The Mentor Files

In today's episode, Lee goes over what shaped her into who she is today, the difficulties of fundraising as a startup, and the art of team building. "It was one of those moments where I'm like, 'I'm willing to spend thousands of dollars right now if someone can tell me what to do'. Then I realized that enough people are similar to me, and that's how [Havenly] cam...

Listen in to learn Ariane's strategy in building her team, how she stays motivated, and how balances her career as a founder alongside her role as a mom. "I'm starting to have a love affair with my mistakes, because I don't know where I would be without them." - Ariane Goldman. Learn more about this episode of The Mentor Files with Monica Royer at www.monicaandandy.blog/45

Listen in to learn what brands need to do to cut through the noise of today’s marketplace, and how founders should approach the process of raising funds. “What you really need to think about is how do you stand out in the hearts and minds of end consumers? That's what we think about every day at Maveron.” - Jason Stoffer. Learn more about this episode of The Mentor Files with Monica Royer at...

Listen in as Laurel Berman talks about the story behind the iconic Jackie O dress, her creative process, and how she is empowering women through her brand. “I think that if you can figure out where your passion is at and you follow your heart, the success will follow. Now, that doesn't mean it's not going to be really difficult, but I feel like the only way you can overcome those challen...

Listen in to learn how Jordana created her feminine care product subscription service, and how she is empowering women to live their healthiest lives. “A lifelong reproductive health brand for your body should exist. Why are we reinventing the wheel every single time?” - Jordana Kier. Learn more about this episode of The Mentor Files with Monica Royer at www.monicaandandy.blog/41

Listen in to learn more about why Rosie chose to make a retail store so early in Sugarfina's career, and the difficulties inherent in scaling your business. “At the end of the day, your product should sell itself. It shouldn't need an ad to sell itself. Make sure you have something that people get excited about and that they want to share it and buy it.” - Rosie O'Neill. Learn more...

Listen in to learn more about Jessica Rolph's journey through motherhood, venture capital, fundraising, stating two businesses, and growing alongside her startups. “These businesses do become your babies, they're like another being in your life.” - Jessica Rolph. Learn more about this episode of The Mentor Files with Monica Royer at www.monicaandandy.blog/39

Listen in for Michael's thoughts on working with a family member, how entrepreneurs can find balance in their personal lives, and why good content has been so instrumental to FabFitFun's success. "I think you have to look for ways to be different in some fundamental way so you can stand out. In the consumer world, you want to be able to not only stand out, but then make that into so...

Sarah LaFleur was working in private equity when she came to a realization that’ll ring familiar to most professional women. “I had a really hard time shopping for work...I’d spend [time] stressing out about what to wear in the morning,” she admitted.   But that dilemma sparked inspiration: Sarah had witnessed companies like Bonobos, Warby Parker and Cuyana successfully launch direct-to-consumer c...

In this episode, Renata reveals the top qualities she has seen in the most successful entrepreneurs, and also the red flags she’s seen in people along the way. “Think a lot about how you can make the most of what you got, and be deliberate about that.” - Renata Quintini. Learn more about this episode of The Mentor Files with Monica Royer at www.monicaandandy.blog/35  

While we are on summer break, enjoy this rerun of our first (and one of our favorite) episodes!  For the first episode, I’m interviewing one of my favorite humans on earth: My brother Andy Dunn. The offspring of an immigrant mother who bucked tradition to marry our dad (he is not Indian, like our mother), we grew up feeling different from the other kids. This difference was our common bond and it...

Like many of us, Rachel Drori was trying to fit healthy, nutritious meals into her busy life...but was frustrated by the lack of options. In 2015, Rachel decided to take matters into her own hands: She founded Daily Harvest, a direct-to-consumer brand blending health and innovation to send delicious superfoods straight to your freezer so you can prepare and enjoy them at your convenience. The busi...

In 2012, Denise Lee was training for her first marathon and went out in search of activewear. She wanted to find modern and sleek styles that were similar to the contemporary designers she wore in her everyday wardrobe — but she quickly realized what she wanted wasn't available. Noticing this void in the marketplace led her to create her own brand, Alala, inspired by the Greek goddess of the...

Brad Kopitz knows the power of a photo album. As the CEO of Artifact Uprising, a digitally native company that provides printed photo goods, he understands the value of high quality, good design, and thoughtfully sourced materials. And, it has paid off. When the company launched in 2012 more than 7,000 people visited their site in the first day. Within the first 18 months, Artifact Uprising was a...

Today's guest is Katya Libin, one of the powerhouse women behind Heymama, a membership only network to support modern working and entrepreneurial mothers. The group boasts more than 700 CEOs, founders, creatives, and leaders in countless industries. After spending years in sales in the tech industry, Katya wanted to find a better way to support women and help moms connect - that's how He...

Early in her career, Sonia Nagar founded a mobile shopping app called Pickie. After much success, the app was acquired by Retail Me Not, where she became the vice president of product and head of mobile apps for the coupon shopping site — and earned a Webby Award for Best Shopping App! Upon relocating to Chicago with her husband, Sonia was preemptively meeting with VCs about future potential inves...

Azeeza Khan left her corporate job for the chance to pursue her dream of launching a women's wear brand, which she did with just a $3,000 budget. Since launching, her store has been listed by Forbes as a top shopping destination in Chicago and Azeeza herself was named by Women’s Wear Daily as the city’s “it designer”. Azeeza's brand is a perfect combination of accessibility and luxury, s...

In 2015, Jen Rubio was traveling back from a trip to Switzerland when her luggage broke in the middle of a crowded airport, sending her clothes and belongings everywhere. As she looked for a replacement she couldn't find the kind of iconic, high-quality, affordable luggage she was looking for. Jen called up her friend Steph Korey - the two met in 2011 at Warby Parker back when they had only t...

Today's episode might just make you want to go home and do laundry. After graduating from Cornell University’s Fiber Science and Apparel Design Program, Lindsey Boyd and Co-founder Gwen Whiting found themselves in New York City, working at some of the largest fashion houses in the world (hello, Chanel and Ralph Lauren!) where an unspoken dress code led them to build their wardrobes with “inve...

Lindsay Pinchuk did something most expectant mothers would never do. At eight weeks pregnant, she started a business. After realizing that moms and moms-to-be needed a place to meet and connect with one another, she decided to create the community herself. Eight years later, The Bump Club and Beyond has sold out more than 700 events in over thirty cities and has a community of more than 300,000 pa...

With a tagline of “Fewer, Better Things,” Cuyana might be one of the only fashion brands that encourages their customers to actually purchase less. The cutting edge brand offers high quality leather products at an accessible price point by sourcing different materials from around the world. Along with her co-founder Shilpa Shah, Karla Gallardo spent two years building their companies supply chain...

Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-founders, Tamara and James Lohan first came up with the idea for a carefully curated collection of hotels after their first international trip as a couple turned out to be quite disastrous. The experience led them to write down every single thing they would want from a hotel. Those notes quickly became their business plan. What originally started as a guide book has now bec...

As the founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Cota Capital and as founder of Signatures Capital, Bobby Yazdani has invested in more than 130 early stage tech start-ups in 15 years. Companies in his portfolio include everything from Birchbox and Bonobos to Google, Dropbox and Uber. In 2014, he was named by CB Insights as the #1 angel investor, out of a list of 2000, for most successfu...

One weekend while studying abroad in Italy, Ariel Kaye checked into a boutique hotel on the Amalfi Coast and got into bed after a long day of travel. She felt sheets that were softer and more luxurious than anything she had ever experienced. The experience stuck with her. Ariel went on to graduate from NYU before spending ten years at an agency in brand development and advertising. In 2012, she wa...

When Morgan Hutchinson had her first child, she realized no one in the online retail market was catering to that fashionable mom who wanted to wear her favorite brands through every stage of motherhood. She wanted on trend machine washable clothing with easy access for nursing and more forgiving silhouettes. When she couldn't find it herself, she decided to curate it on her own and become the...