Interview Tidbit: Noha Waibsnaider of Peeled Snacks

On this exciting book journey we have the pleasure of interviewing nearly 100 women who are running interesting, inspiring, and innovative companies. While we of course will be including lots of details in the book and discussing the interviews over the next year, in the meantime we wanted to share a few tidbits from each amazing interview!

We have known of Peeled Snacks practically since its launch and it has been terrific to see it grow so much over the years. We had a great time on Noha's office roof deck (ooh-la-la) talking about her journey!

Here are a few things that were on our mind when we left:

Adelaide- I was impressed by how resource Noha has been in acquiring research and data and feedback. Customers and supporters have really help to determine what is on the shelf and the way it is presented. Noha has been open to hearing feedback and new ideas even when they haven’t matched up with her original plan. And it has paid off! Many of their best-selling products have come from customer suggestions.

Amy- I was impressed by her thoughtfulness around making charitable contributions that had a lasting impact. Instead of just giving donations, they established a partnership with the American Farmland Trust which helps to increase support to farms in the US.

Thank you, Noha!

- Adelaide & Amy

Interview Tidbit: Grace Bonney of Design Sponge

On this exciting book journey we have the pleasure of interviewing nearly 100 women who are running interesting, inspiring, and innovative companies. While we of course will be including lots of details in the book and discussing the interviews over the next year, in the meantime we wanted to share a few tidbits from each amazing interview!

Being a total home decor and design junkie, Adelaide was particularly excited to meet Grace Bonney the creator of Design*Sponge. It was also quite cool to meet at her apartment and see so many of her creative ideas in action - and to meet her two feline office mates!

Here's just a couple things we walked away thinking about:

Adelaide- It was interesting to learn that design*sponge began not as a business aspiration but as a way to gain experience and score a print editorial job. A lot has changed since 2004! It has not only become a business of its own, it has opened up lots of other opportunities including a book!

Amy- I was struck by Grace’s commitment to her vision of the company. She was clear that it was important to her not to forget the reason that she started the company and that she felt her company would lose authenticity if she made decisions for others.

Thank you, Grace!

- Adelaide & Amy

Consider leaving work at 3:15 - after all, that may be all you are paid for!

Women across the country will be walking out of work at 3:15 tomorrow, after completing only 78% of their work day.

This awareness-raising campaign was arranged by NOW (National Organization for Women) to commemorate Equal Pay Day (which is tomorrow, April 20th).

Since women on average still only make 78 cents on the dollar, NOW is encouraging women to take a stand and for just one day to show employers that you get what you pay for.

The lifetime impact of this pay disparity is devastating on many front, particularly for women's financial security and stability.

Read the data about the impact and reality of unequal pay here.

Though it is a bit difficult to walk out of work when you work for yourself, we support NOW and want to call attention to this very important issue.

Not just because we believe in the principles of equal pay but also because we believe that pay disparities have a direct impact on women's ability to become entrepreneurs or self-employed and to properly capitalize a business should they want one.

We are seeing more and more women leave the corporate ranks to strike out on their own only to again experience less financial security and bring in smaller earnings.

We know how bleak the average revenues are for most women business owners (and have written about it before) and we know that women business owners typically start with less capital and experience a higher turnover rate then male entrepreneurs.

In our minds it is clearly a problem that has wide and serious reverberations.

So, help raise awareness about this issue. Consider leaving work tomorrow after 78% of your work day. Reflect on the impact of pay disparity in your own life and in the companies that you work/ed for. Spread the word and support Equal Pay!
posted by Adelaide Lancaster

Bottlerocket: Part 3, chief cook and bottle washer

Another installment for our inFOCUS Bottlerocket series!

In addition to our introduction to Bottlerocket, we have talked about the back story and how Tom went about tackling the problem he wanted to solve.

We then turned our attention to one of our favorite topics: role.

We are always curious about how entrepreneurs choose to spend their time. What responsibilities do they give themselves? What is their job description? We asked Tom about his role at Bottlerocket:

"The entrepreneur's job is always 'chief cook and bottlewasher.'

In the beginning, all of the forward momentum of the business had to come from me. I had the idea, the vision and the desire. But I also had to learn a new business from scratch, and move a lot of balls forward simultaneously. Before you open any new business, you have legal issues, branding issues, real estate, software and systems, and a host of other challenges. It's a steep learning curve for most entrepreneurs at this early stage.

After the door was opened, in addition to selling wine to new customers and making sure their experience was excellent, I then had to focus on creating systems and procedures to make our business run smoothly, efficiently and excellently. I have been extremely fortunate to work with a very talented team, both outside experts and staff, who have helped me take everything that we do to a higher level. But this work continues nearly four years later. There are always ways for us to improve our business. And there will always be new opportunities to be identified and captured.

Today, in addition to hiring, training, paying bills, dealing with whatever the fates may deliver in a particular day, constantly revising our strategy and operations, and the seven thousand other jobs I juggle, I am focusing on expanding our operation to new locations.

The adventure continues!"

To find out where Bottlerocket is heading, join us on Wednesday evening for a special IGC talk, tasting and tour.

Interview Tidbit:: Emily Powell of Powells Books

On this exciting book journey we have the pleasure of interviewing nearly 100 women who are running interesting, inspiring, and innovative companies. While we of course will be including lots of details in the book and discussing the interviews over the next year, in the meantime we wanted to share a few tidbits from each amazing interview!

As complete book lovers, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to connect with Emily Powell, the woman soon to take the helm of Powells Books.

Here are a few things that stuck out from our terrific conversation:

Adelaide- I was really struck by a metaphor Emily used about “firing bullets, not cannons”. She used this to describe their continual experimentation and recalibration efforts. It is clearly important to Powell’s to be invested in a process of continuous improvement. With open eyes and ears they are always asking, “how can we do this better?”

Amy- It was very interesting to me that Emily spoke of connecting with a few different groups of entrepreneurs to get support. She cultivated specific communities (women CEO’s, retail groups, e-commerce group) and was clear that one group was never enough and that affiliating with several groups afforded many outlets for her as an entrepreneur.

Also, I was thrilled to hear that she is inspired by retail stores that are sell products that are very different than books. That these stores are a source of inspiration to her and she brings ideas from her store visits back into the business by shopping (a girl after my own heart).

Thank you, Emily!

- Adelaide & Amy

Interview Tidbit: Darla Cohen of Fork in the Road

On this exciting book journey we have the pleasure of interviewing nearly 100 women who are running interesting, inspiring, and innovative companies. While we of course will be including lots of details in the book and discussing the interviews over the next year, in the meantime we wanted to share a few tidbits from each amazing interview!

We originally met Darla Cohen, of a Fork in the Road, through a blog post she wrote on her husband, Jason Cohen’s blog. The post was about business growth and we quickly crafted a supportive reply on our own blog. It was a pleasure to get to learn more about her and her story.

Here were just a few takeaways from our very interesting conversation:

Adelaide- Our conversation was a good reminder of how important it is to consider how your business fits into your life. Darla is a great example of how clarity around your goals helps you to craft a business and work life that makes you happy and satisfied.

Amy- Despite being steeped in a culture of high-tech entrepreneurship, Darla still recognized her own validity as a small business and entrepreneur and found the right path for her and her business.

Thank you, Darla!

- Adelaide & Amy

Interview Tidbit: Michelle Madhok of SheFinds.com

On this exciting book journey we have the pleasure of interviewing nearly 100 women who are running interesting, inspiring, and innovative companies. While we of course will be including lots of details in the book and discussing the interviews over the next year, in the meantime we wanted to share a few tidbits from each amazing interview!

We have known Michelle Madhok for several years and have loved watching SheFinds.com grow in scope and reputation. We were thrilled to visit her stylish office, right here in the flatiron hood.

Here are just a couple things that we took away.

Amy: It was reminded how running your business and continuing on a path towards what you believe in can open the door to many unexpected possibilities – in Michelle’s case, she has national corporate sponsorships as an online personal shopping expert, making for a fantastic but unplanned opportunity.

Adelaide: Michelle really underscored for me how important it is to find the right peers at various stages of the entrepreneurial process – which is not always easy if you’re growing quite quickly. I was really impressed by how much emphasis Michelle places on continued learning and cultivating the right corporate culture for SheFinds.com.

Thank you, Michelle!

- Adelaide & Amy

Input Needed: What have you found to be an Entrepreneurship Myth?

(image courtesy of thebackporchshoppe)








As you know we are thrilled about our new book deal! And oh joy - the interviewing, writing & research has begun!

A big part of our book will be including stories, experiences, anecdotes & tips from women entrepreneurs and all of you! We will be posing weekly questions to help us with our writing and brainstorming. Sometimes we will be soliciting a tip and other times a reflection on your own experience.

Thanks to all of you who shared their thoughts on what has been surprising about entrepreneurship, how you work best, what you love most about entrepreneurship, when you first considered yourself an entrepreneur, and more...(to see them all, click "GOOD COMPANY: book questions" on the right hand column).

Next up… short and sweet…:

What have you found to be an entrepreneurship MYTH?

We’d prefer if you reply in the comments because it makes the conversation richer and I think you’ll see that you’re not the only one with the same insights or challenges! If you’d feel more comfortable sending me an email, you can do that too. Adelaide@

Bottlerocket: Part 2, Tackling the problem

In our month-long introduction to Bottlerocket, we last left off as Tom decided to figure out a model that would fundamentally change the wine shopping experience, instead of just creating an alternative that he liked better.

We asked Tom about how he approached this challenge and what solutions he came up with. Here is some of what he shared:

“Businesses talk about being ‘customer focused’. But what does that really mean? Bottlerocket's model grew from a serious look at the pain that consumers feel when they buy wine. As a product category, wine is challenging. There are many regions, grapes, styles and vintages for the consumer to consider. And it is not cheap! Each purchase represents a financial risk. With all of these unknowns, how can a smart, thoughtful buyer make the optimal choice?

Bottlerocket's answer was to dig deep into decision science. How do we make decisions? And what do we need to optimize our personal choices with such a multitude of choice?

The first challenge for buyers is the sheer number of bottles. It can be completely overwhelming. And while there is definitely such a thing as too little choice, it turns out that in the "paradox of choice," there is also such a thing as too much. Bottlerocket's model constrains itself to 365 wines, one for each day of the year. Enough choice to cover the world of wine and a range of price points, but deliberately curated to keep the experience from being overwhelming. (read more about the importance of curating)

The second big issue in decision making is access to good information. Common among traditional wine shops is a wall of wine with nothing but a price tag as a data point. Bottlerocket goes deep and presents a wide range of information, ranging from detailed tasting notes, food pairing recommendations, critics’ ratings and the story behind the wine. This commonly formatted résumé is placed next to each wine where it sits on the shelf. Curious consumers can learn as much as is practical about each wine, short of actually tasting it.

The third big resource required to make a sound decision is context. The traditional organizational principle in retail wine businesses is region: France, Italy, Spain, etc. This is as logical as a Dewey-Decimal System for wine, but it does not necessarily speak intuitively to wine buyers. Consumers do, however, know why they need wine. They know what they are cooking for dinner that night, or to whom they intend to give a gift bottle.

Bottlerocket, in addition to the traditional method, presents its wines on islands that are organized by context, such as: Meat (Beef, Pork, Lamb, or Game); Take-Out (Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Pizza, etc.); Gifts (Someone You Barely Know, An Old Friend, Third Date, or The Boss.) Organizing wine around what a person already knows focuses that person on a small number of good and appropriate choices rather than an entire wall of wine.

Finally, the environment is important. Stress contributes to the challenge of making great decisions. Feeling judged, or unwelcome or just plain uncomfortable are huge hurdles to success. Bottlerocket is cheerfully lit, has a children's play area so parents can relax and enjoy themselves, is dog-friendly so people walking their pooches will know they are welcome, has fun and eclectic music to add whimsy, and is designed from green, unpretentious materials that all combine to say ‘come in and relax’.

Navigating a manageable number of wines, accompanied by excellent information, organized by need and by region, all in a comfortable, fun environment is Bottlerocket's recipe for the 'best wine buying experience on the planet'."

What’s more, Bottlerocket aims to please even after you’ve left the store!

Tom highlighted one more reason for the pain wine buyers feel. In addition to being a complicated product, consumers are also challenged by a lack of confidence. He believes that “this is only an issue of education and experience”.

The solution? Take-home information and 'bottlenotes'.

Tom says that, “While formal classes are valuable, and Bottlerocket offers a wide range, real wine education happens every time a person opens a bottle and takes a sip. So Bottlerocket puts a copy of each wine's note in the bag when a customer checks out. This information helps customers make better choices in the store, but it also provides a bite sized piece of wine education in the moment of consumption. Brick by brick, taste by taste, Bottlerocket is providing its customers a seemless track to becoming a confident, knowledgeable consumer.”

Get a chance to experience the Bottlerocket methodology first-hand at our upcoming taste, talk, & tour event on April 21st.

Interview Tidbit: Lotta Anderson of Lotta Jansdotter

On this exciting book journey we have the pleasure of interviewing nearly 100 women who are running interesting, inspiring, and innovative companies. While we of course will be including lots of details in the book and discussing the interviews over the next year, in the meantime we wanted to share a few tidbits from each amazing interview!

Lotta Anderson of Lotta Jansdotter has been at the top of Adelaide’s interview wish list for years. As a home design and textile junkie, she has long loved her Lotta Jansdotter purchases. We spent a very rainy, rainy morning cocooned away in Lotta’s gorgeous studio office.

Here were just a couple things that we learned.

Amy: I was really taken with Lotta’s belief that running a business is as creative a process as designing!

Adelaide: I was amazed by how each avenue of business success has opened more and more doors of opportunity. These opportunities have allowed her to completely change the nature of what her business is about: from textile designer to a home décor/design brand, to a handmade/DIY expert, to inspiration and lifestyle icon. I can’t wait to learn about all the new, upcoming projects!

Thank you, Lotta!

- Adelaide & Amy