It’s taken a long time to commercialize my idea and I’ve had to be purposeful about framing each milestone as an achievement. Q: Has your definition of success evolved throughout your journey as a founder?Ī: I’ve always been very goal-oriented and I didn’t used to understand how each step toward a goal is its own success. Thankfully, I’ve figured out ways to reset and continue finding love, joy, and happiness. Of course there are moments, especially because of the taxing nature of being an entrepreneur, when my self-care falls by the wayside. After years of grieving, having a mastectomy, getting a divorce, and struggling to understand my own needs, I finally feel well. After my mom died, I doubted that I’d ever feel truly happy again. Q: We dare you to brag: What achievements are you most proud of?Ī: I am most proud of being happy. The saying “it takes a village” exists for a reason and I like to joke that I have a whole city. With their support and encouragement, I’ve navigated countless pivots, and managed to launch Brilliantly Warm despite the significant impact of COVID-19. In moments when I can’t see a clear path forward, when I find myself using the butterknife of my experience for a machete-sized problem, I call on my advisors. That was the first meeting of what became my advisory board. Then I invited those people to dinner and shared my idea for Brilliantly Warm. When I first started Brilliantly, I made a list of the things I’m not good at and a corresponding list of people I knew who were experts at those things. But I always trust that I will be able to figure it out. Q: Have you struggled with self doubt as an entrepreneur? How do you navigate this?Ī: I’ll be the first to admit that I almost never know what I’m doing. I’ve formed friendships, worked with some truly brilliant engineers, designers, and advisors, and gained confidence in myself that has positively impacted every part of my life.
#SCOPE TABLE SYMBOL FOR FEMALE PROFESSIONAL#
All of the hardship has certainly been worth the personal and professional growth. That said, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I think if someone had tried to tell me about the amount of personal sacrifice, in addition to the cost and timeline, I would have thought they were joking. This has been the most challenging professional endeavor I’ve ever encountered. Initially I thought it would take about a year! In that time though, I’ve been delighted by all the new learnings. That includes the major COVID-19 setbacks-including to prototype, conduct user testing, trademark, patent, and create a plan for getting to market. These are all things I learned from my creative background.Ī: I had no idea how much time it would take to get a product company off the ground. I also recognize that in order to have a positive outcome and excellent product, one needs a process that is rigorous, mission driven, and nimble. I’ve been able to effectively bootstrap and keep costs down over the past four years of R&D on Brilliantly Warm (our app-controlled warming wearable that launched in June), which allowed me to get to market on almost half the budget of other connected wearable devices. Being in a creative, collaborative environment impacted how I approach problem solving and honed my ability to be financially scrappy. Q: In what ways has your upbringing or past experiences contributed to how you operate as an entrepreneur?Ī: Before I started Brilliantly, I worked in the arts. I wanted to broaden the scope of what’s out there for navigating life after an experience with breast cancer. I have started a portrait project, a corrective exercise program, and hosted numerous events about quality of life issues this community faces. Through countless conversations, I also recognized that the opportunity to help women feel better was much bigger. Turned out, I wasn’t the only one dealing with this discomfort-a relatively common result of implant reconstruction.Īfter countless failed attempts to jerry-rig something, I set my mind on designing a sustainable solution to help women like myself feel physically better. In the years following, I faced a profound shift in my identity and connection with my body. As a result, I had a preventative mastectomy and reconstruction in 2013. After years of expensive and emotionally taxing screenings, I found a lump and learned more about my potential hereditary risks.
My mother Lisa died from metastatic breast cancer at age 49. A: Brilliantly started with trying to solve a problem for myself.
0 kommentar(er)
