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In This Episode You’ll Hear About:

•[02:38] Alicia Liu’s family background and how her exposure to art, food, and fashion growing up informed her career decisions.

•[07:37] Why entrepreneurship never occurred to her as a child and what her parents encouraged her to do.

•[09:59] Alicia’s career journey from her first job as a graphic designer to interning at fashion magazines, working at Prada, then Amazon, and ultimately founding Lavender and Truffles.

•[17:50] The two most pivotal figures in her career journey and how they inspired her to start her own business.

•[23:37] Alicia’s experience at Amazon, what she learned about e-commerce and digital marketing, and how it prepared her for her current role as Founder and CEO.

•[27:07] What inspired her to start her plant-based ice cream company, Lavender and Truffles, and how she incorporated her prior experience into the business.

•[31:27] How she developed her unique flavors and launched the product in record time.

•[36:35] Why she decided on the four-ounce portion size and how she landed on the name, Lavender and Truffles.

•[40:10] The greatest challenges Alicia has faced on her CP journey thus far and her advice for others looking to pivot to a more fulfilling career path.

•[47:55] Her greatest learning as an entrepreneur and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

To Find Out More:

Alicia Liu

Lavender and Truffles

Lavender and Truffles on Instagram

Lee Greene on LinkedIn

Stairway to CEO

Stairway to CEO on Instagram

Awesome CX by Transcom

Quotes:

“[My parents] told me I had to go to business school, so I told them I was majoring in business and minoring in art, but I actually majored in art and minored in business.” — Alicia Liu [0:06:50] 

“Instead of going to class for a semester, I actually went to work and I went to work in an ad agency in the art department.” — Alicia Liu [0:12:45]

“[Patrizio di Marco] took me under his wing, and I'll never forget it. There are two people in my whole career that have made a big pivotal impact and he was one of them.” — Alicia Liu [0:18:40]

“It came to a certain point where I was getting tired of the industry that I was in, and I wanted to switch to something else. I had to really think about what I wanted to do, and I always go back to cooking.” — Alicia Liu [0:27:46] 

“Dairy's not really in an Asian diet. My daughter was eating a lot of ice cream and I realized it's not healthy for her to eat it all the time, 'cause we get a tub every week. And I decided, ‘I'm going to make you a healthier version.’” — Alicia Liu [0:30:42]

“When you have to set up the business and come up with names and apply for permits and everything, and the tax ID number; I had that already set up for Lavender Truffles and I didn't want to go through the whole process.” — Alicia Liu [0:37:54] 

“My flavors are unique to the point where, ‘Oh, that's interesting’ is sometimes not enough to grab off the shelf. So I started these tasting packs — so that people can have an opportunity to taste all eight.” — Alicia Liu [0:39:10]

“In this CP journey, the big shocker is that it's a pennies business. It really is. Every penny counts.” — Alicia Liu [0:40:18] 

“You get to a certain point in time — where you've got to take some calculated risks and you have to put the faith in the universe.” — Alicia Liu [0:42:30]

“Follow your path, guys. Change is good. You can always make changes.” — Alicia Liu [0:47:47] 

“If you start your own business, you are open 24/7 for work, and it is very challenging to put the ‘closed’ sign on the door.” — Alicia Liu [0:48:10]

“To be an entrepreneur or leader of any kind, I think you have to embrace change. And it doesn't mean that you have to be a complete 180 flip, but just be nimble and be flexible.” — Alicia Liu [0:49:56]