Do you have any practical advice for entrepreneurs, such as SEO and how to grow your social media accounts?
One of the things I love about San Francisco is that there are so many amazing entrepreneurs that you can meet and learn from. Over the last 5 years Iu2019ve been living in Silicon Valley and have met with over 100 founders to find out their secrets to success. Today, I was lucky enough to grab coffee with Summer Prevu00e9, the co-founder of Unapology, a new beauty company focused on inspiring, supporting and uplifting women.Before Unapology was a brand, it was a friendship. Summer met her co-founder, Ariane Dupont at Google in San Francisco and they connected over their passion for diversity, beauty and empowering women. In and outside of the office, they heard micro-moments of self-doubt from women throughout the day--did I sound harsh in that meeting? Does my makeup look ok? It became really important for them to create a platform for women to empower each other and stop apologizing for their beauty, success and priorities. Although itu2019s not just about lip color, they think lipstick is a pretty good reminder to be unapologetically you. And thatu2019s why they wanted to start Unapology.Here are the top 10 lessons I learned from Summer and Ariane (co-founders of Unapology):Know your why - Summer and Ariane believe that Unapology isnu2019t about lip color. Theyu2019re building a brand that reflects values they want to share with other women - They want women to unapologetically embrace who they are, their beliefs, their success and their beauty. That is why they wake up everyday, and lipstick is just the beginning for them. Discover your why and itu2019ll be the fuel for your motivation.Hard work matters - Summer and Ariane started Unapology while having a full time job with Google. They would work 9 to 6 PM for Google and then the rest of the night on Unapology. Was it tiring? Sure. was it worth it? Absolutely. Have a dream? Put in the work and make it happen. Success is earned.Be genuinely curious - When they first started reaching out to professional photographers, one person laughed at them because their budget was small. They could have easily moved on to the next vendor and disregarded this person, but instead, their genuine curiosity kicked in. They asked a lot of questions around what a good photo shoot would be comprised of and how it would be executed. They ended up having a very lengthy conversation and walked away from that call with a lot more knowledge about photography. Genuine curiosity helped to expand their knowledge base.Share your challenges, you never know who will be able to help you - When they needed tax advice, Summer called a friend from high school who she hadnu2019t seen since graduation. When they needed social marketing tips, they got it from a friend that Summer had interviewed to be her roommate! When they needed strategic advice on their business model, they got it from an ex-photographer met at a party. Crowdsource advice and be open minded, you never know who would could help you out.Time-box your debates - One night, Summer and Ariane spent 5 hours debating the color scheme of the packaging. Not a fun experience. They recommend to set a time limit upfront for debate, then make a decision for the sake of time and move on to the next (time-boxed) decision. Time is your most valuable asset, learn to use it wisely.Outsource until you develop certain skills - Though Avid-learners, Summer and Ariane still required help from experts, their street smarts were on point but that didnu2019t make them excellent designers or fluent in tax law. When they needed packaging creative, coders and photographers, they would leverage online platforms to find talent on demand. Leverage the power of technology to tap into the best talent you can find.Ruthlessly prioritize - Life passes you by if you don't make time to get your priorities straight. Regular life events (trips, birthday dinners, laundry) get in the way, so it became critical to get disciplined about working on Unapology daily. Itu2019s just like practicing a sport, or eating healthy - starting a business is a lifestyle and mindset. It's the summation of little things that get in the way of starting a business.Donu2019t do it because itu2019s easy, do it because itu2019s hard - Summer and Ariane live by this JFK quote everyday. Theyu2019d regularly do 1 am-5 am founder meetings then roll into their Google jobs by 9am. Itu2019s not easy to start or to keep going but the late nights and long hours can make all the difference. Donu2019t underethe power of consistent effort.Creativity is great, execution is better - At the beginning, theyu2019d spend hours on strategy discussion - values, brand and audience. They were stuck in ideation and creativity mode but werenu2019t building a business per se. They finally started getting things done when they applied a goal-setting process they learned at Google called Objectives & Key Results u201cOKRs,u201d which is a fancy way of saying u201cbuild a to do list and grade yourself every week.u201d Have a bias towards action.Think about how you will acquire your first customer. Before they had the online store ready, they were already talking about their products to friends and relatives. One day, Ariane went to a girls brunch with friends (who brought their friends as well) and rolled in with their lipstick collection, the A-team. She pitched the girls the idea and had them test the lipstick. And just like that, 6 girls she didnu2019t know a few hours before became their first customers. You never know where your first customers might come from - test your ideas!Hopefully these tips help you in your journey!