How to Turn Rejection into Your Biggest Advantage (Laney Crowell)

14:32Emma Grede:And I think there is power in writing things down. Because even though I had no idea how I was going to get to either of those two, they're now my investors. That's crazy. So actually you had them on your list of targets. Number one and number two. So how did you get to them? Just a lot. I mean, Unilever Ventures, I got invited to a brunch in LA because of the woman that does my brows. And she said, you should come to this brunch as founders and investors. And I remember telling my husband, I'm going to go to LA for this. And he said, you're going to LA for a brunch? And I was like, I don't know.

15:06Emma Grede:My gut just tells me I should go. And when I went, someone there said, I'm going to introduce you to Brandon. He's now one of my first investors, Brandon Sheinfeld. And he said on the first call, he said, I'm in. And he said, I'm going to introduce you to Unilever Ventures. And it was like the twilight zone. I was like, my gut literally drove me to this moment. That's wild. And my investor, Rachel at Unilever Ventures also got it from the moment we met. From the get go.

15:33Laney Crowell:And I think there's something about that when people immediately feel it, like, you know, they're your people when you don't have to, you know, really like dig in and over explain. It's like, they understand the space. They understand what you're saying. There's an element of belief in what you're doing already. I'm interested just because you seem like somebody who kind of goes around learning and leveraging like everywhere you are. How do you distinguish between what is useful information and what is just someone's opinion? Because I've been in those meetings before when people have said, actually, I don't think that I think this, but I felt somewhere like deep conviction inside me.

16:09Laney Crowell:So how did you decipher what was useful information for you to then like impact your pitch deck as an example?

16:15Emma Grede:Learnings. I mean, there was one piece of advice I got over and over again was that I should have a co-founder and I knew that I should not have a co-founder. Yeah. I was like, I, from, that was not a question for me. I was like, I like working by myself. I'm super clear on my vision. I just actually didn't really speak to those people again when that was their advice.

16:34Laney Crowell:That's a bold move.

16:36Emma Grede:Why

16:37Laney Crowell:were they telling you you needed a co-founder? It was a first time founder. Like someone to run the business for you. Yeah. Yeah.

16:43Emma Grede:Someone to run the business, someone who had done it before.

16:46Laney Crowell:I mean, fair, fair point. I mean, there's a, there's a part of me that goes as a first time founder, you could well have been like, yeah, I definitely need that person. But you had the conviction to know you could do it yourself.

16:58Emma Grede:I also had listened to a lot, a lot of how I built this. And if you listen to that podcast, there's very few co-founders that are still together. That is absolutely true. It's hard to work with people on an even playing field where both of If your ideas have equal weight, I think it's a lot easier to have just a clear vision. At least that's, that was just kind of what my gut told me.

17:19Laney Crowell:Yeah. I think you're right about that. I also think that if it's the reason to find a co-founder is to fill in for your blind spots, that's different because you can hire those people, right? Like, so I think that having a co-founder and having senior people that sit beside you in your business to do something that you're not proficient in are two totally different things. Like a co-founder is a co-founder.

17:41Emma Grede:And I have partners in my business who are like my, they're my writer dies. Damn right.

17:46Laney Crowell:So tell me when we think about like the credibility that you'd built in beauty, how much of that like really opened doors and how much of it like made you fall short? Like, I wonder if there were things that you thought you knew that maybe, you know, weren't so once you got down to actually running a business.

18:03Emma Grede:I think the piece that I should have known more about was the financial side. I should have known more about margins. I should have known more about the almost more technical sides. I mean, I learned that when I was the early days, like I was running the P &L, I was doing all that. But then I would, I brought in a fractional CFO and that was kind of a disaster. And that part I was really not ready for. But now we have an incredible CFO.

18:29Laney Crowell:Thank goodness for the CFO. Yeah. When you consider the listeners here, first time founders, people that are really trying to get a business off the ground, What do you wish you'd have known about fundraising from the very beginning?

18:40Emma Grede:Well, I think that you're going to get a lot of no's. And that's like totally normal, especially if you're a woman. I mean, 4 % of VC dollars go to women. If you take out Mira, it's like 2.9%. Go to women.

18:54Laney Crowell:I love that it's like one woman. Good for her, by the way. Good for her. Good for her. Yeah. But actually to right size the assumption, it ends up being just sub 3%. Yeah. How much do you think that women, or do you believe that women have any responsibility to pay for that? Should we be investing in brands? Should we be investing in brands? And do you think that women, for whatever reason, their pitches might fall short? Like I'm wondering if you have any theory or thought around why women get so little, such a tiny, tiny piece of the pie.

19:29Emma Grede:I don't think that people think women can run businesses. I think there's like this really just pervasive thought that men are more comfortable running things. I saw this fantastic TikTok the other day that was like, they can't run Thanksgiving dinner. Why do we feel like they should be running anything? Fair.

19:50Laney Crowell:Fair. I mean, running a business is a little like Thanksgiving. There's a lot of shit happening at once. It's really true. All right. So talk to me about the decisions that you've made when it comes to operating your business, because Say is, you know, to me, it's so clear what you're doing. It has such a clear point of view. And I imagine that there are a lot of non-negotiable decisions that you've had to put in place in order to live up to the promise that you set out in the beginning and the space that you know had to be filled. So what decisions did you make that have dictated the way Say would

20:24Emma Grede:operate? So we had a really clear North Star from day one. We want to make products that people love that are great for their skin and even make their skin better. We want that to build with our community. We want to do right by our planet and we want to have fun. And so all of us - Are you having fun? I'm having the best time. And I think it shows up in everything that we do. I agree. I think that it makes our brand magnetic. I think it helps us retain talent. I think that it even dictates like you're going to make great products if you're having a great time doing it. It's a value that I think is so important.

20:58Laney Crowell:I love that for you because I feel like inevitably running a business is so hard that there has to be some element in it that's like, you know, when making cosmetics, like it needs to be fun. And I feel like that comes through so much in all of your communications, in your emails, the way you guys write. Like to me, it's very visible that you're having a great time building this best in class brand. I didn't start a brand to not want to go to work.

21:22Emma Grede:And like, starting a business is so hard. So much work. I mean, we launched, say, four months before COVID. Oof. I mean, it's been like, you know, a ride.

21:32Laney Crowell:Lainey, let's talk about the work a little bit, because I'm dying to talk to you about your first hires. But just in terms of you and how much you work, can you give, just give me an idea of like, what a week or a day looks like for you. How much are you actually working?

21:47Emma Grede:People always say they've never met anyone who works as hard as me, which probably means they probably haven't met you. But I love to work. I grind. You grind. You're in the office. I work from home probably three days a week. Got it. And then I go into New York City because I live out in the Hamptons. Right. I go two days a week into the office or I'm in LA or I'm in Dubai like I was last week. I love being with my team. But my office is like my happy place. I get so excited when I'm there. Lucky you. Do you work on the evenings? Yeah. Do you work on the weekends? Right after the kids go to bed, I go back to work on my phone.

22:21On the weekends, I'll check in.

22:25Emma Grede:But, you know, I have two little kids, so I really try to be present with them when I'm with them.

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23:15Laney Crowell:Tickets are on sale now at emagree.com.

23:21Laney Crowell:Let's just go back to the business a little bit and talk about how you've built this team. I read somewhere that your first hire was somebody in product development. How important has that been to your success? Because when I think about your product, I think about innovation. I think about product that actually works. Like when you sit here and say, you know, we make product that actually makes your skin better. I'm like, yes, you do. Like I turned to say when I was like, my makeup is making me spotty. And I said to my makeup artist and she was like, oh, we're going to switch a bunch of stuff.

23:53Laney Crowell:And it really, really works. You know this because I literally, the minute I met you, I was like, oh my God, I'm obsessed.

23:59Emma Grede:Do you think that's the reason your products are so good? So someone had told me going back to advice that I didn't listen to. Someone said, do not hire a product developer. The CMs have product developers. And I said, but if my number one North Star is to have incredible formulas, I have to have a product developer. And so I sold my stock at Estee Lauder and I used that money to hire a product developer that I'd worked with before. And she, first of all, got the vision from day one and we just started working on stuff. And she calls it the Olympics of product development because it's so hard to formulate our products.

24:37Emma Grede:We have 2000 ingredients that we don't use. And a lot of those ingredients are or dimethicone. That's a very common ingredient in makeup because it's a silicone. So it gives you that really beautiful texture, but it clogs your pores. We are hyper, hyper diligent about what ingredients we don't use. And so to formulate, it takes a lot of time.

25:00Laney Crowell:It takes a lot of time. And I'm assuming a lot of money. Is it like more expensive to develop like when you're trying to be clean?

25:08Emma Grede:No, because you don't pay until you're done with a formula. But our formulas are very expensive. Yeah.

25:16Laney Crowell:Yeah. I mean, you've got to pay at some point, right? And so when you were building this company, product developer was first.

25:22Emma Grede:Yes.

25:22Laney Crowell:Were you, was there any trepidation using your own money?

25:25Emma Grede:I think people thought I was crazy.

25:26Laney Crowell:Yeah. I mean, a lot of people would think taking, you know, a very valuable stock like Estee Lauder, selling it. Were you sitting on a ton of money? No.

25:34Emma Grede:I mean, it wasn't, A lot of money.

25:36Laney Crowell:But tell me, like, was it like, how much did you spend? $35 ,000. But$35 ,000, it's like, you know, it's some money. Yeah, it's some money. It was all I had. Right. So it was a lot. It was then. It's like, it's the$35 ,000 that you had. Yeah. And you, in your mind, you were like, this is going to be the start of something. You knew it. I knew it. I knew it.

25:56Emma Grede:Julie Rice from SoulCycle talks about this. She says, it's like you get a call from the universe and you either decide to answer it or not. And I had that aha moment where I saw exactly what the brand was. My community told me, here's even the product you should start with. And I just was like, this is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for. And you started with mascara, right? Yes. Would you start with mascara if you had to do it all over? You know, maybe not. But only because it's the best mascara and it never got its moment to shine. Really? It is. That's the product. Well, one of the products that people come up to me and they're like, I'm never, ever using another mascara.

26:34Laney Crowell:Because I mean, what's extraordinary about your brand is that you have seven of the top 10 products in Sephora at the moment.

26:41Emma Grede:In each category, yeah. I mean, that's crazy.

26:44Laney Crowell:I mean, there's definitely no other brand that are doing that because there's not enough in the top 10. That's crazy.

26:50Emma Grede:We sell one piece of say every 4.5 seconds.

26:55Laney Crowell:I don't know that I could concentrate all day. I'd be like, me, me again. Here I go again. So good. So good. I absolutely love it.

27:05Emma Grede:But it's because the formulas are so good. And that was the premise I knew. As a consumer, that's what it's about, right? It's about creating an incredible product that it doesn't matter that we are the most sustainable. That I am so proud of. But no one's going to buy anything because it's the most sustainable. It's not because we have the most fun TikTok. We do have the most fun TikTok. But that's just marketing. It has to always come back to product, in my opinion.

27:28Laney Crowell:I love that you say that because I think marketing is such a distraction for people. Everybody believes like, you know, in the launch party and the social strategy. And it's like at the end of the day, you need customers to repeat by, right? Somebody has to love what you do and prefer it over the thing that sits next to it. Because you are in this like hyper competitive market. When I go into Sephora, I literally feel a bit feverish. You know, I'm like, oh, I was there in Malibu yesterday. There's a competitor. Exactly. Like they're right there. You can't ignore them. How do you feel about the competition?

28:02Laney Crowell:Because since you launched, the landscape has really changed, right? It's totally changed.

28:07Emma Grede:I don't know. I just can't, I can't think about it. You can't think about it? What a distraction. What am I going to do about it? So you don't think about it at all? No, I put on blinders. Really?

28:18Laney Crowell:You're not like looking over there and being like, develop that thing that they've got

28:21Emma Grede:that's doing really well? No, because then what am I doing? I don't, that's not going to do anything. I have to focus on my formulas. You know, we just launched the first setting spray ever to not have synthetic polymers in it, which is insane. It took us five years to create it. You know, if I was looking over here, over there, I wouldn't have been focused on that innovation, which I'm so proud of. I love that formula so much. And another founder once told me she doesn't even go to Sephora because it brings your vibration down. It brings your energy down. When you're looking all over the place, it's just a distraction, in my opinion.

28:53Laney Crowell:I love that. And you have to so limit your distractions as a founder. We have so much to do. You have so much to do. It's kind of amazing. I wonder how you've kept the trust of the community that you came into this brand building. Like how have you brought them on a journey? Because arguably like you're a huge brand now. I've read, I think you guys have got to a hundred million, but that was a couple of years ago. I'm assuming the growth is like, you know, when you're seven of the top 10 products, I'm doing the mental math in my head, but we're feeling, we're feeling good about saying, I'm feeling good about saying hundreds of millions of dollars.

29:24Laney Crowell:Are we concurring here? We're feeling good. We're feeling good. Okay, so how have the community responded to the growth, to the journey that you've taken them on? Have you, like, I just wonder how you've been able to build and keep that community with you.

29:37Emma Grede:I think about this all the time. You do? Yeah, because I just, I never want to lose their trust and connection. So we're always adapting. You know, we'll do a Zoom for, hey, let's do a masterclass on how to, where to place your blush. and we'll invite our whole community to do that. We do run clubs all over. We just did one outside of London. Are we running? You did? In my London? Yeah, because it makes you feel good. You know, our tagline is feel good, do good. So we're not like in a face full of makeup. We're just feeling good there. Yeah, we're just going for a run. And then they get to try a product and connect with the community.

30:14Emma Grede:I think there's been run clubs where we run to Sephora. But, you know, we've done matcha. Obviously, I love matcha. So we've done lots of like cafe says where you can come and try products and meet people. I love in-person things.

30:27Laney Crowell:Is it still as central to the business as it were when you started out, like building, maintaining, speaking to this community?

30:35Emma Grede:Yes. I think that as a consumer, like having that connection to the soul of the brand and having that transparency and having that authenticity is really what keeps the connection there. Yeah. I mean, there's a girl, her name is Daniela. She follows me on Instagram. She was one of our first super fans. She messages me all the time and I write her questions. I'm like, what are you looking for? What do you want to see next? How are you liking that powder blush?

31:03Laney Crowell:Yeah, I think that's genius. But to me, there is nothing like that original cohort of customers, the first people that come out and bought your brand. A, they remember the product right from the beginning. They're always the first ones to tell you when. It's like, well, I feel like you changed that fabric. I'm like, we did. We did, but we're changing it back. But you know what I mean? It's like having, like listening to those early adopters and using them. I feel like it's a great, it's a great thing. I want to talk a little bit about you and leadership because you have said some things that I love.

31:35Laney Crowell:Sometimes I read you and I like clap at the page. I'm like, yeah, exactly what she said. There was one quote that I love where you talk about texts and phone calls being like the lowest level of communication. Will you talk to me?

31:48Emma Grede:What do you mean by that? Pick up the phone. I mean, it makes me so crazy. Someone will be like, oh yeah, I wasn't able to get in touch with them. I'm like, did you call? I'm like, no. That means you didn't. You didn't try. You didn't try. Are you kidding me? You didn't try. I mean, also, I don't know that I like myself over text and email as much as I like myself in person. Oh yeah.

32:07Laney Crowell:You know, like things can come off wrong. Totally. Totally. There's a lost art of actually meeting people in person. Yeah. And doing business that way. There's something, it's so easy to fire someone, to relinquish their services, to, you know, if you've never met them and your relationship is only via email. But if you know someone, it's very different. It's like future-proofing your career. I'm like, get in front of people.

32:32Emma Grede:That's such a good, that's a good tip. Pick up your pens, people.

32:36Laney Crowell:Just, come on, just get in front of people. And so as your brand has grown, has your leadership style changed, do you think?

32:45Emma Grede:Yeah. I mean, I think as a first time founder, I mean, I remember those first couple of years, literally feeling like I was stepping into my power. This was the role that I was born to do and that I really wasn't totally myself until I was able to like become the leader of say. Oh, that's really interesting because you are founder and CEO, correct? I feel more myself than I ever have. And I think the more I learn from my mistakes, the better I get. Yeah. What kind of CEO are you? Oh my gosh. I think we might have to ask someone and say that question. What would they say? I think I aspire for greatness and I expect that from everybody that I work with and because I want that for them.

33:30Emma Grede:Yeah. I grew up in a time where, where, you know, editors were yelling at people and throwing shoes at them. And, and I kind of missed that. I'm like, they wanted you to throw some shoes, Lainey. I don't want to throw a shoe. I have no need to throw a shoe, but I loved when everybody wanted everyone to be great. Yeah. Not just like here. Yeah.

33:51Laney Crowell:When you, everybody was striving for greatness, you know, and some of that, or so much of that, I think comes from the conditions that you create in the organization, right? Is there room for your staff to be great? Is everyone on a mission? Does everybody believe in what we're doing here? And when you have those things, like magic stuff happens, but you still need everybody to come to work with it, right? You need everybody to participate. But I agree with you. I think that there is something magical when everyone brings their A game and the expectation is an A game.

34:22Emma Grede:It's so fun. And like, I wouldn't have hired you if I didn't think you could be great. Yeah, totally. And not just at say when, for the rest of your life.

34:29Laney Crowell:For the rest of your life. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's training, right? It's like you're training. We're all in training to be the person that we really want to be and the leader that we want to be. And so it's really important. It's like, you've just got to behave and act the way that you want to be. And it just becomes default. Act as if. Yeah. Act as if for sure. So as Say is expanding now, I know you just came back from Dubai, which is so exciting. Such an amazing market for your, for your category. How are you thinking about the brand and the shift, like from an assortment point of view, from a storytelling point of view?

35:00Laney Crowell:Does anything change as you like leave your home market?

35:03Emma Grede:I think one thing that's really interesting that I learned when I got to Dubai, when we launched there about a year and a half ago, we were in all of the Sephora Middle East stores. But when I got to Dubai, they were like, oh no, we know everything. We know all your products. We know you, we know the brand. And it was almost like I had time traveled. Wow. And for me, it was an aha moment that consumers are really becoming one because of social media. There isn't that deep nuance that there necessarily used to be. Like, of course, we might hire a local model and do things like that. And the assortment is definitely a little bit different.

35:35Emma Grede:They love blush in the Middle East. I mean, that is like, we just can't keep it on the shelf. When we expand internationally, there's so much demand in Europe, specifically the UK, Australia. So excited to enter those markets. Right now, they just want say.

35:52Laney Crowell:Yeah. And have you had to hire internally like people that specifically work in those markets or are you doing it all with? Yeah. One thing that I've always done is I hired a field team from day one. Love that. So a field team, you mean people that are on the ground, in the stores, at Sephora? Selling product.

36:08Emma Grede:Love.

36:09Laney Crowell:And coming back to you.

36:10Emma Grede:Yes. And telling me what's working, what's not working, little things like the label on the blush box is on the wrong side. And we don't know which brush that is. And so the consumer, if my field team member is not there, that means that the consumer can't find it. And attention span is so short. If someone can't find something, they might just move on.

36:28Laney Crowell:Yeah.

36:28Emma Grede:So little tiny details like that, or like we have a blush right now in store and the lights are bleaching out the color a little bit and we're swapping it out. You know, you want to be able to react really fast to that. And the only people that are going to take care of your brand like that are people that are on your team. I think

36:45Laney Crowell:that is a great piece of advice for people. I remember working on the shop floor as a kid and there were these people called mystery shoppers that would come in. Totally, I remember that. You know, and I'd always be like, that's a mystery shopper right there. You know, she's come in as a spy from HQ. But I think it's a great thing for people to learn. And if you can't hire somebody internally, there are so many like agencies and services that do it. But having boots on the ground to understand what is the consumer experience in? What other things are stopping people buying your brand? There's just no, there is no replacement for it.

37:19Emma Grede:You know, it's like, that's just, you need it. I totally agree. And I would even say, I think they need to be your own. Even if you can only hire one.

37:26Laney Crowell:You're like, bring that, spend the money and bring that person in. Yeah. I don't think, I mean, I'm trying to think, it's always taken me a couple of years before I've been able to have those people. But I totally agree with you, actually. I think it's an imperative and it's a game changer. Because the problem is you get - For us, it was a differentiator. You get too like far down, especially in your category, because it's like, you're making custom packaging. And as you say, it's like, if you can't see what that blush is, you're literally going there to get the next blush. So it's right next door.

37:55Laney Crowell:Right. Like literally one, one way over. It's like not even, it's not even a step. It's just a hand movement and it's a problem. It's just a head twist. Yeah. Damn right. I love that. What would you say to young founders looking to break into the beauty industry?

38:08Emma Grede:I would say figure out how to build your community as early as you can. Create content, meet people, you know, really start building your network. People for some reason told me they don't like the word networking. That's like a thing now. Oh, maybe I, maybe that

38:21Laney Crowell:was my problem because I like to differentiate between building a network and networking. Building a network and networking. Yeah. And I feel like, let me break this one down. I feel like you might just listening to what you've done. To me, there are all of these events and circles where people go out and they network around. To me, building a network is, it can be your bank manager, your lawyer, your suppliers, your vendors, like building the network is building the group of people that are going to help you get shit done, not having drinks and going out for women empowerment dinners. That's something else.

38:57Laney Crowell:A hundred percent. Do you know what I mean? And I feel like there's this whole group of women and like, I'm never invited. I'm like, don't worry about the invite. Your network is the people that move you from A to B. And she's typically is not wearing a good outfit at a dinner or invited either.

39:10Emma Grede:I think what I mean by it is like relationships in the sense of like picking up the phone and having a real relationship with somebody. And I think that that is something that is really hard for a younger generation that is so focused on their phones and focused on scrolling. And they feel like they're in relationships with people, but they're not. And so I think really having those connections and saying like, hey, I would love to pick your brain for five minutes. Or can I please take you to coffee? Or, and by the way, read all of the articles and podcasts before you go meet that person and ask new questions that aren't in those.

39:44Emma Grede:Yes. That would be probably my number one tip is try to start building that community and knowing people in the space.

39:51Laney Crowell:I couldn't agree with you more. I've done a whole episode on what it means to build your network. And I think that sticking your neck out, asking for something specific, because a lot of people, you know, they might meet you, they might meet me and they'll say, you know, how do you become my mentor? I'm like, don't waste time. Ask a question. Do you know what I mean? It's like, I probably don't have time to mentor you, but right now I'm in front of you. Like, let's just shoot shit. Yeah, it's like, just go. How would you talk to people or how would you recommend people go about building a network?

40:22Laney Crowell:Like, what did you do? When you say like, ask someone for a coffee, like, what did you actually do to build your network?

40:28Emma Grede:I got my Google sheet and I just started writing names.

40:33Laney Crowell:I hope you're saving all these lists. They're going to be amazing to look at.

40:36Emma Grede:I wrote down Rishi, who got investment for his, like a food app, who was a friend of my friend Jeremy's. I wrote down anybody like that. I wrote down like my husband's uncle. Like I wrote down people that I just heard them say the word fundraising or, you know, whatever it is. And I'd say, oh, hey, you know, I'd really love to talk to you about this. Can I come to your office? I would always go to them. And you were always available for whatever time they needed. Anytime. I go, when I drive around New York City now, it's like a blast from the past of all of these random buildings that I went into because I would go anywhere for that five minute meeting.

41:12Laney Crowell:And then tell me what you would do, right? So you're going to sit in this meeting, you're going to talk to this guy, the husband's uncle. Like, what were you asking? What were you trying to get out of that?

41:21Emma Grede:I was saying, I think I need to raise a million dollars and I don't know how to get there. I don't know who to talk to. Do you have anybody who you think might be interested in investing in beauty? And they may say yes or no. And I'd say, okay, and by the way, what type of investment do you think I should be doing? I've heard a convertible note is really good. I've also heard a safe is really good. Do you know the difference? Do you have any opinions on that? Do you have anybody who you think could be helpful for me to speak to? And Lainey, just for clarity,

41:47Laney Crowell:for anyone listening to this, you had no idea what a convertible note was, what a safe was. You heard those things and went and figured it out.

41:56Emma Grede:That's been a huge learning for me is like learning how to speak the language. I did not know how to speak the language of fundraising. It was as if I was learning Chinese at the same time as building my business. I didn't know any of the terminology and I definitely made mistakes. I think there should be a book about this for founders to understand equity and what you're giving up when you raise a million dollars with a$5 million valuation and what post and pre-money is and all of those things are really important things to understand. I think that I learned the language of Sephora. I think that was a big one for me.

42:31Emma Grede:When I met them, I was speaking Estee Lauder. Oh yeah. And I had to learn how to speak Sephora. Now that I know how to speak it, I definitely prefer it. They are some of my lifelong friends. I love the Sephora team. I think they are absolutely the best partners I could have ever dreamed of. But it took me a while to learn how to communicate with them.

42:49Laney Crowell:Yeah. It's just excellent advice. And may I suggest that you write the book. I believe you will. Let's just go and do a publishing deal right now because it's like you've been there, you've seen it, you've done it. And you'll do the foreword. Let's go. Okay. Let's go. It's a deal. It's a deal, my darling.

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45:36Laney Crowell:So let's talk a little bit about the fact that you are a mother. Yes. And while you've been building this multi-million dollar brand, you have two kids, eight and five,

45:46Emma Grede:am I right? So I wrote the business plan for say when I was on my due date with Isabella. I was she was two weeks late why is that timing why is that I think every time I talk to you're either like trying to get pregnant getting pregnant or giving birth I think it's because our bodies are creating and so like literally creation is like coming out of our pores oof I love that and I was so big I was like a whale and I just wanted this baby to come out and she was two weeks late and I remember sitting down saying I guess I'm just gonna work on this business plan because it's in my head and it just needs to come out of me.

46:22Emma Grede:And then I had, something needs to come out of me.

46:24Laney Crowell:Something needs to come out.

46:26Emma Grede:And, you know, I remember when I had Isabella, I was knocked to the ground. I found becoming a mom so hard. It was like an existential crisis for me. I'm like, who am I? This is so hard. I just didn't see it coming at all. And so it was about three months after when Isabella was around three months old, I was like, okay, I think I can start taking next steps. And I remember sitting with her all of those nights, you know, you're, you're in silence, you're exhausted, you're rocking this baby. And I was just building the business in my mind. I was just sitting there with her as she couldn't sleep and I would be rubbing her back or she didn't, she'd fall asleep on me.

47:11Emma Grede:And I was just building the business and writing it out and dream and crafting all of that. And so then once I was ready to go, I was ready to go. And so we launched, say, in November 2019, and I gave birth to Rosie July 2020. So I was pregnant for that first whole bit of launching the business, COVID hitting, and then getting into Sephora.

47:37Laney Crowell:How do you think the timing of all of that impacted the decisions that you had to make?

47:42Emma Grede:I think they're impacting my decisions now more actually. Yep. I think it's getting harder for me to leave them. I think when, when they were literal, I like wanted out. I wanted a break really badly. Thank you for saying that. And now I don't, now I want to be with them all the time. And so it's really hard for me to leave now.

48:00Laney Crowell:Yeah. I remember when my babies were little kind of complaining to other moms about having to leave so much. And they were like, you know what, Emma, it gets so much harder as they get older. And I could never imagine that because I was like, yeah, but when they're older, they're more self-sufficient. But when they're older, they need you more. And when they're older, they know the number of days that you're away. And so it does get much harder. And I think this, this age, I mean, listen, parents will tell you all the ages are so complex, but when you have kids that are between kind of like five and 14, when they're like not fully hanging out with their friends, but they need you and like you're their friend and they still want you in that way.

48:36Laney Crowell:It's a very big decision to get up. Well, you don't want to miss it.

48:39Emma Grede:Yeah. I don't want to miss it. Yesterday when I was leaving to come here, I woke up Isabella to say goodbye. And she said, mom, when you leave, it's like everything leaves. Isabella. But I think that - Be less good with your words, will you? And I was like, girl. Girl. I was like, I hear you. So what do you say? What do you say to Isabella when she says that to you? I said, I hear you. I was like, I totally get it. I was like, I feel the exact same way. I was like, I hate leaving. I was like, but I'm building my dreams right now. Like we talk about that all the time. We talk about two things all the time.

49:16Emma Grede:We talk about building your dreams and how much work that takes. And then we talk about how hard things are and how the harder it is, the better you're getting. And I promised her that tonight I get in at like midnight that we're going to do a sleepover.

49:31Laney Crowell:I love that. I love that. Yeah. I mean, I do the same thing. And I think it is really important and that your kids see you sacrifice. They understand the sacrifices, but you're being really honest, right? You're building your dreams. That's going to teach her that she can go out and build her dreams and make sacrifices.

49:46Emma Grede:I'm also really present. So Isabella and I, you know, we dance in her bedroom and she'll be, you know, Rosie will be like, you know, how many books tonight? And I'll be like, two. And I'll be like, two.

49:57Laney Crowell:Go on, let's do three.

49:58Emma Grede:Yeah. Do that every night. Because I do think that's a blessing and I want to look at the silver lining of that, lot of like, oh, like, I'm so happy to be here with you. Like I am, we do the soccer clinic and the other moms are like, I'll drive. I'm like, no, no, I'm going to drive. I'm going to drive. And I love it. And we're going to listen to music. I'm going to, we're going to listen to Avicii. We're going to like party and we're, and I'm going to watch your whole lesson. And I'm just like, so happy and blessed to be there.

50:28Laney Crowell:Yeah. And I do, I listen, I don't get huge amounts of time with my kids every day, but it's like when I'm there, I'm in it, right? And I feel like that is really important, just having that concentrated moment because your kid feels that. They know when they are the center of what is happening versus when you're highly distracted. And so for me, it's like the trade-off has been, okay, if the time is limited, we're going to make the time that I am there really matter.

50:52Emma Grede:I also really think about what I'm going to invest my money in in terms of so that I can have more time with them. So, you know, what is the help that I'm going to have around me so that I can be super focused on them so that I'm not, you know, in the kitchen or I'm not grocery shopping. You know, I don't have to do school pickup if I don't have time to do that, but I can be super present by the time they get home. And I think that's something that people don't really talk about. It happens a little bit behind the scenes. Look, for the first two years of, say, I didn't take a salary. And for the next two years of, say, my entire salary went to childcare.

51:30Emma Grede:Wow.

51:30Laney Crowell:I mean, first of all, so much that you just said in those last three sentences, people really don't like talking about having help. And I think it's a single biggest privilege of my life that I have so much help with my kids and around the house. And I know that from a young age when I couldn't afford much, just having someone that would come once a week and clean my house, I am always about outsourcing whatever I can, whether it was like meal prep back in the date, like whatever I could. And I think that we've got to take the shame out of that because wherever women can get a little bit of help, if it's a neighbor, it's carpooling, it's deciding that one week you're going to do something and you've got two other moms that you switch with, you've got to take it.

52:11Laney Crowell:Like to me, there is no shame in that game. And if you can pay to make some of the heavy work disappear as a mother, like why not? Why would you not do that? And why Why would we let other people shame us about that? I have just no idea. And I speak about it constantly because I hate that idea that as a female founder would be putting forth the idea that suddenly I found an extra hour in the day. I haven't. When people say to me, how do you do all of that? I actually answer back with all the shit that I don't do. I'm like, here's a list of the stuff that I don't do. I haven't cleaned an oven in 10 years, right?

52:45Laney Crowell:It's like, there are things that I don't do to get to where I want to be and where I am in life. I never want to put forward this idea that you are doing it all or that we are doing it all because it just feels completely inaccurate to the realities of my life.

53:02Emma Grede:Well, it feels like it's just perpetuating this idea for other moms. Yeah. Yeah. What do you think your non-negotiables are when it comes to your kids? In the sense of who I want them to be or what the mom I want to be? Yeah, the mom you want to be. I want to be there for the things that matter to them. Like if they have a basketball game, they have a play, if that's important to them, like I want to be there for them. I want to always take them to school. I love doing drop-off in the morning and being with them all morning. I want to be really present with them when they are meeting me. I never want to say, oh, hold on a minute.

53:40Emma Grede:Do you say, hold on a minute? Sometimes I have to, but oftentimes no. Like if I'm there and they're like, mom, I need help. I'm like, let me help you. I love that.

53:50Laney Crowell:All right. So switching gears a little bit, I am so interested in how you've built this company and that you have stayed true to what it was that you originally set out to do with clean beauty. What are some of the early decisions that you made that affected operations? Like when, when you actually like said, okay, we're going to do this. Yes. Is it, is it more expensive? Is it harder to do? Does it make things slow?

54:15Emma Grede:The sustainable piece is always more expensive, but as you scale, it gets better. And my philosophy was that, you know, I'd worked at a huge corporation, so I knew how hard it was for them to turn and become more sustainable from not being. So I was like, let's just do it from day one.

54:31Laney Crowell:Where, I wonder like where the pressure to compromise came from the most, like where is it? Margins. Margins. Margins. Margins will always get you.

54:40Emma Grede:Yeah. Margins are where it comes, but we're just so, my team is so dedicated. Sometimes they say things to me, they're like, but Lainey, that's the more sustainable option. I'm like, I really wanted the other one. I really want to push for margin on this. I'm selling something every four seconds, guys. But, you know, I think that for me, that's how I sleep at night. And for me, that's how I like also justify everything with my kids where I'm like, babes, like let's change the world.

55:07Laney Crowell:That's so impressive. And is there a decision that you made that you think has been critical or foundational to Say's credibility?

55:17Emma Grede:Bringing the community. I mean, it's where the name of the brand comes from. You say it, we create it. It was from our community saying what they wanted. Oh, that's amazing. Yeah. So we're always listening to them. We're always bringing in, we're so tight with them in the DMs and in my DMs. I'm writing back someone in Saudi Arabia said she wasn't happy with her slip tint. I was like, send her a new one. Send her a new one. Yep. And I think those little extras are the differentiator between a big brand and a legacy brand. You know, we do all those little extras that really make people know like, okay, we are a brand of depth and soul and we're here to stay.

55:53Laney Crowell:Beyond the scale and the revenue, you must feel like so proud about what you're building. Does it all come from that sustainability piece or are there other parts that make you feel so proud too?

56:06Emma Grede:I'm so proud, but I'm not really one to like sit still. I do have, I have mentally shifted a little bit to like, okay, like let's dance on tables. Like let's have, let's really enjoy this moment. But no, I'm very ambitious. So I'm always kind of like onto the next a little bit. How does ambition show up for you now?

56:27Laney Crowell:Like what, what's the next thing? Like what are you trying, what's the fire in your belly? What's getting you out of bed? Babe, I feel like I'm just starting.

56:35Emma Grede:You do? Oh yeah. I feel like I'm at like the starting line. That's interesting. Six years in, you feel like you're at the starting line. In so many ways. I mean, we've really gone slow in a lot of ways. I mean, we have very little distribution. We're in US, we're in Canada, we're only online in the UK. And then we did the Middle East as like our first international market. So we have the whole rest of the world. I wanted to tell you this story about perseverance that I think about all the time. And I talk to my kids about. And it was going back to fundraising, but I think it also really applies to like the growth of the brand is that when I was growing up, we always had to play a sport and it was a must have in my family.

57:18Emma Grede:You had to play a sport every single season. And so I was always good at swimming. But when we moved back to the United States, we moved to California and there was a sport called water polo. And I was like, okay, well, I guess I'll go do that because I'm good at swimming. I had no idea what I was doing. And so that summer, my dad was like, okay, let's go play in a club league. And I got there and I was the worst. And the kids bullied me. And it was from three to 6pm every single day. And I did not miss one practice. And I would sit in the parking lot with like a pit in my stomach. I was so dreading going to that practice, but I showed up every single day.

57:56Emma Grede:And at the end of the season, the coach said, okay, well, it's time for me to build the team to go to the Junior Olympics. It was a really advanced team. He said, Laney, he's like, you're on the team, but not because you're like the top 13th player. It's because you showed up every day. And that was my biggest life lesson I've ever learned because it showed me that like, even though I'm not the best, you can still get there if you put in the time and you put in the work. And, you know, when you say the story about like, oh, the brands that don't work at Sephora. And I just believe that if you put in the work, it'll always work out.

58:31Laney Crowell:I love that story because I think it says so much about the type of entrepreneur you are, but it's also something that I believe for so many women can be a stumbling block, right? Just having the wherewithal to keep going at something, face the rejection, not be good at it because so many of us are perfectionists and we want to be good right out the gate, you know, and when you're not, that can be massively, you know, distracting for people. I feel like so many people give up at a point where, again, for you, you're just getting started. And that is so much a part of what it takes to be an incredible entrepreneur.

59:10Laney Crowell:Not only have you got to have the resilience, but you've just got to have the perseverance to keep going.

59:15Emma Grede:It's a mindset. It's a mindset of like, oh, you know, you're going to run out of space at Sephora or this isn't going to work or oh that or it's going to work because I'm going to make it work.

59:25Laney Crowell:What do you want to say to other women that look at you and go, wow, like she worked in corporate and she was an editor and she's stopping people on the streets and now she's got this incredible brand. Like what do you say when people come up to you and go, I want a career exactly like yours?

59:42Emma Grede:You can do it. Do you really believe that? Do you believe everyone can do it? I really believe that. I think because I did. And I wasn't the smartest or the most talented or the anything-ist. I just put in the work.

59:56Laney Crowell:Fair. What's the ambition for the company now? Like, what are we, fast forward for me, however many years, what do you want?

1:00:04Emma Grede:My dream has always been to be a legacy brand that makes a difference, that really impacts the industry. Do you have a benchmark for what that looks like?

1:00:13Laney Crowell:when you say legacy brand? I mean, you came from Lauder, but I wonder like, what's the goal? Like when you sit there and you go, I just want this.

1:00:22Emma Grede:Oh my goodness. Why don't I have an answer to this? I think it's just that staying power where like, you know, when we get those numbers back from Sephora and they're like, oh, 40 % of people at Sephora shops say, I want that to be a hundred. You know? Facts. Yeah.

1:00:39Laney Crowell:No, that's it. I mean, listen, that's a lot of people. I agree with you. I think that there is like such a unbelievable runway for your brand, but also for you as a entrepreneur, founder and CEO. And I love the fact that you said no to bring it on a co-founder in the beginning because you have proven and you continue to prove that you are the single best person to run this company. And that is so impressive, but it's also creating a pathway for so many other female founders to do what they're doing and to have belief in themselves and their category and just go for it. You know, but it really takes a lot of people to do well, to create the thinking for other people that that should just be the norm.

1:01:22Laney Crowell:And so I think that you are like a bright, shiny light out there, which is really, really important. We need that.

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1:03:18Laney Crowell:I want to talk to you about your relationship with money, because this is often something that I think a lot of female founders shy away from talking about. And I understand why. Do you think your relationship with money has changed running this business?

1:03:33Emma Grede:The reason I pause is because I literally had a little conversation with myself about money yesterday. What did you say? Play it out for me. Because I was thinking, I was like, you know, I'm such a good consumer. That is such an elegant way to put things. You and me both. And I was like, you know, I probably should have some more money in my savings account. but I don't have any debt. It's really important to me. I don't, I don't love debt. I don't love the brand having debt. I was very important for me to get to profitability. That was like always my goal is like, how can we get to profitability as fast as possible?

1:04:13Emma Grede:I want to raise enough money so that we can get into orbit, which I've always just had this visual of like this rocket ship with enough fuel so that once we got out there, we didn't need any more fuel, right? That we didn't need to have more cash injections. I think now I don't see money as something that's hard to get. I think that money is energy and it flows. And if someone invests in my company, like, you're lucky. Like, I think a lot, I think I had a mindset of like, I'm lucky. And now I see it as like the complete opposite of like, oh, yeah, I'm going to work my ass off for you. You're really lucky.

1:04:51Laney Crowell:You have built something really fantastic. your early investors will be absolutely thrilled. But at some point, that mindset shift has to change. And I think it's quite healthy at the beginning because you don't want to walk into investors with arrogance as a first-time founder. But it's a balance, right? It's not being in service of all of these people. It's like you choose investors, they get to come along on the ride. They win some, they lose some, and that's just par for the course.

1:05:13Emma Grede:And you always talk about smart money. And I think that is one thing that I didn't know it, but I kind of did. I mean, Rachel Harris at Unilever Ventures gave me the best advice I could have ever gotten. She said, you have to have a key retailer. DTC is dead. Dead. And I did not know that. I was like, but what about Casper? I mean, like, what about Glossier? I was like, I had all of these references that for me, I thought were the gold standard. And so, I mean, that's just one of a thousand pieces of advice she's giving me that were incredible, but I feel so lucky that she's in my corner and that she was my lead investor from day one.

1:05:52Emma Grede:She's like my fairy godmother, kind of. I was so lucky that you had somebody like that. And then once I had her, I knew what to look for in other investors. What are you bringing to the table?

1:06:01Laney Crowell:And I love that because I talk about it constantly. It can't ever, I mean, listen, maybe once in the beginning, it's just about money. But once you've got that initial piece, it's like you need a lot of other things and the advice and the experience and the sector expertise, like that matters more in so many ways. Is there other advice that you got that you're like, thank God somebody told me that?

1:06:25Emma Grede:Someone didn't tell me to do reference checks. And I think that is... For your investors, you mean? For anyone. I think that is a lost art. And if there is one thing I can say that I wish I had done differently, I wish I had done more reference checks over the years. I think references are everything. And I think you should put the time in. And if someone tells you like, oh, well, I can't, you know, give a reference for X, Y, and Z reason, then call me when you can.

1:06:51Laney Crowell:Yeah. I love that piece of advice. In the beginning when I was taking investment for Good American, I actually nearly walked away from a very good investor because there wasn't, you know, it wasn't the one that I was feeling most inclined towards. And I called Jen Akin and she said, these are the best people on my cap table. And I was like, really? And it just was the thing that sealed the deal because it was somebody that I trusted with, you know, years of experience with this person. I remember like doing the math in my head and thinking, yeah, my business was about the same size as when she took that.

1:07:26Laney Crowell:And so, you know, in my head, I was like, great, they get it. But that connection to the information can only come from someone who's been in business with those people. And so, I mean, I'm crazy about reference checking. It's just because I just like to make calls. Yes. And I make calls about like, even if it's not a reference check, I'm just like, let me just ask the opinion of like X, Y, and Z whenever I'm making a decision. But it is, it's part of that check, check, double check, call someone who knows. If you don't know, you better get to know. Yep. All right. So if you could go back and speak to yourself right at the very beginning, before the crazy numbers, before Sephora, what would you tell yourself to worry less about?

1:08:08Emma Grede:I'm like a professional worrier. So I like to, I am in the weeds. I'm in the details. I think about everything. Like I, you know, someone didn't have the right address today. And I was like, who did that? How'd that happen? Let's talk about that. Right? How do we fix that? What's our lesson learned. Let's recap that. I love, I love, I love going over. We have a call called the hindsight's call. And it's, and it's every, after every launch, we hindsight what didn't work. And at first the team was like only talking about what did work because they like wanted to, I think everything to be all rosy.

1:08:48Emma Grede:And I was like, that is human nature. And what every single team does to me at hindsight. And I was like, I was like, no guys, I'm like, did you send us the right amount of people? Like, did the warehouse know what they were doing? Like, let's get 1 % better every single time.

1:09:03Laney Crowell:Lainey, for people that don't know, we just talk through like what hindsight looks like. After a launch, you're doing what exactly? What metrics are you looking at?

1:09:10Emma Grede:We're looking at the EMV. That's a big one that we're looking at. We're the number one clean beauty EMV brand. And so that's really important for me that we keep growing that because then, you know, you get to number one clean and then you're like, now I want overall, right? And so I think we were number 14 overall last year. So that's how are we getting to the top 10? You know, we're looking at every single side of the business. So we even have supply chain on there. We have planning on there. We have social, obviously social takes up a big chunk of it. Totally. Of like what TikToks performed the best.

1:09:44Emma Grede:How did that whisper part of the phase go? Was it too long? Did we tease it too long, too short? Every single aspect of that, if you're walking through the entire experience again, what would you do differently?

1:09:57Laney Crowell:Yeah. And I love that because I think it's great discipline. Yeah. Me too. I mean, I really am. It's like, we're just coming off of Q4. And so hindsight in the entire holiday shop, when we go through every single thing, it's like every print, every silhouette, every category, every fabrication, every marketing campaign, every split, the whole thing. And being deeply reflective in your business can be really painful because you're like, we did that again? Like, you know, I always want the week. Pretty sure we've made that mistake like five times. Totally. You're like, well, what do you mean? That was in the last hindsight.

1:10:30Laney Crowell:But it's actually amazing because you start to see the patterns in your company. And I think companies are often very similar to people, right? They take on a life of their own and they do similar things and they make similar mistakes.

1:10:41Emma Grede:You're a toddler. Then you're a little bit older. Totally.

1:10:43Laney Crowell:Then you're a tween. Where are you in this? Are you out?

1:10:46Emma Grede:You're out of the terrible twos. Oh, yeah. Yes. Well, we're six now. So I think, you know, we're sleeping through the night. Totally. I got it. Yeah. Dive us off. I know. I think my team got really intimidated by hindsight so they didn't realize that I love them. I don't even care about any mistake. I just want to learn from it. Totally.

1:11:03Laney Crowell:And I think when you create that culture purposefully, it gives people permission to make mistakes because you're saying collectively we own this. Collectively, what could we all do better? It's not like you over there in the logistics department. If anyone's fault, it's my fault. Facts, right? And it actually is great for a founder to sit there and go like, hey, that direction that I gave, like that was wrong because so often it's me. I'm like, did I say that? Oh yeah, I remember now. It's really good. It's really, really healthy. I'm excited for the runway that you've got in front of you. What's the most exciting thing that you are thinking about like right now, as you think about this company that you've got, where you've kind of put this fun in the heart of it.

1:11:47Laney Crowell:Where is that sitting for you right now?

1:11:49Emma Grede:So we have so many requests from Europe. I'm really excited to get there. What are those Europeans asking for? They just want you in town. I mean, you know what? Quite honestly, when I got to Paris for Fashion Week a couple, what was that, like a year ago, we did the Chloe show. And we did a little thing. And I was like, oh my God. I was like, these are the say girls.

1:12:10Laney Crowell:Oh yeah.

1:12:10Emma Grede:I mean, that's your girl. The way that they wear makeup is so no makeup. Makeup, it's skin first. They care about ingredients. they care about the help of the people.

1:12:19Laney Crowell:I mean, Sienna Miller in the front row of that show. I mean, she's like, oh, heaven, heaven. No, that's your girls. I mean, you know. And so - The Brits, the French.

1:12:28Emma Grede:I'm excited. The Italians. I went to the flagship in Milan when we were there. Amazing. Oh my gosh. They're like, we need to say now. And I was like, okay, I hear you. We're coming. Let's go.

1:12:41Laney Crowell:We're coming. Yep. Listen, I think it's going to be an amazing journey. I will be watching you and cheering you on. I cannot tell you. I have a makeup bag, actually a beautiful vanity case, full of say that I will be using. And I'm so happy for you. I'm so happy for all of your success. And I'm so happy that you feel this ambitious and that you're in this beautiful category that just we're crying out for. I feel like all the girls are crying out for it. So congratulations to you.

1:13:11Emma Grede:Well, thank you for this platform. I mean, I just love that we're having this conversation. I love that this is like what the vibe is. Damn right. It's like, yes, let's all get it.

1:13:18Laney Crowell:Yes.

1:13:18Emma Grede:No, let's all get it and let's learn from each other.

1:13:23Laney Crowell:So before we wrap, a quick reminder that Start With Yourself is available for pre-order and tickets for the live shows are available now. Starting April 15th, we're coming to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, DC, Boston, Atlanta, and London. Visit emagreed.com for tickets and full tour details. I cannot wait. All right, all we've got to do now, the rapid fire questions. You ready? I think I'm ready. Okay. I'm terrible at rapid fire because I'm just so fucking long winded. So feel free. All right. What is the one say product that you cannot live without? Oh, Glowy Super Gel. Oh, me too.

1:13:59Laney Crowell:I was going to say that.

1:14:01Emma Grede:Yeah. It's so good that product. What is that? It is. When I launched that product, people said, but this, what is this? But that's what I'm like, what is this replacing? I don't have this. It doesn't have a category. And that's what has made it the number one highlighter at Sephora. I mean, it just, people are like, it gives me back my youth, my light, my lip from within. It makes me look like I slept all night. I mean, you forever first step.

1:14:25Laney Crowell:I call it my 15 year old face. Yeah. I'm like, where's my 15 year old face? That's it. It's like, there she is. Maybe a slight exaggeration, but that's how I feel. Okay. It's as much about how you feel. Um, what do you think is the most overhyped makeup, like routine or step or trend or thing that you're seeing out there? Like what, what do I feel like you could skip?

1:14:48Emma Grede:Great question. I mean, I did just launch an incredible setting spray that is aerosol free, alcohol free. It's great for your skin. I think you can skip the aerosol in your face, setting your makeup for 24 hours, I think for an occasion, but I don't think you need that every day. Facts. What is one money rule that you live by?

1:15:11Laney Crowell:Know that you always have it. Oh, she's coming from an abundance mindset, not scarcity. What is a book that changed your life?

1:15:22Emma Grede:Let My People Go Surfing.

1:15:24Laney Crowell:Oh, that's a good one. That's the founder of Patagonia, right?

1:15:28Emma Grede:Yvonne Shonard? Yes. Amazing. I gifted it to everybody at Say for one of our off sites. I just, every chapter of that book gets better and better. When you're reading this book and then all of a sudden, he's talking about how he brought daycare into the workplace. One of the first as well. Yeah, the first. Yeah. You're just like, oh my God, like he's just such a pioneer and a real inspiration for me.

1:15:54Laney Crowell:Yeah. I was just going to say that that's the perfect person for you. when you talk about like, you know, not walking away from your values and your principles. I mean, that's the company. That's the benchmark. What are you still aspiring to do or become?

1:16:07Emma Grede:So I just wrote my 2026 goals. They poured out of me. They're in a note on my phone. There's a lot for 2026. This is like a big year.

1:16:17Laney Crowell:Are we scrolling?

1:16:21Emma Grede:To live lightly and powerfully and be really proud of the energy that I bring into the room. Oh, that's a good one.

1:16:29Laney Crowell:Lightly and powerfully. Oof, I love that.

1:16:32Emma Grede:So we do our goals as a family. And we sat down and Rosie's five. And as she says, I can't read. And I was like, girl, I got you. I was like, I'll write down your goals for you. And I said, what's your goal? She said, be wild. Love her. And I said. That is the perfect five-year-old goal. And I said, I think I'm going to take that goal, girl.

1:16:52Laney Crowell:You're like, me too, me too. I added that on there. That is the sweet, be wild. Yes, five-year-old Rosie, be wild. And Lainey. Be a wild woman, the two of you. How brilliant, I mean, that's so nice. First of all, I love that you do that together as a family. It's the sweetest tradition. Oh, it's so good. All right, tell me, what do you do? What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

1:17:15Emma Grede:I go make a matcha. I have my whole little like kind of routine. I make a homemade vanilla syrup that goes in. And then I get cozy with my girls and we just cuddle on the couch for a good five, 10 minutes.

1:17:27Laney Crowell:Well, that's a good start to the day. You know, I'm all about the morning ceremony. I want a good cup and good tea and a good light. And you drink a black tea? I actually have, I have tea with a little drop of milk. Yep. Goes like the color of my skin. That's my favorite cup of tea. But it is ritualistic for me. It's like, I want the, you know, I want that moment. That 10 minutes, yes, the cup. Yes. It's all about the cup. somebody bought me very beautiful matcha cups for um for christmas actually and i was like i just now it's like i want matcha because i have the cup it's like i have the right setup congratulations to you my darling i love it amazing

1:18:09Laney Crowell:if you're loving this podcast be sure to click follow on your favorite listening platform while you're there give us a review and a five-star rating and share an episode you loved with a friend. You'll be so grateful. Aspire with Emma Greed is presented by Odyssey. I'm your host, Emma Greed. Executive producer, Ashley McShan, Derek Brown, and me. Our executive producers from Odyssey, Leah Reese-Dennis, Asha Saluja, Lauren LaGrasso. Producer, KK Sublime. Stephen Key is our senior producer. Sound design and engineering by Bill Shultz. Angela Peluso is our booker original music by charles black video production by evan cox kurt courtney andrew steel and carlos delgado social media by olivia homan katherine bale special thanks to britney smith sydney ford my teams at the lead company and wme maura curran josephina francis hillary schuff eric donnelly kate hutchinson rose tim meekle sean cherry and lauren vieira if you have questions If it happens for me, you can DM me at aspirewithemagreed.

1:19:12Laney Crowell:Greed is spelled G-R-E-D-E. That's aspire, A-S-P-I-R-E, with Emma Greed. Or you can submit a question to me on my website, emagreed.me.

1:19:26Laney Crowell:Where you learn matters. At Monmouth University, students study on a vibrant coastal campus with direct access to research, culture, and industry. From classrooms to competition, from creativity to career prep, Monmouth offers a vantage point shaped by location and purpose, blending a personalized learning experience with Division I pride and a rising national profile. Bigger thinking, more inspired. You Amplified. Amplify your future at Monmouth University. Learn more at monmouth.edu forward slash amplified.