like, "I'm going against the grain and creating a path for myself, and living tinted." That's really, to me, what that means, and what LIVE TINTED stands for. So, I want to bring them on as a guest, and create it into a podcast form. And my first dream guest would be Meghan Markle, because I think she's incredible.Stephanie:That sounds great. Well, if you need help getting off the ground, you know who to call.Deepica:Great. Okay. Cool. Yeah.Stephanie:All right. And then, the last one, what is your favorite business book where you often go back and think about it, or read quotes from it, or whatever it may be?Deepica:Man, I wish I had it so I could show it to you right now. This was a pile recommendation. It's called Financial-something, Financial Terms... Financial... I'm going to have to find it and send it to you.Stephanie:[crosstalk].Deepica:Yeah. But she told me... Before you go into fundraising process, as a person who's never done it before, there's a lot of terms that get thrown around, like convertible notes, and cap tables, and all this stuff. I didn't know what I was doing, so she was like, "It's going to feel like you're reading a dictionary, and it's going to be dense, but you want to be able to walk into those meetings with full confidence, and I highly recommend that you read it." And so, I have to look for the book and find the name. There's a lot of different terms in there, so I'm blanking on the title itself.Stephanie:Yeah. I think there's a good book that it reminds me of called Venture Deals by... I think it's Brad Feld-Deepica:That's what it was.Stephanie:Oh, is that what it is?Deepica:Damn it, it was Venture Deals. You're right. Yes. Yes.Stephanie:Okay. Well, [inaudible] because I'm like, "That's a good one too." Where I remember-Deepica:That was it.Stephanie:... when we were thinking about raising money, I'm like, "All these terms, I don't know what they are. Pre-money, post money, cap table. Oh my God, what are we talking about?" So, that's a good book for anyone raising money right now.Deepica:That was it. Mm-hmm (affirmative).Stephanie:Awesome. Well, thanks so much-Deepica:[crosstalk] But it's a good book, but yeah.Stephanie:Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a good book. And then, after you read it, you're like, "Okay, I'm done with that for a while." Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining the show. It was so fun having you on. Where can people find out more about you and your work?Deepica:Well, I'm obviously, going to plug LIVE TINTED first. LIVE TINTED is L-I-V-E T-I-N-T-E-D, livetinted.com. @livetinted all on social. And then, you can also follow me at @deepica, D-E-E-P-I-C-A on all social outlets.Stephanie:Amazing. Thanks so much.Deepica:Thank you for having me.

Up next on today’s podcast, Tricia Buenvenida talks to Jill Beraud WG86, CEO & Co-Founder Sh’nnong Beverage Company. Jill has over 30 years experience building and transforming iconic global brands as CEO/President and in senior marketing leadership roles across fashion & beauty, food & beverage, luxury and technology with both multi-billion dollar companies and VC/PE-backed start-ups. She has a consistent track record developing high-performing teams, commercializing white space innovation and accelerating profitable growth. Most recently, Jill was CEO of IPPOLITA fine jewelry (2015-18) and Executive Vice President of Tiffany & Co (2014-15) where she oversaw the $4.2B global retail and e-commerce business. From 2011-14, Jill was CEO of Living Proof, a biotech beauty company that utilized advanced technologies from MIT. Under Jill’s leadership, Living Proof more than tripled revenue, accelerated innovation in skin and hair care, as well as brought in Jennifer Aniston as co-owner and spokesperson. At Pepsico (2008-2011) Jill served as President, Starbucks & Lipton Joint Ventures and Global Chief Marketing Officer where she oversaw the $60B food & beverage marketing function and innovation agenda. There, she launched the Pepsi Refresh Project, pledging $40 million to social entrepreneurship, and oversaw the creation of Starbuck’s ready-to-drink Refreshers and Lipton’s Pure Leaf tea reinvention. Before PepsiCo, Jill spent 13 years at Limited Brands in senior marketing leadership roles, including Chief Marketing Officer of Victoria’s Secret where she played a key strategic role in building the brand into $6 billion global powerhouse. She also served as Executive Vice President of Marketing for its broader portfolio of specialty brands, including Bath & Body Works, C.O. Bigelow, Express, Henri Bendel’s, and Limited Stores. Jill began her career in brand management at Procter & Gamble in 1986. Jill received her MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (1986) and BSBA from Boston University (1982). In 2013, Jill was recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business. She was also awarded the coveted McAlroy Award for Lifetime Achievement by Procter & Gamble alumni association in 2008. Jill is currently on the board of governors for the World of Children and is director of Levi Strauss and Co. https://drinkmyma.com/

Imagine...what could you accomplish with a team of A Players? Rick Crossland is an internationally-known expert and thought leader on A Player talent. His innovative approach to developing and validating high performers - A Players – has been published in leading business sites such as Inc.com, Entrepreneur.com and Fortune.com, where Rick contributes articles as a Fortune Insider - a network where the most thoughtful and influential people in the entrepreneurial scene answer questions about business and careers. Rick genuinely walks the talk when it comes to being an A Player. He has almost 30 years of experience developing, recruiting and leading high performers, and developing high performing cultures at companies. Before founding his successful executive coaching, leadership and talent development company eight years ago, Rick worked at Johnson and Johnson, ICI-Zeneca, Planters-Lifesavers, Ford Motor Company and Limited Brands. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and a MBA from Duke University. In addition to his writing and consulting, Rick is a dynamic speaker who loves to captivate audiences with his unique A Player approach. Rick is author of the book, The A Player. He works with organizations across the country to transform good companies into great companies with his unique A Player approach. In today’s conversation with us, Rick defines an A Player – who they are and what they look for in an organization. We then explore the problem with settling for B and C Players, why more companies don’t have A Player teams, and how you can find, attract and develop a team of 100% A Players who are congruent, committed, and will help you transform your company from good to great. Key Takeaways An A Player is the top 10% of the industry for the salary that you’re offering; somebody who you would enthusiastically rehire and who models your core values. Everybody deserves to be an A Player somewhere. There’s nothing more transformational than building a team of 100% A Players. The job of the leader is to leave a legacy of great people around you. Therefore the #1 job of the CEO needs to be talent. Companies can’t find good talent because they’re settling for B Players. 80% of companies get their hiring wrong. 8 out of 10 hires aren’t the A Players they thought they were getting. Go for A Potential rather than a B Player. You want your playbook to be a 50/50 blend between technical and leadership skills. Most people are very incongruent. Your A Players are the most congruent. A Players don’t want to work with B and C Players. They are repellents to A Players. A Players want to work with people who challenge them so they do their best work. Conduct performance reviews at least quarterly, along with a weekly coaching conversation. If you have strong systems, it makes it easier to cross-develop people. With an A Player team, the goal is better than 10% net margin for the company. Free Gift and Resources The A Player https://aplayeradvantage.com/podcastoffers Business Assessment $100 A Player Accountability Training Free ½ hour coaching session with Rick Crossland ($750 value) Connect With Rick Crossland Website: https://aplayeradvantage.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickcrossland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APlayerAdvantage Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAPlayerBook

Learn more and pre-order book at https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/NeverGut/"Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters," written by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, published by Career Press.You can read a transcript at https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/never-go-with-your-gut-video-and-audio-book-trailer-poor-decisions/BOOK DESCRIPTIONWant to avoid business disasters, whether minor mishaps, such as excessive team conflict, or major calamities like those that threaten bankruptcy or doom a promising career? Fortunately, behavioral economics studies show that such disasters stem from poor decisions due to our faulty mental patterns—what scholars call “cognitive biases”—and are preventable.Unfortunately, the typical advice for business leaders to “go with their guts” plays into these cognitive biases and leads to disastrous decisions that devastate the bottom line. By combining practical case studies with cutting-edge research, Never Go With Your Gut will help you make the best decisions and prevent these business disasters.The leading expert on avoiding business disasters, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, draws on over 20 years of extensive consulting, coaching, and speaking experience to show how pioneering leaders and organizations—many of them his clients—avoid business disasters. Reading this book will enable you to:- Discover how pioneering leaders and organizations address cognitive biases to avoid disastrous decisions.- Adapt best practices on avoiding business disasters from these leaders and organizations to your own context.- Develop processes that empower everyone in your organization to avoid business disasters.Author bio: https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/... SELECTED ENDORSEMENTS“Before you find yourself about to make another gut-based decision that will surely end badly you must take the time to read this book. It will save you from yourself!” • Leonard A. Schlesinger, PhD, Vice Chairman and COO Emeritus at Limited Brands, Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School, President Emeritus of Babson College, and bestselling author of Just Start“Many habits of successful business leaders and successful millionaires go against our intuition and instincts, which is why so few become millionaires and why relatively few business leaders make consistently good decisions!”• William D. Danko, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of The Millionaire Next Door and Richer Than A Millionaire, Professor Emeritus at the School of Business of State University of New York at Albany“This book is a MUST-READ for any decision makers who want to reduce the risk of business failures! Get a copy for everyone in your organization!” • Lorenzo Delpani, former CEO of Revlon and other companies, Angel Investor and Entrepreneur“As Tsipursky argues convincingly, countless failed decisions and actions in companies around the world can be traced back to the glib, and ultimately foolish, idea that your gut knows more than your brain.”• Amy C. Edmondson, Professor at Harvard Business School, bestselling author of The Fearless Organization and Teaming“This groundbreaking book is badly needed! With cutting-edge research in behavioral economics and cognitive neuroscience, this book provides truly effective decision-making strategies that any business leader who hopes to succeed in the increasingly disrupted world of tomorrow needs to adopt.” • Marshall Goldsmith, #1 New York Times bestselling author, Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won't Get You There“No one reading this engaging and practical book can walk away believing they are immune to bias; anyone reading this book will now be armed with practical techniques to stop making the same mistakes over and over again.”• Sydney Finkelstein, PhD, professor of leadership at Dartmouth College, bestselling author of Superbosses and Why Smart Executives Fail, and host of the podcast “The Sydcast”“As an experienced healthcare CEO, I have seen too many leaders make poor decisions by following their gut reactions. If you want to protect yourself and others in your organization from dangerous judgment errors, make sure to get this groundbreaking book!”• Randy Oostra, PhD, President and CEO at ProMedica Health System, listed as one of Modern Healthcare 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare and one of Becker's Healthcare 100 Great Leaders in Healthcare“This book is Moneyball for management. It will teach you the techniques to help you make better decisions which will lead to a better business!” • Gordon Tredgold, Professor of Business, Economics and Law at Staffordshire University, bestselling author of Fast, Founder & CEO of Leadership Principles“This well-written, go-against-the-grain book is full of practical ways to tap into your very best mental resources to make better and better decisions.”• Brian Tracy, New York Times bestselling author of Eat that Frog! and Million Dollar Habits, along with over 70 other books

Welcome back to Entreneato! On today’s show we have a live recording with Kevin Mason! This was recorded live at one of our Marketplace Meetup events in Bellville, OH.  Here’s some background on Kevin:  He has served in various finance and accounting roles across his 17-year career with Express, JPMorgan Chase, Limited Brands, and in Big Four public accounting. At Express, he is responsible for a $350 million budget in support of IT, Marketing, and Home Office.  Kevin graduated from Ohio Northern University in 2001 with an Accounting degree and received his MBA from Ohio University in 2010.  He is also a Certified Public Accountant.  For this episode you’ll hear Kevin’s battle against cancer and how it helped him to keep his priorities right with family and career along with some other great takeaways.  I also want to mention our featured book of the show which is Pivot: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One by Jenny Blake. Jenny Blake--a former training and career development specialist at Google who now runs her own company as a career and business consultant and speaker--has a solution: the pivot. Pivoting is a crucial strategy for Silicon Valley tech companies and startups but it can also be a successful strategy for individuals looking to make changes in their work lives. This book will introduce you to the Pivot Method and show you how to to take small, smart steps to move in a new direction--now and throughout your entire career. Pivot is an amazing book and one of my favorite books for 2019! You can get Pivot for free by clicking this link or click FREE BOOK on our website at Entreneato.com along with that you’ll get a free 30 day trial to audible. If you've been enjoying the show please consider supporting us at any amount with a one time gift or a recurring donation on our Patreon page!  Thank you for listening! We hope you enjoy the show and don’t forget to comment, rate and subscribe on iTunes!   

When Whirlpool CFO Jim Peters joined the company at the director level 15 years ago, he was thrust into the thick of a pivotal M&A deal that also wound up generating extraordinary value from a career development standpoint. Originally assigned to help manage the accounting facets of the proposed Maytag acquisition, Peters swiftly expanded his assignment to include tax, post-deal integration planning and other dimensions. His ability to take on additional responsibilities “gave me exposure to senior leaders within whirlpool,” Peters recalls. “In a very short period of time, I went from being someone who stepped in at the director-level to interacting with our CEO … on a daily basis.” The intense work, learning and exposure subsequently propelled Peters, a former EY consultant who also worked for Limited Brands prior to joining Whirlpool, into a series of increasingly senior corporate finance positions. His previous roles include serving as the CFO of Whirlpool EMEA and as chief accounting officer for Whirlpool Corporation. Peters talks about the numbers – those related to Whirlpool’s financial performance as well as to the company’s unique commitment to sustainability – he examines over his first cup of coffee each morning

Summary: Michelle Reese is the VP, Chief Talent Innovator and Nathan Vega is the Chief Commercial Executive at the Columbus Collaboratory. The Columbus Collaboratory is an analytics and cyber innovation center, funded by seven of the Columbus’ largest firms (AEP, Battelle, Nationwide, OhioHealth, Cardinal Health, Limited Brands, and Huntington Bank). Milestones: (00:00:00) Opening remarks (00:00:36) …

In 1992, Laura Slatkin had no interest in home fragrance. She had spent 12 years building a successful career for herself working on Wall Street, where she met her husband. After they were married, her brother-in-law had an interior design business that was booming and was looking for partners to help him expand, when Slatkin and her husband signed on. Together, the three went on to create Slatkin & Co., which launched in Saks Fifth Avenue and was one of the first luxury home fragrance brands on the market. In 2005, Slatkin & Co. was acquired by Limited Brands, leaving Laura in a position to choose her own destiny. Saddled with a non-compete clause, she spent the next three years helping high-end designer brands develop fragrances on their own. These projects were successful for the most part, but Slatkin felt like there was a missing piece of the puzzle. It was with that notion that Nest Fragrances was born. Since its inception, the brand has expanded its offering of home fragrances and moved into new categories such as fine fragrance and, most recently, personal care. As the brand continues to grow, Slatkin hopes to turn her luxurious, yet approachable brand into an all-around lifestyle for her customers. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, Glossy beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Laura Slatkin, founder and executive chairman of Nest Fragrances, to talk about the brand's beginnings, its expansion into new categories and its plan to turn fragrances into a lifestyle.

Tara Marling Abraham, Chairman and Co-CEO of Accel, Inc., is one of the nation’s leading experts in contract packaging. A strategist and experienced entrepreneur, Ms. Abraham advances innovation throughout the businesses she has established and grown, as well as professional and industry groups to which she dedicates time. Her combined expertise in finance, marketing, relationship management, supplier diversity, and mergers & acquisitions has made her a leader within the retail and consumer packaged goods industries. Ms. Abraham creates solutions, following personal experience with inferior packaged goods produced outside of the U.S., she established Accel in 1995 to provide quality controlled, domestic contract packaging services to the health, beauty, food, fashion, and technology industries. Accel a $25M company producing $480M wholesale value of goods with 1,100 associates at its 517,000 sq. ft. facility, has become known for its diversity and supplier best practices. Selected clients include Abbott Nutrition, Bath & Body Works, Beechnut, Express, Honeywell, NetJets (a Berkshire Hathaway company), Tween Brands and Victoria’s Secret, among others. Prior to Accel, she was a Brand Manager for Biolage Haircare at Bristol Myers Squibb and earlier a Brand Manager and Assistant Buyer of Fine and Home Fragrances for Bath & Body Works a division of Limited Brands.   This is the audio recording from the live event on 9/10/2018. accel-inc.com startupgrind.com/columbus awh.net  

For as long as there have been babies, there have been debates over how to feed them…Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Trump administration opposed an international resolution to encourage breastfeeding, stunning maternal health advocates and drawing swift criticism… including from Lucy Sullivan, the Executive Director of 1,000 Days, a non profit focused on maternal health advocacy across the globe. Lucy joins the pod to discuss how corporate interests are reshaping America’s role as a public health leader, and what this may mean for the future of mothers, families, and countries of tomorrow.Lucy Martinez Sullivan helped found 1,000 Days and serves as its Executive Director. At 1,000 Days, Lucy is proud to lead a team of fierce advocates who work tirelessly on behalf of women and children in the U.S. and throughout the world. Previously Lucy worked on philanthropic partnerships on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Action Against Hunger and the UN Foundation. Earlier in her career, she worked in senior marketing and brand management roles for a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Merrill Lynch, L’Oréal, and Limited Brands. Lucy holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.BIO: 

Retail is not exactly rich with turnaround stories these days but that's exactly what's happened at Pearle Vision. CMO Doug Zarkin provides a step-by-step review of how the brand has gone from stagnant to revitalized, indicated by same-store sales growth, new store openings and a jump in ranking from >100 to #24 among the best franchises to own. Through a number of small but ultimately significant changes like renaming customers to patients, employees to eye care professionals and stores to eye care centers, Pearle Vision has been able to shift the conversation from deals on glasses to professional eye care. Most significantly, Zarkin and company figured out that people who come in for eye exams are far more likely to buy glasses and become repeat customers than those that are just shopping for new glasses.   Meet the Guest Doug Zarkin is a senior-level, global strategic marketing executive with an impressive array of honors and recognition for his marketing and brand building successes in the retail arena at companies such as Avon, Limited Brands and Kellwood. In 2012, Doug joined Luxottica where he is currently responsible for the global strategic marketing, visual merchandising, product promotion and store design for Luxottica's global optical franchise business Pearle Vision. Among other industry accolades, in 2015 and again in 2016 Doug and his team were recognized with a Silver Effie for marketing excellence in HealthCare Services Marketing for leading the brand revitalization work for Pearle Vision. When not at the office, Doug can be found on the tennis court or in the pool with his two kids. What You’ll Learn How a willingness to learn and listen can allow your team to win. Why marketers should practice humility when facing their audience. Insightful perspectives on social media’s role in the brand-customer relationship. How your brand’s language can influence consumer perceptions.  Quotes from Doug Zarkin Any marketer worth his salt knows that a positioning that doesn't make for great execution is just words on paper. To win, you must always be thinking about consumer perception because as smart as you are…you're never going to be as smart as your consumer. There is a positioning idea where you want to be aspirational. I don't think that's it. I think it's about a positioning ideal where you want to be inspirational. Trust is really built in a series of small moments.    

Your brand is how your ideal customers see you, and knowing how to implement effective brand development strategies can make or break your business. Today’s guest is the “Brand Maven” - Monokia Nance, and she’s got a value bomb to drop on you. As you hear her story and understand where she’s come from you’ll see why she’s so passionate about the power and benefits of effective branding. In short, it’s because branding starts with learning to be the true you . When you are clear and confident about who you are, you’ll be able to position yourself to appeal to those who need and resonate with the approach you take to what you do. Find out how to build your own brand development strategy, on this episode of Happy Black Woman. Brand development strategies start with being yourself and loving who you are. You will have no hope of creating a successful brand development strategy if you don’t first discover who you are and what you are about. Once you know that - for certain - you have to be committed to it. You have to love it. Then, and only then will you be able to position yourself confidently and with an authority that others are drawn to. It’s the only way you will be able to attract the audience that resonates with who you are and the way you communicate your message. Find out more about developing your own brand strategy on this episode. Clarity is king - it’s the reason people will work with you. When you are clear on the message, approach, and value you bring to the marketplace you are able to portray a confidence that your potential customers or clients need to see. It’s a big part of why they are able to trust you. In this conversation, Rosetta and her guest Monokia Nance talk about how your own sense of confidence enables you to persevere through difficult times and endure the backlash of people who DON’T resonate with your brand and message. It’s a skill every entrepreneur has to learn so make sure you take the time to learn it from Monokia on this episode. Put yourself on a schedule. Do it early in your entrepreneurial journey. One of the most important things to being successful as an entrepreneur, woman, mom, wife, etc. is to put yourself on a schedule. You have the freedom to decide exactly when you are going to do the things that enable you to fulfill your varied roles. You don’t have to be a victim to other people’s demands and whims. Far from being a restraint, a schedule is actually a freeing thing, if you learn to use it properly. Monokia Nance shares how to setup and use your schedule effectively, on this episode of Happy Black Woman. If you aren’t happy in your personal life it will bleed over into your business. One of the things that happen to entrepreneurs unexpectedly is that their efforts to build a business consume their lives over time. They find themselves living more and more for the success of their business rather than intentionally making their business pursuits serve the higher aspirations and goals that make for a good life. On this episode, Monokia Nance shares why it’s important that you focus on a happy personal life completely outside your business and how that happiness or lack of it will impact your business efforts. Outline of this great episode [0:29] Rosetta’s introduction of her guest, Monokia Nance and how they met. [8:05] The relationships Monokia builds to help with brand development strategies. [9:09] Tips for women just getting started: Branding is about owning your own power. [17:18] How to properly assess coaching relationships and the benefit you receive. [19:00] The easiest way to begin branding yourself and choosing the proper platform. [23:10] How Monokia stays focused and productive. [28:51] Books that have impacted Monokia powerfully. [32:28] The #1 piece of advice Monokia has for women starting out. Resources & Links mentioned in this episode www.MonokiaNance.com - Get Monokia’s “12 Areas of Successful Entrepreneurship” Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation BOOK: Conversations With God About Monokia Nance Monokia Nance is a powerful award winning speaker, author and brand manager, with more than a decade of experience working with some of the top brands in the nation. Her acclaimed strategies are impacting the masses for a lifetime, not just for a moment. Monokia is not only the CEO of MoBrands the Agency, a boutique brand management company and consultancy, she is the Co-Founder of Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation Inc. (HWHN) a non-profit community based organization, which promotes holistic wellness for women and families through education, physical and mental health, economic and self empowerment. With membership across the globe, HWHN currently reaches over 250,000 women annually in 25 different countries around the world. Monokia is a proven brand expert and business mentor who has generated over 1.5 million dollars in sales within the last 3 years. Since starting HWHN at the tender age of 18 at Morgan State University, Monokia has committed her life to helping women of color to grow in their purpose, passion and profits. Utilizing her experience working with some of the most brilliant brands in the nation, to include; FORD, BET, Guess, BCBG Maz Azria, Limited Brands and M & T Bank, Monokia is on a mission to help first generation entrepreneurs and creatives create generational wealth for their families.

Rick Crossland is an internationally known expert and thought leader on A Player Talent. His innovative approach to developing and validating high performers has been published in leading business sites such as Inc.com and Fortune.com, where Rick contributes articles as a Fortune Insider. Rick has almost 30 years of experience developing, recruiting and leading high performers, and developing high performing cultures at companies. Before founding his executive coaching, leadership, and talent development company, Rick had worked at Johnson and Johnson, Ford Motor Company, and Limited Brands. What you’ll learn about in this episode Rick’s background Why you should look for passive candidates when hiring Why, when interviewing people, you should always ask about their results Why you need to clearly define the position you are hiring for Why it’s so important to be able to hold others accountable The difference in how both accountable & non-accountable people talk Why you need to get focused on productive return on investment oriented marketing How you can be a better leader immediately just by upgrading your team Why you need to become a talent scout Why you shouldn’t ask somebody to do something that you haven’t mastered yourself How best to connect with Rick: Website: aplayeradvantage.com Book: “The A Player: The Definitive Playbook and Guide for Employees and Leaders Who Want to Play and Perform at the Highest Level”

Is a picture worth a thousand words? Or do we need a thousand words to agree on the meaning and implications of a picture? Our guest is Jonathan Salem Baskin, author of “A Thousand Words”. His book explores the differences between imagery and words as languages we use to communicate. Certainly visual data is faster and easier, but why? And does that necessarily make it better than the slower and sometimes more difficult work that reading requires? Baskin dips into biology, economics, literature, and business history to figure out the answers to these questions. Jonathan is a thought-leader on brands and marketing, and has nearly 30 years of experience putting his ideas into practice for clients around the world. He has led communications for such brands as Limited Brands, Nissan and Blockbuster, and led the PR agency on Apple’s launch of its first iMac. He has published six books, including Branding Only Works on Cattle, writes a regular column for Advertising Age, is a regular contributor to Forbes, and pens daily blog posts at Histories of Social Media.

LinkedIn has a big debut on Wall Street. Abercrombie & Fitch, Deere & Company, Dell, and Limited Brands report strong earnings. General Mills loads up on yogurt. And McDonald's responds to critics calling for Ronald McDonald to retire. Our analysts discuss those stories and share some stocks on their radar. Plus, we talk about the business of competition and the business of Jersey Boys with Todd Buchholz, author of Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race.

How are retailers like Limited Brands and Costco getting it done? Will raising money overseas help Yahoo! in the U.S.? And why should investors steer clear of the first pure-play Argentina ETF?