Written by: Kaylee Franklin
Another month has come and gone and we can’t believe we’re entering the fourth month of the year. Today we’ll be taking a look back at the incredible episodes of March, covering our amazing guests, highlighting key points from each episode, and more! We’ll also be taking a sneak peek into the month of April, which contains our 100th EPISODE! Let’s dive in!
To begin the month, we launched an episode with Nicole Gibbons, Founder and CEO of Clare.
Clare is a modern paint brand that’s completely recreating the paint shopping experience with curated colors, technology-enabled design guidance, innovative peel and stick samples, and everything you need delivered straight to your door.
Nicole shares her journey from growing up in Detroit with dreams of becoming a pediatrician, to starting an interior design blog and services company that led to the concept of Clare. She talks about how a dinner with Tyra Banks led to a job working in PR, how she prepared to leap into entrepreneurship, how she came up with the name Clare, and her experience in raising an $8 million Series A round.
She also talks about how when facing doubters, it was important for her to maintain the conviction in what she was building and to remain unwavering in her business and what she knew to be true.
Best piece of advice:
“The further along you get, the harder fundraising becomes, even if you are the next hot startup idea, in the beginning, you have to demonstrate that you have a business that has potential, or else you will lose people very quickly.”
In the second week of March, we got to hear from Zoë Sakoutis, Co-Founder and CEO of Earth & Star
Earth and Star is a functional mushroom company bringing powerful immune-supporting benefits through ready-to-drink lattes, coffee, chocolate, and gummies.
Zoë shares with us her entrepreneurial journey from growing up in Northeastern, New Jersey, to working as a dog groomer, to becoming a raw foodist, and starting her first company, BluePrintCleanse which was acquired in 2012. She talks about how the DMV messed up her driver's license in a good way, the challenges she faced in fundraising for her new company Earth & Star, and what she would’ve done differently to launch the company.
Zoë also shares the importance of adapting from your original business idea because consumers are always changing their wants and needs, so it’s important to have your business evolve into something else or something more.
Best piece of advice:
“Part of being an entrepreneur is having a business idea and it usually evolves into something else based on the circumstances and you have to figure out how to navigate and not be afraid to change up your strategy or offerings.”
On the third Tuesday of March, we had the incredible Ryan Woodbury, Co-Founder and CEO of Needed.
With 97% of pregnant women in the US taking prenatal vitamins, and 95% of women still deficient in key nutrients, Needed is on a mission to empower women to find real nourishment on their journey to motherhood and beyond.
Ryan shares with us her story from growing up in California to attending boarding school in Connecticut, to studying environmental science, and then choosing to pursue a job in finance, to earning her MBA at Stanford and starting Needed. She talks about taking some bad advice from a board member, why the people you work with throughout your career matter so much, why she hired a partnership coach, and where she goes to get re-energized to help keep her focused and motivated each day.
Ryan also talks about the limiting beliefs she’s had to overcome in fundraising, and why staying true to yourself is the most important thing.
Best piece of advice:
“Just stay authentic to yourself. Find areas where you have a growth mindset, keep improving, but if you can continue to do things that are in line with your true self, that's the right path to be on and that's what you need to look for.”
Continuing the month strong, we had Craig Shiesley, CEO of one of our new favorite snack brands, Yasso!
Founded in 2009 by kindergarten best friends, Amanda and Drew, Yasso was the first to market frozen greek yogurt bars. Under Craig's leadership as CEO over the past two years, Yasso has become the second-fastest-growing snack brand with over $150 million in retail sales.
Craig shares with us his career journey from growing up in New York as the second youngest of five to becoming the first in his family to leave his hometown and attend an ivy league university, to landing a job in brand management at SC Johnson, to meeting the founders of Yasso in 2017 to explore a board role opportunity. He talks with us about the key to being influential, why it's important for your team to debate the how, but agree to the what, and some signals founders should look for if they're considering a shift away from the CEO seat.
He also talks about the importance of building resiliency and that it comes from building it within your head, heart, and in your mind, and how when you build that you’re taking care of and prioritizing yourself.
Best piece of advice:
“I'm all about taking care of yourself, prioritize that. Whether that's a workout, whether that's yoga, swimming, meditation, make sure that's there because you're going to need that, and your team's going to need to feel your energy day in, day out because sometimes you're going to have to give it to them and you can't give it to them unless you have it.”
And ending the month with our fifth episode (thank you, March) we had Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint.
Hint is the fastest-growing fruit-flavored unsweetened still water in America.
In this episode, Kara shares with us her entrepreneurial journey from growing up in Arizona as the youngest of five, to working in a toy store at 14 years old, to attending Arizona State University, to working at TIME Magazine, CNN and AOL, to coming up with the idea for Hint after realizing the negative effects that diet sodas were having on her. She talks with us about the importance of choosing the right investors, why every founder should have their own attorney, and why being helpful and kind are the keys to becoming memorable.
Kara talks about how to choose and filter for the right investors, and that leading with a concept that will change people in some way is the right purpose for starting a company.
Best piece of advice:
“Too many people are focused on making a buck and flipping a company quickly. If you lead with a concept, a company that is going to solve a problem, that you think will change people in some way for the better, then the money will come. And I think just always be thinking that. If that's what your purpose is in starting a company, that's the right purpose.”
Each week we got to hear from an array of different Founders and CEOs from varying backgrounds, all of whom gave the advice to focus on yourself and believe in yourself, because at the end of the day if you don't focus on yourself first, you can’t put your full energy into what you’re building.
Stay tuned throughout April to hear from amazing CEOs such as:
Don’t forget to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Spotify, or tune in wherever you listen to podcasts.
Have any guest suggestions, comments, or questions about Stairway to CEO? Drop us a line here!
Welcome to the third edition of Stairway to CEO's Holiday Gift Guide– your ultimate resource for finding the perfect gifts. As we’ve reached almost 200 episodes, the options of your favorite leading direct-to-consumer brands. We have a lot of amazing gift ideas for you and we’ll be sure to cover everyone you’re shopping for, so we hope you enjoy!
Welcome back to another monthly recap! I know for some, the month of September felt like the longest month of the year, and for others, it flew by. But nonetheless, we had an incredible lineup of four amazing guests, with incredible backgrounds and stories. Let’s jump in to see what they all had in common, some life lessons they had to share, and take a peak into what we have coming out in October.
As the year hurtles towards its close, the fourth quarter (Q4) offers a prime opportunity to not only meet financial targets but also leave a lasting impression on your customers. It's a time when holiday festivities mingle with year-end goals, and careful planning can make all the difference. In this blog post, we'll explore strategies to navigate Q4 with a focus on delivering outstanding customer experience, and how to partner with Awesome CX to offer seamless solutions to help your business not only weather the storm but also thrive during this crucial season.
