Gamechangers: A Mastermind For Creative Entrepreneurs

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Alyssa Kerbel of Mini Mioche, the Toronto-based childrens' apparel line well known for their minimal, unisex basics. Alyssa talks about launching her brand exclusively to the wholesale market, gradually introducing e-commerce and ultimately finding her stride in the brick & mortar space. She talks about the power of a store as a marketing vehicle, when to ask for help, and why you should focus on profit not just growth. She shares her own experience with continually shaking things up over the last 11 years & how she pushes the brand to always get to the next level. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Ariane Goldman of Hatch, the digitally native brand bringing clothing solutions to women in all trimesters & beyond. Ariane talks about her experience working with sample houses and factories in New York's Garment District, branding and launching her e-commerce site, and the number one tactic it takes to start a company. She chats about her decision to open stores as a way to increase the community experience. And she talks about working with celebrities, influencers & ambassadors to drive new customers to her site and the jaw-dropping moment when she saw Meghan Markle wearing a piece from the Hatch collection. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Christina Stembel of Farmgirl Flowers, the direct to consumer e-commerce site offering the most gorgeous floral arrangements in the online gift space. Christina talks about how she grew her company from her 100 square foot living room to a 30,000 square foot warehouse and a team of 100+ people. She talks about creating an idea that would have the potential to scale big, launching her company in the most expensive city in the US, and how listening to her customers through focus groups has led to some big returns on investments. She talks about the power of digital marketing to acquire new customers and how that contributed to the $23 million she did in sales last year. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Tara Foley of Follain, the popular retailer of over 80 brands in the clean beauty market. Tara talks about the importance of research & education when planning your business, how she's found funding over the years, the unconventional decision to launch with a Brick & Mortar shop before an e-commerce site and why you should always start with a Big Idea. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Cheryl Kaplan of M.Gemi. Cheryl chats about the benefits of a direct-to-consumer model, finding manufacturers that are true partners & creating a supply chain that allows for scalability. She gives some great insights into the power of pop-up shops & how to choose the best location for them, why it's so important to be constantly analyzing your demand to maximize your inventory position & five big ways she gets customer feedback that massively influences her company's decision making. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Sophie Kahn & Bouchra Ezzahraoui, co-founders of AUrate, the fine jewelry brand bringing you the highest quality and the fairest pricing. Sophie & Bouchra talk about how they launched their brand as an omnichannel vehicle from the start, how they've achieved 400% growth over the last year, and why they see Brick & Mortar stores as a cheaper way of acquiring new customers. In all things they do to grow their business, defining and understanding the customer profile is at the center of it all. From direct discussions, reports from stores, social media comments and even focus groups, knowing who their customer is allows them to spend their marketing dollars in the smartest and most effective ways. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/ga

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder & CEO of Lively. With years of experience working for industry leader Victoria's Secret, Michelle knew there was something big missing in the lingerie industry: the real woman. She took her significant work experience and has spent the past several years building Lively. Michelle chats about the two key strategies that led her to collect 133,000 email addresses and to achieve 300,000 site visits in a single weekend, one month before launch, how she then adapted her launch strategy to fit the demand, how she's managing their 60,000 ambassadors to leverage her company and why the number one thing she looks for in a new hire is passion. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Philippa Briscombe of Little P and the Palmer Studio. Philippa chats about how she's found the right production partners to produce her rugs, from making the first connection, what questions to ask, and what red flags to look for. If you're looking to find production, whether domestic or abroad, this conversation has so many great tips including how to handle sampling, how to deal with shipping & so much more. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Emily Current & Meritt Elliott. Two friends who met at UCLA who have gone on to start five businesses together: a styling company right out of school, the incredibly popular denim brand Current/Elliott, a design studio partnering with companies like Kate Spade New York and Pottery Barn, lifestyle brand The Great and most recently the Emily + Meritt brand. True brand builders, Emily & Meritt have incredible insights into what works and what to avoid when starting and building your business. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Katie Warner Johnson, the powerhouse co-founder and CEO behind Carbon38, a multi-brand retailer for performance fashion. Currently doing $100 million in annual sales, they are on the fast track to building a $1 billion territory. Representing 250 brands, 80% of the companies they work with are female-founded. Katie talks about how they've grown their wildly popular affiliate/ambassador program, Team38, the details behind their signature Takara legging and why she strives to create a company that stands for fun. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Ariel Kaye, the CEO and founder of Parachute, the home essentials brand shaking up the industry. Ariel chats about finding production, hiring a PR team for the 3 months leading up to launch day, why investing in her team is as important as investing in new technologies, and how she used a pop up shop as a testing ground before launching her first store. As she builds her omnichannel brand, managing 70+ employees, Ariel and her team always have the customer in mind. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Sarah Dusek of Under Canvas, the largest glamping company in the U.S. with 8 locations across the country and a team of more than 300 employees. Sarah chats about starting her first camp, how she's managed such a fast growing, large company, her strategy to buy instead of rent, and her awesome advice for how to engage & listen to your team on a regular basis. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to KJ Miller & Amanda Johnson of Mented Cosmetics, the upscale beauty brand for women of color. As friends who first met at Harvard Business School, KJ & Amanda have so many insights on running a company with a business school mentality. They talk about normalizing the risk of start ups, the importance of product development, why to build a following before your launch, what they've learned from refining 80+ pitch presentations while raising capital, and why you should dream big from day one. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Stacy Longenecker of Leif, the lifestyle shop with a large e-commerce presence and a bumping retail space in Brooklyn. Stacy talks about how she launched her company online, but due to the rapidly changing online retail space, has found greater and greater success with her Brick & Mortar shop. For her, it's all about finding the right location. Whether growing her online shop or opening her store, Stacy's strategy has been to start small, scale slowly and always keep her safety net. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Tara Heibl of Sprout Home which runs very popular floral & garden centers in both Brooklyn and Chicago. In her 15+ year career, Tara has written a business plan, raised seed money, designed storefronts from the ground up, opened several successful Brick & Mortar locations, written a book and generally just not been afraid to learn what she doesn't know. She's an inspiration in perseverance and getting things done. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Gabrielle Blair of Alt Summit. As she gets ready to host her 15th design conference, Gabrielle is officially a pro. She chats about how she first launched the conference 10 years ago, the logistics of managing an event for hundreds of people, how she finds speakers, gets sponsors, and finds the perfect Instagram-worthy locations. This a great conversation for anyone in the design field & if you're curious, yes, it's totally worth it to attend. Listen along to hear just some of the reasons. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Nidhi Kapur, founder and CEO of Maiden Home, the company bringing you artisan-made custom furniture at a fraction of the designer price tag. Nidhi speaks about the importance of the research phase before entering a new market, the power of made-to-order products, and why customer experience is her number one priority. She also talks about her decision to initially launch her site to a private beta & how she capitalized on a perfectly executed press launch. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Margie Keates the incredible paper florist behind The Lovely Ave. Margie chats about how she launched her company on Instagram, showing proof of concept before investing in her own website. She talks about building her brand and what it was like to be named one the "100 Most Creative People in America" by Country Living Magazine. And she gets into her day-to-day of managing a workforce, employing independent contractors & how she finds and hires interns. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Milicent Armstrong, founder of Artemis Design Co., the brand behind those extremely cool kilim carpet shoes you're seeing everywhere. Milicent chats about how she's grown the company from $5,000 in seed money and remains completely self-funded to this day. She talks about launching her company with no website and no storefront, building her brand initially through word of mouth, pop-ups and a few great wholesale accounts. She chats about the single press hit that caused her entire website to completely sell out in under five minutes and how she's hiring the exact right people to take her company to the next level. Enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers

In this episode of Gamechangers, Savannah talks to Erika Shumate, co-founder and CEO of Pinrose, the omnichannel beauty brand that is popping up everywhere. Erika talks about the importance of researching your market and making sure you know your industry inside and out, how she and her team have raised nearly 5 million dollars in funding while continuing to stay 100% female-owned, and how they've grown their Sephora wholesale account from 20 to almost 400 stores. There's a lot to learn here, enjoy! Follow along for more insider info, community resources, tips & tricks and work/life inspiration: Join our Facebook Group: “The Gamechangers Mastermind” Follow along on Instagram: @savannahhayesstudio Check out the Shownotes: savannahhayes.com/gamechangers