Angela Jia Kim, founder of Om Aroma & Co., Savor Spa and Savor the Success, interviewed three inspiring women entrepreneurs near the end of Rock the World 2015. The first one was Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, co-founder of Gilt, co-founder and CEO of Glamsquad and author of By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop. Building relationships and business execution were the two main topics that were covered.
Building Relationships
Alexandra is known in business circles for being really talented at building relationships. She is using that strength to help build up Glamsquad, an on-demand beauty service provider that is currently available in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Well-known for co-founding the online shopping website Gilt (back in 2007), Alexandra found herself “coasting” for the last couple of years. She felt that she had more to give. She thought that the next chapter of her business life would be to become a venture capitalist. Then, she attended a Harvard undergrad tech event at Google’s offices about a year and a half ago. While there, she ran into a couple of men whom she had attended college. It turned out that they were working on a beauty services startup (Glamsquad) that would deliver beauty services to homes, apartments, hotels and such. Initially, Alexandra joined Glamsquad as CEO, but she wanted to be a co-founder so that she would have some “skin in the game” and be totally passionate about this new project. That worked out, in part, due to her relationships with the other co-founders.
It was interesting to hear that Alexandra doesn’t really like the term “networking” but she is a huge believer in making contact and connecting with others. (She currently has about 15,000 contacts in her phone!) Relationships matter and she believes in karma – what goes around comes around. If you help others when they need it, then they will help you when you do. She encouraged us to say “Hi” to someone whom we had not met before at an event; to exchange business cards and to actually follow up (email, have coffee, see what their professional needs are and if there’s anything that we can do to help them).
Alexandra also shared practical tips regarding how to stay organized and to follow-up with new connections. She exchanges business cards with people whom she thinks that she should be working with together in some way (partnerships, client, etc.) and views follow-up as part of her job. She blocks out a couple of hours in her calendar each week to connect. She also uses the premium services of LinkedIn to connect with potential partners and investors. She readily admitted that she doesn’t keep in touch with everyone after making the initial contact. As “time-starved” women, she encouraged us to prioritize the people that we want to stay in touch with (friends, business relationships, etc.). Mentors and sponsors – she has had several since 2007 – should definitely be priorities. The particular people to prioritize depend on what your current stress/problem/focus is at the moment. Who can you go to for good advice on that particular issue? She shares the following caveat in her By Invitation Only book though…
Don’t ask for too many favors. Save it for the big thing.
(You don’t want to be like the “boy who cried wolf”. Scatter around the favors that you request to different people.
It was especially encouraging to hear that Alexandra was also kind in relationships with her employees. Angela mentioned that several of Alexandra’s Glamsquad employees had great things to say about her. “She’s so nice.” “She knows everyone’s name.” “She’s always so kind.”
Execution
Angela, who has used Glamsquad’s services for various appearances, noted that it is a company with tight execution. Their beauty providers are “always available” and “wonderful people are sent”. In By Invitation Only, Alexandra shares how many businesses fail due to poor execution. The challenge is often in the execution, not the idea.
Alexandra then shared two core principles that ensures things are well executed at Glamsquad:
1. Anyone associated with the business is considered a part of the “Glam Fam”. No one is looked down upon. The beauty professionals are just as important as the executives. They are treated as artists with respect. The company also does things like the “Glammies” where they give out Glammy awards to recognize employees for various positive things.
2. They expect the unexpected…and plan for it. Angela Jia Kim noted that execution is really about thinking through the client’s experience from the moment that they see your brand every step of the way to ensure that their experience is amazing. Alexandra agreed that execution is critical. However, she noted that there are certain things that are outside of a leader’s control (i.e. weather). That is why we have to be a combination of proactive and reactive in order to stay one step ahead. Expecting the unexpected and anticipating what can go wrong helps to balance clients’ demands with uncontrollable elements.
The interview series was very enlightening. The phrase “expect the unexpected” was used multiple times. You will see that concept again tomorrow in the next 1-on-1 interview with Melissa Ben-Ishay, the founder of Baked by Melissa.